Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Scripture: Joshua 6:1-5
1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in.”


Observation:
What did the Israelites encounter when they reached Jericho?
A huge wall!
How did God tell them to get past the wall?
For all the Israelites knew, God expected them to be Urban Ninjas and simply scale the wall! (Video: watch only, don’t try! You are an idiot if you try this stuff.)
Good luck Grandma!!!
God wanted the Israelites to break down the wall. He ordered them to march around the city for six days while the priests blew trumpets. On the seventh day, they would march around the city seven times. Then when the trumpet sounded a long blast, all the people would shout and the wall of the city would collapse.
God had a plan to get the Israelites past the wall of Jericho and it required trust. Imagine trying to break down a massive wall with only marching, trumpets and shouting!

Application:
God’s method for getting past the wall was pretty out of the ordinary. Often times God asks us to do stuff that doesn’t quite make sense to us.
What has God asked you to do that didn’t make sense?
Did you do it? What was the result?
* Sometimes following God’s instructions for your life will look a bit ridiculous or foolish (marching around a city blowing some horns to knock down a huge wall) to people around us, but that allows God to speak louder to others through your faithfulness.
God’s plans are always best, even if we don’t see how they’ll work!
Is it easy for you to follow God when you can’t see where he’s going? Or do you struggle?
What can you do to trust God no matter what?

Prayer:Choose to follow God wherever and however he wants to lead you. Take a few moments to commit your trust to God. Let him know that you are willing to do whatever he requires to enter the Promise Land. Thank him for all the times he’s asked you to do stuff that seems crazy! Doing crazy stuff is what makes the adventure!