View from the Wall

Text—Josh. 6:1-27 (11-16)

Introduction

A. Wilderness Wanderings

1. 40 years until all naysayers died off

2. New generation of Israelites

3. Deuteronomy; reestablish the law of Moses

B. Death of Moses; Joshua succeeds him.

1. 2 Spies sent to Jericho; hidden by Rahab—2:6

2. Made promise not to harm her or family—2:12-14

C. Arrived at the Jordan River; Jericho nearby

D. Imagine viewing the Israelites from atop the wall

I. What the Soldiers saw

A. The Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry land—Josh. 3:12-17

1. Priests walked into river

2. Waters withdrew from area

3. Heaped up near Adam

a. Heard about Red Sea crossing—2:10

b. Seeing this, knowing that trouble looms

B. The 12 Stone Memorial—Josh. 4:4-7

1. One from each tribe

2. Place a rock together

C. The Army of the Lord—Josh. 4:12-13

1. 40,000 armed soldiers crossed

2. Those on the wall could see this as a threat

3. Familiar with destruction of Amorite Kings—2:10

D. Priests with Ark last to arrive on ground

1. Remained in Jordan until all passed

2. First in; Last out

3. Waters returned as before

4. People removed 12 Stones

E. They Travelled to Gilgal—vs. 19

1. Five days shy of 40 years since leaving Egypt.

2. East of Jericho; 6 ½ mi. from Jordan, 1 ¼ mi. from Jericho

3. Named in Josh. 5:9 (vs. 5-9)

a. Means “rolled off or rolled away”

b. Males were circumcised here; those born in Wilderness

c. Cast off the sins of the previous generation.

4. The Importance of Gilgal

a. It was the place where the Israelitish camp rested the first night of their entering into that land which had been promised to their fathers from the days of Abraham.

b. It was the place in which Joshua circumcised all the people who had been born in the wilderness, during the forty years of their wandering, after they left Egypt.

c. It was the place in which Joshua had what we might term his fortified camp, and to which he and his army constantly returned after each of their expeditions against the inhabitants of the land.

d. It appears to have been the place where all the women, children, cattle, and goods, etc. were lodged, probably during the whole of the Canaanitish war.

e. It was the place where they celebrated the first Passover they kept in the promised land.

f. There the manna ceased to fall.

g. There the ark was fixed till, after the conquest of the country, it was removed to Shiloh.

h. It was the place where Saul, the first king of Israel, was proclaimed.

F. The Israelites circled the city—

1. Citizens of Jericho afraid—Josh. 6:1

a. City locked up tight

b. No army was sent out to meet them

c. Probably continued watch on wall.

2. Command by Joshua—Josh. 6:6-10 (ref.)

3. Soldiers saw approach—Vs. 11

a. 40,000 armed men in front

b. Priests with Ark and trumpets

c. Rest of the people; Tribe of Dan as rear guard—Num. 10:25

d. No sound was made except the blowing of Ram’s horns.

4. Perhaps they prepared for an attack; nothing happened.

a. Second and Third day; prepared, still nothing.

b. Fourth through sixth day

i. Mocked them—Neh. 4:2

ii. Lost interest.

iii. Gained confidence of no attack

c. Day Seven

i. Took no notice at all

ii. Occasional glance to see what’s happening

iii. Realize going around more than once.

G. The Walls falling around them—vs. 20-21 (READ)

a. Sound of trumpet blast

b. People shouting

c. Walls cracking and collapsing around them

d. Thousands of Israelites pouring into the city

II. What non-Christians see

A. A different lifestyle—

1. Don’t run with the crowd—1 Pet. 4:3-5

a. Barnes Commentary: They do not understand the reasons why you have left them. They regard you as abandoning a course of life which has much to attract and to make life merry, for a severe and gloomy superstition.

b. Jesus had the same problem—Mk. 3:21-22

i. “his own people”—family (see vs. 31), close friends (not the 12)

ii. Saw him as delusional

iii. Wanted an intervention; lock him up.

2. Separate from the rest—

a. Nazirite Vow—Num. 6:2 (Ref.)

b. Paul writes, 2 Cor. 6:17, “Come out from…be separate.”

c. Peter writes, 1 Pet. 2:9, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

3. Separate self from worldliness

a. God’s command—Josh. 6:17-19 (READ)

b. Don’t love the World—1 Jn. 2:15-17 (READ)

4. Don’t except every doctrine

a. Test the spirits—1 Jn. 4:1, 6

b. Toss to and fro—Eph. 4:14, “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.”

B. A different style of worship

1. A Capella singing—Eph. 5:19, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

a. No command for instruments

b. Sing only

(Ben Franklin, editor of American Christian Review, 1860.)

"Instrumental music is permissible for a church under the following conditions:

1. When a church never had or has lost the Spirit of Christ.

2. If a church has a preacher who never had or has lost the Spirit of Christ, who has become a dry, prosing and lifeless preacher.

3. If a church only intends being a fashionable society, a mere place of amusements and secular entertainment and abandoning the idea of religion and worship.

4. If a church has within it a large number of dishonest and corrupt men.

5. If a church has given up all idea of trying to convert the world."

2. Lord’s Supper every Sunday—Acts 20: 7

a. Some—monthly

b. Others—once a quarter

3. Sermons longer than 10 minutes

a. David said, “10 minutes is a good introduction.”

b. Have a start time, no time limit

4. People reading their bibles—Acts 17:11, “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”

a. Don’t trust the preacher

i. Paying his salary

ii. Preach the truth

b. Just because he says it’s in the bible doesn’t mean it is.

c. Follow along;

i. If wrong, correct him.

ii. If refuses, find new preacher

iii. Find new congregation

5. Following the Word—Col. 3:17 (READ)

a. No Holiday worship services

b. No Fellowship Hall

c. No Soup Kitchen

d. Rom. 14:17 (READ)

III. Things we’ve learned from Jericho

A. Have Faith in God

1. If God is for you—Rom. 8:31

2. May require to do some unusual things

a. Israelites

i. told to circle city

ii. shout at walls

b. Christians

i. Told to preach, not take up arms

ii. Sing without instruments

iii. Give cheerfully, not a commitment

3. Sometimes fighting isn’t needed

a. In the garden—Jn. 18:7-12 (READ)

i. Peter wanted a revolution

ii. Didn’t understand plan

iii. Told three times

B. Can pull down strongholds—2 Cor. 10:3-6

1. Israelites believed and the walls of Jericho fell.

2. Believe in God and his Word, cast down false doctrine

C. Sinners become secure in falsehoods

1. Greedy with materialistic things

a. Those in Jericho

i. paid no heed to Israelites

ii. Assumed walls would defend them.

b. Achan and the treasure of Jericho—Josh. 7:1

c. Jesus said, Matt. 16:26, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

2. Judgment comes swiftly

a. The wall fell and people died.

b. Achan found out and killed with family—Josh. 7:24-26

c. Paul writes, 2 Thess. 1:7-9

Conclusion

We are different and should remain so.