Where Are You?
Where Are You?
Text: Joshua 6:12–27
Every person in Israel had a place during the battle of Jericho. Some marched before the ark. Some carried the ark. Some blew the trumpets. Some followed behind as the rear guard. Others remained safely in the camp until the battle was over. They were not all called to perform the same task, but every one of them was expected to be in the place God had assigned.
The same is true for us today. Not everyone is called to lead. Not everyone is called to preach. Not everyone is called to stand in the most visible position. Some are called to march, some to carry, some to sound the trumpet, and some to stay by the stuff. However, everyone is called to obey God and remain faithful where he has placed them.
When God begins to move and work, the important question is not, “What was everyone else doing?” The question is, “Where are you, and what are you doing?”
The Compassing of the City
Joshua 6:11-15 records Israel’s repeated march around Jericho. For six days, the men of war compassed the city once each day. On the seventh day, they rose early and compassed it seven times.
Jericho was a relatively small city with very high, well-fortified walls and gates. The march around it may have taken only about fifteen minutes each time. Altogether, Israel spent several hours walking around the city during that week. They walked, waited, returned to camp, and repeated the process the next day.
Their obedience required faithful perseverance. That is also a good pattern for the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life. Fifteen minutes spent reading the Bible may not seem significant, but a faithful pattern of reading God’s Word prepares the heart. Time spent in prayer may not immediately change the circumstances, but it changes the person who prays. Faithful church attendance and careful attention to preaching prepare us for the victories and trials ahead.
Whether we are marching around the city or remaining in the camp, we need the Word of God, prayer, preaching, and fellowship with God’s people.
Each day of marching prepared Israel for the next day. God was training them in obedience before he gave them the victory. They had to remain faithful even when nothing appeared to be happening.
Thomas Watson wrote, “Patience opens the ear but shuts the mouth; it opens the ear to hear the rod but shuts the mouth that it has not a word to say against God.”
Patience listens to God without complaining against him. It remains faithful when the walls are still standing, and there is no visible evidence that anything has changed. God’s victories are often preceded by everyday faithfulness and ordinary obedience. The miracle at Jericho took only a moment, but the preparation took days. Where are you during those days of preparation, perseverance, and patience?
The Command to Shout
After seven days, thirteen trips around the city, and hours of silence, Joshua finally commanded the people to shout.
They had marched silently because God told them to remain silent. Now they shouted because God told them to shout. Their silence and their shouting were both acts of obedience.
There is an important principle here: there will not be much of a genuine shout if there has been no genuine obedience.
Some people want the emotion of victory without the discipline of preparation. They want the Sunday shout without the weekday walk. They want the excitement of worship without the obedience of prayer, Bible reading, faithfulness, and surrender.
However, those who have faithfully walked with God through the week are often the ones most prepared to rejoice when God gives the victory.
If you read your Bible each day, spend time in prayer, and prepare your heart before coming to church, you may arrive ready to sing, praise, testify, and shout over the goodness of God. Where are you when it comes time to shout?
The Curse of the Spoils
Joshua warned Israel that Jericho was accursed. The city, its inhabitants, and its possessions were placed under judgment. The silver, gold, brass, and iron were to be brought into the treasury of the LORD. Israel was forbidden to take anything for themselves.
Joshua 6 identifies several aspects of the curse. Jericho was cursed. Its inhabitants were under judgment. Its possessions were accursed. Anyone who took those possessions would bring the curse upon himself. The entire camp could be troubled by that sin, and the man who later rebuilt Jericho would also come under judgment.
The curse resulted from denial, disobedience, and disregard for God’s command.
This principle reaches far beyond Jericho. The curse of sin entered the world through man’s disobedience. Romans 5:19 says, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.” The wages of sin are death according to Romans 6:23, and Revelation 20:14 identifies the lake of fire as the second death.
James 1:13–15 reveals the downward progression of temptation. Lust conceives and brings forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. What begins as an inward desire eventually produces outward disobedience and terrible consequences.
