It was time for the Israelites to go out to begin taking Jericho. There was only one way to accomplish this and that was God’s way. Without God’s help; things looked pretty impossible.
WELCOME
Welcome to today’s COME AS A CHILD BIBLE STUDY. If you wish to receive all of our posts for this subject; just click the subscribe button above. We are in Chapter six of Joshua today; but you can go back to the beginning by reviewing the older lessons if you become a subscriber. God bless you as you study His Word with us today.
FORTIFIED WALLS AND GATES
Jericho was a heavily armed city.
It was surrounded by strong walls and the huge gates were heavily barred.
Entrance to the city looked to be pretty impossible, but Joshua had his instructions straight from the Commander of The Lord’s Army.
God told Joshua in The Book of Joshua; Chapter 6; verses1-6: “See I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men! March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 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. When you hear them sound 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.”
STRANGE INSTRUCTIONS
Are these not strange instructions?
Not only were the walls fortified and high; Joshua’s army marching around them was only going to call attention to the fact that they were there. No one in Jericho was going to be taken by surprise!
Yet even stranger; they were not going to be there fighting, scaling the walls or shooting arrows over it; they were only going to be walking around those walls once a day for six days.
What on earth was this plan all about?
GOD’S VICTORY
Maybe the situation was so strange that everyone who witnessed it would have to believe that the victory belonged to God?
I believe that is the case.
I’ve felt this way about our present world situation too.
If you look out and dwell on all of the problems of the earth and realize what a mess mankind has made of civilization in these times, you have to realize whenever progress happens that it is a miracle from God.
Only God can save us from these demonic influences of these last days.
Take heart though. It happened in Joshua’s day and it can happen again!
PROPHETIC SIGNIFICANCE OF JERICHO
Let’s look at the prophetic significance of God’s instructions to Joshua and see if we can pick apart the layers of this story.
First we must notice that in order to carry out these specific orders the army had to be completely trusting God. They were basically defenseless to anyone walking on top of the wall. The army of Israel became an easy target. Yet; God told them what to do and those who did it had to have complete confidence that God was with them. They had to believe with all of their hearts He was going to protect them, or they would not be brave enough to become so vulnerable.
The same applies to living through end-times.
Are you prayed up enough today to realize that God is with you and that He is going to protect you and bring you through ANYTHING that the enemy decides to throw up at you?
NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOU
Those arrows from Satan can’t harm you.
When your heart belongs to God, you are protected from any weapon formed against you!
Walk with confidence around your enemies!
Keep walking in God’s instructions and you can’t go wrong.
That is exactly what the army lead by Joshua did in the day that they took Jericho.
WALK IN FULL ARMOR
They walked around the walls of the city once a day for six days. In all of this walking, the men were fully armed.
Have you put on your armor today?
If we are not armed in the armor of God we don’t stand a chance to defeat our enemies; but if we are – they better look out!
What would this armor be?
The answer is found in Ephesians 6:11-18:
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
STAND
I will ask you again; are you armed today with God’s full armor?
That is what it is going to take in order to get through these dark days ahead.
If you have forgotten to get dressed; go find those missing items of survival – truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, The Word of God, prayer, God’s Holy Spirit, patience and perseverance.
This is how to start. Good soldiers are always armed.
With all of these things you will be able to stand.
So go on out there and take your place in the battle against the evil that is raging today.
Stand!