Fall of the wall -> fall of the people
We have progressed. We have been obedient haven’t we? After all, we believed something so ridiculous, it was rather difficult to maintain a straight face when there were so many faces on the wall at Jericho – frightened faces, curious faces, who knows, maybe some funny faces wondering as to what we were doing walking around the city behind trumpeters! But then, the bottom end was, we obeyed, and on the seventh day, we finally got to open our mouths and shout, scream, together as one voice, and the wall came down! Miracle of all miracles – surely those people at Jericho knew how to build a 12 foot think wall and yet, did not sound-proof it? No my dear readers, this was the Lord’s doing – it, after all these years is still marvelous in our eyes.
Jericho defeated ran the headlines throughout the camp, without so much as a sneeze or a cough drop ran another… and the whole nation was jubilant, whereas, there was the leader already peering into his map and preparing a strategy for the next battle. Always remember, God has His own reasons for anointing a leader, and more often than not, it ain’t the bed of roses people think it is. He was following his strategy, based on experience from Jericho – you got it. It’s no big secret. Another set of spies.
Well, off they went and they came back with, if possible, even more wondrous news! The city of Ai is small they said. Take 2000 to 3000 people and don’t tire every soldier. But of course, next to Jericho, this seemed to be bordering on silly. And so the battle horns blared. The battle began in earnest. Not one error in Joshua’s strategy, but the Lord wasn’t there!
And what a difference it made. Israel fled before Ai, who cut down 36 men. [ Got me wondering. If 36 killed in battle was worth mentioning as a disaster, the only possible reason would be that until then, Israel had cut through the enemy with no casualties, which in itself is a miracle].
This time, there was panic. There was the leader, decked in sackcloth and ashes, crying in God’s presence all day… and God didn’t mince words, did He? “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. And there you have it, the reason He wasn’t at the battle. “Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you” Joshua 7:10-12. Huge. Really. Can you imagine? One man’s sin. And the Lord wouldn’t so much as look at Israel when they were fighting.
To make a long story short, Achan and his family - his family because they knew what he had done and yet, remained silent – stoned to death. The OT law didn’t compromise – you sin, and you die! No two ways about it, no one to substitute for your sin. But now it’s a different story isn’t it? Christ already having paid for our sins in full – not a drop of blood left in his body – he spent it all for us; and how are we repaying Him? Time to retrospect, people.
Israel finally defeated Ai, because “the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger” Joshua 7:26. but one look at Joshua 8 should send shivers down your spine. That was probably the most complicated tactic used in the Bible. Two ambushes, 30,000 soldiers to destroy Ai, another 5000 to stop anyone else from disturbing the Israelite army, and the rest of the army(easily numbering up to a million) against Ai. So much work when only 3000 soldiers could have finished the same job if one man hadn’t sinned.
Come into His presence. Repent. Cry. Wail. Weep. Let each of us make sure we do not hinder the Lord from doing His work. If we aren’t careful, unified in whatever we are supposed to do, He could simply choose to be absent. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you” Joshua 7:10-12.
Fall of the wall
Considering Jericho was God's first commission to Joshua, I started reading the book from the beginning, and the fist thing that caught my attention was God telling Joshua to "be strong and of good courage"(Joshua 1:6, 9) and even the soldiers doing the same thing (Joshua 1:18). Now, we do NOT know how Joshua felt back then – his mentor haddied before reaching the Promised Land and leader though he was, chosen by God Himself, approved by Moses and the whole congregation, he still needed God's guarantee that He was with him, twice.
This statement, or rather, statements, got me wondering. So many of us(I'd probably be the first on that list) are so eager to start something we never wait for His assurance – maybe it is a Word we've listened to on Sunday morning, and most of the times it sounds so good, we feel it is just for us… or we see or hear something and are so eager, we immediately say we're ready; but then, when the sun comes up, we get scorched and die (Matt 13:6) or else the thorns choke the
zeal out of us (Matt 13:7) but look at Joshua – one of the best military leaders the Bible talks about… and he wouldn't budge. He waited for God's guarantee.
It's time to retrospect. Have we jumped the gun? There would be so many reasons, personal and otherwise, but did we instead, wait on the Lord for a personal encounter – worried ourselves to bits that He chose to come down and tell us "be strong and of good courage" not once, but TWICE? If not, do it now. Remember, there was only one bunch of seeds that produced the crop…
Secondly, meticulous would best describe God's plans for Israel at Jericho. God promising Joshua His company, the two-and-a-half tribes keeping their promise (Josh 1:12-18), Rahab and the spies (Josh 2) where God sovereignly led them to the one person in Jericho who believed, and thus, helped boost Joshua's confidence again that God was with Him like He promised; miraculously crossing the Red Sea – one of the most beautiful ways of God reminding us that He hasn't changed sides is His love for coincidences in our lives; the commander of God's army who was ready for the battle against Jericho (remember how God protected Elisha with chariots of fire), the way they were supposed to take over Jericho and even the instructions that were not
to be broken… God was thorough. Reminded me of Michael W. Smith's "Step by step He leads me…" Think about it. The way He's led each one of us individually and collectively as a group w.r.t ZPT until today. He knows what He is doing and shouldn't that be guarantee enough for us?
Finally, I wanted to point something out; something, every one of us knows, and yet, the ONE thing we all forget. SILENCE! The Bible teaches us to "wait on the Lord" – to stand still or be silent before Him (eg) Moses at the Red sea (Ex 14:13), Jehoshaphat in II Chr 20:15-17.
Here, Joshua commands the children of Israel to maintain complete silence as they walk around Jericho. It didn't matter whether Jericho was scared of Israel or if it was a fortified city with impenetrable gates. But of course, Joshua would remember the 40 years of trudging in the wilderness because of the negative confession of the people at the initial spy report of the Promised Land.
History lesson aside, Joshua's directive to keep silent is a precaution that teaches us – when facing great challenges, do NOT speak unbelieving words. Prohibit demoralizing speech from your lips. Your words can bind or set free, and as such, silence is best – No wonder then, that the obedience (keeping silent) of the people until Joshua gave them the command to shout together(unity) brought about triumph [Demoralizing speech brings about disunity and discord]. We cannot help what we see or hear, but our refusal to speak doubt and fear will keep our hearts more inclined to what God can do, rather than to what we cannot.
One unified shout with the trumpets blaring on the seventh day – and the wall went flat. Reminds us, doesn't it? What God can do… and what we cannot!
