I cannot emphasize enough the absolute necessity of regular BREATHING. Breathing is a part of the bio-mechanical, bio-chemical processes essential to keeping you alive. If you choose not to breath you will die. Fortunately, that is a bodily function which God controls and maintains without much help from you. Modern science may say that it’s a result of evolution, but the idea is totally illogical – it was created. Not only must you breathe, but you must breathe the right stuff. If you decided to hold your head under water and to breathe, then you would likely die. If you sat in your garage with your car’s engine running, you would die of carbon dioxide poisoning. Our bodies require that we must breathe air with the proper amount of oxygen. You do not have to hear me exhort you about the necessity of breathing. Why then is it necessary to have to exhort one another to proper faith?
The value of faith cannot be over-emphasized. If you took the most precious thing that you own and increased its value a thousand times, it would not begin to be as important as simple faith. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” “And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” “Without faith it is impossible to please (God).” “The just shall live by faith.” “All things are possible to him that believeth.” “According to your faith be it unto you.” “Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” “Above all things comes the shield of faith.” Without faith we are “like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” “Whosoever believeth on Christ shall not be ashamed.” He that believeth on Christ, the works that He did so shall that man do also; and greater works than those shall he do. “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
Like breathing, the value of faith cannot be over-emphasized. Why then is it necessary to teach and exhort Christian people towards greater faith? Why was it that our Lord Jesus was humanly surprised and excited when He found great faith? It is because God has chosen not to put faith into the autonomic nervous system – as He has breathing. There is something in our brain and nervous system that demands that we breathe. Only by sheer will power can we force ourselves not to use our lungs. But when it comes to faith – at least after salvation – the Lord makes it available to us, but only by Spirit power can we force ourselves to use our faith. We need to learn to use our faith. We need to exercise our faith. And in the battle of Jericho was a classic exercise in the DISCIPLINE of faith.
And as in most things we must begin with REVERENCE.
When we talk about faith, we are basically discussing the subject of TRUST. And just as we must breathe the right air, we must trust the right God or we’ll suffocate. Remember the equation of Romans 10: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Our faith must be in the right God, and we can only know Who He is through study and worship.
Every day for seven days Israel marched around the city of Jericho. That daily journey certainly taught them things about their enemy, but it also taught them about their God. In the midst of every circumnavigation was the presence of the Ark of the Covenant. Israel could see the city walls and the Ark, the enemy and the Lord. I wish that there was a clear Biblical statement about the condition of the Ark during this week. When Moses was being instructed by God, there were clear instructions about the construction of the Ark and its future maintenance. For example, it was to remain completely covered when not in the Tabernacle’s Holy of Holies. But judging from Israel’s weak obedience in other things, I can’t be sure how diligent they really were in obeying the Lord. And certainly in the damming of the Jordan, it would have been impressive if the nation could have actually seen the Ark in all its glorious gold, standing in the bed of the river. And then what a testimony it would have been to both Israel and Jericho, if the Ark was open to the eyes of everyone in its baker’s dozen journeys around the city. But we have no clear revelation about this.
Nevertheless, if by way of illustration if nothing else, every trip around that city by the Lord and the people, certainly brought that nation closer to their God. I find it difficult to believe that Israel was thoroughly obedient during that week. The only explanation was that all 500,000 families were truly worshipful. They were taking in everything that they could about their God. They had probably never been closer to the Lord than they were at this time in their lives. They had eaten of the Lord’s manna for up to forty years, with more or less thanksgiving. But then they had seen His power at the river. And they had enjoyed and re-learned the meaning of the Passover. Their national leadership was as strong and spiritual as it had ever been. And now God was telling them to do the apparently ridiculous, and they willingly carried out His wishes, because their hearts we full of reverence towards Him. Faith begins and eventually ends in reverence and worship.
But faith’s strength is found in its OBEDIENCE.
God had already promised that the walls of Jericho would fall. And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.” And the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.” I am guessing that Joshua had shared this with the nation, but I can’t be too sure of that. But assuming Israel had been assured of absolute victory, why was all this work and sweat necessary? Because God’s appointed results could be reached only by the God-appointed means.
