“Let the Walls Fall Down”
Joshua 5:13-6:5; 12-15, 20, 22-23 & 27
If you have studied any of the history of World War I, you may know that Alvin York was one of our most decorated soldiers. He was also a very unlikely candidate to fight in this battle. Because of his Christian faith he felt that he could never kill another individual, even in war. So when he was drafted, York went home on a ten-day leave to study the Scriptures. Finally in a crisis of faith, God showed York that he could obey the Lord and defend his country at the same time. He wrote these words... As I prayed there alone I knew God was there. God understood I didn’t want to be a fighter or killing man... God took pity on me and gave me the assurance I needed. Without realizing it Sgt. York was following a practice that has worked for centuries:
Before you can win a battle in public, you must first when it in your mind.
Joshua faced an even greater battle. For cities to be properly protected in these days it was necessary to build a large wall completely around the city to protect the people. So the city of Jericho was a walled city. These walls are actually the oldest walls to be ever found by archaeologists.
Now bear with me and let me give you some facts about this walls surrounding Jericho. One of my preaching professors in seminary told us your job as a preacher is to serve a meal to the people-give them spiritual food-and he said by the way that only what you cook the whole meal. Such I try not to give you every detail of what I study each week but I do want to describe this wall. Look at this slide with me.
Mound of Jericho-surrounded by large embankment.
Stonewall at its base. About 12-15 feet high.
On top of that of mudbrick wall, 6 foot sick and about 20-26 feet high.
At the crest, another mudbrick wall, because of the mound this was 46 feet high.
On the inside the enemy was well armed. Remember when the spies were sent to scout out this land 10 of the 12 came back and said these men are Giants and we seem like grasshoppers. Their size combined with the size of this wall made it seem impossible for them to ever get through. As great as the wall was and as great as these physical Giants were, it was not Joshua’s real problem. His real problem was the invisible war he had to fight in his own heart. And it is the same way for all of you.
The apostle Paul tells us that our struggle is not with flesh and blood but against evil rulers and authorities, against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits and heavenly places. We cannot see the enemy. He is invisible. And in this invisible war, like Joshua, we have to get a handle on several things.
Joshua had to overcome the challenges of the past. Before this, Israel had refused to follow him and Caleb into the Promised Land. He had to wait 40 years to go in because of the failure of Moses. Our failures, mistakes; our sins in the past can cripple us if we fail to deal with it.
The apostle Paul faced this on many levels. He writes in the book of Philippians and gives us three guidelines for dealing with past failures. Philippians 3:12-13.
(1) Verse 12. No one escapes failure. We simply are not perfect.
(2) Verse 13. We must learn to leave the past where it is. In the past.
(3) Verse 13. Focus on things you can do something about. Don’t waste your energy on things you cannot control.
Joshua would have to learn how to fight this battle the Lord’s way instead of his own. If you and I were getting ready for battle against this kind of enemy and we were living in that day, what would you do? I would want every sort, every piece of armor I could put my hands on, every weapon available; every piece of protection I could find. The Bible says there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death Proverbs 14:12. God’s way is not always our way. Here were the instructions God gave to Joshua. Versus 3-5. So this was basically the plan: March around the city once a day for seven days. Make a lot of noise. Wait for the walls to fall down.
One thing we quickly notice here is the prominence given to the Ark of the Covenant when they marched around the city. The message is clear. This battle belongs to the Lord, not the Israelites. What do you think they were thinking as they were marching around the walls? I have already shown you how massive they were; the gates were secured in their thinking, what can we do-oh let’s play our trumpets. And every time they circled the camp they probably became more and more convinced that this plan just might not work.
There’s an old spiritualist says Joshua fought the battle of Jericho but the truth is God ought that battle. Remember Israel had to play the trumpets, March around and then shout. Israelites did not down those walls. God did.
Verses 6-9.
You see sometimes the best way to hear from God is to be quiet. Simply stop talking. Look at verse 10. They are instructed to remain silent until they hear a long blast on the trumpet-shofar and then they were told to shout. We hear God’s voice best when we are quiet.
So after six days of this, now the final day came. If you have been following closely, you may have noticed that when Joshua passed along God’s instructions, he never told them the walls would collapse. On each of the previous days they had marched-one surround the city and then returned to camp. On the Sabbath day they marched around the city seven times.
Look at verse 16 and 20. In the seventh time it happened when the priest with the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: shout for the Lord has given you the city! First 20.
Hebrews 11:30 tells us that my faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people marched around them for seven days. There’s a principle here that we should pay attention to and here is a question for you to consider: what is it that honors God it pleases him the most question obedience-obedience honors God more than anything. Samuel in the OT says one Samuel 15:22. Joshua did not tell the people how many times they were going to be required to circle the city nor did he tell them what the result of their marching would be. Too many times we give up when we are right on the verge of seeing God do something really powerful-so we miss it.
Florence Chadwick was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions in 1950. In 1952 she attempted to swim 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. As she began she was flanked by small boats. That watch for sharks and were prepared to help if she became tired. After about 15 hours, a thick fog said he and. She began to doubt her ability to continue so she told her mother, who was in one of the boats that she didn’t think she could. She swam for another hour before she asked to be pulled out, because she was not able to see the coastline due to the fog. As she sat in the boat she found out she had stopped swimming just 1 mile away from her destination.
Victory can be ours if we will simply refuse to quit when times grow hard.
Vs. 21. That is a difficult verse. We have to remember that Jericho had been given plenty of time to repent. Plenty of time to change their life style but they refused. They had sacrificed their children to the false god Molech; they used temple prostitutes as well as magic and sorcery to deceive. They had 4 generations to do the right thing but refused. We saw Rahab early in our study a few weeks ago and you will remember that she was given the opportunity to repent and she did. As a result God saved her life.
We must stay with the Lord always. We must refuse to give up. Because many times we are much closer than we think. Two months later Florence Chadwick tried again. The same thick fog set in but this time she reached her goal. She said she simply kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind while she swam--until she got there. Any battle you are fighting, you must first win it in your mind. Picture success. Picture God carrying you to the finish line. Pray for a victory. Picture a victory. Proclaim a victory. God will see you through.
