Victorious Christian Living

Old Testament Reading – Isaiah 49:8-13
New Testament Reading – 2 Corinthians 10:1-6

Victorious Christian Living
“The Fall of Jericho”
Joshua 6:1-27

Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor

   The battle of Jericho has always been the absolute fascination of historians, the critical examination of liberal theologians, and the cynical investigation of international archeologists, who have tried to come up with some logical way to explain what the Bible says happened in Jericho in 1400 B.C.

• However, while the battle of Jericho is an epic story of the faith and obedience of the Israelites, the only answer to the fall of the walls of Jericho is that, in His sovereignty, and because of the level of their wickedness and idolatry, God determined to destroy the city of Jericho and all of its people.
• The Israelites’ first step into the Promised Land was God’s first step in fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham.

A Review of the parallels:          

• Just as the Israelites were in bondage to Egypt, every person is born in bondage to sin and without hope.
• Just as God sent Moses to set His people free, God sent His only Son to pay the wages for our sins.
• Just as the Israelites were set free by the blood of an innocent lamb, those who receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord are set free by the shed blood of the Lamb of God.
• Just as God parted the waters of the Red Sea to allow the Israelites to cross over on dry land, and then closed the walls of water again to drown Israel’s enemies, those who receive Jesus Christ as their Savior are immersed in water, signifying their death to themselves, to sin, and to Satan, and then raised from the water, signifying their freedom to walk in the newness of life.
• Just as the first generation of Israelites failed to trust God and enter into the Promised Land, because of their unbelief, and God sent them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years to learn to trust Him, so many new believers fail to trust God when He asks them to surrender their lives unto the Lordship of Christ, and they waste many years wandering in the wilderness of unbelief.
• Just as God brought the second generation of Israelites to the entrance of the Promised Land a second time, He allows those believers with shallow faith to come to that place in their lives where they are willing to trust Him and obey Him.
• Just as God held back the waters of the Jordan River while the Israelites walked across, God will do whatever is necessary to show those He has saved that He has the power to deliver them from anything that hinders them from the full and meaningful life Jesus died to give them.
• However, the Victorious Christian Life will not be without a daily battle against sin, self, and Satan.
• In Ephesians 6, Paul said the believer’s battle is not against humans, but against the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers that control the world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
• In Romans 7, Paul said the believer’s battle would include the continual tension between the Holy Spirit, who indwells us, and the sinful spirit, which continues to plague us.
• In Hebrews 12:1, the writer said there is a “sin that so easily besets us,” – a recurring sin that hinders us from following God’s will for our lives.

1. The Evidence of God’s Power and Sovereignty- Joshua 6:1-5 – Vss. -1-2 – “Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.”

• This unusual battle plan was to prove to the Israelites that the victory in Jericho would not be achieved through conventional military tactics, but through their obedience to God’s instructions.
• In the battle of Jericho, God set the pattern for the battles of the future, which included their absolute reliance upon Him, their unquestionable faith in Him, and their unconditional obedience to Him.
  • Other armies would have built a siege ramp, but the Israelites had no such implements of war.
  • Other armies would have just walked around Jericho, but the Israelites did not want to leave an enemy behind them.
  • Other armies would have starved them out, but the Israelites did not have the wherewithal to wait that long.
• God provided Joshua with the unconventional instructions for conquering the heavily fortified city of Jericho. The Israelites were to march around the city once each day, and then on the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times. The priests were to play loud blasts with their trumpets, and the people were to SHOUT!

2. The Importance of Obedience and Faith – Joshua 6:6-10, 15-16- Vss. – 6-9 – “Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord, and he said to the people, proceed and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the Lord.”

• At Joshua’s command, the armed guard led out, with the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets behind them.
• Then, the Ark of the Covenant was behind the seven priests, with another armed guard behind the Ark of the Covenant.
• While the trumpets were blasting, the people were silent.
• The trumpets represented God’s presence, symbolized in the Ark of the Covenant, while the Israeli’s silence proved their reliance upon God.

3. The Evidence of God’s Judgment and Mercy – Joshua 6:17-23 – Vs.- 17 – “Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.”

• God commanded the Israelites to destroy the city of Jericho, including all of its inhabitants except Rahab and her family, showing God’s mercy on those who seek Him in faith.
• Rahab’s faith in God was manifested in her assistance to the two spies, and her obedience in hanging the scarlet rope out her window. Because of her faith, God preserved her and her family from destruction.
• Rahab’s redemption reminds us of the salvation that is available to those who place their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. For as Rahab’s house was spared through the scarlet rope that hung from her window, we are saved through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, who hung from the cross.

   Before the Israelites could move on into the Promised Land, Jericho had to be destroyed. That walled city stood as a barrier between them and God’s blessings, and for them to receive all that God had planned to give to them, those walls had to fall.

• Many people who made that initial profession of faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior are in that same position. While they may be saved, there is no outward evidence of it, because they are hindered from God’s blessings by the walls of that besetting sin they haven’t conquered.
• The good news is that just as the walls of Jericho fell, opening the pathway into the Promised Land for the Israelites, so the power of God can tear down the walls that are preventing them from living the Victorious Christian Life
• When Joshua had that private encounter with the pre-incarnate Christ, (Joshua 5:13-14), he fell on his face and worshipped Him, once he recognized who the Man was.
• The first step in defeating those besetting sins and in tearing down the walls that hinder our spiritual growth is to recognize who is in charge of our lives. As long as we think we are in control, God will never intervene, for the Holy Spirit only invades those areas of our lives that we willingly yield unto Him.
• 1 Peter 5:7 – “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you; casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”