Conquer Jericho with God’s Power (Joshua 6:1-27)
The first battle is the battle of Jericho, and it’s the most important point in the battle of conquering. After the fortress of Jericho, there are dozens of people in alliance in the land of Canaan. They are solidified in an alliance where, if one nation is broken down, all the other nations will band together against the opponent. The central points of this alliance are the fortresses at Jericho and Ai.
There are two main points in the North and the South; the way to break through the middle is the fortress of Jericho. The fortress of Jericho becomes a very important key to conquer Canaan because it is the source of water. Therefore, the fortress of Jericho was built with a formidable width and height so it wouldn’t be easily conquered; the walls of the fortress of Jericho had two parts: an inner wall and an outer wall. It’s actually not built perpendicular to the ground, but it’s built at an angle so it cannot be penetrated.
It says Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites, and the people’s hearts melted in fear because of them. In the world, people seem like they’re very strong, but actually, internally, their hearts are melted. Humans are created in the image of God, so they can only live if they are connected with the Word, power, Spirit, and plan of God. The moment the image of God is separated from God, they are no longer living by being with God, but the world is no longer about conquering, but it is a world where one is enslaved and colonized.
Where can you distinguish the people who will have victory over the world vs. the people who will be conquered? You can never overcome the world with your own power. Then, there is one way for you to distinguish whether you will have victory or not. There are people who look at things from God’s promise and those who don’t. Even while they’re in the wilderness, they sent 12 spies to survey the land of Canaan, and 10 spies saw the world exactly as it was, physically. The two spies also saw the world accurately but they also saw it through God’s promise and His Word. They saw spiritually.
The way you begin each day and the way you look at the world determines everything. You need to be able to see that they are in a state where nobody can go in and nobody can go out, and their hearts are already melted. If you do not see the world through the Word of God, you will see based on your own experiences which cannot overcome. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve lived on this earth or how much you know America. You only know the form of Jericho; you do not know the people’s hearts. But the people who are within God’s covenant are able to see the inner state.
Yes, of course, the future generations have the skills God prepares for you, but you must also prepare the spiritual things. Even if you have the physical things prepared, if you do not have the spiritual things of God, you cannot overcome the fortress of Jericho. This world can only be overcome by the strength of God.
In Joshua 6:2, God gives His Word again, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.” The fact is that it’s already finished. Even before they fight, they go in with victory. The one who has victory is the one who goes into the world, already having won because Jesus Christ overcame the world on the cross. Jesus Christ hid disciples all over the world and told us to go. Jesus Christ prepared the people to receive salvation in the world and gives us the authority in His name and tells us to go. Not only that, but He gives us the power of the throne of heaven and with that evidence, He tells us to go.
This is how the future generation must be prepared every day. In Joshua 6:3, God tells all the armed men to march around the city once a day for six days. They were supposed to fight but God’s method tells us to circle the perimeter. We are not fighting physically against the world, we are holding onto the promise that God will fulfill, and we circle it with prayer.
In Joshua 6:4, it says, “Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark.” Why is it that, in this battle, the priests must go in front with the ark, carrying trumpets of rams’ horns? This is God’s war; we do not fight with the methods of the world, and that’s why there is the ark of the covenant and seven priests carry rams’ horns. “On the seventh day, march around the city seven times.” Then it talks about blowing the trumpets, but only the priests can do so.
Numbers 10 tells us about the meaning of these horns. They blow the trumpet as a sign that God is with them, and they blow the trumpets during times of worship. They blow the trumpet during war to signal that God is going before them. In other words, it means this war begins with the worship of God being with them.
If you have victory in the world without worship, that is not true victory. If you accomplish something in the world with something other than worship, that’s not something you should do. Because this is a war that is won by being with God, God must do this. The method of God is, worship, then the things in the world will take place. The very thought that you can accomplish something through your effort is failure. It’s because you don’t know the world.
It’s because you think you can break down the fortress of Jericho with your own hard work and success in the world, but that’s your own ignorance. Because the forces of darkness are holding onto everything and moving it, we can never win with our own strength.
Joshua 6:5, On the last day, the priests will “sound a long blast on the trumpets,” and “the people will give a loud shout,” then the walls will collapse. They explain all the way from the first day to the seventh. God gave them the promise of victory, and He tells us not to open our mouths but to circle the fortress once a day, and on the seventh day, give a loud shout, and it will collapse, meaning, God will do this.
