BRINGING DOWN A WALL

Recently while reading Joshua, I was a little shaken to read again the story of the Battle at Jericho. What had my knees shaking was placing myself in this story as one of the warriors or horn blowing priests. Yikes!
“Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or entering. The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you. March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the rams’ horns. When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the troops give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance, each man straight ahead.” (Joshua 6:1-5)

Whether it is bringing down a Jericho Wall, or personal walls we can’t get through, is not so much about blowing horns, complete silence, prayer or seven days and shouting. It is about obedience. It is doing what the Lord has asked us to do. It’s obeying his word.

“So the troops shouted, and the rams’ horns sounded. When they heard the blast of the ram’s horn, the troops gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. The troops advanced into the city, each man straight ahead, and they captured the city.” (Joshua 6:20)

I have been thinking about this story since Sister McGuire taught it to us when I was six years old. It still makes me nervous.

“Everyone who hears my words and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and hit that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on rock.” Jesus