OVERCOMING OUR WALLED CITIES

Joshua 6:1-15

OVERCOMING OUR WALLED CITIES

Intro: The ancient city of Jericho was a very well-built, walled city. History tells us that it was surrounded by 2 massive stone walls. The outer wall was 6 feet thick and 20 feet high. The inner wall was 12 feet thick and 30 feet high. There was a 15-foot guarded walkway between these two walls. From a military standpoint, it was practically impenetrable. 

The walled city of Jericho stood as a physical and psychological obstacle between the people of Israel and them claiming the land God had promised them. Before they could move deeper into Canaan, the walled city of Jericho first had to fall.

That ancient city that stood between Israel and victory is a picture of those things that are entrenched and rooted in our lives. It represents the things that prevent us from going deeper with God ourselves. There may be things embedded in your life that hinder your walk with God. 

It may be some besetting sin that prevents you from going deeper in the things of God. It may be a root of bitterness and unforgiveness that stands between you and God’s best. It may be an old, bad attitude that is holding you back. It could be something from your past that you struggle with day by day. It might be some person that stands larger than God in your eyes. It might be some hurt, some slight you have endured that keeps you from moving forward with God. Whatever it is, that thing stands as a stronghold in your life and it stands between you and God’s best for you. Whatever it is, it has you stopped in your tracks, and you will move no farther until you overcome that stronghold in your life. Before you will ever receive all God has for you, that stronghold must be torn down!

 As we consider this pivotal moment in Israel’s history, we can find the help we need to overcome our strongholds. Notice the lessons that present themselves in this passage as we talk about Overcoming Our Strongholds.

 I.  5:13-15 THE LESSON ABOUT SUPREMACY

Although we looked at these verses last week, they have much to do with the passage that lies before us today. Let’s take just a moment to refresh our minds about the content and context of these verses.

A.  There Is A Supreme Person – This individual that Joshua meets outside the walls of Jericho identifies Himself as “The Captain of the host of the Lord.” This nothing less than a personal, pre-Bethlehem manifestation and appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Joshua came face to face with Jesus Christ!

This speaks of the matter of Salvation. Before we can ever enjoy victory in our journey, we must first commence the journey. The journey begins with salvation! Is the Lord Jesus Christ your Savior today? Has there ever been a specific moment in your life when you knew that you were a sinner headed to Hell and that only Jesus could save you? Do you remember the time when you were saved by the power and grace of God? If it has happened to you, you will know it!  When Someone the size of God gets in you, you will be aware of it! Have you had a personal confrontation with the Person of God? This is just a thought, but notice that Joshua’s encounter with the Lord caused him to bow in worship, v. 14. Did you see that? Your desire to worship says a lot about your relationship with God. Salvation will leave you worshiping, but it will also leave you bowing, v. 14.

B.  There Is A Supreme Position – Next, the Lord tells Joshua that He is the “Captain of the Lord’s host.” That is, He is the One Who is always victorious. He is the One Who is walking in victory even before the battle is fought. He is the One Who is in control of all situations.  He is reminding Joshua Who really fights the battles!

This speaks of our Sanctification. We must come to the place where we recognize that if there will ever be any victories in our life, they will come about because of His power and not our own. We must understand that we are to yield to His power in every area of our lives and that we are to trust Him to secure the victory for us in every battle we fight. So then, sanctification is our coming to the place where we dedicate our lives to Him and trust Him to bring us to the place of victory. Sanctification is us acknowledging Him to be Lord in every area of our lives.  

Is that true for you? Or, are there areas of your life that are off-limits to God? Real sanctification knows that He is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all! It knows that He must be given the Master key to every area of life. Have you come to terms with Who is really in control? Until you do, you can forget about sustained victory, you might as well get used to defeat.

C.  There Is A Supreme Power – When Joshua meets this man, there are a couple of things that are strange about their meeting. First, there is the Lord’s answer to Joshua’s challenge. Joshua asked Him, “Are you for us or for them?” The Lord answered, “No!” That’s really strange! Then, there is the matter of what the Lord tells Joshua to do in verse 15. There he is told to loose his shoe off his foot. Why just one? When Moses met the Lord at the burning bush, he was told to remove both shoes, Ex. 3:5. That sure is strange!

However, these two events speak to us about the matter of Surrender. When Joshua asked the Lord if He was for Israel or Israel’s enemies, the Lord said, “No!” What the Lord is saying is this, “Joshua, I didn’t come to take sides, I came to take over!” This is a call for Joshua to surrender to the authority of the Lord in the battle at Jericho. Joshua is made to realize that God, not Joshua, is the power behind the victory that will come. 

What a lesson for the church! We must learn that our success and our victory will never be a matter of our own power or ability. God is simply reminding us, as He did Joshua, that He is not here to take sides in our battles, He is here to take over!

Why did the Lord just ask for one shoe? The answer lies in ancient customs. When a covenant was made between two individuals, in which one possessed the power to keep the covenant and the other didn’t, the weaker individual handed the other individual one of his shoes. It was his way of saying, “I can’t, but you can.” This is seen in Ruth 4:6-8. For Joshua, this was a challenge for him to come to the place where he could admit his own weakness and inability to gain victory. It was a call for him to surrender to the Lord. For us, we need to learn the truth that we can’t, but He can! 

Maybe you are on this meeting and you have been trying to fight your battles in your power and you just keep getting one whipping after another. You need to draw off your shoe, hand it to God and say, “Lord, I can’t fight these battles, but you can! I can’t win the victories I need in my life, but you can!” In essence, we need to come to the place of absolute surrender! To that place where we, and all we have, are at the feet of God.  To the place where we are willing to say, once and for all, “I can’t Lord, but You can!”