Joshua 6: Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.   ² And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.   ³ And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.   ⁴ And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.   ⁵ And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

I know, it does not make sense when God or the Holy Spirit tells you to praise Him because the battle that you are about to face has already been won in the spiritual realm and it is just a matter of time before you see the manifestations in the physical.  Only God right? I don’t understand it but I have come to trust Him so and not question that still small voice who guides me and directs the affairs of my life.

We see in verse two, that God was giving Joshua Jericho as a gift but still Joshua had his part to play.  In the following verses, God talks to Joshua directly and tells him what He God wants him Joshua to do and God then tells him that once they do as He tells them to, the wall of the city of Jericho shall fall down.

I love God because He is the one who see our end from our beginning.  When we are operating according to the flesh, we will doubt what the Holy Spirit tells us to do.  If God told us this, we would most probably operate in the flesh and be confused by God’s words.  What?  Celebrate?  Dance?  Make a joyful noise?  Sing a song of triumph?   When facing a battle, dealing with a stronghold, about to go on a deliverance prayer session? Or do battle in the heavenlies by praying some spiritual warfare prayers  Is this truly God’s voice that I am hearing or shall I rebuke the enemy?  Being in the flesh is enmity to God.  Rms 8:⁸ So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

We seem to have forgotten that in Isaiah, we are told in chapter 46:¹⁰ Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.  Our God is Omnipotent and can declare the last chapter of our book, even though we are still at the beginning of the book.

Isa 55: ⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.   ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  God did not tell Joshua to go about overcoming this fortified city by getting the Israelite army to march into the city with arrows and spears.   No, what He told Joshua was for them to march around the city one time every day for six days and on the seventh day, to march around the wall seven times; after He told them to blast the rams horn and for everyone to shout. 

If what God told Joshua sounded strange to him, Joshua certainly did not question God but instead  he knew God enough to just obey God.  Joshua 6:6 Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.”  ⁷ And he said to the people, “Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the LORD.”  ⁸ So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.  ⁹ The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. ¹⁰ Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.”

This is a great lesson for us all to learn; let us learn to do what He tells us to do without adding or leaving anything out, remember He is the Master Planner, the Chief Orchestrator of our lives.  God is sovereign in all His ways, Isa 45:⁶ That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.  Sometimes, we will not understand why He wants us to do things a certain way but let us rest secure in His love for us and trust that of a truth He knows best. 

Let us try and be like Joshua and not question God’s commands even if we don’t understand them fully.  It is important for us to remember that God has a reason for everything  and we need to allow Him to direct our steps.  Ps 37: ²³ The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.   

Obedience to the Word of God is life saving, destiny changing and most certainly better than sacrifice.