Even right now, there are historical theologians who study the fortress of Jericho’s ruins, and they conclude the walls fell without any force. They say the way that a wall falls due to external forces is different. But because the wall was collapsed by God, it showed no such signs. It wasn’t burnt by fire, either. The way they see the stones fell, they just fell straight down. God must do this. The time to understand this is different for every individual. Yes, we must prepare the way of the world, but people try to overcome the world by themselves, but without a doubt, they will never conquer. That might be that person’s time schedule. But there are also people who, by God’s grace, know this from the beginning and prepare like this.
Because this world is run by the strong fortress and the forces of Satan, it doesn’t matter how powerfully we prepare; we cannot win. In 2 Cor. 10:4, it says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world; on the contrary, they have the power to demolish strongholds.” We learn physical things in school, but the schools do not teach you the spiritual things and the background, so the kids only know half the story and that’s why they lose in the world. Yes, people need to be polite and have a good attitude, but that’s not enough. Is this somebody God works upon? In other words, is this somebody who goes out, holding onto God’s promise? Then, anybody can be like Joseph, David, or Daniel, somebody God works upon.
Joshua 6:7, “And he ordered the people, ‘Advance! March around the city with the armed guard going ahead of the ark of the LORD.’” In front of the Ark of the covenant of the Lord, there are the priests and the armed guard. Joshua 6:8, “the Ark of the LORD,” using “LORD.” In verse 6, they say, “Ark of the Covenant,” then in Joshua 6:8, it is, “The Ark of the LORD,” meaning the Ark has God’s presence. You must follow the Ark of the Covenant, and spiritually, it is the same as the Ark with God’s presence. Wherever the LORD resides, angels go in advance. Wherever we go, God is with us, and angels go ahead of us, sounding the trumpets of victory. The battle is not one we fight, but it is a spiritual battle. The power of the Lord that can break down any stronghold is with us.
The members of the Early Church were physically very weak. Even still, they knew the world. Because they were people who knew the covenant of the Lord, that He would carry out world evangelization, God’s power was with them. As evidence of that, they prayed for 10 days and the forces of darkness were broken down by God’s works. In the region where you live and work, the very first thing that must be broken down are the forces of darkness.
If you succeed before the forces of darkness are broken down, one day, you will be taken over by darkness. That’s why people succeed and then commit suicide. After they accomplish success, they fall into addiction. Any success that doesn’t have strength to overcome the darkness is the same success as Gen. 11. Only the ones who have true success follow them within God’s covenant are the truly successful.
As we go to church, you must have this word confirmed within you, and you must confirm this in the world as well in order for you to be like this. If you are not set within the Word of God, then as you go out into the world, you will have victory by yourself, you will fail by yourself, and you fluctuate back and forth like that.
In Joshua 6:10, “Do not give a war cry,” while you are circling the fortress, “do not raise your voices, do not say a word.” Imagine this, right now they are circling the fortress of the enemy where the enemy is posted. They have no weapons; imagine how terrifying it must be. If one person speaks a word of unbelief, it will affect everyone. “Do not say a word,” means, only hold to the covenant. If you don’t hold to the covenant, you are bound to open your mouth; the fear will come out through your words. Intelligent people will say words that are correct and factual and speak words of disbelief. Foolish people will speak their own thoughts in a foolish way. But because this is a war that is fought by God, it is not determined by our words, but only the ones who hold to the covenant in prayer and faith will have victory.
For six days, they circled the fortress once, returned to their base, but on the seventh day, they circled seven times, and then gave a loud shout, and the fortress collapsed. The characteristic of this battle is they specifically followed the Word of God. Because this is a battle fought by God, we follow His Word. So, every day, you must be spiritually led and prepared by the Word of God, spiritually, and that person is bound to confirm word fulfillment in their fields.
Disciples are bound to follow, not your personality, but the Word of God in the field. These people do not follow you because you explain the words abundantly, but they follow because the words being proclaimed are fulfilled. No reason to add or subtract from the Word. The Word of God is fulfilled as is, so the more you add to it, the more confusing it will be. If you add to the Word of God, it means you add your own thoughts, then you will make the person more confused. You must be able to confirm the Word of God is fulfilled exactly as it is.
If the new believers do not confirm the word of God being fulfilled, they come to the conclusion that the Word of God and worship are optional, then the new believer’s faith will be twisted from the beginning. “Wow, the Word of God is fulfilled like this,” it’s important for them to see that. Yes, we do need to memorize a lot of God’s Word; that’s not unnecessary, but is the given word being fulfilled? In order for you to follow God’s Word, you must believe in the God Who gave you that Word; you need to believe in the Word of Him Who finished everything on the cross. You believe everything is finished on the cross and follow; otherwise, how can you follow His Word? Christ, who, through the cross and the Holy Spirit, is with us now, and if we do not believe in this covenant, we cannot see its fulfillment.
