Joshua 6:16 Joshua said unto the people, Shout, for the Lord hath given you the city.
Read Joshua 6:1-27.
We come now to the story of Jericho. I wonder how I would have felt had I been one of the congregation of Israel in those days as they were ordered to march around the city in total silence. That must have been difficult. But they did it—one circuit each day for six straight days, without a word. Then on the seventh day, just as they were commanded, the people marched around Jericho seven times and, at the sound of the trumpet, shouted. In accord with God’s promise and to their delight, the city walls collapsed and the Israelites utterly conquered the inhabitants. What a strange formula for victory! But it simply says to my heart, “Let God do it differently if He wants to.”
We tend to routinize our lives, including our Christianity, often to our detriment. Twenty-five years ago the basis of criticism leveled by middle-aged Christians against younger believers was that they were doing things differently. And I was one of those who were doing things a little differently. Today, after the passing of the years, I find it very easy, I assure you, to look at someone who is a quarter of a century younger than I, or even younger, and say, “Oh, he’s doing it differently. It can’t possibly be right.” But wait a minute. Maybe it is. Maybe God will use it. Look, friend, you and I don’t have to be God’s policemen. All we have to do is obey.
The secret of obedience depends on the position Jesus Christ occupies in your heart. Can you honestly say to your blessed Lord, “What wilt you have me to do?” And, having heard His command, will you—like the Israelites at the siege of Jericho—obey no matter what He asks?
This devotional was written by Dr. Robert A. Cook. You can subscribe to his free email articles and listen to his Spirit-filled 15-minute messages at www.walkwiththeking.org. Used with written permission.
