February 23, 2014
Joshua: Turning Obedience Into Blessing
Joshua 6: “The Joshua Strategy” NOTES NOT EDITED
SIS—The Bible gives us a God-inspired strategy
for breaking through any wall that stands between us and God’s blessings.
Webster’s
Dictionary defines a “wall” as, “a structure of brick, stone, etc., that
surrounds an area or separates one area from another.” Metaphorically a wall can be described
as, “an extreme or desperate position or
a state of defeat, failure, or ruin.” In our lesson today we will be
dealing with both kinds of walls—physical and metaphorical.
Men have been
building walls since the beginning of history. The Roman Emperor, Hadrian,
built a famous wall across northern England. Construction started in 122 AD and
took about six years to finish. It
stretched about 73 miles. We all
remember the famous line in a speech by President Reagan in 1987 when he
demanded, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”
That wall was of course the Berlin Wall separating communist East Berlin
from the free West Berlin. By 1990 the
87 mile symbol of oppression was completely gone.
The most impressive
wall of all time surely must by the Great Wall of China. This massive
undertaking was actually the conglomeration of several building projects beginning as
early as the 7th century BC (about the time Israel was going into
exile in Babylonian) and continuing through about the 15th
century. Some parts have long since
given way to the elements, others have been repaired from time to time. Historians estimate that the wall comprised
about 13,171 miles across the northern region of China. It is so massive it can be seen from space.
The wall facing the
Israelites in our text today surrounded and fortified the city of Jericho. The circumference of about 2000 feet. The city was an area of about 6 square
miles. The wall rested on bedrock with
an initial stage of stone with a mud wall resting upon the stone. All totaled, the wall might have been 20 to
30 feet high. Archeological evidence for
the wall is sketchy. It also may be that
the wall was a “double wall” with houses built into the inner wall. The wall
may have been six feet thick at the top and perhaps triple that at the
bottom. As I said, statistics on the
exact size of the wall are not well established at this time. What we do know is that Jericho was a
well-fortified city with massive walls.
What we also know is, there is no
wall high enough or thick enough to stand up against God!
The
Bible gives us a God-inspired strategy for breaking through any wall that
stands between us and God’s blessings.
Let’s Read About
that strategy. Joshua 6
I see four parts to
a “winning strategy” for life that will break down and break through any wall—metaphorically
speaking—standing between you and God’s blessings for your life. First, you must
1. Look
Beyond Your Problems, not At Them (vv 1-2, 22-25)
Now
Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or
entering. 2 The Lord
said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its fighting men
over to you.
Where does fear and
anxiety come from? It comes from dwelling on the problem, rather than claiming the promise. REPEAT . . . . .
I have shared with you before one of the key principles in learning how to do “high speed maneuvers” in a police car, or in a race car. If one’s car starts to skid into a spin, high speed drivers are taught to focus on where they want to go, not where they are going. This focus allows the drivers to deal with what can quickly become an unmanageable, and deadly, skid.
I have shared with you before one of the key principles in learning how to do “high speed maneuvers” in a police car, or in a race car. If one’s car starts to skid into a spin, high speed drivers are taught to focus on where they want to go, not where they are going. This focus allows the drivers to deal with what can quickly become an unmanageable, and deadly, skid.
This is true of
life in general. If we focus on our
problems they will always look much bigger and more formidable than they really
are. The problem is stately clearly, “Jericho
was strongly fortified!” Jericho
had heard rumors of the coming invasion and they stood ready behind massive
walls. Jericho was “strongly fortified.” This was true of many of the cities
in the Promised Land that Israel would do battle with. Forty years earlier, the Israelites “looked
at” this very same problem—with a very different outcome. Numbers 13 tells us,
27 They reported to Moses: “We went
into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. 28 However,
the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and
fortified.
What was the result
of Israel “looking at” the problems they faced.
Looking at your problems instead of looking beyond your problems always makes
your problems look bigger and you look smaller.
Check out how this works. Numbers
13 also says,
33 We even saw the Nephilim c there—the descendants of Anak
come from the Nephilim! To ourselves
we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”
The people looked
like “giants” and they looked like “grasshoppers.” Looking at your problems instead of looking
beyond them will always cause anxiety and fear.
Before you ever
consider busting through a wall standing between you and God’s blessing you
have to stop looking at the problem and look beyond to the promise. Let’s jump down our text in Joshua to verses
22-25:
22 Joshua said to the two men who
had scouted the land, “Go to the prostitute’s house and bring the woman out of
there, and all who are with her, just as you promised her.” 23 So the young men who had
scouted went in and brought out Rahab and her father, mother, brothers, and all
who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and settled them outside
the camp of Israel. 24 They burned up the city and everything
in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron
into the treasury of the Lord’s
house. 25 However, Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her
father’s household, and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua
had sent to spy on Jericho, and she lives in Israel to this day.
When God makes a
promise, He always keeps it—always. The
first part of a winning strategy in life in regard to busting through walls is
to “Look Beyond Your Problems, Not At Them.”
2. Get On the
Right Side (v 4)
4 Have seven priests carry seven
ram’s-horn trumpets
in
front of the ark.
