|
Lessons
For The 21st Century From OT Saints And Sinners
The City Whose Walls Collapsed
Joshua 5:13-6:21
Introduction: Faith’s Bootcamp
The
nation of Israel went to boot camp in the wilderness for forty
years. During that time Israel learned—often the hard way—to
trust God as their one-and-only-commander-in-chief. Under
the faithful leadership of Moses they learned the importance
of following God’s orders without question. But then, Moses
died, and all he had taught them was put to the test as they
stood at the very edge of the Promised Land. They had been
here forty years earlier. Now, they were once again facing
their most formidable opponent, Jericho.
Israel’s
future success or failure in conquering Canaan depended on
the outcome of the battle of Jericho. If they gained a foothold
by taking the city, they would be able to scale the hills
leading up to Bethel, strategically separating the northern
and southern parts of the territory. Joshua, their new leader,
had a divide-and conquer battle plan that was brilliant. There
was, however, one major obstacle standing before them—the
walls of Jericho.
An Explanation Of The Setting
From
The Human Viewpoint
When
the people had first been at this same place forty years earlier,
Moses sent twelve spies to assess the situation. Upon hearing
their report the people had trembled in fear when they heard
the report about Jericho’s massive system of protective walls.
John Garstang excavated the site of ancient Jericho in the
early 1930’s. He wrote,
The main defence of Jericho…comprised of
two parallel walls, the outer six feet and the inner twelve
feet thick… The outer wall suffered most, its remains falling
down the slope. The inner wall is preserved only where it
abuts upon the citadel, or tower, to a height of eighteen
feet; elsewhere it is found largely to have fallen, together
with the remains of buildings upon it.
Garstang, The Story of Jericho, p. 136
The
walls were thought to be impenetrable.
During
the years that have passed Israel’s confidence in the Lord
has strengthened. That was the main lesson they learned in
their boot camp. They still wondered, however, “How do we
deal with the walls?”
Every
morning as the sun inched its way over the eastern range,
the people watched proud and mighty Jericho come into focus.
They were so close to the land of milk and honey they could
taste it! For them, however, looking up at the mighty walls
must have been much like young David looking up at the mighty
Goliath, like Moses standing on the shore of the Red Sea as
the Egyptian army closed in from behind and like Jesus’ disciples
staring at five thousand hungry people waiting to be fed.
The people looked up at the walls of Jericho and all they
saw was towering impossibilities looming over them. There
was no way under, no way over, no way around and definitely
no way through. The defenses were in place and the residents
of the city were ready—safe and secure (at least that’s what
they think).
Now
Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No
one went out and no one came in.
Joshua 6:1 NIV
From
the human viewpoint the situation is hopeless—impossible.
But from God’s divine viewpoint, this seeming impossibility
is just a disguised opportunity for them to witness one of
God’s promises come true!
From
The Divine Viewpoint
In
spite of the verifiable strength of Jericho, God promised
Joshua…
Then
the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho
into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.
Joshua 6:2 NIV
The
walls were no problem for God. From His perspective, Jericho
was already defeated. So, could Joshua muster up the faith
to believe God’s words? Anticipating this crisis point, the
Lord had already prepared Joshua through an encounter with
an extraordinary person.
Now
when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing
in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went
up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"
"Neither," he replied, "but as commander of
the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell
facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What
message does my Lord have for his servant?" The commander
of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for
the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua
did so.
Joshua 5:13-15 NIV
Joshua,
the captain of Israel’s army, had met a person of infinitely
higher rank—the commander of the army of the Lord. Joshua
was face-to-face with an angel or, possibly, this was one
of the temporary appearances of Christ before the incarnation
(this is called a theophany). During this meeting Joshua learned
an important lesson: consecration precedes conquest. As he
removed his sandals and bowed on holy ground before this heavenly
being, he consecrated himself to do battle based on God’s
will and God’s will alone. His plan was no longer important.
Then, and only then, was Joshua ready to receive and faithfully
carry out God’s plan.
When
God told Joshua that Jericho was his, Joshua believed Him.
He had seen the Lord’s holiness and His awesome strength.
He knew that no river was too wide, no situation too difficult
and, most importantly, that no wall was too formidable for
God. With his thoughts fixed on the power of God rather than
the size of the wall, Joshua confidently believed God would
honor His promise of victory.
An Analysis Of The Scene
Instead
of trying to fulfill God’s promise through his own power and
plan, Joshua waited for his marching orders. If you are a
task oriented, achievement driven person, this step of waiting
on God can be most challenging. But, Joshua waited for God
to reveal His plan.
Instructions
From The Lord
You
know the battle plan, but let’s review it again and try to
place ourselves in that moment.
