Context No. 2994 of 4322 · Joshua

Joshua 6:6-14: in context

6Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the LORD’s ark.” 7They said to the people, “Advance! March around the city, and let the armed men pass on before the LORD’s ark.” 8It was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the LORD’s covenant followed them. 9The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the ark went after them. The trumpets sounded as they went. 10Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” 11So he caused the LORD’s ark to go around the city, circling it once. Then they came into the camp, and stayed in the camp. 12Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the LORD’s ark. 13The seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the LORD’s ark went on continually, and blew the trumpets. The armed men went in front of them. The rear guard came after the LORD’s ark. The trumpets sounded as they went. 14The second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. They did this six days.

The plan for taking Jericho is strange. Seven priests with rams'-horn trumpets go before the ark, armed men before and behind, and the whole company marches once around the city, the trumpets sounding but the people keeping complete silence. Joshua commands them not to shout, not to let a word out of their mouths, until the day he says to shout. And so they circle the city once a day, in silence, for six days.

What stands out is the strangeness and the silence of this obedience. God's plan to take a fortified city was to walk around it quietly for six days, doing nothing that looked militarily useful, simply obeying an odd command and waiting. It took faith to keep circling a hostile city day after day with no visible result, holding one's tongue, trusting God's timing for the shout that had not yet come. Sometimes obedience looks exactly like this: doing the strange, seemingly pointless thing God has said, patiently and without complaint, until his appointed moment arrives.

Am I willing to keep obeying God's instructions patiently, even when they seem strange and produce no visible result, until his appointed time?

Sources

Joshua 6:10: "You shall not shout... until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout."
Hebrews 11:30: "By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days."
2 Corinthians 5:7: "For we walk by faith, not by sight."