Over and over again
in these opening chapters we have come across the theme of “consecration.” This is at least the sixth reference to “pursuing
holiness” in as many chapters. The Ark
has been mentioned before. The Ark of
the Covenant was the holiest artifact in Jewish life that resided in the
holiest place in the Tabernacle. Priests
were the “representatives of the people before God.” The High Priest interceded on behalf of the
people before God on the Holiest Day of the year—the Day of Atonement. Holiness is woven through the fabric of God’s
Word from beginning to end. You cannot
understand Christianity apart from understanding holiness. As we read in Leviticus and it is repeated in
Peter (1:16):
Leviticus
11:44 For
I am Yahweh your God, so you must
consecrate yourselves and be holy
because I am holy.
The Bible repeats
the number “seven” several
times: “seven priests, seven trumpets, seven times, and seven days.” The number seven in the Bible refers to
perfection, fullness, or completion. In
reference to God, it refers to His “holiness.”
A victorious strategy for life that leads to fullness and completion
requires “holiness,” thus, the
repetition of the number, “seven.” I’m sure
more can be drawn out of the use of the number “seven” here, but that would require
more time than you would likely want to spend this morning.
The words “consecrate”
and “holy” come from the same root word meaning, “set apart.” Our lives must be set apart for the exclusive
use of God. We are not to “set apart”
one day of our lives, but every hour or every day of our lives. Someone gave a good explanation of what it
means to “be holy”:
I'll
use His standards of right and wrong -- not mine.
I'll build on His morality in my life -- not mine.
I'll build on His expectations for me... not mine.
I'll build on His morality in my life -- not mine.
I'll build on His expectations for me... not mine.
Holiness
means that we make no claims to our lives whatsoever. Everything we are and everything we have
belongs to God. This is a very high
standard, and we can only achieve this standard by applying the “righteousness
of Christ, Himself” to our lives. The
Bible says,
2Cor 5 21 He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2Cor 5 21 He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Every time we
assert any “right” in our lives we deny the transaction that makes us “holy”
before God. This pursuit of holiness
must be all consuming because nothing of our flesh can enter into the Kingdom
of God. Holiness is the constant, moment
by moment, annihilation of the flesh.
Paul says it this way,
Gal.
5 19 I have been crucified with
Christ
20 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
20 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The
flesh must die for faith to live.
Holiness requires “we must die.”
Rom 8:13 for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Rom 8:13 for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Sin feeds the flesh
leading to death. Sanctification, or the
pursuit of holy living, puts the flesh to death by embracing God’s Spirit’s
guidance in our lives. We do this in
many ways but foremost among them is Bible study and prayer. Sermons help us pursue holiness. Singing praises help us pursue holiness. Fellowship with other believers helps us
pursue holiness. Serving a lost world in
the name of Jesus helps us pursue holiness.
What does not help
us pursue holiness is viewing pornography on our computers when nobody is around. What does not help us pursue holiness is gossiping
to others about others. What does not
help us pursue holiness is going to the beach when we should be in church.
I think you get the
idea. Holiness is an “all-consuming
passion to please God with every thought and deed of our lives.” This is a tall order, but holiness puts us “on
the right side” – the winning side.
God’s wall busting
strategy involved leadership by the priests and the presence of the Holy Ark. Priests were the key to this military
victory, not soldiers. We must recognize
that the key issues in life are spiritual, not physical. Yet, we almost always focus on the physical. This
part of God’s victory strategy reminds us that without Him, we cannot win any
battle in life. We have to align
ourselves with Him and make sure we are pursuing a holy life.
3. Third, you
have to learn how to follow directions (8-20)
I won’t reread all
the instructions given in regard to this military campaign against a “strongly
fortified” city, but I’ll summarize the key elements: seven priests, seven trumpets,
seven times on the seventh day ending with a good ole Hallelujah
shout!”
Now, there’s a
military strategy that would make our Joint Chiefs of Staff scratch their heads—these
include the generals, admirals, and top brass of each of our military
branches. These are guys who play with
really big guns that make really loud booms, and really big divots in the
earth.
This military
strategy seems almost nonsensical on the surface. I’ve come to believe that God works more like Candid Camera than
Chemistry experiment. The Bible
tells us that God , “uses the foolish things of the World,” to accomplish His
purposes—a boat for Noah when it had never rained, a staff for Moses against
the most powerful army on the earth, a slingshot for David against a
professionally trained military giant. A
wooden cross to crush the Devil.
Yes, God works more
like Candid Camera than Chemistry experiment.
“When you least expect it” . . . . God takes no pleasure in being
predictable. God values faith and faith
requires a measure of doubt or uncertainty.
Why hope for what is seen?
Here’s where many
of us lose the battle and remain on the wilderness side of a wall. We start second guessing God. We fail to follow God’s direction in one of
two ways. First, they don’t even crack
the Bible open to read the directions.
Second, if we do read it, we read it with no intention of fully obeying
it. Both scenarios will lead to the same
place—failure! [By the way, Lord
willing, we will see this very issue in play next week.]
If you don’t trust
God’s directions, you are left to follow the Devil’s. It’s that simple. Somebody is going to lead you. As Bob Dylan sang a few years ago:
You're gonna have to serve
somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.
