Following Directions

April 21

Joshua 4-6

Psalm 49:10-15

Proverbs 11:24-26

Luke 13:18-35

Following Directions

“On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except on that day they circled the city seven times.  The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, ‘Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!’  When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so, every man charged straight in and they took the city.  They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it.”  Joshua 6:15-16, 20-21 NIV

Joshua and the children of Israel were preparing to go to war.  They had to defeat the giants in the promised land to take possession.  They were ready to go in and fight.  They must have been surprised when God gave them the battle plan.  They were expecting swords and spears, but God told them to march around the city with their trumpets.  I’m sure it didn’t make any sense to them, and they did not understand.  Their adrenaline was pumping, and they were ready to go in and claim the victory.  But God had a different plan.  He slowed them down.  For six days they marched to Jericho and walked around the city once blowing their trumpets and then went back to their camp.  That must have been the longest six days of their lives.  On the seventh day they marched around seven times, shouted, blew their trumpets and the walls came down.  There was absolutely no mistake that God delivered the city into their hands.  They had nothing to do with it.  They could not take any of the credit.  The Israelites could not believe that their great military strength or their tactical skills helped them defeat Jericho.  God delivered on His promise to give them the land east of the Jordan.  They followed God’s directions exactly.  They obeyed Him in every detail, and they were victorious.  Joshua trusted God even when it didn’t make sense.  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) We don’t always understand God’s instructions to us.  Sometimes what God tells us to do doesn’t make sense.  God expects us to trust Him and obey even when we don’t understand.