Joshua 6:16, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!” God continues to give and confirm the Word given on Sunday throughout the week. Then Joshua 6:17, “The city and all that is in it is to be devoted to the LORD,” it means to kill everything. Kill all the things that are seized by Satan. The only person to save is Rahab, the one who followed God’s Word, along with those with her. Because as evidence that she was following God’s Word, she helped the spies who went in.
Field by field, there are people whom God has prepared. These are the people whom God has prepared spiritually for the spiritual battle. Everyone else is not that; everyone else is trying to kill you but people look at that and say it won’t work because they haven’t seen things work. Because they have not seen God make things work through the prepared people, like the prostitute Rahab, they say it will not work. If somebody says it will not work, either they are wrong or God is wrong; it’s one of two. Imagine how strong their Gen. 3 is, that until the very end, they say this is wrong? The Bible tells us specifically to make disciples of all nations and the disciples are out in the world, but we say it won’t work. He tells us to heal people of all nations, but we say healing will not take place.
The spiritual state of the person who says it’s not working is seized by Satan. They are their own god right now because we say it will work but God says it won’t, so we decide what is good or evil. Even before this person says it will not work, their spiritual state says it will not work. So, worship is the time for you to change the spiritual nature of saying, “Things will not work.”
After they devoted everything to the Lord, in Joshua 6:18, ‘But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them,” so if they take the things of the city like the gold or silver, they will be destroyed. We shouldn’t put our hands on the things of God, you shouldn’t claim that as your own.
Joshua 6:19, “All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury.” Malachi also expresses tithe in this way, to give the LORD what is His. Confirm your storehouses later to see how God works. It seems we do things in the world but really, it is God. It seems we work hard to win the battle, but that’s not the case; God is doing it. Yes, of course we did encircle the city and yes, we do go out and work, but the One Who gives us victory is God. Give what belongs to God to God, and do not touch it.
Joshua 6:21, “they devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it, men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, and donkeys.” Destroy anything that doesn’t believe in God; break down the disbelief. Life and death are in God’s hands. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not use guns in war because the Ten Commandments say, “You shall not murder.” Then what about the God Who told us to kill people like this? If the Taliban comes in and sieges a city, does it make sense to sit still and say, “The LORD told me not to kill”? These are people who interpret the Word too extremely, but God fulfills the Old Testament and the New Testament exactly the same.
Joshua 6:22, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her,” out to safety. Later on, the prostitute Rahab actually becomes a great-great-great grandmother to David. The people you find prepared in the field are absolutely people who will do the gospel movement. In the New Testament, because Jesus Christ has come, they will do the Christ movement.
Then in the last verses, “Anyone who attempts to rebuild this fortress of Jerich will lose their oldest and youngest child.” The Word of God does not change even one letter. Jesus Christ said the Temple of Herod would be broken down and not a single stone would lie atop another stone; that Word is fulfilled even today. It doesn’t matter how much the Israelites tried to rebuild that Temple; the Word of God is always fulfilled so it cannot be done. Even right now, the Word of God is living and active, penetrating dividing soul and spirits, joints and marrow, and judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. It restores all things.
There is a fortress of Jericho in the field but there are also Jerichos inside of us that Satan has raised up. We have fortresses of Jericho we cannot solve on our own, worries, fears, guilt, resentment, criticism, inferiority complexes, these things don’t change, and we need to overcome that Jericho. But we cannot solve it with just anything. The only way to break down Jericho and overcome is to be with the One Who has finished all things on the cross already.
Of course, there are Jerichos the nonbelievers in the field have, but there are also Jerichos Satan planted inside of us. If Jesus has finished everything, doesn’t that mean this is finished as well? Only when you are with Jesus will this not influence you. There are weaknesses you have; the first thing you feel is fear, and you try to avoid it, then your life will always be seized by that. That’s something you cannot overcome. You cannot overcome trauma from an incident. There are moments of mental suffering that you cannot overcome with your own strength. That may be our personal Jericho.
Only when you hold to the covenant that God is with you and already finished everything and you follow the Word of God, then you will have victory. Day by day, before going out into the world, confirm who you are spiritually. “I am a child of God,” and as the identity of the child of God, authority and power will follow you. Confirm that every day. If you don’t confirm that, then you will think you must accomplish something with your diligence and strength; it will never happen with your hard work because there are things you cannot break down.
Going out into the world every day is a spiritual battle; go out knowing you already have victory. Then, in the field, pray and wait for God’s works. Find God’s prepared people, the disciples like Rahab. Everything else will naturally follow. This is the message God is giving us through Joshua 5 and 6. If you do not look at things physically but instead look spiritually by the covenant, then it will take place. Don’t not work hard; it comes by God’s power.