But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Joshua 6:2-3
Growing up, group projects in my classes were always my least favorite. I never enjoyed relying on a classmate to complete a project and hopefully receive a good grade. I much rather would have liked to do the assignment on my own. Although I never enjoyed group projects growing up, I learned something very important from them: l cannot control everything, which is okay. In fact, when I let go of control, God so often does His best work.
God made it clear in Joshua 6 that the moment had come for the Israelites to take over Jericho, the land He had been promising to them. He said to Joshua, But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days" (verses 2-3). God was giving them Jericho. He was already in the process of giving it to them. They were, however, going to take over the city in the strangest way… by marching around it. That's it! That is all they were required to do. They would walk, and God would work.
The question many of us have after reading this story is likely, “Why?” Why would marching around the city be the way that God would give the people of Israel the land of Jericho? One of the reasons must have been to teach the people of Israel that God could rescue them. Again, these were the children of the people who had gone through the Red Sea. This was their own personal experience seeing God at work defending the people of Israel. Walking around the city was an act of faith, as they walked believing God was able to intervene in the city of Jericho. The people-watching would also be in awe of God's power and protection over the Israelites. The same is true in our lives. When God works in the way that only He can, we are left in awe of Him and His power. Our faith in Him is also strengthened. We also get to point out God's power to the world that is watching through our stories.
Read through the Going Deeper Section verses listed below three times. As you read, take notice of God’s power and how He works through His people. The really exciting thing when God works is that He often works in a way that makes Him known to the people watching God work because only He could have done it. Is there a situation in your life where you need God to work and act? Spend some time praying now. Ask Him to work in your life in such a way that He gets all of the credit and glory so that those watching can see His power.
Read Joshua 6:1-5 (NLT)
Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.”
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