The Land Flowing with Milk and Honey 7
Joshua 6:12-16
12 Now Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went before them and the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while they continued to blow the trumpets. 14 Thus the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did so for six days.
15 Then on the seventh day they rose early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same manner seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times. 16 At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city.
Brothers and sisters, up to the last session, we’d gone over how the Israelites crossed the Jordan and reached the threshold of the City of Jericho. The flow of the overflowing Jordan River stopped by God’s almighty power, and all of them crossed it as if they were walking through dry land. Experiencing the work of God who was with them boosted their morale all the more, while the Canaanites trembled in fear.
But, to perfectly take possession of Canaan, they still had a lot to go through. The next obstacle, the City of Jericho was even more difficult to overcome. The two-layer wall of Jericho was thick enough for chariots to run on it. Also, heavily armed soldiers were standing guard. There was absolutely no way for the Israelites to conquer the city on their own. But, God had already decided that He would give victory to Israel in this battle.
God said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.” In saying this, God presented detailed strategies for victory. As we explore how God led Israel to victory, I hope all of you get life and strength out of this message in its entirety. I pray in our Lord’s name that by doing so, you’ll have all your problems resolved by God’s power, win all your spiritual battles, and give glory to God.
(Joshua 6:2)
Brothers and sisters, as already explained, the City of Jericho was so sturdy and had a double-layered wall, so it was extremely difficult to attack it. Nowadays, we could just blow it up with the use of artillery but at that time, things like gunpowder hadn’t been even invented yet. But, God directly notified them of how to destroy Jericho. He told all the soldiers and the people to march around the City once a day for six days, and seven times on the seventh day.
Then, how many times did they march around it? They marched once a day for 6 days and on the seventh day, they marched around it seven times from the dawning of the day, so they marched 13 times in total. It’s not to say the number thirteen has a spiritual meaning.
But their marching around Jericho for seven days and their marching around it seven times on the seventh day have a meaning. Seven spiritually signifies perfection, so it means that we have to wholly believe the word of God and obey just as we’re told. Also in the Book of 2 Kings, Elisha told General Naaman that he would be cleansed if he dipped himself in the Jordan seven times. Because water signifies the word of God spiritually, dipping himself seven times signified perfect obedience (to the word of God.)
If you perfectly abide by God’s word, with God’s work, you can have all your problems resolved. Brothers and sisters, while the Israelites marched around the City, the seven priests were in the front, holding trumpets of rams’ horns. They were followed by the people carrying the ark of the LORD’s covenant.
And, God told them that they shall march around the City seven times on the seventh day, and when the priests made a long blast with the trumpets, they shall give a loud shout. Giving a loud shout matters. It signifies crying out in prayer. Before the Exodus, as the people cried out to God in prayer, God listened.
In so many scenes of the Bible, the prophets or the Lord’s disciples cried out in prayer. Most of all, even our Lord prayed to the point where His sweat turned into drops of blood. In reviving Lazarus, Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” Even when He breathed His last, He cried with a loud voice, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.”
God always emphasizes crying with a loud voice. The same way, to the Israelites standing before the City, God told them to give a loud shout. Even if they shouted loudly, how could the walls that didn’t have ears crumble down? All they had to do was obey. That strategy was total nonsense from man’s perspective, but Israel obeyed without any doubt.
The following day, the people of Jericho saw a really bizarre scene. As the entire army of Israel rose and headed towards the City, they assumed they would soon attack them. Putting themselves on high alert, they braced themselves for a fight.
But, what they did was just march around the City with the ark of God’s covenant once and return to their camp. On Day 2 as well, all of them came and without throwing a single stone, they only marched around and went back. On Day 3, 4, 5, and 6 as well, the only thing they did was march around the City and go back.
The people of Jericho absolutely had no idea why they did so. A surprising fact here is, even while the Israelites marched around their City, the soldiers of Jericho didn’t even dare shoot a single arrow. Why didn’t they?