A common
misconception people have about atheists is that when a person stops believing
in God, they believe in nothing. G.K. Chesterton once said, "It is often supposed that when people
stop believing in God, they believe in nothing. Alas, it is worse than that. When they stop
believing in God, they believe in anything." That “anything” includes the lie of the Devil. So, if you don’t follow God’s directions, you
will be following the Devil’s. Let me
give you a preview of how the Devil’s plan works out for him:
Mat 25: 41 Then He will also say to those on
the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared
for the Devil and his angels!
This
comes at the end of the Lord’s sermon discussing “sheep and goats”—those that
follow His direction and those who follow the Devil’s. The Devil’s plan does not end well. Those that either hear God Word and ignore
it, or don’t even hear it to begin with, will end up in disaster losing
everything—many even losing their souls.
Victory
in life according requires following God’s directions.
I will
admit people are not good at reading and following directions. I know I am not good at it. Sometimes, even the simplest directions seem
to stump some people. I remember reading
about a lady staying at a hotel. She
wanted some ice so she went down the hall to the vending area. A man overheard her talking to the ice
machine saying, "You are a dumb looking button. You don't have much of a
future, either. People are going to be punching you all your life. Then when
you are broken, you are going to be replaced by a much better looking button." The man was a bit puzzled by the conversation
this lady was having with the ice machine with all the negative, insulting
language. He couldn’t help but ask, “Ma’am,
what are you doing.” The lady quickly
replied, “I’m just following the directions.”
It says, “Depress the Button for Ice.”
Joshua’s
strategy for breaking through walls involves following directions—maybe just a
bit better than that lady.
4. Don’t Stop Too Soon (v14, 15)
14 On the second day they marched
around the city once and eturned to the camp. They did this for six days. 15 Early
on the seventh day.
Breaking down the walls of the fortified city of
Jericho was not a “quick fix.” It took
time. The amount of time was “seven
days.” That tells us the exact time it
takes for any miracle to happen and for any breakthrough to come in our
lives. Exactly “seven” days. Not five, not six, not 8—but, every miracle
or breakthrough in our lives takes exactly “seven” days.
“Seven” as we just learned is “God’s number,” or the
number of completion or perfection.
Miracles come in God’s time, not ours.
Breakthroughs come according to God’s chronology, not ours. So much of the defeat in our lives comes
because we “stop too soon.” We give up
too early. We sell out to cheaply.
Jim Corbett was born in 1866 and died in 1933 at the
age of 67. He was a professional boxer
best known for defeating the great John L. Sullivan. He knocked out Sullivan in the 21st
round. That’s right, the 21st
round. In early boxing, there was no set
limit on the number of rounds. The
fights went on until one fighter could not continue, either by knockout or the
opinion of the referee. Gentleman Jim
once fought his cross-town rival, Petter “Black Prince” Jackson to a decision
of a draw after 61 rounds! Though he did
not get a victory after 61 rounds, that determination is what sustained his
very successful career in boxing.
Gentleman Jim once said,
“Fight one more round. When your feet are so tired
that you have to shuffle back to the center of the ring, fight one more round.
When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on
guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black
and you are so tired you wish your opponent would crack you one on the jaw and
put you to sleep, fight one more round – remembering that the man who always
fights one more round is never whipped.”
Victorious living is not
for wimps. Too many people want the
victory but run from the battle. Victory
takes time. Victory takes a determined
effort in one direction for an extended period of time. Too many stop just short of victory. Too many quit praying when the answer seems
too long on coming. Too many quit
reading the Bible because the answer seems hidden too deeply. The only way the Devil ever gets victory in a
believers life is through “surrender.”
DON’T SURRENDER.
Another great fighter,
though in a different arena reminds us how important it is to keep
fighting. Churchill guided England, and
the world to a great degree, through one of the darkest moments in
history. Hitler was sweeping across
Europe like a plague. In a speech to a
college gathering in 1941Churchill gave this word of encouragement. "This is the lesson: never
give in, never give in, never, never, never, never!”
In another famous speech Churchill roused the House of
Commons as British and French armies were forced to evacuate from Dunkirk early
in WW2: "We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall
fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with
growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island,
whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the
landing-grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall
fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!"
God could have easily blown the walls of Jericho
over with just the breath of His imagination.
In an instant, quicker than the twinkling of an eye and smoother than
the beating of a butterfly’s wings God could have demolished Jericho’s
walls. But, God does not perform magic
tricks for the delight of crowds nor does He perform like a trained monkey at
the behest of some human organ grinder.
God has His ways and His ways are perfect. God has His timing and His timing is always
perfect.
Just don’t quit.
Don’t stop too soon. Believe one
more day. Victory is not merely probable—it
is inevitable! God has ordained it. Go back to verse 2: The
Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its fighting
men over to you.
God lays this promise at
the feet of any and all who will follow His strategy for breaking through
walls. Look beyond your problems, not at
them. Get on God’ side. Follow directions. Don’t stop too soon. This is Joshua’s strategy for breaking down
any wall that stands between you and God’s blessings for your life. It works every time!
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