Unveiling the Divine Strategy: The Siege of Jericho

Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.

My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to this podcast.

I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen you in the word of God.

Now, come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today.

If you have your Bibles, we're going to be in Joshua chapter six, Joshua, chapter six.

We are going to be looking tonight at the siege of Jericho.

And most of you have, at least in some way, probably heard of the story of Jericho.

There's a children's song about it, and certainly one of the more popular stories in scripture.

But there's a lot to be learned in this passage, and we know that in the story of Joshua, certainly there's a lot that we can glean.

But one of the many things we know in the book of Joshua is that God had made a promise to him and the children of Israel all the way back in Joshua chapter one.

And as we've seen, God has kept that promise throughout every single chapter so far.

And I think one of the lessons that we can learn as we study the book of Joshua is that when God gives us a promise, he keeps his word.

And in the midst of that promise, in the midst of our trials, he gives us protection, he gives us provision, he gives us power as we follow Him.

And go back to Joshua chapter one.

Remember, he said, if you want to be successful, if you want to be prosperous, spiritually speaking, follow my word, obey my word, and don't just know it, but also put it to practice.

And I think that's another great lesson to learn in the book of Joshua is it's one thing to know the word of God, which we should, but it's another thing to apply it and to live it, to meditate upon it, to allow it to be infused into the way that we think, into the way that we live, by the way that we respond.

And really, when we are people of the Word and people of prayer, we grow to be people of faith.

And that's what we're going to see here in Joshua chapter six.

And so if you have your Bibles, look there with me in verse number one, we're going to see God's instructions for the battle.

Now, if you were here with us last week, we saw the captain of the host of the Lord come and visit Joshua.

And most commentators believe that was a christophany, a pre incarnate appearance of Jesus giving a challenge to Joshua letting Joshua be reminded that he is not in control, that God is in control, and that if God is in control, that he's going to be with them and he's going to give them the victory.

And that's really what God does in our life through many different ways.

He comes and he reminds us of his strength.

He reminds us of his presence.

He reminds us that the victory can only be found in Him.

And so here in the first five verses, we see the instructions for battle.

And when we see these instructions, they're not going to make a lot of sense to us.

This would not be typical for a plan for a battle because we would think that they would just come in and do what they would normally do by invading or maybe sneaking around the back of the city or trying to find a weakness in the walls.

But verse number one tells us that Jericho was straightly shut up because of the children of Israel.

None went out and none came in.

And so very first verse, we see that Jericho is on full alert.

They're ready.

They're not going to be surprised.

Why?

Because they know of what God is doing through the people of Israel.

They know of the prior victories.

They know of the crossing of the Jordan River.

They know that God is with these people.

And so they're on full alert.

So from, from our human perspective, from a battlefield perspective, this seems like an impossible battle to win.

Israel is coming in and Jericho is ready.

They're the ones that have the home ground.

They're the ones that are fortified.

They're the ones that are prepared.

But we know that from God's perspective, not, not man's perspective, but God's perspective, the battle was already done.

God had already given the victory.

Because if you remember, he says, joshua, I have given you Jericho into your hand.

I, I've already given you this.

I. I've already given you the hand of Jericho.

That's what it says there in verse number two.

It says, and the Lord said unto Joshua, see, I have given into thine hand Jericho and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor.

So from the human perspective, it looks like an impossible battle.

Looks like the odds are stacked up against Joshua and people of Israel.

But in the godly perspective, in the perspective of the Lord, we see that the victory was already there.

And so up to this point, everything was preparation.

Now it's put into practice.

What they were saying, they believed it.

And that's really what happens with our own life when we face spiritual battles.

Like, we can prep and we can, we can think about the promises of God.

We can trust in the promises of God, but the book of James tells us faith without works is dead.

And so if we believe that God is going to give us the victory, if we believe that God is going to keep his word, it's going to take us to walk in obedience to prove that we believe that God says what he says is true.

And so that's exactly what's happening here with people of Israel.

They're going to move forward in faith, believing in what God has for them.

And so verse three, he gives them the marching orders and he says, and ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war and go round about the city once, thus shalt thou do six days.

And so there were six days supposed to march around the walls of the earth.

So this was a method of warfare that really does not make any sense.

