Please read Joshua 6:1-27 in preparation for our lesson today.
When we read the Book of Joshua we are reading of battles fought. We are seeing Joshua and the people of God advancing into the promised land, we are reading about enemies attempting to fortify themselves against God and His people, and we are seeing complete victory given to God’s people.
These battles speak to our own personal battles against the world, the flesh, and the devil, and show us how Jesus always leads believers in triumphal procession, throughout our lives (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Today, we want to learn some battle lessons that are taught in Joshua 6. In this passage we read the account of when Israel came to its first enemy in the promised land--Jericho. They find Jericho living in fear, closed up and heavily guarded so that nobody could go in or out of the city (Joshua 6:1). Jericho was entirely closed and fortified against God and His people.
Jericho makes us think of some areas in our own lives. At times, it seems that there are some parts of our lives that are entirely resistant to the rule of God and the reign of Jesus Christ. Believers still have flesh, that part of us that is stubbornly rebellious and seemingly unwilling to submit to God. Our weaknesses and struggles can seem like a fortified city, full of fear, completely walled off, with gates closed and guards barring the gates.
But notice something absolutely amazing in Joshua 6:2 “Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Look, I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its fighting men.’” Doesn’t that seem odd? Jericho stands walled off, shut up completely with gates barring entry, and God says “Look I have given you Jericho!”
Here we learn an important lesson: Joshua was to “look” and “see” that God had given the Israelites victory over Jericho. But wait, how could Joshua “see” that by “looking”? As far as Joshua could see Jericho was all closed up, gated and guarded, and by all appearances completely fortified against the Israelites.
Here we learn to “see” things from God’s perspective, who calls things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). We are taught to see with the eyes of faith, believing God’s Word against all appearances to the contrary. Jericho is defeated and Israel is victorious, though none of this can be seen as of yet.
By way of application, look at some area of your life that seems to be resistant to the rule and reign of Jesus Christ. Alcohol or drugs, pornography or sexual impurity, an unhealthy marriage or other relationship, overeating and laziness, bitterness and unforgiveness, or whatever your particular struggle is. Maybe this is where you live in fear, where you have tried to close that area of your life off, bar it from being discovered, have locked the gates to that part of your life and are guarding it carefully.
Question 1. Is there some area of your life today that seems to be locked up, gated and guarded against the kingdom and presence of God? Please share here:
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Kelly writes, "I can honestly say that the walls of my Jericho, is beginning to crack. I won't say they have fallen, but I think just from what I learned here, I shouldnt be looking at those walls as cracked, rather completely fallen, broken and torn down."