Fall
With the single word subject of “fall,” it would be fair for you to assume that this whole article will be about my sheer excitement about the arrival of fall. YES!!!! I’m so glad for the moderate to cooler temps. I enjoy the brisk morning run. I’m ready for backyard fire pits and falling leaves! However; the single word “fall” is being utilized in this article to prepare us for the fall of Jericho in Joshua in Joshua 6. An account that we know all too well. We have even learned about the fall of Jericho in a well-known children’s Sunday school song. The fall happened because of a series of instructions that The Lord gave to Joshua. Friends, The Lord gives us specific directions as to how we are supposed to follow Him, and even when those directions seem strange, following His way will cause us to succeed.
God wants our total obedience and devotion and our trust that He is working on our behalf. We often don’t understand His ways, but we don’t have to. We need to trust Him. God usually works in ways that require our dependence on Him. In the case of Jericho, God had already promised the city to Israel. He instructed them to march around the city, blowing trumpets, a ritual that proclaimed victory—what we might think of as a “victory lap.”
The Israelites wouldn’t have to fight, but they still needed to exhibit a faith that God would deliver on His promise. God’s promises have been fulfilled in many of the Old Testament Biblical accounts. Whether it’s Joshua with trumpets and rams horns, Gideon with torches and pitchers (Jud. 7), or David with his sling (1 Sam. 17), God delights in using weakness and seeming foolishness to defeat His enemies and glorify His name. In each one of these accounts, God’s promises were fulfilled.
Friends, The fall of Jericho is an encouragement to God’s people to trust the Lord’s promises and obey His instructions, no matter how impossible the situation may appear to be. You and I may not capture a city as Joshua did, but we face enemies and high walls that challenge us in our everyday lives. The only way to grow in faith is to accept new challenges and trust God to give you victory. When reading Joshua 6, we are reminded (through the application of this Biblical account) that even our present world will be subjected to the judgment of God. No matter what “walls” and “gates” this present evil world will try to hide behind, God’s wrath will eventually meet all of us.
As you prepare and pray for our time of gathering this coming Sunday, pray specifically for the Father to enable you as he does for Israel. Pray that you will be empowered to destroy the things in your life that keep you from worshipping God. Then finally, ask him to reveal His power to you and to send you out to be His witness of His grace and salvation.