In Joshua 6, it says : “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……”
It is a mind blowing story on so many fronts – In the very first sentence the Lord tells Joshua that He has ‘given’ Jericho into his hand. He speaks in the past tense even though the city is still standing and looks ‘tightly shut against them. The Lord’s instructions to Joshua are very precise and Joshua obediently follows them to the letter and Jericho falls into his hands.
As I read this story again, I am led to think of my ‘Jericho’s’ – The opportunities, places and things that seem unattainable. For some of us, it’s a job, a marriage, a child, financial breakthrough, illness, spiritual breakthrough, a dream, an ambition. On the face of it, these things look impossible to resolve or achieve, the doors seem tightly shut, these are the ‘Jericho’s’ of your life.
Yet if they are Jericho’s it also means they are promises of God, an opportunity for His power and might to be manifested in your life. He has ‘given’ these things to you even though you do not have them yet. All He wants you to do is seek His face and walk in obedience to His words even if on the face of it, you don’t understand why.
Joshua lifted up His eyes above the city and engages with the Captain of the host of the Lord. He is given specific instructions and even though they must have seemed strange and not practical, he obeys. Seven times he has to lead the whole army silently around the city without raising a sword or engaging in a single fight.
How hard must that have been for a man renowned for his battle skills? How hard is it for us to wait patiently in obedience to the Lord when it seems as if despite our efforts in obedience to Him, nothing is happening. How many of us would have stopped on the third day, the fourth or the fifth….how many times have you stopped, halfway round?
Was it hard for Joshua to listen to the whispers of onlookers as he led the army round again and again? There would have been detractors, people who did not hear God’s voice who may have thought Joshua had gone mad. As he walked around the camp at night, did he hear them whisper? Have you heard those mocking whispers while you are waiting on the Lord, holding fast to his commandments. Has it stopped you, have you listened more to them than the voice of the Lord. Joshua kept going!
Today I am asking the Lord to show me my ‘Jericho’ and I am lifting up my eyes and waiting for a word from Him on how to claim that which He has already given me!! He knows the battle plan, He knows the strategy and He knows exactly how many times I will have to walk around…will it be seven, fourteen, twenty one…a day, a year, several years …Will I be patient and obedient in the waiting? Will You?
The walls of Jericho fell on the 7th day, the impossible became possible. He is able to do all things and He will do it for you too. Believe it is done, be prepared to live in obedience and when the time is right, shout your praise, call on the one name that matters and see the walls of your challenge come tumbling down!!
SHOW ME THE WALLS OF JERICHO LORD..... BY Jennifer Hephzibah
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