The Battle For Belief

There are four divisions in Joshua 6. In verses 1-5, we’ll see a plan. In verses 6-21, it is proceeding as planned. Verses 22-25 is promises kept. And in verse 26, we will see prophecy. We will cover all these verses, but let me give you some background, so you understand why we are in Joshua 6 and what has been happening.

Way back in Genesis, a long time before Joshua 6, Joseph went to Egypt. It was an extraordinary story how he ended up in Egypt. But he was directed by God there. The book of Genesis closes on Joseph and his family in Egypt. When the book of Exodus opens, quite a few years later, there were potentially millions of Israelites who came from Joseph’s family, and they were filling up Egypt. By this time, Egypt changed for them. At first they were very much welcomed there, but by the time Exodus opens, they are no longer welcome in Egypt. There is a new pharaoh, and he enslaves the Israelites.

Then God comes up with a plan to rescue His people from slavery in Egypt. And the book of Exodus is about God using Moses to lead the people out of Egypt and toward the Promised Land, the land of Canaan, which is the current day land of Israel. So God sets about doing just that; Exodus is about God pulling His people out of Egypt.

Then we get into Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Those books are about God taking Egypt out of His people. When you got saved at some point in the past, God took you out of the world, and since that day, He has set about the process of taking the world out of you. Then at the end of Deuteronomy, Moses was a very old man and died. So God appoints Joshua as the next leader. He had served under and with Moses in training for 40 years.

Then in Joshua 3-4, God miraculously opened up the Jordan River, and in chapter 5, Joshua lead the Israelites over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, into the Promised Land. They went from the east side of the Jordan River to the west side of the Jordan. They camped out at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho.

Now we come to Joshua 6, where the Israelites are waiting to take over Jericho. That’s what God had told them to do. God had given them the Promised Land. There were cities there and the people were wicked. So God was going to use His people to judge those people by sending His people in to take over the land.

So that is what’s happening at the beginning Joshua 6. Joshua is about to lead the people, so a plan is given. Verse 1 says, “Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.” We’ll hear the story of Rahab. Before that there were two spies sent out by Israel, who met Rahab. She was living in Jericho. She reported to them that everyone in Jericho and in Canaan was terrified of the Israelites, because they heard the stories of all that God had done for them. So she made a deal with the spies. So Jericho is shut up; no one comes into or goes out of the city.

Now in verse 2, we see where the plan comes from. “And the Lord said to Joshua: ‘See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.’” So it becomes clear that this plan is from the Lord. It is important to understand that this plan came from God, because, in verse 3, the plan involves marching. “You shall march around the city…” not in it, over it or through it “…all you men of war;…” all the military men “…you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days.”

I am not a military man; I was never in the military. One of my great regrets was not having served. My Dad did but I did not. I was an entirely different person back then.

But it doesn’t take a military man to understand that this was not a good plan of attack. Walk around the city once a day for six days?! But let’s hear the rest of the plan before we pass judgment on it. In verse 4, we learn that the plan from the Lord involved not only marching but also trumpets. Now we’re talkin’! I really like Jazz. Old Jazz, straight-up Jazz. I like all the horns of Jazz.

Verse 4, Joshua is told by the Lord, “And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark.” Let me explain this ark. It’s not Noah’s ark; it’s not a big ship. You remember Indiana Jones. The ark was very similar to the one in the movie. This ark was a large box made out of special wood and covered in gold. That box had been made during Moses’ time in response to specific instructions given to Moses by God. It needed to be a certain size in order to put specific items in it that God wanted them to store.

There was also a gold cover on top of the ark, so it was quite heavy. On the ends of the gold cover were two gold angels facing one another. The Bible refers to them as “cherub.” But they were not chubby, naked, little angels. God had told Moses that they were to make this cover over the ark, and it would be called the “mercy seat.” God told them He would meet with them on that mercy seat between the two angels. So this ark that they would carry was representative of or symbolic of God being with them. God met with them in between those two angels on the mercy seat.

It’s not that God was stuck in between there or had no home and that was His home. But that was the place God said He would meet with them. So the mercy seat was symbolic of the presence of God.

