BY FAITH THE WALLS OF JERICHO FELL

Hebrews 11:30

“By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.”

Today’s passage concerns the battle at Jericho. This was a very critical moment for the Israelites. God had brought them out of Egypt, and then led them to the Promised Land. But they had to claim the Promised Land and conquer it, driving out the nations before them.  The battle at Jericho was the first battle of their conquest and would determine their success or failure for the future. But their conquest was really about building God’s kingdom.

From the passage we pray to learn the faith to conquer the land and build God’s kingdom, bringing down all the walls that get in the way.

A Trained People.

From the time of crossing the Red Sea to the battle of Jericho, it had been 40 years, and the Israelites were a very different bunch of people. They had been 40 long years. Let’s think about what happened during these 40 long years to understand the condition of the people at the time of the battle of Jericho. 

First, the 40 years were 40 years of training in the desert directly under God. This consistently mainly of daily bread training, that is, their daily provisions. The Israelites did not get to eat whatever they wanted in the desert. In fact, there was not much of anything to eat. But God had provided them bread from heaven, called, manna. Early in the morning, while the dew was still wet, the Israelites had to go out and gather the bread that God had provided. They could only gather enough for one day. But if they did not gather bread by the time the dew vanished, then they did not get to eat that day. In this way, they ate only what God gave them to eat, for 40 years. They also did not have clothing stores to buy new clothes. They had to wear what God provided. And God provided that their current clothes and shoes did not wear out. They were trained to seek their daily provisions in God alone. 

Second, they were trained to follow God’s leading. God led them by a pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day. They did not get to go this way, or that way, according to their own desires. They did not get to take a break from travelling whenever they wanted. They had to keep a strict formation among the other tribes and follow the leading of God’s pillars of fire and cloud among them. In this way they had to eat what God gave them and they had to go where God led them only.

Third, they were trained in military experience through the defeat of the Amalekites, Sihon and Og. God was training his people to move from a slave people into a well-disciplined army to fight the Lord’s battles.

Fourth, they went through many pains. In particular, they saw the entire first generation of fighting men who had come out of Egypt die in the desert, along with all the rest of disobeyed and rebelled against God. They had to learn to obey God more than themselves as a matter of life and death.

After all these trainings, there was a successful change of leadership, from Moses to Joshua. Even though the leadership was changing, they were trained to follow God as their leader, not men. Then the Israelites entered the Promised Land, crossing the Jordan River. They had experienced God’s victory to lead them, finally, to put their feet into the Promised Land, and that day they ate the produce of the land. It tasted like sweet victory. Surely, God was going to give them the Promised Land. After this, and right before going to Jericho for battle, the people were circumcised. It was their pledge of commitment to the Lord and their repentance. The people now looked like a well-trained, well-disciplined, formidable army, ready to claim the Promised Land.

Relying on God alone. 

Finally, as the Israelites were at the borders of Jericho, their confidence was high and they were ready to charge right in. Joshua sent spies in to the land. They came back with the report. Let’s read Joshua 2:8-9 and 23-24 to see their report: “ 8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, ‘I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.’ ” “23 Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, ‘The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.’ ”

The report about the people and the land pushed the Israelites’ confidence over from God’s side to theirs. They were ready to rush into battle, yet Joshua did not pray about how God would want them to enter. Instead, he was getting ready to prepare his own war strategy. Although the walls of Jericho were high and well-fortified, for the passage says that “no one came in and no one went out” and that they were “tightly shut up,” Joshua and the Israelites, in their self-confidence, did not see the situation for what it really was. Instead, the walls of Jericho looked like a sand castle that they were ready to trample on. 

But the stakes were too high. The battle of Jericho was the first battle of the conquest of the Promised Land. It would be the example, or the model, of how they were to conquer the entire land. But not just that, it would reflect how they were to live in the land as well after conquering it. They were serving God’s purpose, not their own. And it was at this point that God intervened and appeared to Joshua.

Let’s look at Joshua 5:13-14. “13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ 14 ‘Neither,’ he replied, ‘but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.’ Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, ‘What message does my Lord have for his servant?’ 

