Joshua 5:13-6:27
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus; just to take him at his word; just to rest upon his promise, and to know thus said the Lord. When we put our trust and faith in God and walk in his Word, then we can see the full glory of his power, faithfulness, justice and love. This is what happened for the Israelites under Joshua's leadership into the Promised Land. (Of course, as we'll see later, that did not last for long)
God gave Joshua very specific instructions on how to go about defeating the Canaanites in Jericho. In fact, he sent an angel to do that in person - I suppose to emphasize the importance of what he had to say. This might have been necessary because the instructions were not at all traditional, or even logical, but it was God's plan so it was good enough.
All he wanted them to do was march and blow their trumpets. Now, the Israelites were no strangers to conflict and battles, so they knew a thing or two about what war entailed; or, more specifically, what victory required. Marching - silently - and blowing trumpets was not it. But that was not the point, now was it? Of course not. There were many points and purposes to this tactic, not the least of which was glorifying God.
The main reason, from my perspective, for using this tactic was to prove just how powerful God is, all by himself. By using such a passive, and seemingly nonexistent, method of attack to bring the Israelites victory, God could prove that he was the only one powerful enough to bring them down and that he was willing to do that to keep his promise to his chosen people.
Another reason was to test the faith of the Israelites. They had proven over and over again how obedient and disobedient they could be. They seemed to be really big fans of easy and common. This plan of attack was neither. I have a hard time imagining how difficult it must have been to just keep completely silent while walking around an entire city; especially when you might be thinking, "why do we have to go through all this; how is this going to help us attack these people, let alone defeat them"? As much as they liked to murmur and complain, this must have been the biggest challenge for them. But, in order to get the victory in that situation, they had to obey God's word to a tee.
So, they did - this time - and, sure enough, it worked. They marched around the walls of Jericho a total of 13 times and shouted as loud as they could with the long blast of the trumpet after the seventh round on the seventh day. And right before their eyes, they saw those walls come down. Even though they were greatly outnumbered, the soundly defeated the people of Jericho, saving only certain precious metals to be consecrated unto God, and Rahab and her family - as promised by the spies. They were obedient and so God gave them victory!
On a side note, I am curious about one small detail of this story. We learned in Joshua 2:15 that Rahab's house was built into the town's wall. We also know that she and her family were promised to be spared in return for her protection, but in order to do so they had to be in her house when the Israelites attacked (Joshua 2:18). So, my question is, if she and her family were in her house when Jericho was attacked, and her house was built into the wall, how were they not all destroyed when the walls fell? I guess it was just divine intervention that spared them from the fall and the sword. But, perhaps, I am missing something there.
In any case, I pray God that you give me the patience, courage and obedience to obey your will for my life. Even when it doesn't make sense, or feel comfortable, help me to stay faithful to you so I don't miss out on the victory you have lined up for me. Thank you for your promises and for being a promise-keeper. You are so awesome, God, and I praise you for all that you are and all you have done! Please continue to bless and keep me as I do my best to stay in your will. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus; just to take him at his word; just to rest upon his promise, and to know thus said the Lord. When we put our trust and faith in God and walk in his Word, then we can see the full glory of his power, faithfulness, justice and love. This is what happened for the Israelites under Joshua's leadership into the Promised Land. (Of course, as we'll see later, that did not last for long)
God gave Joshua very specific instructions on how to go about defeating the Canaanites in Jericho. In fact, he sent an angel to do that in person - I suppose to emphasize the importance of what he had to say. This might have been necessary because the instructions were not at all traditional, or even logical, but it was God's plan so it was good enough.
All he wanted them to do was march and blow their trumpets. Now, the Israelites were no strangers to conflict and battles, so they knew a thing or two about what war entailed; or, more specifically, what victory required. Marching - silently - and blowing trumpets was not it. But that was not the point, now was it? Of course not. There were many points and purposes to this tactic, not the least of which was glorifying God.
The main reason, from my perspective, for using this tactic was to prove just how powerful God is, all by himself. By using such a passive, and seemingly nonexistent, method of attack to bring the Israelites victory, God could prove that he was the only one powerful enough to bring them down and that he was willing to do that to keep his promise to his chosen people.
Another reason was to test the faith of the Israelites. They had proven over and over again how obedient and disobedient they could be. They seemed to be really big fans of easy and common. This plan of attack was neither. I have a hard time imagining how difficult it must have been to just keep completely silent while walking around an entire city; especially when you might be thinking, "why do we have to go through all this; how is this going to help us attack these people, let alone defeat them"? As much as they liked to murmur and complain, this must have been the biggest challenge for them. But, in order to get the victory in that situation, they had to obey God's word to a tee.
So, they did - this time - and, sure enough, it worked. They marched around the walls of Jericho a total of 13 times and shouted as loud as they could with the long blast of the trumpet after the seventh round on the seventh day. And right before their eyes, they saw those walls come down. Even though they were greatly outnumbered, the soundly defeated the people of Jericho, saving only certain precious metals to be consecrated unto God, and Rahab and her family - as promised by the spies. They were obedient and so God gave them victory!
On a side note, I am curious about one small detail of this story. We learned in Joshua 2:15 that Rahab's house was built into the town's wall. We also know that she and her family were promised to be spared in return for her protection, but in order to do so they had to be in her house when the Israelites attacked (Joshua 2:18). So, my question is, if she and her family were in her house when Jericho was attacked, and her house was built into the wall, how were they not all destroyed when the walls fell? I guess it was just divine intervention that spared them from the fall and the sword. But, perhaps, I am missing something there.
In any case, I pray God that you give me the patience, courage and obedience to obey your will for my life. Even when it doesn't make sense, or feel comfortable, help me to stay faithful to you so I don't miss out on the victory you have lined up for me. Thank you for your promises and for being a promise-keeper. You are so awesome, God, and I praise you for all that you are and all you have done! Please continue to bless and keep me as I do my best to stay in your will. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
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