Posts tagged ‘Joshua’

 

Joshua 6:1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.  ²And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. ³And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

 

Here we read that the LORD told Joshua to “See” that He (God) had already given the city to Joshua.

 

The LORD was telling him to see it as a done deal, that the battle was already won.

 

The fact is that this is the way it was as far as God was concerned. But it was Joshua and Israel that had to get their seeing in line with what the LORD had already said and done. They had only to act on the word of God or obey.

 

They had been in this type of circumstance before in Numbers 13. Let’s read and learn.

 

Numbers 13:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

²Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, everyone a ruler among them.

 

Here the LORD is saying that HE had already given the land to them. Their responsibility was to walk through the land to see the goodness of the land and to see that it was already theirs.

 

The problem here, though, was that they did walk through the land and did see the goodness of the land but they did not see it as given to them and being theirs. What they did see, observe and speak of were the problems and not the promises of the LORD.

 

They allowed their imagination to work against them instead of for them.

 

When we see what the LORD is saying or use our imagination to see the process through, and then act on the word in whatever way is needed, then we get the fruit of the promise in our lives.

 

The ten spies allowed their imaginations of the walled cities and the giants to overrule and to override the power of the promises of the LORD.

 

Where we set our imaginations and what imaginations we act on is what we are going to receive.

 

This is why the Psalmist prayed the following:

 

Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

 

The ten spies came back with an evil report: The walled cities are more than we can conquer and an even worse meditation; they saw themselves as grasshoppers.

 

It is important that we make our words the words of the LORD or be quiet. Then see to it that our meditations are on the promise and not the problem.

 

Your words, meditations and actions affect not only you but those around you; even the generations to come.

 

The result of the words and the meditations of the ten spies was another thirty eight years in the wilderness for the rest of the nation; most of whom never saw the Promised Land but died in the wilderness.

 

Let’s go back to Joshua and Israel at Jericho.

 

The LORD gave instructions on what to do so as to take what HE said was already theirs.

 

Joshua 6:3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. ⁴And 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 seven priests shall blow with the trumpets.

 

If you read Joshua 6:1-11 we find that there were armed men going before the priests with the ark and blowing trumpets. Then there were armed men following behind the priests. The armed men and the people were to remain silent; they were not to speak at all until Joshua told them to.

 

For six days they marched around the city once each day in the prescribed procession totally silent except for the seven priests blowing the trumpet.

 

Then on the seventh day this was the scene:

 

Joshua 6:15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. ¹⁶ And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout: for the LORD hath given you the city.

 

For six days they walked around the city looking at the walls, but being quiet. By not talking they had opportunity to meditate on what it was that they saw: a walled city too big for them. Or they could meditate on what the LORD had said.

 

The sound of the trumpets, the ram’s horn, was for them the voice of the LORD, saying “I have given you the city.” For six days this is all that was heard. For six days they meditated on this sound of the LORD going before them.

 

When the seventh day came they marched to the sound of the trumpets, the voice of the LORD, for seven times around the city. This time Israel did obey the word of the LORD and received the promise. Jericho was taken.

 

Their words and their meditations were pleasing in the sight of the LORD. Ours can be as well.

 

When we meditate on what the LORD has said and obey HIS voice, we, like Israel at Jericho, will win the battle and occupy the Land of Promise