It’s because they had already been overcome by fear, having heard about many signs and wonders manifested by the God of Israel. They’d clearly remembered the splitting of the Red Sea which happened 40 years earlier. And, not long ago, they watched the Jordan River stop flowing before their eyes. Being extremely nervous and anxious, they were just helpless and couldn’t do anything.
In addition, Israel’s strategy was unusual. Even while they were completely unarmed, they were boldly marching around with trumpets of rams’ horns. As time went by, the people of Jericho became more afraid and couldn’t dare attack them. Because God gave them fear, they got increasingly frightened by Israel’s mysterious actions. They couldn’t do anything but watch them.
It was a little different on the seventh day. The Israelites came out earlier, marched around the City seven times, made a long blast with trumpets, and gave a loud shout. Then, an absolutely incredible thing happened. Even with the attack from a big army, it would’ve been difficult to leave a hole on the double-layered wall, but it collapsed instantly. I want you to visualize this.
Usually, when people tear down walls or buildings, they can’t make them crumble down at once. But, how was it possible that such a thick wall which was over 2 meters high crumbled down in an instant without their laying their hand on it once! Such incredible works which aren’t to be found in any other war history repeatedly took place with Israel whom God was with.
As the shouting of the people reverberated, the wall instantly turned into heaps of stones with thunderous roars and dust covering the sky over the city. With loud screams from the rubble echoing throughout, its soldiers ran away terrified and confused. While the city was in a state of a complete mess, it was so easy for the Israelites to take it over.
Brothers and sisters, in our life, we often encounter obstacles like an impregnable City of Jericho. We find ourselves in a trouble on a personal, household, or national scale, where we are completely helpless. In such a time as this, people with strong will make utmost efforts to deal with it. But, no matter how strong-willed and capable they are, they are helpless before problems that are beyond man’s limits to resolve.
After agonizing in unbearable distress, they fall into despair and just give up. But, the children of God who have faith have nothing to worry about no matter the circumstance because they believe that even what is impossible by man is possible by God’s power. God who created the heavens and the earth, split the Red Sea, and delivered Israel out of Egypt stopped the flow of the Jordan and destroyed Jericho. The same way, He can solve all our problems.
The only thing we have to do is find out what God’s will is and boldly act in faith. Also, as for matters we can resolve on our own, we can get them done much easier if we get strengthened by God. The Bible says, “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.” Namely, if we only rely on the LORD, our God, and march in faith without involving worldly ways and knowledge, God will fight for us and always lead us to victory.
(Psalm 20:7)
Thus, no matter the problem, we shouldn’t rely on man, authority, knowledge or worldly ways. As we rely only on God and pray, God will take responsibility, solve all our problems, and bless us.
As the Israelites took over Jericho, they didn’t take any of the spoils from the City privately. They burnt them or set them apart as sacrifices to offer to God. And, they killed all the people and animals of the City, following God’s command.
Hearing of God’s command to destroy all things from the City, some people suspect that God is scary or cruel. I’m sorry that I say the word ‘cruel’ in referring to God, but that’s how those people who don’t believe or know Him feel about Him. But, there were just reasons for God to command it. Let’s find out why.
The Israelites’ offering God the spoils of the City is the same as our offering the first income, first fruit to God. Because the spoils were what they obtained first in the Promised Land, they first offered them to God. Also, it was essential that the people and the animals of the City be killed to preserve the holiness of Israel.
The inhabitants of Canaan had been living a corrupt life with great iniquities, adulterously worshipping many idols. If they had been left alive to dwell with the Israelites, Israel would’ve been drenched in sins and evil and ended up in death, right? This was the reason Moses exhorted them, “You shall consume all the peoples whom the LORD your God will deliver to you; your eye shall not pity them, nor shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.” This was why Israel annihilated the citizens of Jericho.
