Let Your Jericho Fall
The notes to my sermon on Sunday, June 12, 2011. I hope you enjoy and sorry for the lack of photos. I barely got these blogs up!
Today, I want to talk to you about Joshua and the city of Jericho in the book of Joshua chapter six. Joshua was the successor of Moses and was only one of two men from the generation that escaped Egypt to enter into the Promised Land.
Joshua, the servant of Moses, was prepped for his position to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. In the book of Exodus, there are a few passages that talk about Moses leaving the Holy Tent of the Lord; however, Joshua stayed back in the Presence of God. It was during this time of intimacy with the Lord that Joshua was being empowered and strengthened for the tasks ahead.
Now, fast forward to after the death of Moses and Joshua's commission to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land to chapter six of the book of Joshua. In Joshua 5: 13-15, the Commander of the Army of the Lord speaks to Joshua concerning the city of Jericho. Let's pick up the story in Joshua 6:1-5, where the Commander of the Army of the Lord gives the battle plans for taking this city.
"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. 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'." (Joshua 6:1-5)
From this we see six days to rise up early and march around the city and on the seventh day to march around the city seven times, while being quiet until the trumpets blare. Then shouting at the top of your lungs, all in order to take the city. In verses 6-19, we see the description of Joshua sharing the battle plans and the whole procession of Israelites actually following through with the plans. I'm not sure about you, but I'm pretty certain I'd be nudging my neighbor and asking if this is a serious plan or not…I mean seriously, how could this work??
Fortunately, I was not there and the people listened to Joshua, trusting God was with him. So, the seventh day comes and the march around the city of Jericho occurs. Then, in verse 20, the Scripture reads: "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."
Wow! Just like that and a city is taken. Crazy! Well, let me tell you a couple of points here:
First, the number seven is prominent in this passage (seven priests, seven trumpets, seven days, seven trips around the city). It is a significant number in that it signifies completion, as in the seventh day God completed His creation and rested. Its use here in Joshua helps to demonstrate that the conquest of Jericho was part of a larger spiritual exercise that sancitified or set apart the people of Israel and this land for God.
Second, the account of the taking of Jericho in verses 8-20 is told in a slow, climax-building style. This (Jericho) first great obstacle to Israel's possession of the land fell at a shout of the people. The fact that it was utterly destroyed in a moment illustrates God's complete and effortless mastery over all His people's opponents, as well as the people needing to rely upon God for this great victory.
These two points will come into play as we look into how we apply this story to our lives.
In our personal lives, we all have as Paul says it, "thorns in our sides," which can come up at random and sometimes numerous times in our lives that will entail a Jericho march around those thorns of strongholds. For me, before the Race, around last March through June, I had a massive amount of anger appear in my life. Almost every little thing would set me off into a fit of anger or rage towards my family and friends. I was living at home and couldn't get a moment's solitude. I became a horrible uncle to my 13-year-old niece and my 7-year-old nephew and was even worse to my cousin and my best friend. I was a hideous creature.
However, through many attempts, God called me out to our field under the stars; He brought this stronghold of rage and wrath that manifested itself in me to light and told me to march. I complied and marched in a circle in our field with my eyes closed and focused on this city of rage, then on the seventh march around I screamed and the fortress fell. I prayed in the Spirit right there and allowed His mighty love to re-take that area of my life. It was quite the experience, let me tell you, but worth every step of the march. Afterwards, I may still have gotten frustrated at times before I left for this adventure, but not to the extent that the rage and wrath could overwhelm me.
For in our personal lives, we have many "Jericho's", whether of rage, lust, addictions, fear, dread, uncertainty, pain or other areas where the enemy puts a city in the way of our growth in Christ, which usually take a Jericho march with the Lord to overcome.
In the same way, we are promised an inheritance of the nations as royal heirs to the throne, yet many Jericho's can lie in the way of possessing our inheritance. As I've gone on this journey, I've come across many things in myself that have held me back from being who He created me to be, and thus held me back from possessing my inheritance or having an effect in ministry with my teammates. These have been anything from lies of the enemy that made me feel worthless, insecure, self-conscious, or just plain stupid at times. The feelings led me to putting up the walls of 'Jericho' around myself and masking my heart and true identity from others having no confidence whatsoever.
The walls, then, close off our prayers and words, which have power and strength to retake the Lord's possessions (our inheritance). It sometimes takes a Jericho march to overcome these feelings as well, which could also be a collective view of a church or ministry, meaning we will need a group of brethren to march with us or to march for us. By that I mean some Jericho's come across our path that we alone, even fully empowered by our Holy Tent experience, can overcome, so we will need to come together to march.
Once, in Cambodia, as I was typing up a blog there was some commotion with a friend's father and as the time went on that eveing my heart broke. My team gathered in the girls' living quarters and played worship music. I just wanted to be silent and pray and sing with the music, but as one song came on that spoke about not being silent…I exploded in a torrent of words and tongues in a prayer to God. I say this because many a time I never think my words make a difference, but as my team that night and my squad constantly say about my poetry–my words have power–so it is with you, my brothers and sisters.
I have been told that Uganda is a spiritually dark place, which I believe to be true, and yet…and yet, I see so much light here. This light eminates from you and all the brethren here, who are marching around the 'Jerichos' in this country and it is making a difference. The night of the intercessory prayer I was writing and lost track of time until after the session started, so I found my way to sit and pray (and write some more) on the porch steps by the house. I could not help but listen to your voices in prayer and in song. The very air came to life with the electricity of the power behind your words. I can honestly say I felt the Heavens open and God whisper, "Done," as in every prayer you prayed for He answered right there on the spot with a smile on His face, proud of the fact that His children were praying so boldly.
Now, whether you have personal Jericho's in your life or you sense the Jericho's of the collective, keep marching…keep marching the seven trips to completion and when the trumpets give their signal shout jubilantly in victory. But remember, Jericho did not fall based on the Israelites' own voices–it fell by the hand of God through the commands of the Commander of the Lord's Army, that Commander is Jesus Christ and only time spent in the Holy Tent of intimacy with Him can set your march up for success.