Now it says, in verse 4, “And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark.” Notice the order: there are priests with horns in front of the ark. And it goes on to say, “But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.” This is part two of the plan. Sounds exciting, priests blow trumpets, walk around, big parade. Okay.

“But when is the fight? When do we attack the wall?”

In verse 5, we find out that there is a third element to this plan. It involves shouting. So we have marching, trumpets and shouting. This is sounding great! “It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”

Okay; we got it. We’re going to walk around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day, we’re going to walk around seven times, the priests will blow their trumpets and rams’ horns, we’ll all shout and then the wall will fall down.

Does that sound like a military conquest to you? Does it sound like a good, solid, military-campaign plan to attack a city? The city is shut up; no one can come or go. It’s impenetrable.

This doesn’t sound like a very good plan to me. At least it doesn’t sound like it if I’m a military person or military general wanting a plan of attack on this city that God told us to destroy.

Now to learn more, we move into our second, main division, which is proceeding as planned. Verses 6-14, I titled as “Six Days.” Here is the description of the first, six days. “Then 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.’” “The ark of the covenant” is also called “the ark of the testimony” and “the ark of the Lord.”

Continuing with verse 7, “And he said to the people, ‘Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the Lord.’” Okay; now we’re talking. Those people who are armed are to walk up front. Got it.

So we’ve got soldiers with some kind of weapons, we’ve got priests with rams’ horns and we’ve got the ark of the covenant. Let’s go on to find out what else.

Verses 8-9, “So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets.”

Okay. So we’ve got some soldiers and priests up front. We’ve got the ark of the covenant in this procession. We’ve got more soldiers behind, and we’ve got all of the people following behind. Got it. Here’s the procession, here’s the parade, we’ve got the order and now we’re marching.

But this is the six days. So it goes on to say, in verse 10, “Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, ‘You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, “Shout!” Then you shall shout.’”

This plan, while sounding like a weird, weak plan, was fine for most of us. “Well, you know, this was God; He does strange things.” But I think the next part of the plan would probably prove to be quite stressful for some of us, because part of the plan was to walk around the city and not make a sound. Do not talk. And some of you have a hard time not talking; you want to tell everybody everything. And with the invention of the internet and social media, we just tell people all our business. “Here’s my kid! Here are my grandkids! Here’s my meatloaf! Here’s a picture of my grass!” We just love to tell people everything.

I actually consider myself to be an introvert. I’m a forced extrovert. I did not want to be a pastor; this is what God called me to. And being a pastor involves talking to people. Who would have thought! I enjoy talking to people, I guess, but I’m perfectly fine not talking to people. And it’s hard for me to even carry on a conversation. This is the most talking I do: when I’m teaching here or in the high school class. But I have learned over the years that if I want to carry on a conversation, ask the other person questions about themselves, because people love to talk about themselves. But that fails if I’m face to face with another introvert, because they don’t want to talk either.

For me, walking around the city, not saying anything and just listening to jazz music sounds fantastic. I like to go for walks, so this plan sounds great to me. But some of us would have a very difficult time with this plan. We’d be trying to snap selfies and pictures. Here’s a picture of the wall, of the sand and of a scared person on top of the wall. We would have a difficult time not making any noise. But this is part of the plan; Joshua tells them, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth,” in verse 10. Can you feel the tension rising already?

Verses 11-14, “So he had the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp.” That’s it; six days, once a day go around the city, blow the trumpets and come back. “And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.”

Now, again, if you are devising a plan of attack, it would seem best to sneak up on the city. Catch them off guard, catch them by surprise. Attack before they’re ready. But God doesn’t need to sneak up. He said, “No, I don’t want you to sneak up. Just walk around the city. They’ll know you’re there. And you’ll blow the trumpets, so they’ll know you’re there.”

Now not only are they walking around the city and can’t say anything, but there are horns blowing. So not only is this not a good plan of attack, but they are announcing their presence. “We’re here to destroy you! I don’t know how that’s going to happen, but we’re here!”

And you can feel the tension rising as each day they walk around the city, the people are quiet and the sound of the horns blaring must have been absolutely disheartening and haunting to the people inside Jericho. “What do these horns mean? Why aren’t they doing anything? All they’re doing is walking!”