Here we see that the Lord came to Joshua with a drawn sword. Joshua had to decide if he were on the Lord’s side or for the Lord’s enemies. God wanted Joshua to remember that God was the real commander. They were his servants in his army. They were going to do it God’s way, not according to the people’s confidence or abilities. Joshua accepted and sought out God’s message and way. We learn from Joshua to seek out God’s ways, and not to go according to our own confidence or plans, for we are serving the Lord’s purpose.

What was God’s way? What was his war strategy to take on Jericho? Let’s look at Joshua 6:2-5. “2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 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. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in.’ ”

God’s strategy is very different from conventional war practices at the time. In those days the soldiers from both sides would line up and give a war cry. Usually, the general in charge of the troops would give a speech to his troops to muster their courage. Here is an example of one such speech, from General Patton, during World War II to his Ameircan troops: “Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about America wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of [expletive]. Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones. Second, you are here for your own self respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real men like to fight. When you, here, everyone of you, were kids, you all admired the champion marble player, the fastest runner, the toughest boxer, the big league ball players, and the All-American football players. Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American."

As we can see, conventional fighting is done by human strength. It is based on our own adrenaline and strength and power—it is completely self-reliant. In this case, the Israelites should have been preparing ladders to scale the walls, or finding a way to get people inside the city to get the walls open and the Israelites inside, somehow. But what did the Israelites have to do? They had to march in silence around the city one time a day for six days, and on the seventh day they had to do it seven times. Then, when the trumpets gave a loud blast, they would shout and the walls would come down. They had to march following the ark of the covenant of God which was leading them, together with the priests blowing the trumpets. 

This strategy sounded very strange, and practically useless for war against Jericho. It also put them at risk. The enemies had a good chance to preemptively strike the Israelites and shoot them down one by one.

Why did God give them this strategy to fight the battle?  It was for them to rely on him. This battle was God’s battle and they were part of God’s army. God brings down walls. God’s strategy didn’t leave any room this battle to be fought by the self-confidence of the Israelites. In fact, God almost removed the Israelites. Because of their confidence, the Israelites couldn’t see the situation for what it really was. They couldn’t see God’s purpose or plan. But as they marched in silence and looked at those walls, they could get a reality check and see that there was no way they were going to get inside without God. They were somber in attitude as they marched around the walls, listening to the sound of the trumpets. They had to move prayerfully and seeing the walls come down by faith in God’s word. Had they moved forward and attacked, they would have been defeated and not gone forward, because of the walls. The Israelites had to rely on him alone. The battle was not the Israelites versus the walls of Jericho, but a battle to rely on God and obey him by faith. God was removing their self-confidence as the basis for fighting.

Faith in the gospel

Yet, there is a much deeper meaning to God’s strategy for the battle. The point of God's strategy was not just to make the Israelites do something mysterious to learn faith, the point was to teach them the gospel which brings down walls. And this is the message that was made known through the marching.

When we look closely at God’s strategy against Jericho, we can find the gospel message. What was leading the procession? It was the ark of the covenant of God. The ark of the covenant was the Israelites most valued possession. It was the symbol of God’s presence among them. Yet, it was made vulnerable and leading the procession. What is the ark of the covenant all about? It was about God’s promise to restore fellowship between God and man, essentially, the gospel message. We can understand this through the articles kept inside the ark. What was inside the ark?

The golden jar of manna (bread): Manna was the bread God provided for the Israelites to live in the desert. It represents Jesus’ body which was given from heaven and broken on the cross to save us from our sins and give us eternal life.

Aaron’s staff that budded: A staff is made from dead wood. But God made this staff sprout, bud, blossom and produce almonds. This staff represents the resurrection in Jesus.

The Ten Commandments: This represents God’s righteousness which is fulfilled in Jesus, and ultimately the love relationship with God.

Therefore it is called the ark of the “covenant,” representing the promise of the gospel in Jesus to be restored to God in perfect fellowship as his people. Serving the ark of the covenant were the priests and priestly musicians. (Normally, you do not send the priests and musicians to the front lines of the battle. They would definitely die first and quick.) As the trumpets blew each day, they drew attention to the ark proclaiming the gospel message. With each march, the gospel message was proclaimed before the city and before the Israelites, resounding the message of God’s salvation and judgment. It was salvation to those who accepted the message they heard, such as Rahab and her household, yet also the message of judgment to those who heard the sound, the gospel message, and yet hardened their hearts. 

