Joshua 6:1-14 “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. So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.”
For six days, the Israelites marched around Jericho once a day blowing trumpets. According to Rahab the harlot, the citizens of Jericho were already terrorized by God’s reputation, so nobody came out of Jericho to threaten the Israelites. But the Israelites themselves must have felt a little silly, especially when they reached the sixth day and nothing was happening. What was God up to?
The geology of the area of Jericho is fascinating. The Dead Sea Fault runs from the Red Sea to southeastern Turkey, and the Jericho Fault is a major part of the Dead Sea Fault. Two tectonic plates come together at this fault. This means that the entire area is potentially prone to earthquakes and slippages. It was likely a slippage that dammed up the Jordan River, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry ground. (https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2018GL077547)
The construction of the Jericho walls is equally interesting. While the foundations of the walls of Jericho were stone, the upper parts of the wall were sun – baked mud brick. But why force the Israelites to march around Jericho once a day for six days? Why not just tell them to march around seven times one day and be done with it?
God knew that both the Israelites and the citizens of Jericho were highly superstitious. Following rituals was nothing new to these people. As the Israelites kept marching once a day for six days, the people of Jericho must have become increasingly terrified. Obviously, the Israelites intended to attack; the only questions were when and how? The longer the Israelites marched around Jericho, the more demoralized the citizens of Jericho became, rendering them far less likely to resist. But what did the rest of the Israelites think after they had marched six days without anything happening? By this point, there might have been people wondering if anything was going to happen!
APPLICATION: Many times, we may have prayed for something, expecting swift answers to prayer, only to feel like the Israelites on Day #6. We have been obedient, but nothing is happening and we wonder if we really heard God properly or if we are merely deceiving ourselves. We begin to doubt both ourselves and God. We might even begin to think things such as “Well, perhaps I just imagined that God told me to pray this way. Perhaps I have deluded myself. Is there any point to continuing or do I need to quit?”
One of the wonderful but frustrating parts of God’s Kingdom is the fact that His timing is split – second. Remember that when the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan, it was only when the priests’ feet touched the water that the water began to dry up. By requiring the Israelites to march around Jericho for six days in a row without any visible results, God was ensuring that they would learn to trust Him far more than they already had.
Are you frustrated because you have been praying for years without any results? George Mueller was a man of great faith who founded orphanages in Bristol, England that cared for thousands of orphans. Mueller prayed and asked God for help; however, he never sent out any appeals or staged any campaigns. In addition to the orphanages, Mueller supported Sunday schools, Christian literature distribution, and a number of missions, including Hudson Taylor’s China Inland Mission. Reading Mueller’s biography is like getting a glimpse into the life of Elijah or one of the other miracle – working prophets. And yet, there was one man for whom Mueller prayed for more than forty years. This man was the son of one of Mueller’s friends, and he had emigrated to Canada where he intended to live as he pleased without his father’s Christian beliefs interfering with him. Mueller’s friend died; however, Mueller persisted in praying for the friend’s son. It was only upon Mueller’s death that the son finally repented and came to know Christ as Savior and Lord.
Has God asked you to do something unusual and you are beginning to feel like the Israelites on Day # 6? Take heart! Hang in there! Day #7 is coming. Your miracle may be closer than you think!
PRAYER: Father God, there are some people reading this devotional who are becoming discouraged. Prayers, petitions, even fasting, is not yielding any results and they wonder if they heard You correctly in the first place. Lord, strengthen these loved ones and comfort them. Help them to know that You are still in the miracle business but that Your timing is perfect. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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