Battle Of Jericho

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Joshua 6:1–21 NASB95

Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors. “You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. “Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. “It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead.” So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.” Then he said to the people, “Go forward, and march around the city, and let the armed men go on before the ark of the Lord.” And it was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while they continued to blow the trumpets. But Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout!” So he had the ark of the Lord taken around the city, circling it once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp. Now Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went before them and the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while they continued to blow the trumpets. Thus the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did so for six days. Then on the seventh day they rose early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same manner seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times. At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. “The city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the Lord; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. “But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things under the ban, so that you do not covet them and take some of the things under the ban, and make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it. “But all the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city. They utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

Romans 6:16 NASB95

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

John 14:15 NASB95

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

They march around the city for 6 days. 7 Priests carrying 7 trumpets.

7th day, march around the city 7 times. and the priests shall blow the trumpets.

When the priests blow the horn, all the people shall shout greatly.

and the wall of the city will fall down flat. Every man will then attack the city

They marched around the city once, then would return to the camp. This was 6 days

On the 7th, they marched around 7 times, then the priests blew the trumpet, Joshua commanded the people to shout “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city.”

Capture: Grab their attention with an illustration.

• Illustration/Story: Have you ever done something crazy for a friend, just because of

your relationship with them? Tell a story when you had to either do a weird favor or

bail a friend out of a crazy situation just because you loved them.

• Love helps us to trust people when they ask us to do crazy things for them. Maybe

you’ve heard the phrase: “You’re lucky I love you!” We’re more willing to step out of

our comfort zones if it is for someone we love.

• But think about this in a spiritual sense: how often do we step out of our comfort

zones for Jesus because of our love for Him?

Connect: Connect them to God’s word.

• Tension Question: Do you obey Jesus no matter what because you love him? Let’s be

honest — we all struggle with obedience, even though we love Jesus. Tonight, I

believe Scripture can teach us what it means to obey God because we love and trust

Him!

• Scripture: John 14:15 — Our love for Jesus should drive us to obedience, even when

we don’t understand or if it seems crazy.

Consider: What does this mean for us today?

• Scripture: Joshua 6:1-21 — Summarize the story of Jericho. God asked the Israelites

to destroy a city by walking around it and blowing trumpets.

• Joshua even said: “Don’t shout or even speak until it’s time.”

• If we’re honest, some things in the Bible can seem really weird and confusing, and

this is one of those moments! We don’t know why God told them to do what he

commanded them to do. However, they trusted God and obeyed Him.

• When God calls us to obey, we might say things like: “This isn’t going to work” or

“How can God fix this situation,” but like the Israelites, when we obey, God

engineers the impossible.

• Bottom Line: Obey God — even when it doesn’t make sense.

Collide: How do we apply this in our lives?

• Scripture: Romans 6:12-13, 16 — We all are obedient to something: it’s either sin or

God. Obedience will follow surrender.

• When God asks us to obey Him but we choose a different direction that makes more

sense, we actively are disobeying God and obeying sin.

• Verse 16 warns us to obey God instead of becoming a slave to sin. Verses 12 and 13

tell us how to do it: Don’t give in to sin. Give yourself completely to God.

• When we live with a surrendered heart to God, we choose to serve Him in

obedience. It’s when we entertain our desires with an unsurrendered heart that we

choose disobedience.

• Application: Surrender your heart completely to God.

Call: How do we respond to the message?

• Altar moment: Some of us have been trying our best to live for God but haven’t

surrendered to Him. If you’re struggling to obey God, simply give Him your heart.

When we give God all we have, He empowers us to live rightly in obedience to Him.

When you live in obedience, God will engineer your circumstances toward blessing!

• Small Group Questions:

1. What is the craziest thing you’ve done for someone out of love?

2. Do you obey Jesus because of your love for Him? Why or why not?

3. Why is it hard to trust God and obey Him when we don’t understand what He’s

asking of us?

4. What is standing in your way of a heart completely surrendered to God? How can

you surrender that this week?