“Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. But the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, with its king and the valiant warriors…”
When the Lord says He has done something – it means it is done.
When God said Jericho had been handed over to Joshua nothing had changed to the human eye. It was still a fortified city, locked up and impenetrable… No battle had been won; no prisoners taken; nothing had happened. Yet God talks about the victory in the past tense.
I bet the trips marching around the city every day for a week seemed peculiar. The fact that there was no plan “B”, and plan “A” made no earthly sense - must have caused anxiety among the Israelites. What if they obeyed God for a week and then shouted at the city and nothing happened? How humiliating would that have been? Their enemies would have laughed in their faces.
There was no precedent for this type of attack plan, no science to lean on, in fact the shouting clearly wouldn’t move the walls... But perhaps it had something to do with moving God, because It showed complete dependance on Him and a willingness to follow Him unconditionally.
Am I willing to risk ridicule to obey God, or do I insist on God’s plan making sense on a human level? … In other words, do I only obey if I approve of the strategy?
What is God calling you to do that doesn’t make sense? Is scripture pushing you to do things that will result in your ridicule unless God moves?... If so, then you know how Joshua and his friends must have felt.
As children of God obedience is our calling, and when we obey, God moves. It is impossible to please God without faith and true faith results in obedience.
Can I view victories that the Lord has guaranteed, confidently as though the promise has already been fulfilled? Can I joyfully march around in circles if that is what God instructs me to do?
At the end of the day, I either believe God or I don’t, and If I believe Him – I march.
“To trust God in the light is nothing, but trust him in the dark - that is faith.” - Charles H. Spurgeon
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