"Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in." (Joshua 6:1) Earlier in the book of Joshua we found two Israelite spies being able to enter the city through the main gates which were kept open in the daytime. The king and his soldiers know there were two spies in their midst and they know the spies got away. They know the spies wouldn't have been there in the first place if the soldiers of Israel weren't planning to attack. To prevent anyone from sneaking in and beginning the attack from inside the city walls, the gates are now shut. Breaking through the gates or scaling the walls is the only way the people of Jericho can fathom the Israelites being able to enter. But the Lord isn't going to use typical battle strategy. He isn't going to order the Israelites to lay siege to the city until the people surrender due to lack of food and supplies. He isn't going to order the Israelites to beat the gates down or build an earthen ramp against one of the walls so the entire army can rush into the city and overwhelm its soldiers. No, the Lord is going to take down the wall.
When the Lord laid out the battle plan, which we'll study in a moment, it must have seemed very unusual to Joshua. Joshua is a man with a talent for military strategy and I'm sure he expected something completely different when the Lord got ready to outline the steps to taking the city of Jericho. But whether or not Joshua clearly understood why the Lord wanted him to do things this way, he obeyed the Lord. He didn't waste time asking why the Lord wanted him to do it this way; he just did it. I wonder how often we've wasted time on the road to victory by asking the Lord why He wants things done a certain way. I don't know about you, but I was a willful and stubborn child who often asked my parents why when they gave me instructions. I didn't always immediately do what they told me to do; I wanted an explanation first. I'm ashamed to have to admit that but it's the truth. I admit I've sometimes been a willful and stubborn child of God too. I've wasted time asking for explanations as to why the Lord wants a particular method used instead of just getting on with doing what the Lord told me to do. Joshua sets a wonderful example of faith for us by immediately getting on with obeying the Lord, no questions asked.
"Then the Lord said to Joshua, 'See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 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 the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.'" (Joshua 6:2-5) The wall will fall not by human strength but by the Lord's strength.
This is the first battle for the promised land and I think if the Lord had given Israel a military strategy only---and not a spiritual strategy also---some of the men may have believed they took the city by their own human strength, by their own human weapons, and by their own human ingenuity. Faith in God is what it's going to take to face and defeat all the armies of the promised land. If the Israelites place their trust in themselves, they will fail. The Israelites are not battle-hardened soldiers with many years of experience like many of the soldiers they'll have to fight. The Israelites have not been trained how to lay siege to fortified cities or how to knock down walls with battering rams; they are primarily an agricultural society. They are going to be outmanned and outgunned, so to speak, when facing down those they must defeat in the promised land. They must not begin thinking they are strong enough to face these enemies alone. They will be defeated if they do. Their trust must be in the power of the Lord their God and this is why the Lord gives them such an unusual battle plan. When the wall falls down before them, they will have to acknowledge that God caused the wall to fall, and they will not be able to take credit for it.
Joshua gets straight to work carrying out the Lord's instructions. "So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, 'Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.' And he ordered the army, 'Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.'" (Joshua 6:6-7) Did the priests and the soldiers understand this unusual battle plan? Perhaps not, but in tomorrow's study we'll find them doing exactly what Joshua told them to do. They will obey Joshua's orders because they know he's giving these orders on authority of the Lord. They, like Joshua, set a beautiful example of faith for us to follow. And as I said earlier, if the Lord's instructions had not been followed to the letter, I don't believe they would have had the victory. Their victory depends on their trust in Him, and how can a person best demonstrate his or her trust in the Lord? By doing what He says to do, even when the reasons for it are not clear.
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