Joshua 6:1-5
The Year of Victory
We are reading one the great "stories" of the Bible, a story
recounted in children’s Sunday school classes and Vacation Bible
schools around the globe. And because it is such a story, we need to
remind ourselves that this account is a historical narrative and not
fiction. The Bible is not a book of man-made stories but a Book of
miraculous stories.
Jericho was the Bastille of the plains of Jericho \\#Jos 4:13\\.
It had two walls so that to conquer the city once, you had to take
the city twice.
The walls were wide enough for chariots to race on them.
The fortress, being 4 miles from the River Jordan, had a perpetual
spring bubbling up within it.
This allowed the people to grow and cultivate their own crops
within the confines of the walls.
And perhaps the most deadly fact of all was that the fortress was
armed and fortified with a strong, large army of fighting men.
Because of the impossibilities in taking this fort, most generals
would have started by conquering the smaller cities and working their
way up to Jericho, but God started by conquering the largest city and
working His way down.
The point of this account and of this Book is that God had promised
an inferior army victory against a superior fortress. All of us have
similar battles.
For some, your Jericho is your temper.
For some, your Jericho is alcohol.
For some, your Jericho is jealousy.
For some, your Jericho is lust, gambling, selfishness, bitterness,
profanity, a lavish lifestyle, drugs, pride, or laziness.
All of our enemies can be defeated if we will learn the lesson of
victory taught in the Jericho story. In it, we find that their
victory was not due to superior intellect, strategies, weapons, or
armies.
How can we have victory in the New Year? Three thoughts:
I. Victory comes by OBEDIENCE to God.
A. That may sound over simplified but it is not.
1. The inferior Israel was able to defeat the superior
Jericho because they obeyed God.
2. You and I will be able to defeat the sinful fortresses in
our lives only as we are obedient to God.
B. Notice the details of the God’s commands. They are many.
1. \\#3\\ For six days, all of the men of war are to march
around the city. That is strange. No frightening. Just
marching.
2. \\#4\\ Notice the sevens of verse 4.
a. Along with the men of war, seven priests…
b. bearing seven rams’ horns…
c. on the seventh day…
d. are to compass the city seven times.
e. That is a lot of time and detail, but there is more.
3. \\#5\\ After they march around the city on the seventh day
the seven times.
a. The priests are to blow their horns.
b. The people are shout—apparently very loud and very
long.
4. And if everything was done correctly, the walls will fall
down.
a. We will not talk right now about the walls falling
down.
b. Let’s just stick to what the Jews were supposed to do.
c. So far, God has given a lot of commands, but by
reading on into the chapter, we find out that this
was just a SUMMARY of the commands.
5. \\#6-16\\ God through Joshua gave more commands.
a. It was not just the seven priest with the seven rams’
horns and the soldiers who were to compass the city
for seven days, it was everyone.
Joshua 6:13 And seven priests bearing seven
trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the
LORD went on continually, and blew with the
trumpets: and the armed men went before them;
but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD,
the priests going on, and blowing with the
trumpets.
(1) God commanded a specific order:
(a) The soldiers went first
(b) The seven priests bearing the seven rams’
horns
(c) The Ark of the Lord
(d) The people
(2) Six days they marched around the city one time.
(3) On the seventh day, they marched around it seven
times.
(4) No matter how many times they marched around it,
this was no small feat.
(5) Israel numbered into the millions!
(a) They would have to form a circle around the
city that when out from the city for miles.
(b) Most of the people would not be able to see
the city they were marching around!
b. By the way, they started this every day at sunrise
\\#12, 15\\.
c. The entire time they lined up and marched, the people
were to be completely quite.
Joshua 6:10 And Joshua had commanded the people,
saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise
with your voice, neither shall any word proceed
out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout;
then shall ye shout.
C. Question
1. What did all of those commands have to do with the walls
of Jericho falling down?
a. Answer - Not one thing. God knocked the walls down.
b. The seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns did not
help.
c. The marching around the city for seven days did not
help.
d. The marching around the city seven times on the
seventh day not help.
e. The millions of people doing the marching did not
help.
f. Marching at sunrise did not help.
g. Marching in quite did not help.
h. Blowing the trumpets did not help.
2. God knocked the walls of Jericho down and He could have
done it without the marching, without the Jews, without
the horns, any time of any day He wanted to do it.
3. Why did God give all of those commands?
a. Because He wanted the people to see the importance of
obedience.
b. This was God saying, "You can do whatever you want to
do but if you want victory over your enemies, obey
Me!"
4. Christian, if we want the power victory in your New Year,
we will have to obey the God whose power we want.
II. Lessons in OBEDIENCE
A. We do not have to understand to obey.
1. The Jews had no idea why they were doing what they were
doing.
2. In fact, what they were doing had no direct effect on what
they wanted to happen.
a. That makes God’s commands difficult to the logical
mind.
b. I am one that likes to ask, "Why?" While working at
the hotels, I accidently offended one of the ladies
that was training me by constantly asking why, She
thought I was questioning your skill. I wasn’t. I
just wanted to know why I was supposed to do that
then.
c. It is hard for an analytical mind to do something
without understanding the why.
3. We need not expect God to put His plan into our small
minds as that would limit to what would fit into our
small minds.
4. Obedience not understanding builds the bridge between our
needs and God’s victories. Just obey God.
5. \\#2Kings 5:1-14\\ Naaman had to learn to obey.
a. General from Damascus who had leprosy.
b. He came seeking a cure.
c. Elisha sent word for him to dip in the Jordan River
seven times.
d. Naaman said, "Why? We have rivers nicer than the
Jordan back home in Damascus!"
e. And he started to leave in a rage, but a little girl
asked him why he did not just obey? He had no answer
for that so he did and he was healed.
f. Naaman learned that his healing was not in the water
of the river but in obedience to God!
B. We do not have to be exalted to obey.
1. What Israel was doing was plain embarrassing. (40,000
soldiers not 40,000 ballerinas) \\#Josh 4:13\\
2. Obedience sometimes includes the embarrassing, the
humiliating, the uncomfortable.
3. Three words you need to put into your vocabulary if you
are going to obey God:
a. Sacrifice
b. Humility
c. Discipline
4. Those are the same characteristics that allows you to keep
your job. Why? Because you have to obey others to keep
it.
5. John the Baptist:
John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
6. If the only time we are going to obey God is when it makes
us look good, we’re not going to obey Him very often.
C. We do not have to get what we want to obey.
1. The main reason we obey is to get what we want. (That’s
the theme of this message.)
2. However, the reason we ought to obey is because it’s the
right thing to do.
3. Getting what we want is just the topping on the cake.
4. To remind us of this, sometimes obedience does not bring
us what we want.
5. God figures if we will obey when we don’t get what we
want, we are truly obeying.
D. We do not have to like what you are told to do to obey.
III. First Commands in OBEDIENCE:
A. Be saved.
John 3:7 …Ye must be born again.
B. Be baptized.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
C. Read and study the Scriptures.
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
D. Practice praying.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
E. Be faithful this year in church.
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together, as the manner of some is;
but exhorting one another: and so much the more,
as ye see the day approaching.
Every time the doors are opened to a Bible-preaching, sin-hating,
God honoring church, you be there. If you cannot bring yourself to do
these five things, your Jerichos aren’t coming down.
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