Joshua 6:1-5 – The Year of Victory – Bible study

Joshua 6:1-5 The Year of Victory We are reading one the great "stories" of the Bible, a story recounted in childrens 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 Gods 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 shoutapparently 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. Lets 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 Gods 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 wasnt. 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 Gods 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, were 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. (Thats the theme of this message.) 2. However, the reason we ought to obey is because its 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 dont 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 arent coming down.