OS 6{S. What was the meaning of taking the city in that strange way?
M. The taking of Jericho is a figure of the Christian's victory over the world. God made the beautiful earth, but the world is that which man has made, and Satan is the prince of it. All the laws of the world are made by man, and all its thoughts are man's thoughts, and its plans are man's plans; and God's thoughts, and God's ways are all forgotten in the world. Therefore the people of the world are always enemies to the people of God, and Satan uses the world to keep the children of God from taking possession of the joys of heaven. Jesus has overcome the world and the Christian has to do so too. The Christian is not armed with a sword as the children of Israel were, his sword is the word of God, his shield is the shield of faith; and truth and righteousness are parts of the Christian's armor.
S. What is the meaning of the priests blowing the trumpets?
M. It was calling upon God. They were prepared to fight, yet they called on God, and waited for Him to give them victory. They did not talk about it, they did not boast that the walls would soon fall down, but silently, patiently, round and round they went there was nothing to be heard but the sound of the trumpets, and God was listening to that sound. No doubt the people inside heard it too, but to them it was the sound of coming judgment.
S. Why did they go round the city seven times on the last day?
M. To show that they were not getting tired or unbelieving about it, they had even more patience and determination at the end than at the beginning. The Lord says, they that wait on Him shall renew their strength; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
S. But how does a Christian overcome the world?
M. By faith in the Son of God: this is the victory that over, cometh the world, even our faith, because faith believes that Jesus has overcome the world. Who is He that overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? If a child of God has learned that Jesus is the Son of God, he feels that this world is like a great walled city, full of enemies, but he knows that Jesus is gone up to God's right hand in heaven, and this makes the Christian able to overcome, and when he comes to the world like an armed man and like a priest, the walls are no walls at all, and the enemies are only like dead people, they can do him no harm, because God is for him; who can be against him?
S. How does a Christian show that he has overcome the world?
M. By keeping himself from the things that are in the world. This was Joshua's warning to the children of Israel; he said, The city is accursed, and all that is in it, and now take care that you keep yourselves from the accursed thing, for if you take of it you will make the camp of Israel cursed and you will trouble it. They were not to take anything in Jericho for themselves.
Just so God's children now are told, to love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, for all that is of the world is not of the Father but is of the world. It is very sad when a child of God does not keep himself from the things in the world, because it shows that he loves the world better than he loves the Father. If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him. And Joshua said, Cursed is the man who builds this city Jericho; he shall lay the foundation of it in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.
Cain began the world, he was Adam's oldest son; and we shall learn by-and-by what the end of the world will be, God has revealed it to us in His word.
S. What do you mean by "revealed"?
M. To reveal is to tell a thing that is hidden. God reveals what man could not know in any other way. Every word in this book is given by revelation of God. We could not know it unless God had revealed it to us. We know a great many things that are not revealed to us; we know that it is right to eat and drink, but we should not know that it is right to love our neighbor as ourselves if it were not revealed to us. God reveals things to us that we could not know in any other way. This is why it is so important to know what God has revealed, and a little child who knows something that God has revealed, is wiser than the most learned man that ever lived would be without God's revelation. And the Lord was with Joshua and he became very famous in the country.