Joshua apparently went off by himself to have a look at the city they would have to conquer to move anywhere in the land that was promised to them. And, on his walk, he ran into a guy blocking his path, looking at him with a drawn sword in his hand.
Kinda intimidating, if you ask me.
Joshua, however, approached him, asking, 'Are you for us or for our enemies?' ...IE, 'Whose side are you on?'
The guy replied, 'Neither.'
The question is NEVER...'Whose side is God on?' the question is ALWAYS...'Who is on God's side?' And God's side always involves WAY more than one or two issues. Now the Israelites were following God's instructions as they moved, you'd think that would be a pat answer, 'I am with YOU, Joshua!' But even the people of God mistake their ambitions for God's plans and get off track (more on that later). Joshua went to have a strategy planning session for how HE would take Jericho; the Commander of The Army of God stopped him cold and gave him GOD'S plan for taking the city.
Which made no sense whatsoever. March around it with trumpets sounding once a day for seven days? Then march around it seven times in one day and YELL when they finished? What kind of military strategy is that?
Joshua didn't question his instructions. He took them back to the people, and that's what they did. Just as instructed. Trumpets. Ark of the Covenant. Soldiers. No shouting or taunting or response to anything the people of Jericho did. Around once and back to camp. Next day, same thing. Next day, same thing...until the seventh day.
On the seventh day, they got specific instructions to shout when the trumpets sounded after the seventh circuit. And they were to allow only Rahab and her family to survive, as had been agreed. Furthermore, everything in the city was to be destroyed, except the gold, silver, and bronze, which were to be put into the treasury to be used for God's house.
Pay particular attention to that, it's important. The NIV refers to all the plunder of Jericho as 'devoted things', the KJV uses 'accursed'. I kinda like the NASB, which refers to the plunder as 'things under the ban'...neutral, neither cursed nor blessed, just banned. And there were two different categories of things under the ban...the gold, silver and bronze, which was to be given for use in God's house, and everything else, which was to be devoted to God and destroyed. They were to keep nothing of Jericho for themselves.
But as for you, only keep yourself from the things under the ban, lest you covet them and take some of the things under the ban, so you would make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it. - Josh 6:18, NASB
So instructed, when the priests blew the signal after that seventh circle around the city, the people shouted and...those massive walls fell.
Imagine standing there that day and feeling the ground shake and seeing the walls collapse, just as God had said they would. What encouragement to the soldiers who went in and took the city. The two who had come as spies went to Rahab's house and escorted her and her family out to safety; the gold, bronze and silver were set aside, and everything else in the city was burned.
Joshua pronounced a curse over the city, which proved to be prophetic and was recorded as fulfilled in 1 Kings 16:34, although we don't have details on how it came about.
So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land. -- 6:27.
Am I quick to follow God's leading, even if it doesn't make sense?
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