And on the seventh day, it’s seven times around. You must imagine the people of Jericho looking down and saying, “Here they are again. It’s the seventh day. Wait a minute! They’re going around again! Seven times! And they’re blowing the trumpets.” I think it was terrifying. So the tension is building inside the city. And I think the tension was building outside the city in the children of Israel, as well, as they march and get closer and closer to that time when God was going to do something. All the people couldn’t talk for a long time, so the tension is building.

Now in verses 15-20, in the same section, proceeding as planned, we see what happens on the seventh day. “But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: ‘Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.’”

So here Joshua gives some clear instructions. And the clear instructions begin with that trumpet blast and then “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!”

Now it is important for us to know why they are shouting. Joshua gives us the reason: because the Lord has given them the city.

And you’ll notice they were not allowed to take any of the accursed things. That would include any idols, any of the gold, silver or bronze objects that the Canaanites were so involved in worshipping. They weren’t to take any of those things. But anything of worth needed to be taken for the treasury of the Lord. Why? Because the first fruits always were to go to God.

That’s why so many of you faithfully give your tithes and offerings at your first paycheck. Cut a check for the Lord or give online. It’s His; it’s no longer mine. That’s where this was established, here in the Old Testament.

Then in verse 20, “So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.”

This reminds me of a video I saved on YouTube. Once in a while I watch it again and then send it to my family. I call it a funeral procession, but it actually is a memorial procession. A gentleman has died and all his friends have gathered together the way they do in New Orleans. They all marched through the neighborhood with horns and instruments in all their craziness. They played, When the Saints Go Marking In to honor their friend who had died.

I told my family, “When I die, you have to do this for me!” I love jazz. Bring your instruments and march. I don’t care if they carry my casket or not; I won’t be here.

But what a wonderful thought that these Israelites are marching all around Jericho seven times, and when they blast with those trumpets, and Joshua yells out to everybody that it was time finally, and with the release of tension, the people shout. Imagine all those people who have been dying to say something now burst forth with shouts.

And to their amazement, it says in verse 20, “The people shouted with a great shout, [and] the wall fell down flat.” Wow!

This reminds me of Matthew 10:27, when Jesus was speaking to His disciples, He said, “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.”

God had given private instructions to Joshua. And those private instructions just became a public victory. That’s what we are to do. We’re not to stay in church as long as we can. We are to learn from God’s Word on a Sunday morning or on a Wednesday night and then get out of church as fast as humanly possible and go tell someone what you learned at church. That’s the point. It’s not for us to save and bury in some treasure chest somewhere; it’s to be proclaimed from the housetops.

Verse 21 says, “And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.” This is a point of contention for many critics of the Bible. They ask, “Why did God kill all these people in the Old Testament?” That is a question you need to investigate on your own, but let me briefly tell you that these people who are being destroyed in Jericho and all the other cities throughout Canaan were evil. Their worship involved sacrifices in which they burned to death their own children.

We’re not talking about the Bradys here, Ward and June. These are wicked people. These people who were being destroyed were having sex for their worship with everything that moved, sometimes even with things that didn’t move. Google it yourself; search “What was worship like in the land of Canaan?” These were not wholesome, good people. These were people who had violently turned their backs on the Lord, and God was judging them. So here we find out that Jericho was utterly destroyed.

Now we move to verse 22, where we find out that some promises are kept. “But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, ‘Go into the harlot's house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.’”

If you and I found out that God was on His way to destroy Paris, France, there are many of us who would say, “Good riddance!” But if we found out God was on His way to destroy Paris, and He said, “I’m going to save one family in Paris,” who do you suppose He would save? Maybe some well-known pastor? Maybe some dear, old saint, some religious icon, some political leader? Can you imagine, in your wildest dreams, that God would say, “I’m on my way to destroy Paris, France, but I’m going to save one person—a prostitute”?!
When I was 20 years old, I was an absolute dirt-bag. If you had left your car unlocked, I would have stolen something from it in a heartbeat. The places that I worked at, I took money right out of the register. I stole products that I was supposed to be giving out. I stole bicycles and all sorts of things. I was an absolute dirt-bag! And I found out, at the age of 20 years old, that God saves from the uttermost to the guttermost. God came looking. You’re never going to believe what God did. God went to San Bernardino. And he found a 20-year-old little boy and saved his life.

