OVERCOMING OUR WALLED CITIES (Part 2)

OVERCOMING OUR WALLED CITIES: 

JOSHUA 6: 1-5

1. 6:1-5 THERE IS A LESSON ABOUT SUBMISSION

The second major step in the path toward spiritual victory over the strongholds of life demands confidence in the Lord. There are three areas in which Joshua displayed absolute submission. These need to be true concerning us as well.

1. v. 1-2 He Was Submissive to God’s Promises – Before Joshua goes to battle against the city of Jericho; he is reminded of the Lord’s promises to give Israel the victory. There were Past Promises – Josh. 2:9 and there were Present Promises – Josh. 6:2. The past promises reminded Joshua of what the Lord had said He would do long ago. Rahab had known about these promises for 40 years. The present promises reminded Joshua that the Lord had not changed His mind about the matter. God still intended to give Israel the victory in this matter.

As we look at our strongholds today, we may think that we will never see them fall at our feet. May we ever remember that God will always keep His promises! He has promised us the victory, and the victory shall be ours, 1 Cor. 15:57; 2 Cor. 2:14; Rom. 8:37. Whatever God has promised, He is well able to bring to pass, Rom. 4:21; Eph. 3:20. He did not save you so that you could live your life held captive in some walled city. We have His past promises: Isa. 43:2. We have His present promises: Heb. 13:5; 2 Cor. 12:9.

1. v. 3-5a He Was Submissive to God’s Plan – On the surface, God’s plan for Israel’s victory seems really strange. After all, what was really required of Israel to bring the walls of Jericho down? Nothing! When you get right down to it, all they had to do was to follow God’s plan and the walls would fall down flat. What was His plan? Seven priests bearing seven trumpets were to walk before the ark. The priests would blow the trumpets and the people were to walk behind the ark, and the whole parade was to walk around the city once a day for 6 days. On the seventh day, they were to walk around the city seven times and at the end of the seventh time, they were to shout. When this happened, the walls would fall down flat. 

Now that is a strange plan. From human viewpoint, it does not make sense. What God does here is remove any idea that victory in this battle will come from Israel herself. God has formulated a plan that must be followed by faith. He wants Israel to know that human efforts will fail, but God’s plan will prevail. 

Look closely at what the Lord told them to do.

1. They were to take seven priests. Seven is the biblical number of completion or fullness.  Priests are a picture of an advocate, or one who stood between men and God. This is a picture of a complete or perfect Advocate. According to the Bible, the saints have a perfect Advocate. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ, 1 John 2:1. And, as we come against the strongholds of life, He is making intercession for us before the throne of God, Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:34.
2. They were to take seven ram’s horn trumpets. The ram was a picture of Atonement. Remember when Abraham took Isaac to the top of Moriah to put him to death? It was a ram that provided the atoning, redeeming price for Isaac. So, we need a full or perfect atonement. Are you sure you are saved? There will be no lasting victory over the flesh and the world until you have been saved. When you become a partaker of salvation through the blood of Jesus, you are given the power to enjoy victory over and freedom from the power of sin in your life, Rom. 6:1-14.
3. They were to take the Ark of the Covenant. The ark represents the Lord Jesus Christ in all of His fullness. In the ark was the golden pot of manna, which speaks of His full provisions. Aaron’s budding rod was also in there. This spoke of Christ’s power and His life.  The tables of the Law were also there. These remind us that He is the fulfillment of the Law for you and me. The idea is this: in Jesus we find all we need to wage the battle against the strongholds in our lives. He gives us all the provisions we need as we fight. He has all power in heaven and in earth. He gives us power to walk in newness of life. He has freed us from the power and the demands of the Law, setting us free to live for the Father in power and victory.
4. They were simply to take these things and walk around the city. God promised them that the walls of Jericho would fall down as a result! In other words, all they had to do was have confidence in God’s plan, walk with the things He had given them, and they would enjoy the victory. He wanted them to do nothing but to walk by faith.

Jericho was a city of about 9 acres. It would have taken about 30 minutes to walk around it. So, they got up, lined up and marched around the city and went home. All they did was walk. What a lesson for us. All God wants you to do is to stop trying and just trust Him. He has already won the victory. We win by being in Him and having absolute confidence in Him.