Achan would soon demonstrate this truth. He saw what belonged to God, coveted it, took it, and hid it. What he believed was private sin would bring trouble upon the whole camp.
Where are you when it comes time to give God what belongs to him?
The Consecration of the Spoils
Although Jericho and its possessions were under judgment, the silver, gold, brass, and iron were brought into the treasury of the LORD. What had been associated with a condemned city was separated and consecrated for God’s service.
This provides a beautiful picture of what God can do with a redeemed life.
God can take a vessel once associated with wrath and make it a vessel of honor. Romans 9:21–23 speaks of vessels of wrath and vessels of mercy. Second Timothy 2:21 teaches that a cleansed vessel can become “a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use.”
How can a cursed vessel become a consecrated vessel? Galatians 3:13 gives the answer: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.”
Jesus Christ took our curse upon himself. He bore our judgment at Calvary so that condemned sinners could be redeemed, cleansed, sanctified, and used for the glory of God.
The question is not whether we were once associated with sin. Every one of us was born into a fallen world and carried the stain of sin. The question is whether we have been redeemed by Christ and yielded ourselves to God.
Where are you? A cursed vessel left in the city of destruction, or a consecrated vessel in the house of God?
The Collection of Souls
While judgment fell upon Jericho, Rahab and her family were gathered into safety.
Rahab had believed the testimony concerning the God of Israel. She had confessed that the LORD was God in heaven above and in earth beneath. She then warned her family of the judgment to come and gathered them into her house.
Everyone who remained in that house was protected by the scarlet cord.
Only eight souls were spared in Noah’s day. Only Lot, his wife, and two daughters escaped Sodom, though Lot’s wife later looked back. In Jericho, only those who believed the warning and entered Rahab’s house were spared.
The inhabitants of Jericho trusted their walls. Those walls appeared strong, secure, and impenetrable. Rahab’s house, however, was built into the wall itself. It may have appeared to be the weakest and most vulnerable place in the city. Yet God’s place of safety was not behind Jericho’s walls. It was in Rahab’s house, marked by the scarlet cord. What appeared to be the weakest place became the safest place because it was the place God had appointed.
The scarlet cord points us to the blood of Jesus Christ. Safety is not found in our works, religion, morality, family heritage, or personal strength. Safety is found in the blood of Christ. Where are you today?
The Conclusion of the Story
Joshua 6:27 concludes the chapter with these words: “So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.” Joshua did not become faithful after he became famous. He had been faithfully serving, walking, and obeying the LORD long before the LORD caused his name to be known.
God honors faithful obedience. John Bunyan wrote, “What God says is best, indeed is best, though all the men in the world are against it.” Jericho may have appeared strong. God’s plan may have appeared unusual. Marching silently around a city may not have looked like a sensible military strategy. However, what God said was best, and obedience to God brought victory.
If you want God’s protection, be where he calls you to be. If you want God’s favor, obey what he commands you to do. If you want God’s victory, remain faithful in his will.
Everyone in this chapter was found somewhere in relation to the will of God. Jericho was resisting him. Joshua was obeying him. Israel was following him. Rahab and her family were trusting him. Achan would soon be stealing from him.
The question is not merely where they were. The question is, where are you today?
The LORD once asked Adam, “Where art thou?” That question was not asked because God lacked information. God knew exactly where Adam was. The question was intended to make Adam recognize where his sin had taken him.
Where are you when God calls someone to lead? Where are you when God calls you to follow? Where are you when it is time to work, march, fight, pray, sing, shout, or praise the LORD? Where are you when it is time to trust him?
Most importantly, where will you be when judgment comes? Are you resisting him, or are you covered by the blood? Are you safe in the household of God, or are you wandering in the streets of Satan?
When God is moving and working, the safest place to be is exactly where he wants you to be. Only you can answer the question: Where are you?
