Victory: Joshua 5:13-15 and Joshua 6

Joshua 5:13‑15; Joshua 6  •  7 min. read  •  grade level: 9
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“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about seven days” (Heb. 11:3030By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. (Hebrews 11:30)).
Much had to be done for Israel before God could use them as His army, as the passage of Jordan – the circumcision and Gilgal – the passover and the old corn of the land – have, one by one witnessed. The people now go forth to warfare. All the land was given them, but upon the express condition of conquering every foot of it, therefore their responsibility to enter into the fullness of their blessing would not cease until every foe in Canaan, every giant, and every walled city was subdued. Only when all this was done might they sit down and rest.
Joshua, fresh from the feasts of the passover and the first fruits, approaches Jericho, and sees the Captain of the Lord’s host, “with His sword drawn in his hand,” and, worshipping at His feet, hears that the city, its people, and its king are given into Israel’s hand, and learns also what weapons must be used in the warfare.
It should be noted that Joshua 6:11Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. (Joshua 6:1) is a parenthesis, occurring in the midst of the words of the Captain of the Lord’s host, which marks the hard and defiant spirit of Jericho; “It did shut up and was shut up” (margin), “none went out, and none came in.” They believed not (See Heb. 11:3131By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. (Hebrews 11:31)). This description is, alas, only too true of the spirit which now governs the world. Are we then, day by day, taking our march of faith, despicable as it may seem in the eyes of worldly men, or are we not? Are we among the contemptible company which blows with the rams’ horns, or are we among the scoffers upon the high walls of the city of destruction?
Jericho is the world in figure. Egypt also is a figure of the world, but as the “house of bondage,” out of which God delivers the sinner by the blood of the Lamb. Jericho is the world as the city of destruction to which, as a soldier of Christ, and in the power of Christ’s resurrection, the believer comes to conquer.
The Lord had promised that Israel would be victorious. Their weapon of warfare was faith. “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down.” Faith lays hold of His strength with whom all things are possible, and thus “all things are possible to him that believeth.” If cities be “walled to heaven,” God sits upon heaven’s throne. If the believer’s antagonists be “the rulers of the darkness of this world,” the Lord of all is his strength. Therefore, whatever the enemies, as they are less than nothing before an almighty God, the soldier of Christ, if acting in reliance upon the Lord, goes forth in full assurance against them; “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” The hand of God is not shortened, and He answers prayer for His people now as mightily as when, according to the faith of Israel, the walls of Jericho fell down: and those who count upon Him for everything, prove by their frequent victories, how well pleasing it is to God when His people place their confidence in Him. “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
Joshua gave orders only for the day, although the Lord had allotted seven days for Israel’s work of faith. On the first day, he said, “Compass the city ... once,” and thus the final victory promised of the Lord, and not their own day’s march, occupied their minds. Let us leave results with God. If we are occupied with the present results of the work which our God has appointed to us, faith is scarcely in exercise. The climax to the believer’s work of faith, and the end to which we should look, is the final victory – the day of Jesus Christ.
Israel had to learn patience also in their work of faith, for they had to march seven days around Jericho, and upon the seventh day seven times. If they had not persistently marched on, the wall of Jericho would not have fallen down. And there is a seven-fold, a perfect, trial of faith for the soldier of Christ in his path of obedience. And the Lord frequently passes His people through the discipline of expectation, as He did Israel, that he may bring out the qualities of the soldier in them. “The trying of your faith worketh patience.”
Besides the unwavering faith, and the patience of Israel, there was diligence: “Joshua rose early in the morning,” and, on the seventh day, “they rose early about the dawning of the day.” Genuine faith, while it reposes calmly upon God, is never idle. The greater the faith of the soldier of Christ, the more vigorous his energy in his Captain’s work. But let us heed the divine order; faith first, energy next. Alas, the order is too frequently reversed. In such energy, self is the source of strength, and God is left out. Faith connects our souls with God, and we cannot exercise faith unless we are in communion with Him. It draws all strength from Him. It is an active, vigorous principle, which never loses sight of its object, yet, at the same time, it is patient.
Obedient to Joshua’s word, “Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout”; Israel marched around Jericho, and by their action expressed the obedience of their hearts. God’s mind ought to be readable in the lives of His people now. A Christian life is more convincing than sermons or books. And in this testimony, both the babe and the father in Christ bear part. Let none say he is too feeble, but let him learn of the army of Israel, where not only the “men of war,” but also “the gathering host” – the rearward – were bidden compass the city.
The sure result of faith in God is victory. As the trumpets continually sounded, it was as if Israel were proclaimed conquerors, or rather as if they proclaimed the hastening triumph. True, the day of jubilee did not occur until many years after Jericho’s fall, but the trumpets used upon the occasion had their significance, sounding forth triumphant faith in the face of defiant Jericho. The soldier of Christ has a song of victory even now – anticipative of his jubilee – and the Lord on high loves to hear it sung. We should not be behind the noble men of faith of by-gone times, for we know that everything which opposes itself – all that walls out Christ from the world, the power of this world’s god and king, everything, shall be subdued to our Lord. If we were to place our song and our praise, as it were, in the front, as did Israel; if we said to our hearts, “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established,” we should rejoice over more enemies than we now do. Simple confidence in the Lord begins and ends conflict with thanksgiving; and if we realize that Christ is with us, as Israel carried the ark in their front, there must be praise. Would that the Lord’s host now presented as glorious a unity of faith, patience, diligence, obedience and triumph as did the people of Israel when compassing Jericho! Would that each believer in the prospect of the coming day, might obey his Captain’s command, and go up, let the path be rough or smooth, “Every man straight before him”!
This word, “Every man straight before him,” is peculiarly suited to our own day, when men herd on in one another’s steps, when the nobleness of individuality is so sorely lacking, and when few dare to brave the sneer of being peculiar in obeying God’s Word.
May we also never forget that this world is the City of Destruction, and, remembering this, give all heed to the solemn warning which is contained in Joshua’s curse upon him who would rebuild Jericho!