The Lord was with Joshua, as He was with Moses. The Lord’s call is TRUE – and He also calls the shots. We can let the Lord handle our difficult times and watch Him lead. The Lord is with us.
There is an amazing old testament reference to Jesus in this book of Joshua: “At the cost of his firstborn son – he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest – he will set up its gates.” Joshua 6:26
If these great men, Moses and Joshua, could follow the Lord’s leading, knowing only the promise of deliverance, certainly so can we, because Jesus has already fulfilled all that is necessary for our battle won. We can look for His sustenance and victory. We can praise and shout supporting His Victory. (We should not turn away from Him either) Just as manna came to the people to eat, it stopped, after they had “eaten of the corn, the fruit of the land of Canaan, the Promised Land”. God’s perfect provisions. We too can live life day by day because God says we only need to know that He will provide. Got a problem? Let the Lord show you a solution that is not even in our mindset of possibilities.
Here is one – whoda thunk you could conquer a city by simply walking around it. Joshua was instructed by GOD, thru the captain of the Lord of Hosts, whom some say is an angel or Jesus Himself, on how to run the war to take the city of Jericho, and how the Lord will win it. I heard a teaching once that those of the angelic realm seem to speak to earthly people with the assumption that the earthly people know what’s going on in Heaven! That we would know of the heavenly war and how it spills over on earth, and know that God’s Ways are the right and winning way. This angel or Jesus or God directly told Joshua to take off his sandals, he was standing on Holy Ground. Joshua asked a pertinent question that we might ask, and got one of the best heavenly answers in the Bible: “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”
Ain’t that the truth? God’s plans aren’t about which team He is rooting for (sorry sports fans) or how He will tip earthly battles for people’s gain. “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “NEITHER!”… No, instead His presence and Plan focuses on the long-term goal of the Kingdom and how He carries the people there with Him. This Joshua-commander Israelites battle is to take the city of Jericho by fighting with Heavenly power, not earthly. The only weapon that the people needed was DEVOTION after LISTENING. They were instructed to march around the city seven consecutive days, seven times around on the seventh day, then have priests sound trumpets of rams’ horns and “the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” God Calls the Shots, We Get Shouts.
BOLD BEHAVIOR but beholden of God’s power not their own prowess in this earthly battlefield. Why does this matter over and above being just a great story? It’s because they and we have to listen, follow, act in God’s direction and watch Him work. WE HAVE TO SHOW UP FOR BATTLE, but let Him lead us to Victory. We can show dedication and see His Power, see God go fight our battles for us.
God told Joshua, and tells us, that only God can build the next steps of the plan. God also instructed the Isrealites (and us) don’t rebuild Jericho, after Joshua’s people burnt it by command, because any city stronghold and especially THE KINGDOM will be built by God. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” Psalm 127:1
So that amazing old testament reference to Jesus in this book of Joshua: “At the cost of his firstborn son – he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest – he will set up its gates.” Joshua 6:26, YES GOD IS TALKING ABOUT JESUS ! Jesus Himself when He walked the earth (see John 10) speaks of Himself being the Shepherd and that His sheep know Him and know His voice. “Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.”
So we are to already know that God knows the Plan and we are to let Him Work His Plan thru us – and we are to praise and shout. The shout for encouragement to pick up our crosses each day and encouragement that God will blast the trumpet to move us from this earthly phase to His Kingdom. We shout of our understanding that thru Jesus as gate and Shepherd, we will prevail.
Let us SHOUT, for our God calls the shots.
His war is won, we are just to SHOW UP for battle.
Amen
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“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep” John 10:1-11
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See Joshua 5-6:
Debbie Upper 