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“The Walk Of Victory” • 11.24.13 • Calvary
Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- The people of Israel have now been thoroughly
readied to enter into a sustained conflict that will eventually settle them
into the land that God promised would be theirs.
- God has been doing this slowly, working on
the foundation of His people's character. They have been learning to wait on
the Lord, to trust in His ways and to honor His place in their life.
- At every turn, God has proven to be
trustworthy and reliable to His own Word, as the river parted and as the people
who had been circumcised, rested peacefully without incident.
- Now is the time to move forward, to make war,
to take what God has deemed to be theirs. Let's see how it happens.
Text
•
Joshua 6:1,2 : "Now Jericho was securely shut up
because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua: 'See! I have given
Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor." : Jericho was shut up like a prison, nobody
coming in or going out.
- In ancient days, such a city would seek to wait out an opposing force
trusting in the strength of the walls and their provisions.
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The people of Jericho are expecting a sustained conflict that could have lasted
years.
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Their actions are those of a defeated foe whose only hope is to outlast the
determination of their invaders. That's their perspective. "We must trust
in our walls to hold the enemy at bay!"
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Joshua might have had a moment of doubt, but it was wiped away when the Lord
said to him, "See! I have given Jericho into your hand!" It was
theirs for the taking.
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Jericho belonged to them before they even began any exercise against it. Joshua
had to take God at His word, because what he saw was fairly imposing.
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Jericho was built on around 10 acres of land which one commentator compared to
a 7 city block radius. The walls from the perspective of the Israelites would
have been impressive.
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In essence, there were two walls separated by a sloped earthen embankment.
There were probably 15-20 ft in between the walls.
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Archeologists tell us that this was mostly bedrock that they dug through which
is a phenomenol feat given the lack of modern implements.
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The wall nearest to the people, the outer wall would have been 23 ft tall. The
inner wall was 30 ft tall creating a combined look of about 65 ft tall! Both
walls would have been 5 to 6 ft wide.
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This is the city that was theirs for the taking! The king and the mighty men
would not withstand them. Notice the description: The King and the mighty men.
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Most scholars seem to be in agreement that Jericho was more of a military
installment than it was a city where a civilian population existed.
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The word "King" can also be considered as a military leader, the
mighty men, being the strongest brand of soldiers. But how would Israel
accomplish this? Look at verse 3.
• Joshua 6:3-5 : "You shall
march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once.
This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns
before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven
times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they
make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the
trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of
the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight
before him.'" : One can almost imagine
Joshua getting out his pencil and a big pad of paper waiting for some really
great instructions about yet to be seen technology!
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Perhaps he thought that God would describe the awesome nuclear power that he
was going to unleash surgically toward the city of Jericho. Instead, God gives
him this: Get ready to walk!
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Just imagine the conversation: "Walk toward the city from here."
"Yes Lord!" "Then march around it once." "Yeah!"
"At the end of your march..." "Yeah, Yeah!?"
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"Have the priests blow their horns before the ark!" "And
then?" "Go home!" "Am I missing something here!?"
"No, that's it!"
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The Ark that had just been standing in the center of the Jordan river, was to
be moving along the edge of the wall. Joshua will tell them in the next section
that this was to be a near silent march.
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They were not to threaten the people or make a raucous noise. They were simply
to walk each day around the city once while the priests blew their horns and
then, return to their camp.
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No hysterics, no hype, no bizarre antics. Just walk around the city. Being that
this was about a 10 acre walk, most people believe that this would have taken
about an hour each day.
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On the 7th day they would march for about 7 hours, blow the trumpet and raise a
sustained shout. The walls will fall down upon themselves and the people will
run in!
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"Oh, that's it huh!?" We just walk in obedience, following after Your
direction and the walls will fall? The answer is a resounding "yes!"
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What would happen in our life if we were simply obedient to walk after Him, to
obey when He said "go" and to stop when He said "no?"
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Many in the Christian world would have us believe that the victory in this life
is based in the miraculous, but the truth is that the victory that real
Christians experience is in the mundane!
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And while this is certainly not a ratio, I might say proverbially that for
every 6 days of walking, the seventh day has provided some wonderful,
emotional, experiential victory!