We're just going to march around.

Maybe some would argue that this is an intimidation thing, but this method of warfare was one that would not make sense according to military intelligence.

But what does that mean?

That means that this victory is going to be completely based dependence on God, not independence in our own minds, not, not our way of thinking, not worldly wisdom, but ultimately a complete dependence on the plan of God.

And I think sometimes in our life that's really what it takes for us to relinquish our control, relinquish the worldly way of thinking about something and saying, Lord, it doesn't make sense, but I'm going to trust in you to give me the victory.

So he says, do this.

And then verse 4 and 7 priests shall bear before the ark.

And you guys know the ark of the Covenant.

Seven trumpets of rams horns.

And the seventh day you shall compass the city seven times.

And so on the seventh day there's, there's going to be a difference.

They're not just going to go around the city one time, they're going to go around seven times.

And the priest shall blow with the trumpets and it shall come to pass when they make the long glass with the ram's horn.

And when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout.

So it's not just them marching around the city, it's not just the trumpet blast, but it's also the shouting of people.

And the wall of the city shall fall down flat and the people shall ascend up every man straight for.

And so here's the plan.

God says this is what's going to happen.

And really there's a question there.

Are you going to follow says, this is what you should do.

It was a plan for victory and it was a clear plan that God gives.

God is though giving them something to do.

I mean, God could have just knocked the walls over, right?

I mean, he could have said, israelites, stay in Gilgal, I'm just going to knock the walls over, then you guys go in.

I mean, God could have struck the city of Jericho with lightning.

But in this we see the relationship between God and man.

God is the all powerful creator of the universe.

God is the one who is completely victorious.

But it's the partnership with man that's, it's, it's the action of faith that we see this relationship with God and the people of Israel working.

And that's how it works with us.

Sometimes God is going to call us to act out in faith, to allow his plan to come to pass in our life.

And so obviously it was something that God could have done without Israel.

And that's obvious with us.

God can get his plan done in this world without us.

But God wanted Israel to be a part of his work and God wants us to be a part of it.

And so when we come to a spiritual battle in our lives, certainly there is that point of crisis that we have to say, lord, this doesn't make sense.

I don't know why you're doing this.

I don't know why you called me to do this.

I don't understand the bigger picture.

But if God says that, hey, this is what you need to do and this is the victory that comes with it, obviously the only proper response in faith is obedience.

I can't say that I have faith and then act in disobedience.

Because if I'm acting in disobedience, I'm not trusting that God's word is the best, that I'm not trusting that God's plan is the best.

I'm saying, well God, I believe you, but I'm not going to act on it.

And so really the manifestation of our faith is obedience.

Now obedience does not equal faith.

A lot of people flip that script.

A lot of people say, well, if I obey, then that's what saves me.

If I'm acting and obeying God perfectly, that's when God is going to give me salvation.

And that what's, that's what equals faith.

It's not that obedience doesn't equal faith.

Faith actually, and, and so it's works don't save us, but true salvation, true faith is produced in works.

And that's what we're seeing happen Here in Joshua chapter six.

So verse six, we're going to see the response.

God has given his plan, God has given his word.

And now the Israelites specifically with Joshua at the lead, have a choice to make.

Are we going to follow this?

Where are we going to do our thing?

And for us, so what does this look like for us?

Because, because we want to take the things in the word of God, right?

And we want to take application because this is a story about real people in a real place a very, very long time ago.

And, and so sometimes people see it just as that which it is a true story.

And it is an important thing to remember exactly what happened here in Jericho.

But at the same time, if we keep it just in a book as a history lesson, we miss the application that we can take with us in our own.

So what does this look like for us?

Well, how does God speak to us today?

Well predominantly God speaks to us through the Bible.

And so when God gives us something clearly in his word to do, especially when it comes to fighting the enemy, we know who our enemy is.

Ephesians chapter 6 tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and workers of darkness, evil in this world.

And so it's a battle of good and evil in our life.

And so God's not calling us to take a sword in our hands and, and go fight the enemy across the, the seas necessarily when it comes to our faith.

But what he does say is that we need to fight evil around us.

And so when we have these temptations and these trials and these attacks coming from the outside, God has exactly in his word what we are supposed to do.

