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The Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers. You shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once. Thus you shall do for six days, with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets. When they make a long blast with the ram's horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight ahead." (Joshua 6:2-5 NRSV)
May this be a fabulous Friday for you and yours, dear Friend! As you plan the weekend, please make plans to include God in them. If you have a home church, worship the Lord on Sunday. If you need a church home, find one near you that preaches the word of God. Please be in prayer for Bill Keck as he is out of the hospital and resting at his son's home in Spring, TX, hoping to return back to Gonzales on Saturday. Also, please pray for Ms. Genifer Chavez from Mission, TX, who will undergo gall bladder surgery tomorrow. Genifer is our son-in-law's niece (Jorge Garcia). We pray for a safe and successful surgery and a safe return for the Keck family from Houston.Pray for one another. Pray for yourselves.
As the nation of Israel made its way from Egypt into Canaan, they knew there were battles to be fought, and this was the first one with a city. Jericho, the oldest inhabited city in the world was a stopping place for those engaged in commerce. It was, and still is, known as an oasis city. When Nellie and I were there, we sampled some of the finest dates and juices in the area. We tried to imagine the city when its walls were still intact. Joshua was now the leader of the group. He assumed leadership once Moses died. You might remember that Joshua was one of the spies that Moses sent into the area to spy on it, and he was the only one of two who came back with faith that they could take the city and the land. The other spies said the land was inhabited by giants and they, the Jews, looked like grasshoppers next to them. His faith allowed his promotion to leader of the nation, and this was a necessary first step towards their conquering the promised land.
The battle plan was simple and straight forward. God had already said to Joshua that the city was his. The king and the soliders of Jericho were also his. The battle required faith and the action to act on that promise from God. And as we have seen throughout the Bible and even in our lives, some actions from God do not happen right away. The faith has to be strong enough to wait and work as God directs. Noah built the ark while there was not a cloud in the sky. Samson had to wait for his hair to grow back before he could get his strength back. The father of the Prodigal had to wait a long time before his son returned home. Joshua and the people of Israel had to wait for seven days before they won this battle. Think about that in real time. Seven days is a long time. We're the Next-Day Delivery with Prime generation. We take that for granted unless the package containing a birthday or anniversary gift does not arrive when it is supposed to. Think of no tracking number for the walls to come down. One just waits.
That first day, the orders are given: Line up warriors. Priests, your place is at the head of this procession. And when you hear the order you march around the city once. "That's it?" Yes. Just march around it. Second through sixth day, same order. Some warriors might have questioned it wanting instead to fight outright. Even the priests might have wondered about the whole process. Then came the seventh day. The order: "Today we march around the city seven times, this time with the priests blowing the rams' horns; when you hear the long blast of the ram's horn, you shall yell out as loud as you can and the walls will come down and the city will be yours. Charge ahead!"
The six days' march was done in complete silence; the last day was a loud shout from all people. The order was also given that everything in the city was to be destroyed except for the silver and gold, which now belonged to God and were to be placed in God's Treasury. The only people to be saved were to be the family members of Rahab, the prostitute, who had helped the Israeli spies when they scouted out the city. The walls came down and the warriors entered it and did as they were told. The family of Rahab was saved, everything else was burned down. The silver and gold that belonged to Jericho now belonged to God.
How high are the walls of the problem you might be facing? How wide are the halls; what's the thickness of those walls? A better question; how big and tough are you letting them become in your mind? And why do we let that happen when we belong to the Most High God? We all face problems, worries, obstacles, etc. But we do so with God on our side if we so invite Him. And our God is a God of victory not defeat. We face all things with faith. We face all things with the realization that victory might not come immediately and it might take seven hours, seven days, seven weeks, or seven months or even seven years. A dear friend of ours was invited to attend the Walk to Emmaus retreat at our expense, and it only took him nineteen years for him to finally say yes. So, whatever it is that you're facing, be patient and strong in your faith.
PRAYER: Loving God, make my faith strong enough to wait. Make me strong enough to act when the time is right. And once all has been done and victory is ours, may I shout loudly Your praises where all can hear that You are faithful. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Start today with sharing something God did in your favor!
Blessings of love,
Pastor Eradio
BONUS! An article from the New York Times showed archaeological evidence to support the biblical story. Click below to read this. https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/22/world/believers-score-in-battle-over-the-battle-of-jericho.html
