Trevor
S Ferguson
April 12, 2014
Joshua 2:1 (KJV)
1And Joshua the son of Nun
sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even
Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and
lodged there.
Joshua 6:1-5 (KJV)
1Now Jericho was straitly
shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
2And the LORD said unto
Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and
the mighty men of valour.
3And ye shall compass the
city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do
six days.
4And seven priests shall
bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall
compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
5And it shall come to pass,
that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the
sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the
wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man
straight before him.
INTRODUCTION
The book of Joshua records what
is arguably the most successful period in Israel’s history. Joshua transformed
a group of persons who had been slaves in Egypt for some 430 years, and who had
wandered in the wilderness as nomads for forty years, and made them into a
nation that was both feared and respected by all the other countries in the
region. The conquest of Jericho stands out as one of the most memorable feats
in all of Israel’s history. Apart from the crossing of the Red Sea and Joshua’s
command that made the sun stand still, the miraculous collapse of the walls of
Jericho stand above or alongside all other miracles in the Bible. For the most
part however, the analysis of the collapse of Jericho’s walls has focused on
the shout and the immediate collapse of the wall and not on the events before
and after the shout. A careful reading of the scriptures will show that the
collapse of the walls of Jericho, and the conquest of the city was not a one
day affair, or even a seven day event, but was the culmination of a process
that remains relevant to countries, churches corporations and even to
individuals today.
Today I would like to share
with you as we analyze the events preceding the shout and the collapse of
Jericho’s walls, in order to identify key factors that contribute to the
experience of the miraculous. Our focus is more on the corporate miracle, but
the factors can be extrapolated to the individual as well. I suggest to you
that the fundamental components for the making of a miracle are: leadership,
cooperation and Divine intervention. When these factors come together we will
see the miraculous.
EXPOSITION
The story begins with
Joshua sending out two spies to gather information on the land of Jericho. This
demonstrates that although God had promised that he would give to Joshua all
the land that he should set foot on, he recognized that Israel would have to
fight to possess the land. If they were to fight to possess the land, then
Joshua had to prepare a plan of attack that would guarantee victory. If they
were to prepare in this manner, then they would need information upon which to
base their plans.
We see in the scriptures that
Joshua from the beginning of his expedition showed good leadership and
demonstrated the characteristics of a military strategist. Leadership therefore
emerges as the first component in the making of this miracle. We see also that the
two spies who were sent out, went and did as Joshua had requested. They cooperated.
Nothing is said about them resisting, protesting or in any other way
challenging the wisdom of Joshua’s instruction. They could have recounted the
problems that were caused the last time that Moses had sent spies to survey the
land of Canaan. They could have questioned why they and not others were chosen
for this extremely dangerous task. The scriptures simply said “… and they went
…” Cooperation is necessary for miracles to happen!
The choice of place to
lodge for the night was nothing short of Divine intervention! The scriptures
said “… they came into an harlot’s house
… and lodged there.” Persons have offered various explanations why the
spies choose to lodge at Rahab’s house. If she was in fact running a brothel, then
the men could expected to be granted lodging without much scrutiny; but this
does not seem to be the case as we see later that she was well aware of who
they were. The notion that the house on the wall would provide an easy way of
escape does seem to ‘hold some water’ but if Rahab had handed them over to the
king’s men there would have been no escape. I believe that God supernaturally
led them to Rahab’s house because He knew that her heart was ‘soft’ towards
Israel and that she had become a woman of faith.
Rahab’s faith is one of the
most untold stories in the bible. Verse 11 of Joshua 2 contains her great
confession of faith “… for the Lord your
God, he is God in heaven above and in the earth beneath.” Her action stands
alongside that of Ruth as pagan women who had extraordinary faith in God. It is
therefore not surprising that she is mentioned in Hebrews 11 as one of the
heroes of faith and also by James as one who demonstrated faith with action.
This was Divine intervention. God led the spies to the home of the only convert
in Jericho.
Rehab also demonstrated
cooperation in receiving her own personal miracle (i.e. the saving of her
household) in that she obeyed the instruction of the spies and tied the scarlet
thread from her window as soon as the spies had left. In order to receive your
miracle you must cooperate with God and the instruction of his servants.
Let’s turn to the events
immediately preceding the collapse of the walls of Jericho. Here again we see
the three principles in action. Joshua led. The people cooperated. God
intervened. Chapter six begins: “Now
Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out,
and none came in.” God at first assured Joshua that He had given Jericho
into his hands. However in order to accomplish the victory there were some
things to be done. These were the instructions:
-
March
around the city once per day for six days with all your armed men
-
Have
seven priests carry trumpets of ram’s horns in front of the ark
-
On
the seventh day, march around the city seven times with the priests blowing the
trumpets
-
When
the priest made a loud blast on the trumpet have the whole army make a loud
shout and the walls of Jericho will fall flat
-
The
army should go straight in and conquer the city
Verses 6-20 of chapter 6 records
how Joshua and the people carried out God’s instructions. He called the priest
together and informed them of God’s instructions. Then he gave the command to
the army to march around the city with the armed guard going ahead of the ark. Both
the priest and the army obeyed without challenging the wisdom of Joshua or of
Gods instructions. We see then in verse 20 that the walls of Jericho collapsed
and they went in and conquered the city, just as God said they would.
APPLICATION
People today we are faced
with many challenges and indeed many persons are in need of a miracle today.
This applies to countries, including Jamaica; this applies to many
organizations and institutions in the land, including our churches; this also
applies individuals who need personal miracles, including for some the miracle
of salvation and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. God is reminding us today that
the old paradigm of seeking miracles without much action on our part is not
going to work.
First of all, we need
corporate and personal leadership. Leaders must be in touch with God and must
provide clear direction for the people to follow. If our leaders are not in
touch with God we can hope for very little. Of course some things can be
accomplished by human effort; but as we see in this story the results can be
magnified exponentially when leaders follow God’s instructions. Let me say also
that we don’t have to sit and wait to hear God speak to us through an audible
voice, or through the thunder or the whirlwind; God has detailed his
instructions right here in the Bible. If we follow its precepts and obey its
commands we are well on our way to seeing the miraculous.
Secondly, the people must
cooperate with the instruction of leaders. We note that the spies cooperated
with Joshua, Rahab cooperated with the spies, the priests cooperated with
Joshua and the army cooperated with Joshua. When people cooperate with
leadership we can expect positive results. When the people fail to cooperate
the opposite happens. We saw this at Kadesh Barnea, when after ten spies
brought back an evil report, the people revolted against Moses, refusing to go
up against the Canaanites and this resulted in the death of many, and Israel’s
wondering in the wilderness for forty years.
In order to apply these
principles for your personal miracle, we can substitute faith and obedience for
the principles of leadership and cooperation. Rahab demonstrated great faith in
the God of Israel and obeyed the instructions of the spies and received her own
personal miracle.
The final principle –
Divine intervention – is applicable both to the personal and the corporate
miracle, because no miracle can happen without God. We can plan, we can
strategize, we can work hard or we can scheme, but unless God shows up, no
miracle will happen. Israel could have marched around Jericho a thousand times,
unless God showed up, the walls of Jericho would still be standing. Rabab could
have tied a hundred scarlet cords to her window; unless God intervened her
house would have collapsed with the rest of the wall.
Today we need Divine
intervention; Jamaica needs Divine intervention; the world needs Divine
intervention; the church needs Divine intervention, all of us as individuals
need Divine intervention! Intervene Jesus! Come down in our situation. Let your
spirit arise and break the stronghold of the enemy. Intervene Jesus. We believe
you, we receive you, we accept your words. Intervene God! Intervene!
