Well today we are looking at Joshua chapter six. I won’t be speaking on the whole chapter, but let’s have a look at these verses:
2-11:
2And the LORD said to Joshua, “Behold, I have delivered Jericho into your hand, along with its king and its mighty men of valor. 3March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. 4Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark. Then on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns. 5And when there is a long blast of the ram’s horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the wall of the city will collapse and all your people will charge straight into the city.”
6So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the LORD.”
7And he told the people, “Advance and march around the city, with the armed troops going ahead of the ark of the LORD.”
8After Joshua had spoken to the people, seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the horns, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. 9While the horns continued to sound, the armed troops marched ahead of the priests who blew the horns, and the rear guard followed the ark.
10But Joshua had commanded the people: “Do not give a battle cry or let your voice be heard; do not let one word come out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout!” 11So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. And the people returned to the camp and spent the night there.
And 15-20
15Then on the seventh day, they got up at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. That was the only day they circled the city seven times. 16After the seventh time around, the priests blew the horns, and Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! 17Now the city and everything in it must be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all those with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies we sent. 18But keep away from the things devoted to destruction, lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster upon it. 19For all the silver and gold and all the articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they must go into His treasury.”
20So when the rams’ horns sounded, the people shouted. When they heard the blast of the horn, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed.
May God give understanding to the reading of his word. Mention the upcoming visit by Liz Curtis Higgs. Rahab, is interestingly one of the women mentioned in Jesus ancestral lineage.
Some things about the book of Joshua:
• It celebrates God as the General of the Israelite people; these were his people and were all following his command
• It relates the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that the land of Cannan would belong to his descendants, something that could not happen in his lifetime as the sin of the Amorites was not yet complete. Genesis 15:16. The Amorites were sacrificing their offspring to Molech and worshipping idols and were partaking in many physically dodgy practices. Their sin was now complete.
• The battle of Jericho according to scholars occurred around 1450 BC and this account was written down around 550 BC. The book of Joshua is partly history and law.
Israel was faithful to God in entering the Jordan River in flood after camping beside it for how many days. Remember Rochelle spoke last week on not staying camped to long but doing as God has instructed. They lived the miracle, the flood waters backed up as they stepped into them, and they crossed on dry land.
So, God tells Joshua, God is instructing...”I have delivered Jericho into your hands” and this is how you go about conquering the city.
Now Jericho is thought to be one of the first walled cities in history, about 5-6 acres, so around the size of the commercial part of Tawa. The people a settled nomadic group of Amorites called, the Nutufian and had a population apparently of around 3000 people. (Refer: The Ancient City of Jericho: The World's First Walled Community – World Atlas)
So, under Joshua’s command Israel followed God’s.
Six days of silent marching: Imagine say one hundred thousand men surrounding Tawa, a walled Tawa surrounded by empty land. They would likely surround the whole city, at least an arrow shot plus distant from the walls, the people of Jericho were out to defend themselves. The Israelites would be avoiding arrows and spears coming from behind the wall. But here they were ‘all in,’ quietly marching around the city just once. Then heading back to camp, day one finished. Not a word spoken in keeping with God’s instruction, these men were all committed to God’s plan. On the first day I am sure the people of Jericho were concerned that an attack would happen. The second and third day, not so much, then maybe shouting obscenities and insults over the walls. The people of Jericho were in for the long hall. They knew the Israelites were coming, the city was shut off to enemies, see chapter 6:1. They likely had supplies that would last a good long time, food stored away. The water of the original oasis that was the attraction of building a city in that place was theirs, on tap so to speak.
Day five, day six, would an attack come? Lots of enemies marching, priests and the ark of the covenant with them, a bit of a show. Nothing to fear yet.
However, day seven and the same thing, except now the priests blow their rams horns, the Israelite troops let out a great cry and as God had promised the walls of the city of Jericho collapse. The city is then taken.
A city of people who had had four generations, four hundred years plus from the time of Abraham to repent of its sins.
What a picture, a nation of the quiet warriors of Israel, marching just once a day for six days as instructed by God. However, on the seventh day after perhaps wondering what the result might be, this nation had victory through following God’s instructions. They knew God to be faithful to his promises. They had lived the miracle of the River backed up like a dam all the wall to that place Adam, about 30 kilometres. They were all in on God’ plan.
So what is this about? How does this relate to us?
God was the General of Israelites, he told Joshua as he had told Abraham, that the Land of Promise, Cannan would be theirs. They enter and take the first of these towns as part of God’s promise. Victory.
As Christian’s we are not the same people as the Israelites, we are not commanded by God to defeat cities. We are, however, victorious through Jesus, the scriptures tell us, that greater is the Spirit that is in us than the spirit that is in the world, (Refer 1 John 4:4). We are to be witnesses of God’s goodness and the gospel the Good News of Jesus Christ in the presence of those who oppose us, who would oppose our God. Are we all in?
I am sure that the Israelites were a witness to the people of Jericho, the Israelites knew what was to come. But think on it they had seen the miracle of the parting Jordan River a few days before, they had lived the miracle. They did as God asked them. Victory was the result.
There are times for us when we will be challenged by God to go about our witness quietly knowing the miracle of our salvation, the miracle of the Holy Spirit with us, there will be that seventh day when we will bring walls down, when God will ask us to be vocal. We will likely feel the tension of those who live behind walls of unbelief, maybe we will be abused by those who don’t want our presence. But there are those who live trapped in walls of sin; walls of carried shame; walls of generational curses and addiction; there are many walls of lies that are portrayed as truth in this age, as there has been in every age but as we listen to God; as we respond to his lead we will know those times to blow our trumpets and cry out. For like the Israelites we carry his presence with us.
Are you all in?