It is impossible to separate faith and obedience. Why does Peter call gospel faith “the holy commandment” in II Peter 2:21? Speaking of Christ, Hebrews 5:9 says, “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” II Thessalonians 1:7-8 says, “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Peter 4:17 couples faith and obedience together by saying: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”
There is only one way to topple the walls of Jericho, and that is to obey the Word of God – trusting Him. And that is all the more important when the command doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. What was more silly than Elisha’s command to Naaman to bathe in the Jordan to wash away his leprosy? What could throwing a branch into this same Jordan river do to raise an axe-head from the depths? How foolish did the widow think it was to gather all those empty pots to collect oil which didn’t exist? Peter and the others had been out fishing all night without any success. But the Lord Jesus told them to push out a few cubits from the shore and drop their nets. “Your suggestion is ridiculous, nevertheless at thy word we will obey.” Obedience is key toward the exercise of faith.
And what were God’s instructions for the conquering of Jericho? Instead of attack and assault it was to walk, worship and whisper. Consider the command for “utter silence.” (Aren’t the words “utter silence” an oxymoron?) Utter silence was not the Confederate army’s way of attack. And it wasn’t Rabshakah’s modus operandi when attacking the confidence of Jerusalem. No advertizing agent recommends silence. No musician plays in silence. When the preacher lacks evidence for his point he super-sizes his voice. But “God’s ways are not man’s ways.” “Stand still and see the salvation of God.” Or in this case – walk but wear your bed-room slippers and keep silence.
It is open to debate whether or not whole nation was involved in this circumnavigation. I have always pictured men, women and children, but according to the specific words of verse 3 it was limited to the soldiers. But then we read verses 7 and then 12 and 13. Did verse 13 indicate that the rest of the nation followed the armed solders and the priests with Ark? If so there have been no other attacks in history involving an entire nation with women and children.
And then there is the travesty of the seven days’ exercise. Ridiculous, imbecilic, useless, humiliating. Surely, God made a mistake on these orders; this must be a Biblical misprint. But God replies, “No sir, it is essential to your faith that you OBEY my commands.”
And PERSEVERANCE is also a part of the discipline of faith.
How many times did Israel circumnavigate those walls? Imagine the excitement on the first day as they started out with their swords, water bottles and baby bottles. What were they expecting to see before they were done? What DID they see? Was their enthusiasm diminished at all by day third or fourth? By the fifth and sixth day some of Israel might have been getting a little peeved or down-hearted. “Shouldn’t we be seeing some visible results, some cracks in the wall, some defections from Jericho?” In all likelihood the resolve of Jericho was getting stronger each day, and the taunts from the enemy were getting more perverse.
Sometimes we have to learn that visible results are not our primary goal. Dependence upon the Lord, and nearness to Him, come above all other things. Sometimes, it seems that we are just spinning our wheels in our work for the Lord. “Why won’t these walls fall down? Why are we still sweaty and struggling? Where is our God?” Why did it take ten plagues to bring Egypt down, when one could have done it? How many years was Joseph in the Egyptian prison? Why didn’t anything happen when Paul was in Athens? What took the Lord so long in bringing David out of the wilderness and onto the throne? God says, “My ways and my time-table belong to me.” “It’s your job to do as I command, just as long as I have commanded you.” “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” It is essential that we persevere in our faith despite the odds or the logic.
And then comes the actual PERFORMANCE of that faith.
The best way to strengthen our faith is to use our faith. Israel encompassed Jericho on day one, but nothing happened, then came days two, three, four, five and six. On the seventh day, Israel circled the city once, twice, three times, four, five and six times. God revealed, emphasized, re-emphasized and italicized Israel’s helplessness in this work. He tested their faith, pushing it to the limit, and Israel amazingly held up. This may have been the greatest example of faith up to this point in the world history.
Then came the final test: Joshua commanded the people to shout. If there is any faith left in you, use it. What did the people shout? Did it make any sense? Was it the rebel yell? Was it some sentence, some specific word? “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.” “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
I think that Israel’s shout was one of victory – before the victory. Israel put to use the faith that remained in them. There is the ultimate faith-ersize.
The instructions out of this chapter for us are these: Follow the Ark and never let it out of your sight. Seek ye the Lord, and grab Him by faith. Obey God even when it appears that he’s ordered something ridiculous. Be persevering in your trust; don’t give up your search for faith or for victory. And use what little faith that you have.