Text: Joshua 6:12–27
Every person in Israel had a place during the battle of Jericho. Some marched before the ark. Some carried the ark. Some blew the trumpets. Some followed behind as the rear guard. Others remained safely in the camp until the battle was over. They were not all called to perform the same task, but every one of them was expected to be in the place God had assigned.
The same is true for us today. Not everyone is called to lead. Not everyone is called to preach. Not everyone is called to stand in the most visible position. Some are called to march, some to carry, some to sound the trumpet, and some to stay by the stuff. However, everyone is called to obey God and remain faithful where he has placed them.
When God begins to move and work, the important question is not, “What was everyone else doing?” The question is, “Where are you, and what are you doing?”
The Compassing of the City
Joshua 6:11-15 records Israel’s repeated march around Jericho. For six days, the men of war compassed the city once each day. On the seventh day, they rose early and compassed it seven times.
Jericho was a relatively small city with very high, well-fortified walls and gates. The march around it may have taken only about fifteen minutes each time. Altogether, Israel spent several hours walking around the city during that week. They walked, waited, returned to camp, and repeated the process the next day.
Their obedience required faithful perseverance. That is also a good pattern for the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life. Fifteen minutes spent reading the Bible may not seem significant, but a faithful pattern of reading God’s Word prepares the heart. Time spent in prayer may not immediately change the circumstances, but it changes the person who prays. Faithful church attendance and careful attention to preaching prepare us for the victories and trials ahead.
Whether we are marching around the city or remaining in the camp, we need the Word of God, prayer, preaching, and fellowship with God’s people.
Each day of marching prepared Israel for the next day. God was training them in obedience before he gave them the victory. They had to remain faithful even when nothing appeared to be happening.
Thomas Watson wrote, “Patience opens the ear but shuts the mouth; it opens the ear to hear the rod but shuts the mouth that it has not a word to say against God.”
Patience listens to God without complaining against him. It remains faithful when the walls are still standing, and there is no visible evidence that anything has changed. God’s victories are often preceded by everyday faithfulness and ordinary obedience. The miracle at Jericho took only a moment, but the preparation took days. Where are you during those days of preparation, perseverance, and patience?
The Command to Shout
After seven days, thirteen trips around the city, and hours of silence, Joshua finally commanded the people to shout.
They had marched silently because God told them to remain silent. Now they shouted because God told them to shout. Their silence and their shouting were both acts of obedience.
There is an important principle here: there will not be much of a genuine shout if there has been no genuine obedience.
Some people want the emotion of victory without the discipline of preparation. They want the Sunday shout without the weekday walk. They want the excitement of worship without the obedience of prayer, Bible reading, faithfulness, and surrender.
However, those who have faithfully walked with God through the week are often the ones most prepared to rejoice when God gives the victory.
If you read your Bible each day, spend time in prayer, and prepare your heart before coming to church, you may arrive ready to sing, praise, testify, and shout over the goodness of God. Where are you when it comes time to shout?
The Curse of the Spoils
Joshua warned Israel that Jericho was accursed. The city, its inhabitants, and its possessions were placed under judgment. The silver, gold, brass, and iron were to be brought into the treasury of the LORD. Israel was forbidden to take anything for themselves.
Joshua 6 identifies several aspects of the curse. Jericho was cursed. Its inhabitants were under judgment. Its possessions were accursed. Anyone who took those possessions would bring the curse upon himself. The entire camp could be troubled by that sin, and the man who later rebuilt Jericho would also come under judgment.
The curse resulted from denial, disobedience, and disregard for God’s command.
This principle reaches far beyond Jericho. The curse of sin entered the world through man’s disobedience. Romans 5:19 says, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.” The wages of sin are death according to Romans 6:23, and Revelation 20:14 identifies the lake of fire as the second death.
James 1:13–15 reveals the downward progression of temptation. Lust conceives and brings forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. What begins as an inward desire eventually produces outward disobedience and terrible consequences.
Achan would soon demonstrate this truth. He saw what belonged to God, coveted it, took it, and hid it. What he believed was private sin would bring trouble upon the whole camp.
