The Jericho Miracle
Text: Joshua 6:1–16
1 Now the gates of
Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went
out and no one came
in.2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your
hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once
with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 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. 5 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.”6 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.” 7 And he ordered
the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of
the ark of the LORD.8 When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests
carrying the seven trumpets before the LORD went forward, blowing their
trumpets, and the ark of the LORD’s covenant followed them. 9 The armed guard
marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed
the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10 But Joshua had commanded
the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word
until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” 11 So he had the ark of the
LORD carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp
and spent the night there.12 Joshua got up early the next morning and the
priests took up the ark of the LORD. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven
trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the LORD and blowing the
trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark
of the LORD, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14 So on the second day they
marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six
days.15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city
seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city
seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet
blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!
Context:
A six-foot wide lower wall and fifty-foot high upper wall
encircled the ancient
metropolis. The mudbrick walls were so thick and so tall
that the twelve-acre city
appeared to be an impregnable fortress. It seemed like God
had promised something
impossible and His battle plan seemed nonsensical.Your entire
army is to march around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day
you are to march around the city seven times. Every soldier in the army
wondered why. Why not use a battering ram? Why not scale the walls? Why not cut
off the water supply or shoot flaming arrows over the walls? Instead, God told
the Israelite army to silently circle the city. And He promised, after circling
thirteen times over seven days, that the wall would fall.
The first time around, the soldiers felt a little foolish.
But with each circle, their
stride grew longer and stronger. With each circle, a holy
confidence was building
pressure inside their souls. By the seventh day, their faith
was ready to pop. They
arose before dawn and started circling at six o’clock in the
morning. At three mph,
each mile-and-a-half march around the city took half an
hour. By nine o’clock, they
began their final lap. In keeping with God’s command, they
hadn’t said a world in six
days. They just silently circled the promise. Then the
priests sounded their horns
and a simultaneous shout followed. Six hundred thousand
Israelites raised a holy
roar that registered on the Richter scale … and the walls
came tumbling down.
After seven days of circling Jericho, God delivered on a
four-hundred-year-old
promise. He proved, once again, that His promises don’t have
expiration dates. And
Jericho stands, and falls, as a testament to this simple truth:
if you keep circling the
promise, God will ultimately deliver on it.
What Is Your Jericho?
written by and permission granted by Mark Batterson-author of Circle Maker
There are some days that I go to work and I have fear in my heart. Will I be good enough, will I miss something and get fired.
ReplyDeleteAt this point in time I am struggling with anxiety, five months into my job as Manufacturing Engineer lead. I have six people that I am accountable for, they are all Engineers. I have to answer for every mistake we make, if any. These mistakes could cost jobs. People could loose their jobs if we fail.
I find comfort in my church, my beautiful family and first and for most my God. I will tell you this anxiety is greater that anything I have ever felt. Even my two tours in Afghanistan. It sounds strange but it is true.
I have to say though, I do not have my degree as an engineer yet. I have 67% of it. Why do I worry? It is very clear that God has a plan for me. My Jericho at this moment is work anxiety.
My Jericho is that there are no perks to being a wallflower. At work I can make light conversation with anyone: a cute comment about the weather, the book they are checking out or about the fat-head squirrel that plays at the window with my cats. But put me in a room with people (like at church or a meeting or gathering) where I do (or do not) know others and I become a wallflower - standing on the side of the room watching and listening to everybody else but not interacting. I feel socially inept. I feel like I don't have anything to say or anything anyone would want to hear. I become socially mute; petrified against the wall. This wall stance causes others to think I'm weird or strange - "she never talks what's wrong with her??" is what I think they are thinking. I think this has to do with inferiority complexes which are definitely a worldly thing and not of God. God sees us perfect, as his beloved children. I know I am a beloved child of God. I know that is all that really matters; but I struggle with this worldly acceptance thing. It's not that I want to be of the world - I don't. But I do want to be able to interact with the world to be able to show how much God loves me so that they will realize that being loved by God is something good.
ReplyDeleteI want to bring down the wall I have put up to safeguard me from others. I want to realize that like the porcupines that I read about who wanted to huddle together to stay warm but in doing so poked each other and were a little uncomfortable - that getting poked and being uncomfortable, but warm, was better than freezing to death alone. Loneliness and wallflower-ness is cured by taking risks - reaching out and taking chances - being more transparent - being a friend so you can have friends.
So Jericho is about recognizing your fears - identifying them and giving them up to God. Asking God to help you to overcome your fear and trust Him to help you.
I pray God will guide my thoughts, my words, and actions to be more Christ-like. Christ lovingly accepted everyone but he didn't worry about what others thought of Him (the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Romans, or his family). He didn't let the actions of others stop what he was about - he was about his Father's work and that's all that mattered. They will know we are Christians by our love. But they can't see that love if you can't interact with them.
God please break down my walls.
Cynde, Thank you for sharing this with us! I love your heart! I am so glad to know you, when Bailey and I went to the library a couple of weeks ago we were so excited to see you there we had to go upstairs and say hello. You recently inspired me to share your transplant story with my friend Chad. I prayed with him at work recently right out in front of the factory. It was because you shared your story with me that I was able to lift his spirits and give him hope.
ReplyDeleteThis book we are reading is awesome, my favorite recent reading was about how we gain faith through praying and we pray bigger because we are inspired through answered prayer. The cool thing is we can also build our faith by hearing the stories of our church family. Please never stop sharing your journey with us! We need you! We love you!
God answers prayers!!!! He does, I know that, but it is so neat to see Him work!!!
ReplyDeleteOk, my comment above was about being a wallflower :(
And so early this week one of my friends in South Carolina put a link on her Facebook page about "Ten Myths about Introverts" and it explains what introverts really are. I was intrigued and then I was enchanted because the description was me. (I have the list and the link.) But the list was from a book the library didn't have. I wanted to know more (cause that's what introverts do)
Today someone walked in and donated the book to the library! Now I get to read it.
Basically the book describes the traits of an introvert and says that it is okay to be one because God created us that way to balance and slow down all the extroverts! It's part of His plan!
I feel better now!