(Deuteronomy 7:16)
As for those who haven’t learned the situation in detail and involve fleshly thoughts, they may see the conquest of Canaan as unjust. They misunderstand that God took away the land from the Canaanites already living there, gave it to Israel, and commanded all of them to be killed. But, these conquest battles were not simply about God’s blessing the Israelites and giving them the land.
It was also His righteous judgment on the Canaanites drenched in sins and evil. In Genesis 15 is a scene where God foretold Abraham that his offspring would enter Canaan. He said that Abraham’s offspring, the Israelites, would live as slaves in a foreign land and return to Canaan, but the time hadn’t come yet.
And, God explained the reason, “for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” Reading the Bible, we often find a scene where God exercised His judgment when people in a specific area had become severely corrupt and drenched in iniquities. The reason is, if He’d let them be so and not judged them, their iniquities would’ve spread all over the world like a pandemic and seriously interfered with His providence of the human cultivation. Thus, if people’s iniquities reach a certain point, God cannot but judge them (according to His justice).
Genesis 15:16
Sodom and Gomorrah from Genesis also faced the judgment with fire and brimstone for having been drenched in sins and evil. In the days of Noah, people faced the judgment for the same reason. The same went for Pompeii, a historically well-known city. Those who’ve been on a pilgrimage trip might’ve seen the ruins of the City. One day in AD 79, Mount Vesuvius located near Pompeii erupted all of a sudden.
Amidst the eruption, the citizens of Pompeii were engulfed before even making an attempt to run away, and the city that had greatly prospered was completely buried under the ashes. Its remains excavated later testify that the people were so corrupt from both religious and moral perspectives so God’s judgment was unavoidable. Like those cities, the Canaanites were severely corrupt and soon to be judged.
God judged the Canaanites by having His people, the Israelites, destroy them. But, we should never misunderstand God. God doesn’t destroy people right away just because they’re sinners deserving His judgment. God stays patient until their iniquities reach the intolerable point, giving them chances for repentance. In the Book of Jonah, God proclaimed He would destroy Nineveh.
But as all of its people including the king himself and the animals repented and fasted in ashes, how did God respond? He extended His mercy and forgiveness. For a long time, He gave many chances to the Canaanites as well. Even so, they didn’t repent to the end, finally being destroyed by His judgment.
Even while He was judging them, God set apart those who were good-hearted and feared Him, allowing them to live in His mercy and favor. One of them was the harlot named Rahab who hid the Israelite spies. As she heard about the works God manifested through Israel, she came to believe in and fear God, so she hid the spies from Israel.
The spies promised to save Rahab and her family during the Israel’s attack on Jericho and they did keep their word. But, they offered to do it under a condition. When Rahab helped them escape through a window, she used a scarlet cord. Rahab had to tie that scarlet cord in the window, and her family had to stay in the house marked with that scarlet cord. If they didn’t do so, they couldn’t be saved.
It was an essential condition for them to be protected in such a chaotic battle. While the Israelites killed so many people, they couldn’t check every person to see whether he/she was of Rahab’s family. In a way, this was similar to the conditions to avoid the death of the firstborns during the Exodus. The Israelites had conditions to follow to be protected (from the Plague of the Death of the Firstborns).
They had to apply the blood of a lamb on their doorposts and they were not to go outside. This carries spiritual principles on how the children of God can be protected from the worldly disasters. Nowadays, the world is drenched in sins and evil with thick darkness. As days go by, all kinds of disasters become more rampant. Countless people suffer from wars, famine, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, diseases and lose their lives. But those who believe in the Lord can be protected from disasters by work of the precious blood of the Lamb, our Lord. The condition is to live in His precious blood.