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It's most always a steady progressive path laid out in obedience to Him!
•
Joshua 6:6-14 : "Then Joshua the son of Nun called
the priests and said to them, 'Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven
priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.' And he said to the people,
'Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before
the ark of the Lord.' So it was, when
Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven
trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord advanced 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 the
priests continued blowing the trumpets. Now
Joshua had commanded the people, saying, 'You shall not shout or make any noise
with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I
say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.' So
he had the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into
the camp and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose early in the
morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.
Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before
the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with
the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after
the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued
blowing the trumpets. And the second day they marched around the city once and
returned to the camp. So they did six days." : What is worse than something happening? Nothing happening!
Anticipation is almost always worse than the actual event!
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Consider here the psychological effect of what the Israelis are asked to do.
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They are marching silently around the city following the ark, which is symbolic
of the very presence of God Almighty which had just been seen in the Jordan
river.
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The terror that this city was under was extreme, but the chance to run out and
surrender each of these days was also a real possibility. Their terror grew
while their chance to repent faded!
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The people are given their final chance, just as in the days of Noah.
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Noah had been commissioned to build an ark and had done so while preaching to
all that would listen for 100 years.
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The invitation to peace was a prelude to judgment and even at that point, the
Lord gives an additional 7 day grace period before He floods the Earth! (Genesis 7:4)
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God has given these people every possible chance to repent short of violating
their will and making them. Love will never do that!
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Now, notice what God's people are doing? They are walking with God's presence
at the center of their attention.
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Their eyes would veer over onto the impressive sight of the wall. Perhaps they
would look as someone from within the city yelled at them.
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I'm convinced that as they walked, their focus became laser pointed upon the
Ark, the presence of God, being less impressed with the wall and more impressed
with Him!
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The more impressed you are with the Living God's presence in your life, the
less depressed you become at the sight of your difficulty! The victory is in the
vision of Him!
•
Joshua 6:15-19 : "But it came to pass on the seventh
day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the
city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the
city seven times. And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the
trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: 'Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! Now the city shall be doomed by the
Lord to destruction, it and all who are
in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the
house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And you, by all means abstain from
the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed
things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver and gold, and
vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury
of the Lord.'" : Notice those words: "But it came to pass." There were
chances to run out and surrender, to run to Rahab's house, to humble themselves
before this God.
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Every chance had been wasted and every day had been neglected. There will come
a day in every life when it will come to pass that God's justice will no longer
be denied.
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The 7th day began early in the morning and the marching lasted for 7 laps.
Before all was done, Joshua instructed the people with this word: "Take
nothing!"
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Jericho was to be utterly destroyed and nothing was to be taken out of it
despite the temptation to do so. Everything within the city was considered
"accursed" or devoted to destruction.
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This first victory was not about obtaining wealth for themselves. This was the
firstfruits, the first riches of the land and it was dedicated wholly to the
Lord.
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To take of it personally would cause a curse and worse, afflict the camp of
Israel. The items of silver, gold, bronze and iron alone were to be added to
the treasury of the Lord, but no looting.
•
Joshua 6:20,21 : "So the people shouted when the
priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of
the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down
flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and
they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man
and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword." : What a profound moment. When the people shouted in unison with
a great shout, the wall fell down flat.
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It's been postulated that an earthquake hit and that that was the actual cause
of the wall falling down and it may be the case.
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The miraculous part was not the earth quaking, but the precise timing of the
event! It happened "AS" they blew a prolonged trumpet blast and the
people shouted in unison!
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Archeologists tell us that the upper wall of Jericho, at this section, was
mainly composed of mudbrick. When the wall crumbled, the mudbrick fell down the
slope and toppled the outer wall.
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These bricks created a rampart and the people went up into the city, using a
walkway created by these bricks, many of which were discovered just about 100
years ago.
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The most imposing looking defense just laid down before them and they went and
took the city, destroying all that were in it. It was a final slaughter against
an openly hostile people.
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God's patience had waited almost 500 years. Finally, with one fell stroke, the
city walls fell flat and every rebel was destroyed!
