In life, there will be no progress without change and overcoming challenges.

Henry Ford is attributed as saying, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”

The book of Joshua reminds us how God’s promises are spoken in terms of certainty, not chances. Today we will see how God empowers His people to overcome their biggest obstacle on the journey to receiving God’s promise and fulfilling His plans.

Here in Joshua 6:1-7, the stage is set for a battle between Israel and the people of Jericho.  

Jericho is the oldest inhabited city in the world. First settled by a nomadic tribe who discovered the region where Jericho currently sits, Jericho continued to grow in size and strength.[1]

Over time, these inhabitants-built walls to protect their water supply and harvest and would serve as a strategic military defense. The walls were an architectural marvel, which archaeologists say predates the pyramids.

So as the Israelites arrived on the scene, these walls were well fortified and had kept the inhabitants safe for a long time.

Verse 1 explains how the mighty Jericho was on lockdown because of the Israelites.

• They had heard the news of how their God supernaturally dried up the Red Sea and the Jordan to allow the people to cross on dry ground.
• Jericho learned how Israel defeated the two kings of the Amorites.

Even though Jericho’s walls appeared impenetrable for thousands of years and they had a strong military, God had plans to defeat them.

To see God’s plans come to fruition requires strict adherence to God’s instructions.

The question for us today is, are you willing to trust God when His plan doesn’t make sense?

Everything God does for us is always for His glory and our good. God’s glory is His invisible attributes made visible through our obedience and worship. As Christians, we are called to live for God’s glory.

Instead of using military force to take down Jericho’s wall, God instructs Joshua to have seven priests with seven trumpets blowing them continually, one per priest, and with the Ark of the Covenant behind them, circle the walls six times. Then, on the seventh day, they will march around the walls seven times.

This makes zero sense in the natural, but that’s because God operates in the supernatural. The repeated use of the number seven represents the number of perfection and completion, reinforcing that victory belongs to the LORD.

As a side note, to add to the unusual nature of this battle, as I recently read this passage, I saw something that I had not caught in previous readings. God commanded the people to march around the walls seven times on the seventh day.

The seventh day was a Sabbath day for the Israelites. No work was to be done on the Sabbath. Numbers 15:35 explain how the penalty for violating the Sabbath was death!

So why would God ask the people to intentionally violate the Sabbath command?

The Sabbath was created to give humanity a day of rest for all their work. But in this case, the battle belonged to the LORD.

• The repeated use of sevens indicates this was God’s work, not man’s.
• Carrying the Ark of the Covenant was not a common activity but a holy one.
• This was a divine and holy moment.

The people were not violating the Sabbath because God was fighting for the people.

So in verse 12, Joshua assembles the priests who began their procession blowing their trumpets as all the people walked in silence until the seventh day and the seventh lap.

As they completed the final lap, the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and God brought the walls down!

In one divine moment, the walls that had protected the city and the people of Jericho for thousands of years came tumbling down.

There is no enemy, no wall high enough, or obstacle too big that can prevent God’s promise and plans.

From the events of Jericho, here are three keys to fulfilling God’s will.

• Know God’s will.
• Trust God’s leading.
• Faithfully obey God’s instructions.

When you’re walking in God’s will, the battle belongs to the LORD!

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[1] https://www.worldatlas.com/ancient-world/the-ancient-city-of-jericho-the-world-s-first-walled-community.html