Where are you when it comes time to give God what belongs to him?
The Consecration of the Spoils
Although Jericho and its possessions were under judgment, the silver, gold, brass, and iron were brought into the treasury of the LORD. What had been associated with a condemned city was separated and consecrated for God’s service.
This provides a beautiful picture of what God can do with a redeemed life.
God can take a vessel once associated with wrath and make it a vessel of honor. Romans 9:21–23 speaks of vessels of wrath and vessels of mercy. Second Timothy 2:21 teaches that a cleansed vessel can become “a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use.”
How can a cursed vessel become a consecrated vessel? Galatians 3:13 gives the answer: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.”
Jesus Christ took our curse upon himself. He bore our judgment at Calvary so that condemned sinners could be redeemed, cleansed, sanctified, and used for the glory of God.
The question is not whether we were once associated with sin. Every one of us was born into a fallen world and carried the stain of sin. The question is whether we have been redeemed by Christ and yielded ourselves to God.
Where are you? A cursed vessel left in the city of destruction, or a consecrated vessel in the house of God?
The Collection of Souls
While judgment fell upon Jericho, Rahab and her family were gathered into safety.
Rahab had believed the testimony concerning the God of Israel. She had confessed that the LORD was God in heaven above and in earth beneath. She then warned her family of the judgment to come and gathered them into her house.
Everyone who remained in that house was protected by the scarlet cord.
Only eight souls were spared in Noah’s day. Only Lot, his wife, and two daughters escaped Sodom, though Lot’s wife later looked back. In Jericho, only those who believed the warning and entered Rahab’s house were spared.
The inhabitants of Jericho trusted their walls. Those walls appeared strong, secure, and impenetrable. Rahab’s house, however, was built into the wall itself. It may have appeared to be the weakest and most vulnerable place in the city. Yet God’s place of safety was not behind Jericho’s walls. It was in Rahab’s house, marked by the scarlet cord. What appeared to be the weakest place became the safest place because it was the place God had appointed.
The scarlet cord points us to the blood of Jesus Christ. Safety is not found in our works, religion, morality, family heritage, or personal strength. Safety is found in the blood of Christ. Where are you today?
The Conclusion of the Story
Joshua 6:27 concludes the chapter with these words: “So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.” Joshua did not become faithful after he became famous. He had been faithfully serving, walking, and obeying the LORD long before the LORD caused his name to be known.
God honors faithful obedience. John Bunyan wrote, “What God says is best, indeed is best, though all the men in the world are against it.” Jericho may have appeared strong. God’s plan may have appeared unusual. Marching silently around a city may not have looked like a sensible military strategy. However, what God said was best, and obedience to God brought victory.
If you want God’s protection, be where he calls you to be. If you want God’s favor, obey what he commands you to do. If you want God’s victory, remain faithful in his will.
Everyone in this chapter was found somewhere in relation to the will of God. Jericho was resisting him. Joshua was obeying him. Israel was following him. Rahab and her family were trusting him. Achan would soon be stealing from him.
The question is not merely where they were. The question is, where are you today?
The LORD once asked Adam, “Where art thou?” That question was not asked because God lacked information. God knew exactly where Adam was. The question was intended to make Adam recognize where his sin had taken him.
Where are you when God calls someone to lead? Where are you when God calls you to follow? Where are you when it is time to work, march, fight, pray, sing, shout, or praise the LORD? Where are you when it is time to trust him?
Most importantly, where will you be when judgment comes? Are you resisting him, or are you covered by the blood? Are you safe in the household of God, or are you wandering in the streets of Satan?
When God is moving and working, the safest place to be is exactly where he wants you to be. Only you can answer the question: Where are you?
Posted in Believing, Courage, Faith, Faithfulness, Patience, Salvation, Trusting God
Posted in Obedience, Trusting God, faith, Faithfulness, patience, salvation
Posted in Obedience, Trusting God, faith, Faithfulness, patience, salvation
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