By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. Hebrews 11:30 NLT
Think of it. Moses had been the leader for all of Joshua’s life. He was legendary. The one who God used to deliver them from Egypt, the one through whom God did miracles like providing food to eat from manna and surprise quails, the one God gave the Ten Commandments to and more, the one who saw God face to face. He had just died, and after he was buried, God appointed Joshua to lead the people. Not only were these huge sandals for Joshua to fill just in the light of all those things, but this was a whole nation of strong-willed and often disobedient people. Now Joshua was in charge.
God told Joshua to go conquer the land – and Joshua had never led an army. But God told him to be strong and courageous because He would go with him. Every place the Israelites’ feet touched God would give them. Those are big directions to take at any time with anyone, and standing in the shadow of a man bigger than life would be intimidating. But God had told Joshua to be strong and courageous, that He would be with him wherever he went (Joshua 1:9). Joshua believed it and stepped forward in faith into a situation that logically made no sense.
The mission was to conquer the well-fortified city of Jericho so they could enter the Promised Land. That’s where they had been headed for 40 years. The instructions would not have made logical sense to anyone – the people were to march around these massive walls every day for six days, following the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant and blowing rams’ horns. Then on the seventh day they did exactly what God said to do, without having the slightest notion what would happen. On that day they marched around seven times, and after the seventh time the priests blew a loud extended blast on the rams’ horns, the people gave a mighty shout, and the walls fell down. The soldiers ran in and conquered the panicked city. They were on their way to gaining the land.
How did Joshua operate in faith in the face of a directive that didn’t make sense? He knew God so well he valued trust in Him over human logic, even when it seemed unreasonable. He was a leader with moral authority, and the people followed him. He obeyed every detail, and again the people followed his example. They did all the physical work and remained absolutely quiet while marching – no talking. Joshua and the Israelites persevered for seven days with no visible sign of progress or even a hint that they were making a difference. They did what God said without stopping when they had no “proof it would work.” And then they suddenly saw this was the faith that makes walls fall.
- When we have true faith that trusts God even when we don’t understand, God rewards obedience with victory and fulfilled promises.