God did the same thing here. It’s no surprise for God, but it’s a surprise for us. In John 4:4, it says that Jesus “needed to go through Samaria.” Why? There was a woman there. A loose woman. And He needed to go save her. And that’s exactly what He did.

Verse 23 says, “And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel.”

Now the promises kept were by both parties. The spies had promised Rahab. The spies had come into Jericho, and she had intercepted them, so they wouldn’t be caught and taken away. Then she said, “Let’s make a deal.” She told them she believed what God had done. She was a believer in God. She told the two spies, “I know God is with you. I want you to save me when you guys come back to destroy Jericho.” So they said, “Okay.” They made a deal. They said, “If you and whoever you want saved are not in this house when we come back, we make no guarantees; they will not be saved. Whoever you want saved has to be in your house.”

And they both kept their promises. Joshua said, verse 22, “Go into the harlot's house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.” They went into Rahab’s house, found her and her family, just as they had said.

Verses 24-25, “But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.” All except for one; we’ll find out about that later. “And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father's household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.”

Now, in verse 26, we will see this prophecy that Joshua announces. “Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, ‘Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.’” It sounds like a strange prophecy; right?

It’s strange until you get to 1 Kings 16:34, and you read about a man named Hiel, what he did and what he lost in the process. “In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up it gates, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun.”

Verse 27, “So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.” You bet it did because the Lord was with him.
Little kids learn the song, “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, and the walls came tumbling down.” Now I submit to you that this is not the battle of Jericho. What battle was there? Some people yelled at the wall and it fell down. That’s no battle. So why do we call it the battle of Jericho? It doesn’t say there was a battle. It’s just what we call it. This was no battle for Jericho; it’s something more important.

This was a battle for belief. God gave them step-by-step instructions. The question was never whether or not Jericho was going to survive the day. The question all along was whether or not the Israelites were going to believe God when He said, “I’m going to destroy the city in this fashion.” That’s the question. What were they going to believe?

In a church with many people, some of you have recently been diagnosed with cancer. Some of you have recently been diagnosed with some other sickness. Some of you are facing divorce. Some of you are facing problems or issues at work or at school or in your family—parent problems, kid problems. Monumental issues, walled cities in which no one can get in or get out. Impenetrable.

Is cancer too big for God? It feels like it. But it isn’t. Are people problems too big for God? No. Was Jericho too big for God? For God, Jericho was never an issue. The question in the battle was whether they were going to believe God or not.

It’s the same question I propose to you now. Okay; so you’ve been diagnosed with a disease. I don’t mean to make light of it. In fact, it may take your human life. I mean, all of us are going to die of something.

I had a friend named Roberto. He escaped Cuba years ago. At my previous church, I was in the hallway on a Sunday night greeting people. An elderly man came in. I asked Roberto how he was doing. He said that thanks to God he was doing okay. The doctors had told him he had cancer and didn’t have long to live. My jaw dropped. I said, “What?!”

He said to me, “God’s gotta take me somehow.” Then he just walked away into the sanctuary to go worship. He left me standing there with drool hanging out of my mouth. All of us have to die from something, unless the Lord raptures us first.

But are these things too big? No. And they’re going to come. Maybe you haven’t had any big problems. Maybe you haven’t been diagnosed with anything. Bless your heart. But they’re coming. That’s what this world has to offer: sickness, death, pain. Are there a lot of beautiful things in the world? Absolutely there are. But things are coming your way, if they’re not here already.

And the question isn’t whether this problem or this issue is too big for God. That’s not an issue. The issue is, are you going to believe God, as He leads you through “the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4)? He didn’t say that we’re going into “the valley of the shadow of death” and set up camp and stay there. He said we’re going to be lead through “the valley of the shadow of death.” Jericho was just a dot on the map they were passing through.

The question was, were the people going to believe God? Were they going to say, “We walked around this city 13 times in a week. There’s no way for us to get in. We’ve got no catapults. We’ve got no ladders. We’ve got no ammunition. We’ve got nothing that is going to help us take down these walls”? Thirteen times they had to walk around that city so that they could be convinced that there was no way for them to do it. They couldn’t do it. God would have to do something. God gave them the privilege of yelling at the wall.