Yet, the gospel message is the same as relying on God, from the previous lesson God wanted to teach the Israelites, for in the gospel of Jesus we find the message of complete reliance on God alone. We cannot save ourselves from the power of sin and death. We could not come to God on our own, without Jesus Christ. It was the same for the Israelites. They couldn’t save themselves from Egypt. Their best effort was Moses killing one man and then running away from Egypt. Only by faith in Jesus Christ we come to God prayerfully seeking his complete help and mercy. We come to him by faith that Jesus has won the battle and paid the price for us to be saved. We come to him by faith that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and has given me hope in God’s kingdom and resurrection. And it is by faith in Jesus that all the walls between God and us are broken down and we have restored fellowship with God and become part of God’s family. The walls and chains of sin are broken and we can live a new life. This has been a recurring message in the book of Hebrews: the saving power of Jesus Christ for those who believe. 

How did the Israelites respond to God’s strategy? Let’s read Joshua 6:20: “ 20 When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city.” Now let’s read the key verse: Heb 11:30. “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.” 

They relied on God. When they decided to rely on God, they obeyed him absolutely, without turning away from his instructions. It means they did not have a contingency plan, just in case the walls didn’t fall down. This was no trial and error game. How do you think they felt when they saw those walls collapse? We feel great when we accomplish something on our own. But the joy of obeying God and then seeing his victory is far greater. A key part of the battle is not fighting against walls, but it is fighting to obey God.

This is the key point that God wants us to learn: rely on God completely; apart from him we can do nothing. This is the fundamental lesson to learn, because we are in the same situation. We have been saved, and God has called us to conquer the land. This first battle was the example of how to do it. And self-reliance is not the way to do it. The fundamental thing to learn is: apart from Jesus I can't do it. We will fail in our whole life's mission if we are apart from Jesus. We have to accept this fundamental truth to rely on God fully and alone and that apart from him we can do nothing. So then no matter how big walls may be, God can bring them down. 

This teaches us obedience to the gospel and reliance only on the gospel of Jesus-his cross and resurrection and teachings. We cannot rely on ourselves at all, but must rely on the gospel. The gospel is God’s way to break down walls and make a highway to God. Especially in our labor to advance the kingdom of God, we must rely on the gospel to break down walls. We cannot rely on our public speaking skills, persuasion (rhetoric), making friendships, or even Bible knowledge or past experience in any way. We cannot bring walls down, only the gospel of Jesus can bring walls down. So we need to faithfully march around the city, which is, to serve the gospel message by faith in God who will lead us to triumph.

IV. The fruit of faith

Through their faith and obedience God taught them to participate in his work of salvation and judgment. Participation is very important. God had called the people to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. He has called those who in Jesus Christ in the same way. It means that we are God’s agents of his salvation and judgment. We serve the gospel message. 

In this way God brought the life of the Israelites and our lives to an elevated level, to a spiritual level. God didn’t bring them into the Promised Land so that they would live like the nations God drove out. They were to participate in God’s work of salvation and judgment through serving the gospel message faithfully, relying on God. This participation in the gospel work is the key to experiencing the fruit of faith.

May God help us to participate in his work of salvation and judgment by serving the gospel message by faith alone, relying only on God. Even though when we think about the reality, it looks extremely bad and only getting worse, and though the reality makes us want to despair, we have to faithfully serve the gospel message, believing that it will tear down all the walls. For example, last Thursday the California Supreme Court decided that the ban on gay marriages was illegal and a form of unlawful discrimination. And this message is going to be spread throughout the school systems and into the minds of our children. Furthermore, the college campus looks like the last place for successful ministry. But the real fight is not against government issues, but to serve the gospel message to sinful man. By faith, by relying on God alone, we must continue to march around seven times; keep praying for students and keep inviting them to Bible study and serving them the gospel message. In God’s way and time, the walls will fall. But may he help us to be faithful and rely on him, and obedient to serve the gospel of Jesus. 

Let’s read the key verse again: Hebrews 11:30: “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.”

One Word: Rely on God completely

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