The book of Joshua (whose name means "God is salvation") is packed with practical lessons "for our instruction" (1 Cor. 10:11).
What do I learn from Jericho? First, it was the first city conquered by the Israelites upon entering the promised land of Canaan. First things, first! Title to it is the gift of God; possession of it is the result of an obedient walk. It is going to take courage.
The pre-battle speech
"...being careful to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success." (1:6-8)
Do all that is commanded of you and meditate day and night on His WORD! Then you will prosper and be successful!
God prescribed meditation and study so we may "know the truth and the truth shall set us free." (John 8:32) An obedient heart brings an empowering spirit. That is life in the land.
10 Lessons from the Battlefield
1) The battle began in Joshua 2:1 when Joshua sent two spies there. Do you remember the previous experience of the spies? This time Joshua only sent in two! If you remember it was only two spies before that were faithful to give a good report. There would not be another 40 years of wandering! How long have you been waiting to enter in and take a defeated foe in your life? After three days they came back and told this story. Notice the opening verse of chapter three. On the third day, "early in the morning," they prepared to go into the land. Here is a reminder to us that on the third day, early in the morning, the resurrection took place. And it is in resurrection power that they entered in to take the land of Canaan, picturing Christ in his risen life working in and through us to make us victors over all that defeats, hinders, and fetters us.
2) Joshua 2:10-11 The enemy (in this case Jericho) was afraid of God's people for the enemy knew all the miracles from the lives of God's people. "For we have heard how the LORD ... And as soon as we had heard [these things], our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he [is] God in heaven above, and in earth beneath ..."
3) God made a way out for his people Joshua 2:15. God had prepared the way ahead of time as Rahab's house was "on the town wall". She could have lived anywhere, but this is where she needed to live for "such a time as this".
4) It was in the month of Passover that the Israelites camped in Gilgal outside of Jericho. (Joshua 4:19) and they first kept Passover (Joshua 5:10).
5) God sent help! (Joshua 5:11-13)
6) The LORD gives the victory even before the battle is fought (Joshua 6:1-2)
7) God gave the battle plans (Joshua 6:3). You can't have his life with your program! The crossing the Jordan is what you do when you let go of your own program, make up your mind, and say, "All right, if this is what you want for me Lord, this is what it will be."
8) The battle lasted 7 days (even on the Sabbath). (vs. 3-4)
9) The worshippers led the army into battle ... (v. 8-9)
10) The battle plans were exacted early in the morning (v.12, 15)
Three things to do before battle
There are three things that the people of Israel had to do before they could destroy the enemy in the land.
1) First, they had to be circumcised. Circumcision is a picture of a surrendered heart---a heart in which the reliance on the flesh has been put aside, cut off---a circumcised heart. (Rom. 2:29)
2) The second thing they needed to do was to celebrate the Passover for the first time since they had come out of the wilderness. Christ became our Passover sacrifice for us. (Passover this year begins at sundown on Wednesday, April 8th).
3) Finally, before their conquest began, Joshua had to plan the strategy. As he looked out in the moonlight over the city, he saw a man standing there with a drawn sword, and said to him, "Are you on our side or on the side of the enemy? "The man said, "No; but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.'" (Josh. 5:14) That is, "I haven't come to take sides but I have come to take over. Then the man told Joshua the most remarkable battle plan that has ever been arranged.
Three obstacles to the Promised Land
1) Jericho. Seemingly insurmountable! Often we are confronted by something that has baffled and mocked us for years ~ a habit, a circumstance, something that seems unchangeable, somebody or some situation that you've never been able to overcome. But when we follow the strategy outlined here---simply walk around it, displaying the ark of God (the presence of God) while shouting and playing the trumpets as a display of triumph---the walls fall down. It isn't the visible obstacle that is the problem, but our attitude toward it; as soon as the attitude changes, the problem dissolves.
2) (After Jericho) The second obstacle in their path is the little city of Ai where they had been defeated. Joshua fell upon his face before the Lord and said, "What is the reason for this?" (Josh. 7:7) God said to him, "Joshua, get up off your face. Don't pray to me now. There is sin in the camp. Go search it out." Ai, then, is a beautiful picture for us of those inward problems arising out of our own lusts for that which God says we cannot, and must not have. We experience failure and defeat, as Israel did. But the minute this sin was confessed, they went up to Ai and it was no longer a problem. It was a battle, but no problem. Through it, they gained victory over the problem of the flesh.
3) The two battles of Gibeon and Beth-horon comprise a third picture for us of the special attacks of the enemy upon the believer. (Joshua 9) Deception ... trying to shake our faith ... stand on the promises of God and the enemy will be defeated. (Eph. 6:13)
This greatest lesson of the spiritual life is that you have no strength in yourself to stand, no matter how long you have walked before God. You can never have a moment of strength to stand by yourself. Your strength comes out of weakness and your sense of dependence. Your sense of your constant need of God's strength is the only thing that will keep you. Joshua, the wise old man that he was, said:
"You cannot serve the Lord; for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God...If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good." (24:19, 20)
Application for me today
Perhaps consider dedicating the next 7 days to let God remove some "walls" in your life. Start each day with worship. "March around" the proverbial walls that you want to come down. Where in your life are you struggling? What is keeping you from God's personal best for you (the Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey)?
Look, a man with a sword, Jesus & THE WORD of GOD are waiting to be your Captain! Take off your shoes ... you are on holy ground! Fall down and worship at His feet ... then take up your worship and MARCH! March like you mean business in this battle! March around it and then come back to your camp and rest and get up tomorrow and start all over ... when the time is right (for Joshua it was seven days and seven times around the city) take "the city" and watch God move on your behalf.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down,
after they were compassed about seven days.
~ Hebrews 11:30
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