THE WALL
After the death of Moses, Joshua became the spiritual leader and commander who God chose to bring the Israelites into the land of promise after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. The first great obstacle that the Hebrews encountered after their miraculous crossing of the Jordan River was the city of Jericho.
Jericho
was a formidable city with a stone wall that presented a difficult challenge to
Joshua and his army. This city was a key
to the conquest of Canaan in that it defended the central hill country and the
other cities of the region. Joshua had
sent spies into the city to survey its defenses and had learned among other
things that the people were terrified of the Israelites and their God because
of all they had heard that the Lord had done for them.
God
spoke to Joshua and told him, "See,
I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour." (Joshua
6:2). Moreover, the Lord appeared to
Joshua in the plain of Jericho and revealed Himself with sword in hand as the Captain
of the host of the LORD. It was there
that the Lord spoke the same words to Joshua that He had spoken to Moses many
years before, "Loose thy shoe from
off thy foot; for the place whereon
thou standest is holy."
(Joshua 5:15)
"Now all these things happened
unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the
ends of the world are come."
(1 Corinthians 10:11). From every Bible
story we can glean spiritual insights that will directly apply to our own situations
and struggles. In this case, God is reminding
us that there are barriers and obstacles in the way of our possessing the "Promised Land" of victory and
joy that is ours in Christ. Like
Jericho, these obstacles are like a strong city with an impenetrable wall that
we cannot breach with our natural strength or wisdom. God, however, has said that our enemies will fall. The enemy of our soul stands in the way of
our making any progress toward possessing the land, and he knows how to use our
weaknesses and fears against us. One of
the most effective weapons that he uses against us is the ability to convince
us that we cannot overcome. He causes us to quail in fear and retreat back into
our old life, or just paralyzes us with inaction. He is a defeated foe, however; and he is
terrified at the thought of all that we can accomplish in Christ if we believe
and claim the Lord's promises to us. The
enemy is afraid that we will realize that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through
God to the pulling down of strong holds." (2 Corinthians 10:4). When Jesus uttered the words "it is finished" on the cross,
it included the redemption of mankind and the defeat of God's arch-enemy. Concerning this, Isaiah proclaimed, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to
Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her
warfare is accomplished [finished], that her iniquity is
pardoned." (Isaiah 40:1, 2).
Just
as the angel of the Lord appeared to Joshua in the plain, we also can trust and
believe that He is with us in every battle that we face in life. "The angel of the LORD encampeth round
about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him." (Psalm 34:7, 8). Our daily struggles are just as important in
the sight of God as any of the battles that the heroes of the Bible faced. We must believe that as we encounter these walls
and fortresses, we stand on holy ground with God. He considers the site of our battles to be
consecrated, and we can be assured that His presence will abide with us as we
press forward.
God
commanded Joshua to have the priests bear the ark of the covenant of God around
the city walls once each day for six days.
The army was to march around with them, and the priests were to blow on
trumpets of ram's horns. This they
did. Every morning they would arise and
compass the city as they were instructed by God to do, and every morning they
renewed their conviction that God would give them the victory. The ark, representing the testimony of God's
dealing in their lives, went with them each day; and the trumpets proclaimed
their ultimate victory. This is how we
must approach our own battles: with the testimony of God evident in our lives,
and a conviction of ultimate victory on our lips and in our hearts. "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh
the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he
that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4, 5).
On
the seventh day, the Israelites were told to march around the city seven times;
and on the seventh trip they were to blow the trumpets and shout with their
voices. When they did this, the Lord
fulfilled His promise to His people. "So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets:
and it came to pass, when the people
heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that
the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city,
every man straight before him, and they took the city." (Joshua 6:20).
Be
assured that when the Lord promises the victory - and the Lord has
promised the victory - He will cause the wall that stands in our way to fall down flat! We will find that it is no less a miracle
than any that we have read or heard about in the Bible.
When
I was a new Christian, there was a habit that I had had for some time and was
trying to quit. I felt all the
conviction in the world that I wanted
to stop, but felt that it was entirely up to me to overcome it. I would succeed for a day or two, but then
fall back into it. I became discouraged
after a while and gave up trying, wondering why I was so weak. Then, one night, at a Christian gathering,
the Lord let me know that I could not save myself. No matter how large or how small my problems
were, it was He Who would deliver me and not my own strength or will. Just as I was unable to redeem my own soul
from past sins, I was also unable to save myself in the future from things that
would afflict my soul. He let me know in
that hour that He was prepared to save me to the uttermost if I would just
trust in Him. I was humbled by the
thought of it, and I prayed right then and there for the Lord to forgive me for
my presumption and to rid me of this habit.
Miraculously, in that hour I was delivered from an addiction that I had had
since I was 17 years old! I was amazed
that I was not even tempted by that thing again, and haven't been for 52 years
since! This experience laid a groundwork
of faith for me, and a frame of reference to remind me of the Lord's
faithfulness when I face new obstacles.
Sometimes,
our victory comes immediately; and other times, we may have to compass the city
a few times. We may be tempted to think
that we are just going around in circles, but be confident of this: God has
promised you the land! These walls that
you face will fall down flat! He told
Joshua that wherever the sole of his foot should tread, that land would be his
to possess. We, too, will gain no new
territory in our life if we are frightened to press forward and walk into
it. Though God has promised the victory,
we must still have the courage to face the battle and un-sheath our swords.
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