Sunday Message: Jericho

As I type this, I'm not sure whether this will be this Sunday's message or a Wednesday study, so bear with. (I'm going with Sunday, but be warned, it's a long one.) Of the many things I have shared with you about the new perspectives of God's 2020 'Prayer of Jabez' work on me, one of them is just HOW to deal with the world without.  You might have noticed that in posts past, particularly the ones about 'Pastor Cole' and his idea of non-protest, and the one about how to treat the sinners in your life.  I suppose I was in a political mindset when, one day listening to Michael Youssef, he was talking about Jericho, and I felt God's gentle tapping on my shoulder, saying, "Herein lie your answers."  And it wasn't what Youssef said thereon, but the meditation it started, that leads me here.  First, the story, so far as we need it.  At the end of Joshua 5, the people had crossed the Jordan and Joshua was in prayer about the next move.  Jericho was the key block to moving any farther.  Suddenly, he was met by an angel armed with a sword, who IDed himself as the Commander of the Lord's Armies.  As with Moses at the burning bush, Joshua was told to take off his sandals as he was on Holy Ground.  Then, the story goes on:

Jos 6:1  Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. 
Jos 6:2  And the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. 
Jos 6:3  You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. 
Jos 6:4  Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 
Jos 6:5  And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when 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 the people shall go up, everyone straight before him." 
Jos 6:6  So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD." 
Jos 6:7  And he said to the people, "Go forward. March around the city and let the armed men pass on before the ark of the LORD." 
Jos 6:8  And just as Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the LORD went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD following them. 
Jos 6:9  The armed men were walking before the priests who were blowing the trumpets, and the rear guard was walking after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. 
Jos 6:10  But Joshua commanded the people, "You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout." 
Jos 6:11  So he caused the ark of the LORD to circle the city, going about it once. And they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp. 
Jos 6:12  Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. 
Jos 6:13  And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD walked on, and they blew the trumpets continually. And the armed men were walking before them, and the rear guard was walking after the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets blew continually. 
Jos 6:14  And the second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did for six days. 
Jos 6:15  On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. 


Now, before you say, "Hey, wait!  What about the finish?", my story here today is what we draw JUST from this much.  I want to look at the following elements:  The obstacle, the obedience, the silence, the procession, and the enemy.

So, what do we see about the obstacle?  The enemy are NOT the obstacle- they are all WITHIN the obstacle.  God does not send us out to fight against people, but against obstacles.  Put this, say, in the political world.  How do we serve the Lord?  By trying to change the laws, or by attacking the people who disagree with us?  Too many just want to pull their sword, jump the wall, and go in swinging.  I must ask those people- what if you hit Rahab?

Rahab was the barkeeper/harlot who saved the Hebrew spies, and they were under orders (in one verse of the part I left out) that she was to be taken unharmed out of the city for her service- and she would become part of the lineage of Christ Himself!  How many Rahabs do today's "Christian soldiers" kill indiscriminately, driving them off with hate and insults instead of saving them?


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Next, the obedience.  Every day, they marched around the walls.  They did their job, they went back home.  Every day.  It was 6 days for their obstacle... for Caleb, it was 45 years!  Did it seem like nothing was accomplished?  Probably.  Did they feel like they should just get on with it?  Maybe.  Should you evangelize your workplace by standing up on a break table one day, preaching brimstone and fire, or by the way you approach your job, the parts of Christ you show TO your co-workers?

Note also the idea of that the army had JUST SWORDS- no siege tools, nothing that would actually bring the obstacle down.  The enemy probably thought, "These idiots!  All they can do is walk around, as they have nothing to breach the walls!"  Because the Fool says in his heart, 'There is no God'...


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Thirdly, we have the silence.  Did you catch that?  "But Joshua commanded the people, 'You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.' "  This silence has many layers:  One, this precludes grumbling about the task.  The soldiers weren't to be discussing as they marched the doubts they might have had, how sore their feet were, what brand of beans the guy in front of them had last night.

Two, this precludes returning the insults they were no doubt getting FROM the enemy WITHIN the obstacle.  As they circled the wall, they were in effect (though not physically) 'turning the other cheek.'

Three, it wasn't a full time state- every day, they returned home.  And at home they had their wives, their fellows, their priests to speak to, draw comfort from, and encouragement.

And fourth, it prevented consorting WITH the enemy.  In a way, the obstacle prevented them from being corrupted BY the enemy.  Until it was the Lord's chosen time to eliminate the enemy, the focus was to be on but two things- God, and the obstacle.

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Next, the procession.  I had a bit of problem studying this.  You had the armed men- note v3, "ALL the men of war"- going first.  Then came the priests, blowing the shofars.  Then came the Ark Of The Covenant- the very symbol of God-With-Them.  Finally, the rear guard, or as the KJV puts it, the "rereward".  My first thought was, "Why aren't the priests and the ark going first?"  But put this back as an analogy.  If our Christian life is our priest or pastor going first, taking on all the risks, we aren't anywhere close to where we need to be.  Our church life needs to be the cannon that shoots US out ahead, not the cannonball we trail behind, waiting for it to lose momentum and do the 'damage'.  The armed men go first because WE need to go first.  If we only live the life BEHIND the pastor (eg on Sunday), we aren't doing it right.

The priests/our pastors, they 'blow the shofars'- they proclaim the Word of God, to us AND to the enemy.  And when you put the Ark next and the 'rereward' last, this all makes perfect sense.  Why?  Hang on, I'm getting to that.  But I have to tell you first, the answer I got when I asked, "Why wouldn't the Ark be out front?"  And I was reminded of Eli's sons, the evil Hophni and Phinehas, who put the Ark out front when THEY went to war- and were killed, their army crushed.  The Ark had become, not a symbol, but an IDOL.   Faith is the evidence of things NOT seen- as the army went before the Ark, before the priests, they were showing FAITH.

Now, why this makes sense.  The army = US, showing our faith and obedience to the world.  The priests/pastors follow; once the unbeliever sees the faith and want to know more, they hear the 'shofars' and get the message.  At that point they get to the Ark- they SEE God.  But what about the rereward?

Well, the commentators have some differences here.  The Jews thought they were the tribe of Dan, as they were always the rear guard in the march through the wilderness.  Go back to v3, though- ALL the men of war were at the front.  Others thought they might be carrying the aforementioned siege engines, or the equipment for the Tabernacle, as they followed the Ark.  Closer to it, others still suggested that these were the people, following behind the Ark as they always had.  In trying to figure this out, I discovered something curious.  The word used for the 'armed men' at the front translates to 'those who pull down'- a fairly apt description of an army.  The word for the 'rear guard', though, meant, 'those who GATHER'- and if you apply it to our analogy, you see a perfect progression:

Our lives of obedience and faith spark the interest;
The Pastors proclaim the word of that life;
The Ark= meeting God on a personal level;
and the rereward, gather them in, by teaching and nurturing.

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Finally, the enemy.  It was on the seventh day, when GOD brings down the wall, that everyone had a part in destroying the enemy.  When do WE get to destroy the enemy?  When God says, not before.  This is a far-future day, in eternity (7 trips around equal completeness).  While we are on earth, we are marching around the walls, once every day.  In our proper place, in our proper obedience, focusing on God and the day the obstacle falls.