March
around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six
days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in
front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city
seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you
hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the
people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse
and the people will go up, every man straight in."
Joshua 6:3-5 NIV
That’s
the plan. To our way of reasoning it sounds illogical. But
remember, in impossible situations, God sometimes purposely
goes against human logic so we can’t rely on our own reasoning.
Faith is often counterintuitive. In other words, faith just
doesn’t make sense. That’s exactly as it had to be because
God intended for the conquest of Jericho to be nothing short
of miraculous. When it was all done the people would say,
“Do you believe what God just did?”
When
you stop to think about it that way, I guess it does make
sense!
Obedience
Of The People
Here’s
the problem with God’s plan. The people of Israel didn’t have
a very good track record when faith was required. Joshua must
have wondered how they would respond when he explained God’s
plan to them. Would they argue? Would they doubt? Would they
hesitate? Would they respond? I’m not sure which part I would
rather have in this drama—the part of explaining the plan
or the part of being one of those who has to decide whether
or not to follow the plan. How about you?
This
time, the people are ready. They obey without hesitating.
Joshua lined the soldiers up, then the seven priests who blew
the trumpets, then the ark and then the rear guard. And then
they march around the city once every day for six days without
saying a word. Joshua had warned them,
Do
not shout; do not even talk. Not a single word from any of
you until I tell you to shout. Then shout!
Joshua 6:10 NLT
For
six days the tension built inside the city as the people of
Jericho studied this most unusual parade. This tactic certainly
wasn’t recorded in any manual on how to conquer a well-fortified
city. Then, on the seventh day, they watched Israel march
around their invincible walls once, twice, thrice. Pretty
soon they must have been asking, “How many times does this
make?” Finally, on the seventh time around the priests blew
their trumpets and the people shouted because the Lord had
given them the city! (Joshua 6:16)
Collapse
Of The Wall
The
moment of truth came when the people shouted their mighty,
conquering cry.
When
the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound
of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall
collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took
the city. Joshua 6:20
NIV
Shouting
had never toppled city walls before. There is no record that
it ever did again. This time—this one time—it did. The walls
fell down with what must have been a deafening crash. Those
rushing from the outside in were jubilant. Those who had smugly
watched from their supposed place of safety must have felt
a wave of absolutely sheer panic when they realized the walls
were suddenly gone. Israel took the city, sparing only Rahab
and her family because she had earlier helped the two spies
escape.
Scholar
J. Sidlow Baxter comments on Israel’s obedience:
Faith’s
first rule of action is to ascertain the will and word of
God. Faith’s second rule of action is to obey that will and
word implicitly. Faith’s final rule of action is to reckon
on that word, and count the thing as good as done, giving
glory to God in anticipation—as the Israelites gave their
mighty shout of victory before the walls of Jericho had actually
fallen. Faith’s principles of action, therefore, cut right
across those of natural reason.
Baxter, Explore The Book, p. 260
In
faith Israel had chosen God’s way when natural reason spoke
against it. And, when the walls of Jericho had fallen down,
they knew that they had chosen well. They counted on God as
One who keeps His promises—and He did!
Our Response To The Story
The
assurance of victory that the Lord gave Joshua sparked hope
in this nation that had experienced forty years of aimless
wandering. As we respond to the story and the promises the
Lord gives to us, let’s keep in mind three guiding truths.
1st Truth: I Must Remember That
God Still Keeps His Promises
The
promises made by God in the Bible number almost 7,500. Those
promises are not just for people like Joshua. We looked at
this verse two weeks ago as our overall goal for this series.
For
everything that was written in the past was written to teach
us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the
Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:4 NIV
We
often need hope in the midst of challenges we face. When we
encounter tough situations we can be sure of this truth: God
keeps His promises.
2nd Truth: I Must Be Careful
Which Promises I Claim
It
is vitally important to recognize that not all of the promises
made in the Bible are intended to be claimed personally by
everyone. When examining the promises of the Bible there are
three broad categories into which they can be divided to help
us determine which promises are for us.
Category
1: Some Promises Are Exclusive
God
told Mary that as a virgin she would conceive and have a child.
He told Abraham and Sarah that, in spite of their old age,
they would have a son. He promised peace to war torn Israel.
We can take hope from the way God worked in those lives, but
we must not assume that all of God’s promises to certain people
or groups in specific situations apply to us as well. I don’t
know of many virgin births or times when dead reproductive
systems are brought back to life. If we claim these as individual
promises we set ourselves up for disappointment that dashes
hope.
Category
2: Some Promises Are Conditional
God
frequently promised to bless His people, but many times those
assurances were contingent on obedience. We should be careful
not to claim these promises out of context, without understanding
the conditions for their fulfillment. We saw one of those
promises last week when God told the people through Moses
that they would be healed from the effects of snakebites if
they looked at the bronze snake that had been placed on a
pole in the camp. It wouldn’t be prudent to claim this as
a promise that Christians will not be injured by the bite
of a venomous snake.