He gives us his marching order.

And sometimes when we read things in scripture, they don't make a lot of sense.

Love our enemy, do good to those that hurt you.

Don't retaliate, be patient, have unity.

That doesn't make sense to us.

But what God is telling us is if you believe in the bigger picture, if you believe in the truth of the gospel, if you believe that I am who I say I am, then here is what you need to do to fight the battle.

So we're going to see Joshua and the people's response here in verse number six.

Joshua is going to tell the priests and the people to obey.

And Joshua the son of nun called the priest and said unto them, take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams horns before the ark of the Lord.

So it takes a leader sometimes to say this is What God has said, we're going to do this.

Now, we don't know exactly what would have happened if Joshua would have hesitated, because we know in Scripture that Joshua obeys.

But nonetheless, we see the influence that Joshua has on the life of the people of Israel.

He says, we're going to do this.

Verse 7.

And he said unto the people, pass on and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord.

And so Joshua tells the priest to get ready.

Joshua had to tell the priest because what they were about to do was outside of their comfort zone.

It was different than what they're used to.

Normally the priests weren't going into the paddle that was left for the men of war.

And so the ark would be the prominence of focus in the victory, obviously, as it was when it was crossing the Jordan River.

But obviously Israel had to keep their eyes and their hearts on the Lord.

And that was the way they could do that.

The Ark of the Covenant was that symbol, that picture of keeping their eyes and their hearts on the Lord.

And so Joshua tells the people, Joshua leads them, but ultimately it's the Lord leading the people into this battle that seems impossible to accomplish.

And so we're going to see, starting in verse number eight, Israel following Joshua's instructions.

So God speaks to Joshua, Joshua speaks to the people.

The people are going to respond.

And we know in this case, the people respond in obedience.

Verse 8.

And it came to pass when Joshua had spoken unto the people that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of the ram's horns passed on before the Lord and blew with trumpets and the ark of the covenant and the Lord followed them.

I think it's important to see here that in the people's obedience we see the presence of God.

Sometimes we think that we're alone in the battle.

God calls us to fight this battle.

God calls us to take a step of faith.

And sometimes we're tempted to feel like we're alone in that.

And it might feel that way in some regard, but the Bible says that he is never going to leave us nor forsake us.

So sometimes, if some of you remember being in school, it's been a while since some of us have been in school, but I was a teacher for a while.

And when I was teaching, I, I, I would teach my students as much as I could before the test, right?

We would, we would go, we would usually have tests every two, three weeks.

And we would, I would be talking about history.

And some of you like history, some of you don't like history.

If you don't like history, you might be like, most of my students, they would sit there and go, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I'm.

I'm sitting there trying to, like, make history exciting.

I'm like, guys, this was amazing.

We don't want to repeat.

And they're like, sitting there nodding their heads, and I'm like, okay.

And then I get to Friday, Friday, you know, we're going to have a test on Monday, and Friday is the review day.

And I say, okay, guys, I'm going to give you everything that's in the test.

I'm going to give you everything here.

And I would walk through with them, and they didn't know it, but I was giving them the answers.

I was like, okay, I might ask you, you know, in what year was, you know, John F. Kennedy assassinated and where was it?

And I would like to.

I'm giving you the type.

You just wrote it down.

You have all the notes.

So then the test comes, right?

And then I drop tests on the desk.

They start out, and then, you know, it never ends.

Every time someone raises their hand, what do you mean by this?

And they want to start.

I'm like, now's not the time to ask questions.

I've got to be silent during this test.

And that's.

Sometimes.

I know it's not the exact same thing, but sometimes when.

When the Lord is allowing us to go through a test, he's seen if we paid attention to the lessons that we have been taught.

Now, I. I used this analogy a while ago, and Brother Bob brought this up to me, and I think this is a good point.

The good thing about being a Christian is that we have an open book test, right?

We have it right here.

We have everything we need right in front of us.

So when we're going through the trial, we can crack open the notes and see everything that we have right there.

And in some cases, when I was a teacher, I had open book tests.

If it was really hard, those are the ones that the kids enjoyed.

But the reality is, is that as Christians, we might feel like God is not there with us in the midst of that trial, but God is there with us in the midst of the battle.

