See what is yours!

Sometimes the things we want, need and pray for have already been given to us, but we do not know this. In the exodus to the Promised Land, God had delivered the city of Jericho to the children of Israel, however they were oblivious of this fact. He re-emphasized it to them out of love and magnanimity.Joshua 6:2 says: And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the King thereof, and the mighty men of valour. Our ignorance to the things, assets and opportunities God has already given us calls for concern.  Is this your situation today? Are you yearning for something that God has already given to you? For some seeking spouses, your life partner may someone you already know but do not currently see in that light. Many are unemployed and underemployed but the talents and skills that will bring them fame and fortune are already within them, some of these abilities are being treated as hobbies instead of businesses. In many instances, what you require is already within you or within your reach. We must work and pray for what God has given us to be evident and visible to us so we do not go through life deprived of what you already have but do not know or recognize. There is always a great and unpleasant price to pay for ignorance.

Discipline and obedience are essential keys to receive what God has given unto us. In subsequent verses of Joshua chapter 6, we see specific instructions which God gave to the Israelites to possess Jericho; part of which was to march round the city. God’s interventions are miraculous and amazing; however, they are also results of clear obedience to unambiguous instructions. These interventions defy the odds and trump the limitations of human effort, however they are not meant for the careless and irresponsible. In such cases, careful obedience takes the place of tough work and warfare. The process of obedience is not a walk in the park, as responsibility and diligence will always be demanded. Whatever approach you employ in life’s pursuits (either by toiling with human effort or obedience to God’s order and requirements), nothing good comes easy.

We may wonder what the big deal was in marching round the city? The perimeter of Jericho according to historical records was at least 600m, possibly more. Jericho is believed in some quarters to be the first walled city in history. The city was a pear shaped mound with double ring fortifications; the walls wrapped the city, too high to climb, and too thick to break in by external aggressors, recall in vs 1 that the city gates (the only means of access) had been shut. In an era when there were no bombs, and no aircrafts, what human strategy could penetrate such a city? While the inhabitants of Jericho were ready, willing and able to ‘wait out’ the threat, Israel did not have all the time in the world. Little wonder God told Joshua to see that the city had been delivered to Israel, because humanly speaking Joshua could not see how victory would be achieved, all he could see were intimidating walls. Every time we are confronted with the walls of impossibility, God has a way out, we must go to Him for direction. We observe in verses 8-10 that there was a specific order for the procession; armed men came first (the front guard), followed by 7 priests bearing trumpets of ram horns, followed by the ark of covenant of the Lord, followed by the people, and the rear guard. It would have taken at least 30 minutes, (very likely more) to march around the city. The Israelites left their camp to march round Jericho and returned to camp afterwards (this would have increased the time spent on the move), once a day for six days. On the seventh day, they marched round the city seven times, making a total of 13 times, vs 3-6. This took effort, time, energy and discipline. God through Joshua also informed Israel not to shout during the processions. In fact, not only were they not to shout (until after the final march on the seventh day), in vs 10 they were not to speak at all while marching! It requires great restraint for an entire nation to march at once and for no one to speak. Imagine being in a march, rally or procession, probably with your best friend beside you, and there are no jokes, banters or discussions whatsoever, now scale this up to an entire nation! Verses 12 and 15 tell us that they had to wake up early in the morning to march round the city, once more, this requires discipline.

God requires us to exercise discipline in our conduct, character, attitude, choice of friends, speech, dressing, disposition, work, desires, etc. This is further reinforced in verse 18. Disobedience to this charge caused Israel a severe and avoidable defeat in Joshua 7, where one irresponsible individual destroyed much good. Correct timing is also key for fulfilment; the time the horns were blown heralded the time for the shout which brought down Jericho’s walls and delivered victory. You make a shipwreck of your destiny if you shout before the right time. Nobody showcases a product while it is still in the process of being manufactured. There is a process to go through before unveiling, even buildings are often covered up during construction. In this story, I see Jericho as a tree and Israel as a well sharpened axe, each procession round Jericho was a blow delivered to the tree by the axe. Each blow was effective and cumulatively, they brought down the tree with the 13^th and final one. The above mentioned points emphasize the importance of proper preparation. The inhabitants of Jericho probably didn’t take Israel seriously, seeing that for seven days they chose to march rather than fight. Maybe this is why they didn’t try to attack Israel while all the processions were going on. Some of us need to change the arena of our battles. We need to go spiritual in the power of God. An eagle on land fights differently from an eagle in the air. The fight was a spiritual one championed by God Himself. May God help you to take your enemies unawares and deliver deadly blows to them from which they will not be able to recover in Jesus’ name, amen.

 Another lesson that we can learn from this passage is that is there is a time to march and a time to fight. God instructed Israel to march, and brought down Jericho’s walls afterwards. As soon as the walls came down He required the Israelites to fight and destroy their enemies. There is a part for God to play and there is a part for you to play. Don’t talk when you should be quiet, don’t be quiet when you should shout, don’t fight when you should be marching(preparing) and don’t march when you should fight. Everything must be done at the right time. The most successful species since creation are not the strongest, fastest, biggest or the most aggressive, they are the ones most adaptable to change. Invincibility is yours, see it, take it!

Photo credit: Superbook, Oluwatosin Ladeloye