Did you notice what Joshua told them, in verse 16? “Shout…” not at the wall, not at the people—just shout “…for the Lord has given you the city!” It’s already theirs. So they had to shout. The walls are still standing, so they had to shout. Then the walls came tumbling down.

Why was this so successful? Let me share four things with you that lead to their success. Number one, their plan was a God-given plan. The Lord spoke to Joshua. If you come up with your own plan, you’ll either fail miserably or succeed even more miserably, because if you succeed, you’ll stop trusting the Lord altogether. So stop and take some time to seek the Lord. “God, what do You want to do? What’s the plan, God?”

Number two, the plan was received by faith without doubting. There’s no record of Joshua ever saying, “Well, I don’t know if that’s going to happen.” Joshua was a military man. Rather, he said, “Okay; got it. That’s what you want me to do, fine.” We have to receive that message from God, that plan from God by faith without doubting.

Number three, the plan was carried out without doubting; the people just did it. They just walked around the city 13 times, never saying anything until the very end, and then they yelled, because God had given them the city.

And number four, their plan had God at the center of it. Think back: military, priests, ark, more priests, rear guard. What was in the center? God, the ark He was always at the center. If you are devising a plan and God is not in the center of it, it’s the wrong plan. Ditch it as fast as you can! Then seek God for His plan.

But how did the walls fall? Let me show you something from Hebrews 11, the hall of faith. In Hebrews 11:30-31, it says, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.” It was “by faith” that the walls fell down.

“By faith” in what? “By faith” in essential oils? I don’t have a problem with that; they smell good. You can go online and google and search and find all the different cures and ways you can defeat this thing in your life. Is that what you’re going to place your faith in?

Let me call your attention to verse 2. “And the Lord said to Joshua: ‘See! I have given…” past tense “…Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.’” Jericho was never an issue. Jericho was doomed. Jericho was done. They had one week and that’s it. It says, “I have given….”

Faith in what? It was faith in what God had already promised, what He had already declared, what God had already done. In God’s mind and heart, it was already complete. It was a done deal.

It was the same for us. You got saved. I got saved 30 years ago. But what you did to get saved was that you placed your faith in something that God had done—past tense. Some 2,000 years ago Jesus was born into this world. And the Biblical account says He lived a sinless life, and He died on a Roman cross at the hands of the Romans and Jews. His mother saw Him and testified that He was dead, His disciples knew He was dead, the women knew He was dead, Pilate knew He was dead, the Roman guards knew He was dead—everybody knew He was dead. He didn’t swoon, He didn’t fall asleep for a little while. He was dead!

Then the Bible says that three days later He rose from the grave. He literally got up and walked out of the tomb. He appeared to different people for several days and then ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven and finished what He had been sent to do.

We believed all this. We placed our faith in that and got saved at some point in the past.

But now we are faced with some kind of Jericho in our lives, something that stands in the way of progress. And now we find ourselves doubting. Why? Think back. From the day you got saved to this day, has God ever not been faithful? I’ve never even missed a meal unless I wanted to! God has always provided. There’s’ never going to be a time when He’s not going to be faithful, church. It cannot happen. I know it sounds strange, but He is incapable of being unfaithful. It cannot be so. He has been faithful every day. Now why would He stop being faithful?

And some of us are struggling; our doubt is getting the best of us. It’s because you’re looking at Jericho instead of looking at the Lord. And I don’t want to place my faith in my style. “Oh, look at how I’m marching around the city! I’ve got a strut! That’s what God used.” No. “Well, maybe it was the trumpet playing.” No, it wasn’t that either. “Well, maybe it was the shout; I did a really good job shouting.” No, it wasn’t that.

It was God. He gave you a part to play in it, but it was God. It’s always been God. It’s always going to be God.

So whatever it is that you’re facing or you’re going to face, the question is not Jericho, the wall, we can’t get in or get out. The question is, are you going to believe God when He tells you when to move, how to move? That’s the question. That’s the battle: it’s whether I will trust God or not.