TUESDAY
FEBRUARY 11
Shout! For
the Lord has given you the city! Joshua 6:16
Waiting on God’s Timing for
Victory
The city of Jericho might be the oldest continuously
inhabited city in the world. Its existence as a walled or fortified city dates
back to at least 3200 b.c., and its origins have been traced by archaeologists
to at least 7000 b.c. The name “Jericho” means “moon city,” probably indicating
that it was a center of moon worship. The people there had made the classic
mistake of worshiping a created object rather than the Creator. For Joshua and
the people of Israel to defeat this ancient city and its ancient pagan religion
would be a significant spiritual victory. So God made sure that this battle
took place on His terms and the victory won according to His plans. In many
ways this is the archetypal biblical narrative of a plan that didn’t make
sense, humanly speaking. In the end, though, God’s timing is perfect, even when
our understanding is not. Because the plans and intentions of the Israelites
were obvious, Jericho was shut up tight, its people safe behind the walls— or
so they thought. They must have wondered what those Israelite people were
doing, marching quietly around the city for six days. Many of the Israelites
might have wondered the same thing! But God had promised a victory, and they
followed Joshua in faith. They were led by the priests carrying the Ark of the
Covenant (v. 8), a reminder (they were good at forgetting) of the God who had
brought them this far already. On the seventh day, the Israelites carried out
the rest of God’s plan. They sounded the trumpets and shouted, and the walls of
Jericho collapsed (Heb. 11:30). They went in and, as commanded, spared no one
but Rahab and took spoils only for the Lord’s treasury. God had won the victory
over the Canaanite gods, just as He had over the Egyptian gods.
Taken
from the Word for You Today Devotional
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