Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”
So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”
When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.
Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. (Joshua 6:1-14)
"Look men, here's the battle plan for today. We're going to march around the city behind the ark while priests blow trumpets. Do it one time, and if you aren't a priest with a trumpet, keep your traps shut unless I tell you otherwise." This can't be the strategy the Israelite army wanted to hear, can it? Maybe it was actually a relief. Four days earlier they'd all been circumcised. Their first day back on duty, all they had to do is walk about a mile. As drills go, it's nothing compared with boot camp or basic training. From what I've been told, this is classic military training strategy. You run from point A to point B, then stand in line and wait. Waiting is hard work. Yes, they had another day, another six days to recuperate, but the anticipation had to be great. They were finally going to conquer the Promised Land. "Come on, God....let's get this party started!"
Can you imagine watching this from Jericho? The Israelites and their God were famous. Jericho knew it was the target. Soldiers probably lined the walls. They heard the horns blowing, and the feet tromping. Thousands of soldiers can't exactly sneak up on a city. The army files up to the gate, turns and marches along the wall behind this gold box and a bunch of guys blowing rams' horns. When the gold box gets back to the gate, it goes back the way it came. By this time, the soldiers weren't the only ones watching from the wall.
They had to be asking, "What is going on?" Had their God abandoned them? Was this their idea of trash talking the Jerichoites? Was it the best the Israelites could do? Maybe the Jerichoites began to feel a little more secure in their own gods and their walls. Some of them may have started baiting the Isrealites. The anticipation had to be mounting on their side, too. What were the Israelites waiting for?
I've been there. God points me in a direction, then tells me to wait. March around. Listen to my name being praised (through the trumpets.) Don't do anything else, or say anything. Just march, and when you're done marching, just go about your daily life. For the past year, I've been marching around one Jericho and it's going to take marching for a while longer. The story isn't finished. It's taking yet another change of direction. It will be a better story, I think, but it's not being the story I first envisioned. The power cord will arrive. I can't say I'm marching. Plodding seems more like it. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, but I'm not doing a very good job at it. I'm not silent. I'm not listening to praises. I'm not spending as much time as I think I should at any of the things I'm doing. Walking "a mile" just doesn't seem like enough. Shouldn't I be doing something bigger, better, more along the lines of ... well...conquering this Promised Land God's told me to conquer?
Military drills aren't busy work. They prepare a person for the work ahead, even if they don't make sense. A good part of life is waiting, whether we like it or not. Practicing waiting and learning to work while we wait is a big lesson for each of us. It doesn't matter if you don't accomplish it all. Do what you're called to do for 15 minutes today, or 30 if you're a slow walker. Do it each day for seven days. Focus on it for 15-30 minutes per day for seven days. You'll see progress. You may figure out where you want to attack and how to best accomplish it. You may see precisely how much you need God in order for any attack to work.
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”
So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”
When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.
Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. (Joshua 6:1-14)
"Look men, here's the battle plan for today. We're going to march around the city behind the ark while priests blow trumpets. Do it one time, and if you aren't a priest with a trumpet, keep your traps shut unless I tell you otherwise." This can't be the strategy the Israelite army wanted to hear, can it? Maybe it was actually a relief. Four days earlier they'd all been circumcised. Their first day back on duty, all they had to do is walk about a mile. As drills go, it's nothing compared with boot camp or basic training. From what I've been told, this is classic military training strategy. You run from point A to point B, then stand in line and wait. Waiting is hard work. Yes, they had another day, another six days to recuperate, but the anticipation had to be great. They were finally going to conquer the Promised Land. "Come on, God....let's get this party started!"
Can you imagine watching this from Jericho? The Israelites and their God were famous. Jericho knew it was the target. Soldiers probably lined the walls. They heard the horns blowing, and the feet tromping. Thousands of soldiers can't exactly sneak up on a city. The army files up to the gate, turns and marches along the wall behind this gold box and a bunch of guys blowing rams' horns. When the gold box gets back to the gate, it goes back the way it came. By this time, the soldiers weren't the only ones watching from the wall.
They had to be asking, "What is going on?" Had their God abandoned them? Was this their idea of trash talking the Jerichoites? Was it the best the Israelites could do? Maybe the Jerichoites began to feel a little more secure in their own gods and their walls. Some of them may have started baiting the Isrealites. The anticipation had to be mounting on their side, too. What were the Israelites waiting for?
I've been there. God points me in a direction, then tells me to wait. March around. Listen to my name being praised (through the trumpets.) Don't do anything else, or say anything. Just march, and when you're done marching, just go about your daily life. For the past year, I've been marching around one Jericho and it's going to take marching for a while longer. The story isn't finished. It's taking yet another change of direction. It will be a better story, I think, but it's not being the story I first envisioned. The power cord will arrive. I can't say I'm marching. Plodding seems more like it. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, but I'm not doing a very good job at it. I'm not silent. I'm not listening to praises. I'm not spending as much time as I think I should at any of the things I'm doing. Walking "a mile" just doesn't seem like enough. Shouldn't I be doing something bigger, better, more along the lines of ... well...conquering this Promised Land God's told me to conquer?
Military drills aren't busy work. They prepare a person for the work ahead, even if they don't make sense. A good part of life is waiting, whether we like it or not. Practicing waiting and learning to work while we wait is a big lesson for each of us. It doesn't matter if you don't accomplish it all. Do what you're called to do for 15 minutes today, or 30 if you're a slow walker. Do it each day for seven days. Focus on it for 15-30 minutes per day for seven days. You'll see progress. You may figure out where you want to attack and how to best accomplish it. You may see precisely how much you need God in order for any attack to work.
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