THE SHOUT OF STEADFAST FAITH IS IN DIRECT CONTRAST TO THE MOANS OF WAVERING FAITH, AND TO THE WAILS OF DISCOURAGED HEARTS.
"And when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him" (Joshua 6:5)
God told Joshua that Jericho was already delivered into his hands - the enemy was already defeated! What confidence Joshua must have had as he went into battle! Christians also fight against a defeated enemy. Our enemy, Satan, has been defeated by Christ. Although we still fight battles every day and sins run rampant in the world, we have the assurance that the war has already been won. We do not have to be paralyzed by the power of a defeated enemy; we can overcome him through Christ's power.
The trumpets are blown and the people raise a shout, and the walls fall down. It worked because the children of Israel obeyed God and did exactly as He had instructed. So what exactly happened? The ground under the foundation of the walls opened, and the wall sunk into the chasm. So that there remained nothing but plain ground for the Israelites to walk over. God here assigns to his people, to remain calm and silent and execute his commands. Who broke down the walls? It was God at work and it was faith that accomplished it. God wants us to move out by faith and then He does His work, they shouted before the walls got wobbly.
The story of the battle of Jericho is a familiar story of the Old Testament. The story fascinates us because of the unique details of the story. But it is also valuable because we all face walls of opposition in our lives. Some walls in our lives maybe those of failed communication or personal opposition. Possibly they are walls that stand between us and opportunity or prejudice or maybe some type of hurt.
The people of Jericho knew the Israelites were coming. We are told that Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. The inhabitants of the land prepared for battle. Jericho occupied an area of around ten acres. The city was encircled by a wall (probably a double wall) that was anywhere from 12-45 feet high and possibly 40 feet thick. Joshua was given a plan of attack from the Captain of the Heavenly Host. We must remember that God's ways are never our ways. It builds our faith and teaches us to trust God by just watching how He operates and takes care of situations that seem impossible to us. When we have a problem we rely on ingenuity, strategy and instinct. God however, had a different plan.
God's ways are not our ways. God told Noah to build a boat. He told Abraham to sacrifice his son. He put Joseph into a position of influence by giving him dreams! We see story after story throughout the Bible showing us that God's ways are not our ways, yet He always knows what He is doing. Obedience is the truest expression of our worship. Joshua bowed in respect and worship before the commander of the Lord's army.
The real test of the heart is how we live our lives. It is one thing to say we honor the Lord but it is another to do what He tells us to do. Do we trust His word more than our instincts? A common mistake we make in life is assuming that if we don't understand why something is being done, then it is "irrational" or doesn't make sense. In other words, we might assume that because we don't know why the Israelites were to walk around Jericho, than there must not be a good reason for walking around Jericho.
God may have been doing a number of different things: He may have been siphoning the courage from the people of Jericho; He may have been teaching Israel about patience and trust; He may have been teaching them self-discipline by having them walk in silence; or teaching them about trust or a hundred other things; or possibly just getting Israelites psychologically ready for battle.
We are not called to obey God because "it makes sense to us." We are to obey God because He is God and we trust Him. Every time we do something just because God "said so" we are acting in faith.
Victory comes from the Lord - God is sufficient to bring about what He promises. This whole event was set up in such a way that the people would know that the victory belonged to the Lord. The people marched before the Lord but He was the one who destroyed the city!
Life is best when we let God do His work. We must remember that God can do in ten minutes what we might spend ten years trying to accomplish! This is a hard lesson for us. We talk about faith, but in that time of crisis we have a tendency to trust our heart and our instincts rather than His word. We feel WE have to do something. Our job is to do what He tells us to do. His job is to bring the results.
Is there a "Jericho" that you face in your life? Is there some wall that seems to stand as an imposing obstacle before you? The key issues in overcoming the walls in our own lives is to trust God and obey His commands - He does the rest. He knows what He is doing, even if it feels like He has you walking in circles!
"No one can suppose for a moment that this shout caused the walls to fall. And yet the secret of their victory lay in just this shout, for it was the shout of a faith which dared, on the authority of God's word alone, to claim a promised victory, while as yet there were no signs of this victory being accomplished. And according to their faith God did unto them; so that, when they shouted, He made the walls to fall." (Hannah Whitall Smith)