And that's what we see there.

In verse number eight, it says that God was with them, that the Lord followed them.

And so Joshua doesn't hesitate to do what the Lord told him to do.

And I think that's also important as well.

I mean, if we're talking about obedience, when God gives us an order, we don't delay.

You know, when we're teaching our children how to obey, we don't say like, hey, obey us when you feel like it.

It's obey us right away.

And that's exactly what God wants from us, is immediate obedience.

And that's what we see with Joshua here.

And so we see that they're going around and Jericho wasn't a humongous city.

They could easily march around it in a day.

And so, I mean, obviously it was a massive, massive city.

They wouldn't be able to do that.

But I couldn't help but think about the people of Jericho, what they're thinking about.

Seeing these guys, you know, marching around our city and eventually blowing trumpets, that's, that's going to seem weird.

But ultimately the world's going to think that the things that we do are weird.

Just be, just, just being honest.

I mean, when we live boldly as Christians, the world does not understand what that means.

They don't understand the obedience of, of following the word of God.

And so they do this, they do this over and over and over again.

Verse 9.

And the armed men went before the priest that blew the trumpets.

And the reward came after the ark, or the re reward came after the ark and the priests going on and blowing with the trumpet.

And so coming through this we see that they're going to follow in obedience and follow to the t exactly what God called them to do.

Verse 10.

And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, you shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth until I the day I bid you shout, then shall you shout.

Meaning this.

Don't get ahead of ourselves.

Don't, don't, don't get anxious.

Don't allow yourself to say, you know what, we've been doing this for three days, four days, five days.

Why do we have to wait today?

7.

Can't we just do what we're gonna do?

And that's sometimes what God does for us.

Because when we're in a trial, when we're fighting a battle, sometimes it's a patience of test, sometimes it's, are we going to be willing to follow completely what God has said?

And so Joshua says, don't get ahead of yourself.

Don't, don't call out until I tell you.

Verse 11.

So the ark of the Lord can pass the city going about at once.

And they came into the camp and lodged in the camp and Joshua rose early in the morning and the priest took up the ark of the Lord and the Seventh priest 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 reward came after the ark of the Lord and the priest going on and blowing with the trumpets.

In the second day they can pass the city and returned to the camp.

So they did six days.

So we see that they followed through with what God had called them to do.

And so in this it's a complete reliance on God.

Through these six days of marching in silence, they had a good look at the walls, they had a good look at Jericho.

And they knew that this battle was bigger than what they could accomplish.

This was a realization of a complete need.

And Lord and I think all of us need to see that.

When we come into a spiritual battle in our lives, sometimes we're tempted to think that the spiritual battle can be accomplished through worldly means.

Sometimes we think that our wisdom, our strength, our understanding is enough to deal with something that's beyond our comprehension, what's beyond our control.

And I think that for all of us, a good lesson to learn and actually trust in is to know that the struggles that we fight in our spiritual life, they go beyond our comprehension.

They go beyond our control and we have to completely be reliant on the Lord.

Going back to my teaching years, I remember told the story so many times because it's such a vivid memory for me.

I can remember it like it was yesterday.

I remember they called me in to be a teacher for the first time.

I was substitute teaching and they called me in to be a full time teacher in January of the year.

So halfway through the year they're like, okay, can you come in?

I said, sure, what do you need?

They're like really?

Our really biggest need is like senior high English.

So I came in.

Some of you were like, that's, that's my favorite subject.

Some of you were like, I hated, you know, senior level English.

English literature.

Okay.

You know, so like all those classic stories, Beethoven or not Beethoven, Beethoven was the music.

Shakespeare, I was thinking Shakespeare, Shakespeare and all that.

So anyway, long story short, I remember driving to, to work on my very first day thinking I'm gonna ruin these kids lives.

I, I don't know enough about this.

I'm, I'm beyond what my knowledge of all this.

I'm not ready for this because I was 22 years old and I was teaching 18 year olds, okay.

I gone to school with some of these kids, to be honest with you.

And I remember just being in tears driving to to work that day thinking, like, I'm gonna ruin these kids lives, they're never gonna be able to go to college.

I'm going to teach him wrong.

And it was a complete.

