The Assault Upon Jericho
The assault upon Jericho was unique. Every military principle was abandoned.
What good is accomplished by marching around a city and blowing trumpets? How useless! How ridiculous!
How useless and ridiculous Jesus appeared when sitting on the gable of the Temple in Jerusalem! Sometimes God's ways are not our ways.
After God had been obeyed the army of angels was prepared to push the walls over, or push them down into the ground, or disintegrate them (which may have been what happened so every Israelite soldier could go straight in). Remember, these wall were thick enough that houses were built on them. If they fell outward or inward they would have presented an obstacle, being as thick as they were.
"When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in." (Joshua 6:5—NIV)
Perhaps there was concern on the part of the Israelite officers over this peculiar plan of attack.
In our assembly we spend time with banners, hurling them downward and shouting for the battle, as the Lord seems to direct us. No doubt there are some who feel we are wasting time and should be "out there doing something for the Lord" instead of marching around inside the church. Well, they can believe what they want to. We have noticed increased involvement of our young people in the worship program and we think we sense the approval of the Lord. Sometimes the things God does are eminently practical, and on other occasions not as understandable—like spitting on people to heal them!
Moses is dead. Joshua has been anointed. Some of the ways of the churches we have been accustomed to are not anointed. We have noticed that when the sanctuary choirs sing in large churches (and I love music!) there is something lacking. It seems vestigial. More active worship is the order of the day. You can feel the anointing of the Lord when the banners and tambourines are active. Perhaps we are welcoming the coming of King Jesus!
Have you seen young people marching, carrying the great banners depicting the conquering Christ? It really gets to you in a way not true of choir anthems no matter how skillfully performed!
I imagine after the sixth time around the city the natives of Jericho were about ready to have nervous breakdowns. Rahab had told the spies the people were already frightened because stories of how God was helping Israel had been told by the caravans as they passed through. The citizens of Jericho knew about the Red Sea, and the destruction of Sihon and Og east of the Jordan. I don't think the sight of the hundreds of thousands of warriors, with the seven priests in the middle of the line of march blowing trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark, did much to relieve their fears.
The Ten Commandments were in the Ark. The Law of God was entering a land filled with demons. A picture of the future was being drawn. God knows exactly what He is doing even though we may not understand everything at the time!
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