Namely, those who live in His precious blood, the Lord, the truth, and the word of God are protected. Just as the Israelites applied the blood on their doorposts and didn’t walk out the door and Rahab’s family stayed inside the house marked with the scarlet cord, we shouldn’t befriend the world filled with sins and evil so that we can be protected. The Bible says, “The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
(1 John 3:24)
As you dwell in the Lord and His precious blood, you abide in Him, and He in you. Therefore, you can always be protected. To paraphrase, no matter how many times you say, “I believe You, Lord,” unless you keep His commandments and abide in Him, God cannot protect you. Today, while people profess to believe in the Lord, so many of them suffer from all kinds of disasters, trials, and tribulations because they don’t know this fact.
If any of you are suffering from any trials, tribulations, or disasters, I urge you to keep the word of God at least from now on. If you dwell in the light, God protects you from facing any disaster. I ask in our Lord’s name that all of you will always enjoy His protection on account of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for us.
There’s another startling incident in regard to the Conquest of Canaan. After Joshua followed God’s command and destroyed Jericho drenched in sins and evil, He declared with an oath that the City would never be rebuilt. The Bible says, “Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.”
(Joshua 6:26)
We can find how strictly God judged them for their iniquities. And, 1 Kings 16:34 confirms how the words of Joshua were fully guaranteed by God. “In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.”
1 Kinh 16:34
This verse is about an incident which happened during King Ahab’s reign, about 500 years after Joshua’s oath. This enlightens us on the fact that the words of the Lord’s servants whom God is with are guaranteed. God never forgets the words of a servant whom He is with but makes sure to guarantee them, while people forget or faintly remember the words with the passing of time.
After taking over Jericho, Israel advanced towards the City of Ai, their next target. After spying on the City, the spies suggested, “Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.”
Joshua 7:3
Having conquered the impregnable Jericho so easily, they thought that taking Ai which was smaller was a piece of cake. But, here, the Israelites forgot something. They won victory in Jericho not because they had outstanding power but thanks to God’s presence. Remembering this, they shouldn’t have acted based on what they physically saw and man’s thoughts but discerned God’s will first.
It looked like they were strong enough to take over that small City of Ai on their own. According to the spies’ suggestion, three thousand men went up to attack the City and suffered a miserable defeat. Not only did they lose the battle but thirty six of them died, which was really shocking. They were convinced that God would be with them and they would win victory for sure. But, not being able to take that small city, they had casualties. What could they do about this?
This wasn’t just a single defeat. The fact that God was not with them was a serious problem. Regarding this, the Bible says, “the hearts of the people melted and became as water.” Because of this shocking defeat, Joshua tore his clothes, fell facedown to the ground, and pleaded with God until evening along with the elders of Israel. How did God respond to this? What was wrong with this people of God that they were defeated by the City of Ai even though they had conquered Jericho? We’ll talk about this in detail in the next session.
Joshua 7:5)
The Bible says, “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But victory belongs to the LORD.” People may do this and that to prepare for a battle, but victory rests on God. We do need to make preparations with faith, but the outcome wholly depends on God, so we have to commit things to Him by faith. While the almighty God was with Israel, they could take over the impregnable City of Jericho in an instant. But without God, they were not able to take over even a small city of Ai.
Proverbs 21:31
This wasn’t just the case in Israel’s history but applies to all affairs of our lives today. No matter how difficult our problems, God can make anything possible. What problems do you have to resolve? What goals do you have? I urge you to commit things to God only and be provided with His strength.
I urge you to discern God’s will with clear voice of the Holy Spirit and His guidance, not insisting on man’s thoughts and ways. If only you obey His will, your problems will be resolved and your heart’s wish will be fulfilled, just as the thick wall of Jericho crumbled down in an instant. This applies to resolving our church issues as well as our own problems.
When we draw up a big plan for the fulfillment of God’s providence or when we make decisions for your personal matters, if we always hear the Spirit’s voice and obey, God takes responsibility for the outcome. Therefore, in all your affairs, I exhort you to discern God’s will first and obey. As you do so, I pray in our Lord’s name that the almighty God directly intervenes in your spiritual battles and always gives you victory until the day you enter New Jerusalem.