Like every morning I would wake up and from the moment I would wake up to the moment I started teaching, I was praying.

Like I, it was a long drive to work, but it was, it was, I was driving, I was praying, lord, help me, help me today, help me in every way.

But you know, after a while, after a while, one or two years in, started getting really complacent because I was like, now I know what I'm teaching.

I've taught this two or three times.

I can go into the classroom or you know what I'm going to say.

And really it was those times of pride, those times of selfishness to think that I've got this, that that's really where I was tested.

And I think that all of us need to go back to that complete reliance on God.

Not in fear and not in anxiety, but in a complete reliance on the Lord to say, lord, this is beyond me.

Another similar moment in my life.

And some of you maybe have these moments that you could give as testimonies, but I remember the first time we brought Micah home, our first child.

I was like, I can't do this.

Like, I have a life that's right here.

I can't even take care of myself.

I'm like, how is this gonna happen?

And I remember Micah was just laying in, in the, in the crib there, and I was just weeping over him.

And Alicia's like, are you okay?

What's going on?

I'm like, I don't know what to do.

I'm like, this is, this is intense.

And, but, but I think in a good way, it was a complete reliance on the fact that I need God to, to intervene in my life because I don't know what to do.

And that's where we're really seeing them.

They're, they're marching around the city going, lord, we need you.

Completely we're helpless.

And so verse 15, that starts the, the final march on the seventh day.

This is the, the big day, so to speak.

And it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early about the dawning of the day and compassed the city after the same manner seven times.

Remember on the, the last day, the seventh, the seventh day, they have to go around seven times.

Only on that day they can pass the city seven times.

So they again obey God specifically and completely.

Verse 16.

And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priest blew with the trumpets.

Joshua said unto the people, shout, for the Lord hath given you the city.

And I can't.

I guess I can imagine somewhat what the shouts would have been like.

If you've ever been to a big sporting event and you hear all the shouts, okay, just think about that.

And think about they've been quiet for seven days, and now it's time to cry out and know that they have the victory.

I think of this in many different ways, but the one way that I think about it is it's a shouting of joy.

It's a shouting of victory.

It's shouting with the confidence in the Lord.

And so they had been patient, and the command was given to the people to shout.

And after those days of silence, this comes, as I believe, a recipe recognition of the power of God and the presence of God to give them what was promised to them.

And so, Micah or Nora, can you bring me shofar?

I brought this as a picture lesson.

I don't know if the trumpets would have looked specifically like this, but when we were in Israel, in Jerusalem, I wanted a shofar, a ram's horn.

And there was one up on the wall, and it was like, this big, and it had, like, silver inlay.

And he ever riding on.

And I'm like, I want that one.

And I asked him how much it cost.

And when he told me how much it cost, I was like, okay, I want that one.

So I got this little one.

So I keep this in my office.

If you've ever been to my office, I just keep it in my office.

And for me, it's a reminder of a lot of things.

That's a reminder of our trip to Israel.

Not going to lie.

It was.

It was an amazing time.

And again, I'm always thankful for the church to send us there.

But the.

The other reminder, it is for me, and I. I think back to this story in the book of Joshua, story of these trumpets being sounded.

And it's the sound of the presence of God, the sound of the power of God.

And I was thinking tonight, I was, like, praying about.

I'm like, should I just blow the shofar?

But I'm like, I'm going to mess it up.

But you know who is the best shofar blower than I know?

I think Nora is actually probably the best.

Nora, do you want to come blow the show far?

You want to try it?

All right, let's see if you can do it.

Nora.

Nora's usually pretty good with this.

Yeah, I'm putting pressure on you now.

You got it.

Getting nervous.

There you go.

Normally.

Normally, yeah.

She blows it.

Micah does it.

You want to do it, too, Micah?

You want to try?

Okay.

Now, the only reason I'm letting my kids do it and not your kids do it is because your kids probably don't want to come and blow on a show far that you're supposed to clean them.

But I don't think I've cleaned it very much.

All right.

You don't mind your sister's germs?

Oh, now, I made him think about it.

All right, you can try it.

Oh, you forgot how to do it.

All right.

That's how I would do it, too, probably.

Anyway, so it's a reminder, obviously, of.

Of the presence of God.

