Joshua 6 Illustrations

Painting the Scene

The people of Israel were commanded to march around a tall walled city for 6 days without ever making a sound and within range of the city's defenders ranged weapons. On the 7th day they were to march around the city 7 times!  To a military man this plan sounds ridiculous.  You don’t do the exact same thing in plain view of the opposing enemy for an entire week!  You don’t expose yourself to attack!  But this is exactly what the Israelites did.  They marched around the city carrying the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God’s power, presence and promise.  All the while the ram’s horn, the symbol and reminder of God’s provision, sounded to announce and remind people of God’s plan.

Living out the Scene

Christians, just like the Israelites, have to risk in order obey God.  Every decision we make leads us to a fork and we have to decide to either trust God or trust self.  However, anytime we prioritize our comfort or ego over obedience to God we run the risk of being led away from God.  Compromise and rationalizations keep us from leaning on God and place the full weight of our trust in Him.  The only way forward with God is to lean on Him by leaping out in faith to demonstrate our trust in Him.  These leaps of faith may seem like giant chasms that can never be crossed, however it's only by trusting Christ that we can look back and see what once looked like an impassable chasm was but a step.