Scripture
1Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. 2But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. 3You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. 4Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. 5When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.” Joshua 6:1-5
Observation
What if Joshua and the people of Israel had quit at six? Those walls would never fall. What if after six days of silence walking around the walls of their enemies it was too discouraging? A warrior is supposed to fight and yet, they were commanded to march in peace. This makes no military sense. The soldiers were supposed to lead the army, but God put the priests out front. This strategy from God required complete dependence on God! A worship leader is supposed to play and sing and yet, they were commanded to march in silence for six long days. They had horns, but they weren’t supposed to use them. How foolish they must have felt in front of their enemies. Can you imagine how it must have felt to go back to the camp every night with absolutely nothing to show for all that effort? What a complete waste of time, right? Then, as if to rub salt in the wound, on the seventh day they were commanded by God to march seven times. This was persistence in the face of the seemingly senseless. What if they had stopped at six times after a full day in the sun? Those walls would never fall. Imagine how much times the Israelites had to stare at those impenetrable walls? Every time around would just reinforce how big those walls were and how small they were. Yet, Israel kept their heart focused on the commands of the Lord and obeyed in the face of a very humbling process. In God’s timing for God’s reasons it was only on the seventh march at the end of the seventh day that Israel was supposed to let it all out! Can you imagine how loud that yell was? It would have sent a shiver down the spines of their enemies while strengthening the spines of Israel. This was a united cry to God to let all of heaven and earth know that what they were about to see next was not a work of man, but a work of God! Then God did exactly what He said and those walls did fall right before their eyes! Don’t quit at six.
Application
Josh Godknecht had been sharing a message with me recently about the story in 2 Kings 5 where a prestigious army commander is told by the prophet Elisha to wash himself seven times in the Jordan River to cure his leprosy. This man was incensed that he would be told to wash in the dirtiest river around not just once or twice, but seven times. I’ve been baptized in the Jordan river and it is the dirtiest river I’ve ever seen. Why does God ask us to do these things? What if Naaman had quit at six and missed the healing at seven. Some of us are on the sixth time under the dirty water of our healing and we’re about to give up. Some of us are on the sixth time around the walls in our marriage and we’re about to give up before our breakthrough. Some of us have been so used to working AT our salvation instead of working OUT our salvation (Phil. 2:12) that we are have yet to enter our seventh day of Sabbath rest. Some of us are done at the sixth time of forgiving those around us, but Jesus pushes us past our pre-set limitations, and calls us to forgive more than anyone would ever expect (Mt. 18:21-122). Don’t quit at six. The will of God isn’t to hurt us, but to humble and heal us. Our waiting on God isn’t punitive, but preparation. The timing of God isn’t for our torture, but our training. As it turns out, God is far more concerned with what He is working out IN us than what He is working out THROUGH us. In fact, we wont be complete if we try to skip the process or find a short cut around obedience. Why seven times? The Bible Project points out that this Hebrew word play has a spiritual significance for our obedience, “Seven was symbolic in ancient near eastern and Israelite culture and literature. It communicated a sense of “fullness” or “completeness” (שבע “seven” is spelled with the same consonants as the word שבע “complete/full”). This makes sense of the pervasive appearance of “seven” patterns in the Bible.” Don’t quit at six. Your breakthrough is just on the other side of seven.
Prayer
Jesus You don’t want me to lack in anything so that’s why You don’t give me everything I ask for when I ask for it. In the moment it feels like what You’re asking me to do is foolish or even mean, but that’s only because I’m looking for instant gratification and not eternal transformation. I have to move out of my results oriented mindset to move with You! Forgive me for impatience with the walls I’ve been marching around and for trying to tear them down myself. I can’t skip steps and expect to stay in step with what You are doing in and through me. “2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”(James 1:2-4)
