Til’ the Walls Come Down

1. Pray

Who’s fighting for us is far greater than who’s fighting against us!

We read in Joshua 5:13-15 about Joshua encountering a divine being,

“13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LordI have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[e] have for his servant?”

15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

The commander’s response to Joshua’s question seems unusual.

The facts are that the commander is neither Israelite nor Canaanite.

He’s saying that he’s not part of a human army, but rather the commander of the heavenly forces who’s fighting for Joshua and the Israelites!

2. Preach

3. Praise

The Israelites had to walk around the walls for 7 days.

On the 7th day they walked around 7 times.

It’s thought that the people were around a couple/ few hundred metres away from the walls to avoid getting shot by arrows.

It’s approximated that the distance to walk around the walls were 2-5kms).

Their walking speed would’ve been pretty slow due to the priests carrying the ark of the covenant and the multitude of people walking.

From this, it’s estimated that it took the Israelites about 1-2hrs to march around Jericho each day for 6 days.

On the 7th day, it likely took the Israelites anywhere from 7-14hrs to march around Jericho.

Their Strava stats would be off the charts!

Could you imagine the pyschological battle they were in?

Joshua commanded them to not make any noise until the last lap on the last day.

Moreover, they were walking around MASSIVE walls that showed NO signs of moving.

Joshua 2:9 says how the people of Jericho feared the Israelites to the point their hearts melted in fear.

Perhaps after the people saw them walking around for a couple days and that nothing happened, they started laughing at them and mocking them from the walls.

“All bark, no bite.”

Ritual plays an important symbolic function: seven priests, seven trumpets, seven days, seven encirclements on the seventh day, and a seventh-day climactic victory.

Every day of the week, the Israelites carried with them: the presence of God, instruments of praise, and a posture of faith.

On the seventh day after walking around seven times and seeing no signs of breakthrough, they had to do another seven walks in just one day!

This is the example we need to follow…

EVERY DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, we need to carry the presence of God with us, carry praise with us, and carry a posture of faith with us!

If my wall is still standing despite the walk of faith I’ve already done, I need to do it again!

I need to get in the presence of God AGAIN. I need to praise God AGAIN. I need to stir my faith AGAIN. AGAIN. AGAIN. AGAIN. AGAIN. AGAIN!