And so they blow these trumpets, they blow the ram's horns, and they see the victory.

Now what happens?

Okay, because they shout and verse 17, and the city shall be accursed, even it and all that are therein to the Lord.

Only Rahab the harlot shall live.

And so in right.

Right in the middle of this challenge for them to blow the horns and to cry out, we see that there is a remembrance of the promise that was given to Rahab.

Again, in the midst of this, we see pictures of salvation.

If you remember back all the way in Joshua, chapter two, remember, Rahab was there, and she had faith in the God of Israel.

And then there was the promise to her that she would be with her family, spared if she put out the red cord.

And so this is that.

This is that a command to remember Rahab.

So Joshua was careful to remember Rahab because God remembered Rahab.

It was her faith in the God of Israel that would allow her to find salvation.

So it is that reminder there.

And so it says, and she and all that are with her in the house because she hid the messengers that were sent.

And so verse 18.

And ye in any wise, keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest you make yourselves a curse when you take of the cursed thing and make the camp of Israel a curse and trouble it.

But then we see verse 19.

But all the silver and golden vessels of brass and iron are consecrated unto the Lord, meaning the Lord is taking all these materials, and they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.

And so Joshua had commanded the people of Israel to stay away from the accursed things, all right?

Not.

Not to allow themselves to get caught up in the evil things.

By this, he means the idols and the things that were associated with the demonic worship that was there in Canaan.

And then actually there is that.

We're going to talk a little bit about the.

The curse there of.

Of Jericho.

But then he says, okay, you avoid all the bad things, but all the viable things that belong to God allow that to be the first fruits that are given in worship to the lord.

So verse 20.

So the people shouted when the priest blew the trumpets.

And it came to pass when the people heard the sound of the trumpet.

And the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat.

So that people went up the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

So this is where we see the victory.

The walls come down, miracle of God happens.

No other city had been conquered this way.

So Israel is trusting in God and God keeps his word and gives them the victory by knocking down the walls.

Verse 21.

And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city.

This talks of a complete victory, both man and woman, young and old, a locks and sheep and ass and the edge of the sword.

And so Israel was commanded to practice complete destruction because they did not want to have the.

The Canaanites spiritual of darkness pervading them and allowing that to be a conflict for them and a compromise.

And that you've seen in Deuteronomy, chapter 18, God's plan.

So they took the city.

They took the city that God gave to them.

Clearly God gave it to them.

And then we see in verse 22, on to the end of the.

The end of the chapter, there's the finishing of battle.

But Joshua sentence, two men that spied out the country go into the harlot's house and bring out thence the woman and all that she hath as she swear unto her.

And the young men that were spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brother, and all that she had, they brought out all of her kindred and left them without Israel.

So I think that's a beautiful picture.

We often don't think about the story of Rahab as much in the story of Jericho, but we should, because Rahab was spared.

And there's a couple of unique things about Rahab.

Obviously she's saved out of life, sin, but also she.

She isn't part of the people of Israel.

But yes, this is a picture of how God is not just the God of Israel, even though he is the God of Israel, he's also the God of all nations.

And beautiful picture of Rahab being brought into the family of God.

And we know that the line of the Messiah Is mark the line of Rahab.

So interesting, interesting story.

So verse 24.

And they burnt the city with fire and all that was therein, only the silver and gold and the vessels of brass and iron they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.

And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive and her father's household and all that she had.

And she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day, because she hid the messengers which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

And Joshua j them at the time saying, cursed be the man before the Lord that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho ago.

He shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and his youngest shall he set up the gates of it.

And that's an interesting statement there.

I was like, okay, that's, that's interesting.

What's that a reference to?

Well, that is actually fulfilled this curse.

And, and the firstborn being laid in the foundation is fulfilled in First Kings chapter 16, verse 34.

And we don't have necessarily the time to go there to cross reference that.

But that all actually comes to pass in a story where, where they tried to rebuild Jericho.

And this, this guy had his son laid in the foundation.

His firstborn, his youngest son was set up in the gates according to the word of the Lord, as it says in First Kings chapter 16.

And so that actually was a curse that was laid out there in Jericho.

So verse 27, then we'll be done.

So the Lord was with Joshua and it speaks of the presence of God and his fame was noise throughout all of the country.

