He startled awake. Something had caused him to bolt out of slumber. He lay in the darkness as still as he could listening. Nothing. It must have been one of the dogs in the camp that brushed too near his tent. He tried to go back to sleep, but sleep did not come. He decided to get up and walk around a bit before trying one more time to return to sleep.
He slipped out of his tent into the cool of the night. Even at this hour of the night Joshua could see lights glowing over the walls of Jericho. The lights illumined just enough of the city wall to remind Joshua how well fortified the city was. He stood there wondering just how the Israelite army was going to conquer this ancient stronghold. They didn’t have the size or weaponry to defeat such a city. And, yet, defeat it they must if they were going to conquer Canaan as the Lord had promised.
Joshua was startled by a noise. He cautiously looked around to identify the source of the sound. He soon realized he was not alone.
“[A] Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, ‘Are You for us or for our adversaries?’” (Joshua 5:13)
Joshua stood there wondering why he had approached a stranger with a sword and THEN thought to ask whether the man was a friend or enemy. Perhaps he should have asked that first!
The man responded, “’No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, ‘What does my Lord say to His servant?’ Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, ‘Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.’ And Joshua did so.” (Joshua 5:14-15)
As Joshua knelt with his face to the ground, he listened while the Lord Himself gave instructions for how to conquer Jericho.
“And the Lord said to Joshua: ‘See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.’” (Joshua 6:2)
The plans given were nothing that Joshua would have thought up in a million years. In fact, to human thinking, the plan was, well, a bit crazy. Joshua had a choice to make. He could either put his trust in the Lord and His Word, or he could walk away from what seemed to be a crazy idea that may not even work.
Joshua knew what he had to do. When the sun rose, Joshua called the priests together and explained the plan to them. After a short period of discussion, the priests agreed to the plan.
Next Joshua called the people together and explained the plan once more. The people also agreed. It was settled. God’s plan would be put into action.
“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. 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.’ 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.” (Joshua 6:8-11)
The entire encampment of Israel marched around the city of Jericho – men, women, and children. Not one person said a word. The only sound other than the sound of the marching feet was that of the trumpets. They walked quietly around the city and returned to the camp. As he walked, Joshua wondered what the inhabitants of Jericho thought of all this as they watched each day for six days. He also wondered about Rahab. Would she remember the signal?
“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. . . . 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.’ . . . So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened . . . that the wall fell down flat. . . . [A]nd they took the city.” (Joshua 6:15-20)
Joshua trusted in the Word of God even when the circumstances looked insurmountable and God’s solution seemed unbelievable. As a result of Joshua’s obedience, the fortified stronghold of Jericho was taken down without any Israelite having to lift a sword. This was the beginning of the re-establishment of the Jewish nation in the land God promised to them. In addition, Rahab and her family were saved. They not only became part of the Israelite family, but Rahab also became a part of Jesus’ genealogy.
“Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.” (Zechariah 6:15)
This is why Binding Broken Hearts is passionate about getting God’s Word into prisons and into the hands of inmates who so desperately need it so they can know the power of the Word that brings down long-held strongholds in their lives as they walk in obedience to Jesus. Because these are men and women who need Jesus most.
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