Its quite possible that I have the easiest section of the book of Joshua, because everyone knows this story of the battle of Jerico and the walls that come tumbling down!

So, I won’t need to go into who the “Man” that appeared to Joshua with a drawn sword. Or why Joshua had to take of his sandals. Or why they had to march around the city for six days with the Priests and the trumpets and the Arc of the Covenant and the armed men in front and behind. Then on the seventh day seven times and shouting. I won’t have to address the most difficult part of the passage where the Israelites were directed to “Devote to the Lord” every living thing by putting the sword to them.

Actually, there is far too much in this passage to fully explore it would take hours to go through every verse or section, so I’m narrowing my focus to: What happened?      How did it happen? Why did it happen?

The result was …. A test? So, who really fought the battle of Jericho?

In preparation for their entry into the promised land the whole community had to rededicate themselves which Rob talked about last week, first the most painful act of circumcision and the Passover was celebrated, thus re-establishing the covenant and the promises of God, and in this reading today the Israelites need to reclaim God’s promises as their own an act of obedience and faithfulness to the Lord.

As you may remember in Hebrews 11 there is a list of numerous OT men and women who displayed remarkable faith in their relationship with God. “The Hall of Faith.”

Paul heads this chapter in Hebrews 11 Faith in Action

11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not

7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.

8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed, and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9

11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear

17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.

23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land.

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

The walls of this city fell because Joshua and the people of Israel believed God. It’s just as simple as that. The Israelites honoured God by trusting him to act on their behalf and whenever God is honoured God acts.

But what exactly did they believe? Their faith certainly wasn’t a blind leap into the dark. This couldn’t have been an ill-founded act of desperation on their part.

In what… or in whom, did they put their trust? If we take into consideration much of what we’ve already seen in the book of Joshua, it appears that there are three answers to the question, all of which are true.

(1) They trusted and believed and put their hope in God’s presence. The presence of the ark meant the presence of God.

(2) They also trusted in God’s power. “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho; Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, and the walls came a tumblin’ down!”

Technically speaking, that’s not true. Joshua never raised so much as a hand against Jericho. He never launched an arrow or even threw a rock in the direction of the walls of this city. God “fought” the battle of Jericho! It was his power and his alone that accounts for what we read in this chapter.

(3) They also had faith in God’s promise. According to Joshua 6:2, the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valour.” And this, of course, was simply one more affirmation of the promise that God originally gave to Abraham, that he would grant Israel entrance into Canaan and possession over its cities, such as Jericho.

It was their faith in God’s presence and power and above all else in God’s promise that accounts for this victory. Despite overwhelming odds and against all reason, contrary to what could be seen from a purely human point of view, they clung steadfastly to God’s promise that he had already given them Jericho.

So, what might we learn from them.

The instructions given to Joshua and the people in 6:2-5 would strike us as silly. For the first six days of the siege, they are told to walk around the city one time each day. They are told to keep their mouths shut and to say nothing.

First is the procession of soldiers, followed by priests with rams’ horns, then the ark of the covenant, then more soldiers, and the people.

On the seventh day, however, they are to walk around the city seven times, at the close of which Joshua will give instructions for them to shout, at which time the walls of the city will collapse.

Can you imagine the reaction among his soldiers and officers when he revealed the strategy to be employed? “Joshua, have you lost your mind?

Blowing trumpets and walking circles around them and then having the people shout will only make them laugh at us!  We need to scale the walls with ramps and ropes and bombard them with everything we have.

We need battering rams and archers and spears and swords. If nothing else, Joshua, at least let us lay siege to the city and cut off their water and food supply.”

No, said Joshua, you will do precisely as I have instructed.

Although from a strictly military point of view it seemed absurd to follow this plan, Joshua and the people put their faith in God: his presence, his power, and his promise to them.

Let’s not forget that when the spies entered Jericho for the first time, Rahab told them that everyone in the city was afraid and their “hearts melted” within them.

No wonder, then, that Joshua 6:1 indicates that they were “shut up inside and outside” of Jericho and “none went out, and none came in.”

On the other hand, if God can control and manipulate natural phenomena, such as the Red Sea and the Jordan River, what makes them think he can’t overcome manmade structures like a walled city?

Whatever lingering fear the Canaanites had of the Israeli people; I doubt if it lasted very long. As they marched around the city, the people of Israel stayed just out of range of the archers on the walls of Jericho but still within earshot of their taunts. Try to imagine the catcalls, the hoots, the scorn, the laughter, and ridicule heaped upon them by the people of Jericho:

So why did God order his people to march silently around the city?

First, he wanted to test their faith, to let it be known if the people were truly trusting in his promise.  After all, marching in silence without firing so much as a single shot (or arrow, as the case may be) would force them either to mock in unbelief at God’s strategy or to trust him ever more fervently.

Second, it is thought that this was designed to give the people of Jericho an opportunity to repent.  In other words, it’s possible that God called for six days of silent walking for the same reason he told Jonah that Nineveh had 40 days in which to repent before judgment would fall: it was an expression of his longsuffering and compassion.

Third, God undoubtedly wanted to make it clear to everyone, both the Canaanites inside the city and the Israelites outside, that when the walls finally collapsed the only explanation is that the lord God did it.

No one would have attributed this miracle to the people of Israel. No one would ever have thought that walking in silence could accomplish anything. It was only their faith in the power of God that explains what happened.

But why the silence? Notice that the silence was comprehensive: “You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout” (v. 10). In other words, no talking in line! Focus on your march

Given the fact that what God had commanded seemed utterly ridiculous, some would have been tempted to murmur and complain and question the order. The silence was designed to reinforce the principle that once God has spoken, all talking must end. Just be quiet and obey!

It’s as if Joshua was saying to them: “You know God’s will. So do it. You’ve heard his promise to you. So keep your mouths shut. Endure the ridicule of your enemies. Leave it to God to vindicate you in his time and in his own way.”

The “great shout” (v. 20) that came forth on the seventh day was no casual cheer or silly scream or guttural grunt. It was a shout of praise, a loud declaration of confidence in God! “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (Ps. 32:11).

Shout to God with loud songs of joy! Ps 47:1b

So, what caused the walls of Jericho to collapse? Some scholars insist it was an earthquake. Others say that the pitch of the trumpets and the shout of the people combined to create tremendous vibrations that crumbled the walls. Others argue that Israel marching in step created shock waves beneath the walls. In actual fact it was the Lord their God who did it!

And what connection, if any, is there between what happened 3,500 years ago and our lives today? The answer, I believe, is found in 2 Corinthians 10. It’s hard not to believe that the apostle Paul had the destruction of Jericho in mind when he wrote these words to the Corinthians:

(2 Cor. 10:3-5). 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

There is a sense in which we all encounter our own “Jericho’s” in life: through challenges, obstacles, opposition from people, Satan, false beliefs, temptations, seemingly insurmountable strongholds, times of difficulty and hardship.

So, what then are our weapons of warfare? Paul again in Eph. 6:13-18

13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

In conclusion we ask ourselves, “How big is our faith?’ Is it anywhere as big as what we have seen here in this “so called” battle of Jerico?

Finally, in the gospel of Luke 17:5,6 5 when the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

As with the people of Israel, so also with us today, it comes down to our faith: in God’s presence (1 Kings 8:57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us.)

The Lord be with you