And so this completes the story of Israel's victory at Jericho.

Power of God.

And there's a few things that I'd like us to learn from this.

Number one, it's a story of faith.

Obviously Joshua and the people of Israel believe in plan of God and they follow the plan of God.

And so with faith comes obedience.

And so it's a story of obedience.

Joshua and Israel not only said that they believe and, and followed with their minds, but also followed with their actions.

And I think that's a lesson for all of us that if we believe the battle plans of God, then we follow in obedience as well.

It's a story of courage.

It's a story of, of not physical courage necessarily as much as it is spiritual.

Now there was physical outpouring of that courage.

But a lot of times we as Christians are failing in the area of being brave for the cause of the gospel cause of the Lord.

But we believe in the word of God and we're Obeying him, our lives will be marked with courage, even if there is aspects of danger involved.

It's a story of.

Of patience or endurance.

Israel followed the battle plan over a period of time.

It wasn't like, hey, God, give it to us today.

We want it today.

No, they wanted it today, but God said, no, it's going to take this time.

And they followed in obedience.

And then ultimately it's a story of trust.

They didn't trust in their own plans, but they trusted in the plans of God.

And I think it's a story that all of us can apply to our lives when it comes to these spiritual battles that we have to face.

Now, I wish I could tell you that the rest of the story for the rest of the book of Joshua means that they'll never turn away, that they'll follow in obedience.

But we know that just as we have ups and downs, so the people of Israel have ups and downs.

And so there's going to be times where sin bathes the people of Israel.

It sin gets into the camp.

And when sin gets into the camp, we see that there's going to be losses and there's going to be despair and there's going to be hopelessness.

And so ultimately they have to come back to a place of repentance.

And Joshua is going to lead his people back to a place of repentance and revival.

And so the story of Joshua and the story of the people of Israel in the promised land is a story of ups and downs.

But ultimately we see a story of God being completely faithful.

It's, it's, it's we, the people who are varying up and down, but God is the one who's faithful.

So though we look at Joshua being kind of the main character of the book of Joshua, the main character is the Lord.

It always is.

It's his hand of blessing upon the people of Israel.

And that should be the story of our life.

The story of our life should.

We shouldn't be the main star of our story.

The main focus of our story should be Jesus.

It should be the Lord working in our life and everything that we have.

Any victory that we have, any blessing that we have, any testimony that we have is all to the glory of God.

It's all because of what he has done for us.

And so there's so much more that we could look at when it comes to Jericho and Joshua.

But I think that that's the biggest story is it's a story of faith.

It's a story of obedience.

It's A story of patience and a story of trust in, in the Lord.

And so, hey, who knows, you know, maybe one day you'll get to go to Israel and you can see Jericho and drive by and see it.

Now I, you know, I had the opportunity to see Jericho and there's a lot of other things that actually happened in Jericho too.

We won't get ahead of ourselves there.

But there's some stuff in the New Testament that happens there and ultimately old.

But what I would say is find a time in your life, a day in your life where you can maybe it's not a chauffeur.

I mean, it is.

But for you, it might be something else in your life that you can look to as a reminder of God's presence and provision in your life.

No, I don't.

I'm not a huge fan of having to have symbols.

Some people have to have symbols.

You don't have to have a symbol, but allow yourself to be reminded of those things in your life that God has done for you.

And we see that in the book of Joshua, Remember, they crossed the Jordan River.

What do they do?

They set up the memorial stones.

They remind their families.

And so, yeah, you don't have to have something like that in your life, but I would encourage you to pray about God does.

Press upon your heart to have a reminder in your life about to tell your children about why we're praising God.

We try to tell our kids all the time some of the good things that God has done for us in our life.

And they go, yeah, yeah, stories kind of go over their heads.

But eventually, hopefully they can look to those stories and then have stories of their own testimonies of God working.

So I encourage you to think about that.

Well, we'll come back next week and look at Joshua, chapter seven, Israel is going to sin.

And we're going to see how God works in their life now.

Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast.

I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you.

You.

If you would like to find out more information about our church or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

You can also email me directly at Josh Massaro, Middletown BaptistChurch.com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates.

Thank you so much.

God bless.

Have a wonderful day.