Category
3: Many Of The Bible’s Promises Are Universal
Although
God has not written our names on every promise in the Bible,
many of them include us. For example, if you are struggling
with believing God will faithfully provide for your needs,
Paul wrote to the church in Philippi.
And
my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious
riches in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 NIV
This
is a promise we can cling to—especially when we experience
our own walls-of-Jericho type challenges. God promises that
He cares and that He is able!
3rd
Truth: I Must Believe And Act On God’s Promises By Faith
This
is where the rubber meets the road. This is where you decide
if you are going to fish or cut bait. This is where you sink
or swim. See if this mathematic formula makes sense: F – A = 0
(Faith Minus Action Equals Zero). After citing illustrations
of faith by Abraham who placed his son on the altar of sacrifice
and Rahab who protected the spies in Jericho, James put it
this way.
As
the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds
is dead.
James 2:26 NIV
Faith
without follow through isn’t really faith.
Joshua
believed in God’s promises. He immediately and obediently
acted out God’s battle plan and defeated Jericho. Without
an active faith like Joshua’s we can have no victory, no comfort,
no victory and no peace.
Let’s
talk about our problem with this. Living by faith isn’t comfortable.
When we face challenges we like to ask comfortable questions
to reassure ourselves—questions like…
·
Has anyone else ever tried this before?
If so, how did it work?
·
If not, what’s the worst that could happen?
Can
you imagine the discussion they would have had if they had
taken the march-around-Jericho-strategy to a committee meeting?
Obviously no one had ever tried this completely ridiculous
strategy before. The worst that could happen is that after
seven days they would be completely worn out, they would shout,
and then the gates would open and the enemy soldiers would
come out to kill them.
If
we like comfortable questions, what is the uncomfortable question
we don’t like to ask? Here it is: “Am I going to trust God?”
Let’s be honest with one another. When it comes to faith,
we like guarantees. We have a guarantee; it’s just not the one we would like. We want the results that we would like to see
guaranteed. God’s guarantee is that He cares and He is able.
God wants our faith to be placed in Him and not in the results.
His sole invitation is, “Trust Me!”
Faith
asks an expectant question: What if it works? We start to
anticipate what God is going to do. God wants us to live in an expectant spirit of
faithful obedience. Frankly, what amazes me about Israel—with
everything we know about them—is that they actually followed
through to see what would happen if the march-around-Jericho-strategy
actually worked. There was no more talk of how much better
it was in Egypt and if we’re really smart we’ll head back
there right now. They were ready to trust God—FINALLY!
Here
is faith’s formula: F + A = V
(Faith Plus Action Equals Victory over even towering impossibilities).
A Concluding Example
Trusting
God’s promise of victory in your impossible situation and
acting on that promise may be difficult. Your wall of Jericho
may loom over you casting a shadow of impending doom. Does
Joshua’s example give you a glimmer of hope beyond the wall?
It’s in the Bible for that reason. If you see that glimmer
of hope, this New Testament example of faith may cause the
glimmer to burst out in brilliance.
This
story finds a desperate man bringing his demon-possessed son
to Jesus because the disciples were unable to help. Jesus
asked this anguished father, “How long has this been happening
to him?” (Mark 9:21). The father replied…
Since
he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the
fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and
help us, if you can. Mark 9:21-22 NLT
Jesus
listened intently to the father’s answer and caught one phrase
that sparked His concern. The father betrayed his lack of
faith when he added that last revealing phrase, “If You Can!”
Jesus addresses him.
What
do you mean, ‘If I can’? Anything is possible if a person
believes.
Mark 9:23 NLT
Jesus
offered the man, shivering in doubt, a warm and secure promise.
Would he own the promise and clothe himself in that security?
The
father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome
my unbelief!”
Mark 9:24 NLT
It
is a beautiful response combining faith and honesty. He admits
his lack but trusts Jesus to even provide the faith that he
lacks. Jesus casts out the demon and spares the boy. Here’s
the point: all things truly are possible for those who believe.
Are
you at the brink of faith like Joshua and this father—both
of them faced by daunting impossibilities. Are you teetering
there—unsure and afraid—knowing God can do the impossible
but also very aware of how frail your own faith is?
Remember
that God stills keeps His promises to you. Obey what you know
to be God’s plan. Trust Him for victory. Your first step of
faith may be small as you whisper the words, “I do believe.”
That small act is the biggest step you can take. You can know
that Jesus is here ready and able to take on the impossible—to
take on your impossible!
| 