25. The Fall of Jericho (Joshua 5:13-6:27).

by Wesley Blackburn

And now we arrive at the story of Jericho, one of the most interesting stories in the entire Bible.

The story begins with Joshua and the armies of Israel being outside the city of Jericho, laying siege to it. Most cities in ancient times were built with an enormous wall surrounding the entire city. No doubt, Joshua and the army were lying in wait outside of the city, hoping to force the people inside of Jericho to surrender because they had now run out of supplies.

Things seemed to be going as expected, but then something big happened. Joshua was visited by a messenger of God, the very commander of God's armies. From this commander, Joshua is given some specific instructions for conquering the city of Jericho.

There's just one apparent issue: the instructions are downright absurd. For six days, the commander tells Joshua, you are to march around the wall of the city with the Ark of the Covenant. While doing this, armed men should come along, and the priests are supposed to come along blowing some trumpets in front of the ark. The Israelites were to do this not just once, not just twice, but for six days. Can you imagine how weird the Israelites must have felt? No doubt the citizens of Jericho inside the walls had to be poking fun at them.

But then on day seven, the army of Israel was to march around the city seven times. After finishing the seventh time, the priests sounded a trumpet blast and the people were to shout.

We sit here on the other side of history, looking back and seeing the victory that God had delivered to the Israelites on this day. But can you imagine some of the thoughts heading through their heads? What if God doesn't show up? What if we make fools of ourselves? What if this doesn't work? I think that being in circumstances like this is healthy for us as Christ followers, though. We need to be in situations where things will absolutely fall apart if God doesn't show up. These are some of the scariest, most vulnerable times of our lives. Yet, they are the situations where we generally get to see a life-changing display of God's power the most in our lives.

So sure enough, God delivered as the people shouted. The walls came tumbling down, the Israelites charged the city, and they were able to absolutely overtake it. Yet again, God showed his ability to provide for His children; He always makes a way, even when the circumstances seem difficult.