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Do notice how anti-climactic this moment is. All of this buildup and then,
"the walls fell and the people rushed in." No gory details? No
prolonged epic tale of the victory?
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God was always going to win! No matter how long a person sits behind their
defenses, no matter how stubborn they are, God will always be the victor.
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That person, either in life or in death, will ultimately glorify and honor God!
It will happen willingly and
joyfully now and in heaven or regrettably and obligingly in hell! God will be
glorified!
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Every tongue on earth, under the earth, in heaven and in hell will one day have
to acknowledge the Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Lord of Heaven and
Earth!
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Now, this leaves us here with a fairly prickly point. They utterly destroyed
all that was in the city. The city was razed, thoroughly, completely to the
ground.
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Every person in the city left to defend Jericho, whether men or women, young or
old, were destroyed along with the city. Hopefully, that understanding alone
reassures your heart.
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Israel was not like other nations that came in and indiscriminately destroyed
anything that moved, nor were they given to practices that violated the
citizenry.
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In the end, most believe the language here is euphemistic, in much the same way
that we would describe a lopsided basketball game! "We massacred them!"
-
Joshua's language here is not to be taken literally, but figuratively, denoting
a total rout of the enemy at Jericho. This plays out further in the next verse.
•
Joshua 6:22,23 : "But Joshua had said to the two men
who had spied out the country, 'Go into the harlot’s house, and from there
bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.' And the young men who had been
spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and
all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside
the camp of Israel." : Rahab was able to convince at least 4
people to stay in her home during this campaign. This is always sobering and
worthy of our reflection as we consider the work before us.
- In all of these judgment epics,
there are more that choose to perish, than there are those that choose to
believe and thus, survive. 4 here. 8 in Noah's story. 3 in Lot's story.
- Many will just dig in, but
thankfully, there are Rahabs whose part of the wall remained standing! Notice
that they were left outside of the camp of Israel.
- Nobody was allowed in the camp
that were not circumcised, ie. had not made a clear confession to be a part of
God's people.
- They had been delivered by the
Hebrews, but it was not now assumed that they would be a part of the community.
That would have to be decided.
• Joshua 6:24,25 : "But they
burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and
the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot,
her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this
day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho." : When you look upon the layers of archeological discovery, you
will find evidence of this exact nature.
-
Archeologists dig through layers or strata of ancient ruins. It's reminiscent
of a layer cake, which when cut, is revealed to be actual layers of years.
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In Jericho there is a layer which is thoroughly burnt. The text here asserts
that only the metallic materials were taken into the treasury of the house of
the Lord.
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Again, archeologists uncovered large ceramic pots filled entirely with the
remains of grain that had been burnt or baked thoroughly through!
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I mention the correlation of archeological evidence because it remains one of
the strongest apologetic arguments that Christians have.
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There is an actual city that can be visited today, where clues can be assessed
and the truth of scripture can be verified. The same cannot be said for any
other book claiming to be God's truth!
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Notice that Rahab lived with the people of Israel, but the same is not said of
her family. It's possible that they left back to their own life away from the
camp of Israel.
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But Rahab became integrated into the people of Israel and will be a significant
contributor to their society, as well as our very salvation, as she is in the
direct line of Jesus the Messiah!
• Joshua 6:26,27 : "Then
Joshua charged them at that time, saying, 'Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city
Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest
he shall set up its gates.' So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the
country." : Joshua's curse let's us know that
this was a sacred place and a burnt offering to God.
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The person who did not observe this would be childless, meaning that he would
have no future. This person would face an uphill climb and would be opposed by
God Himself!
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Who would do this? In the days of King Ahab, one of Israel's most notorious and
wicked Kings, a man did attempt to rebuild the city and paid this exact price!
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In I Kings 16:34, Hiel of Bethel
lost his son Abiram with the foundation and Segub with the gates, thus
fulfilling Joshua's prophecy!
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Because of this action, Joshua became ever more famous because the Lord was
with him. This verse rightfully belongs with the next chapter, so we'll cover
it there next week.
Conclusion
- God's victory in your life is secure. It will happen. How? As you walk
obediently. As your vision is focused upon Him. As He becomes more impressive
than your problem!
- There is no secret. This is how God won the
day then and how He does so now!
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