Joshua 6:1-5

1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.

2 And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

As a believer, your faith is a key ingredient in your walk with God. It determines whether you live as a victor or a loser, a success or failure, a master or a servant. God tests believers’ faith in various ways. Yesterday, we learnt how He tested Abraham’s faith and the inestimable blessings the patriarch got for passing God’s test.

God also tested the faith of Joshua and the children of Israel he was ordained to lead to the Promised Land. He tested their faith by introducing to them a strange plan of campaign. The plan was not only strange but laughable, but Joshua understood God’s ways.

The children of Israel were very close to the Promised Land but the walls and gates of Jericho stood between them and their dream as well as inheritance. They needed God’s intervention to surmount the challenge that the impregnable walls proved to be as well as the unyielding army of Jericho. When God spoke to Joshua on what to do, the strategy sounded too simple and ridiculous: “And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days” (Joshua 6:3). However, the ridiculous sometimes give birth to the miraculous if we exercise faith in God who uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. It was actually a test of faith for Joshua and the children of Israel. If they had rejected God’s prescription for their victory, they would have failed in that campaign and be unable to enter Canaan. Joshua instructed the children to do exactly as the Lord had told them. They and the priests went round the walls thirteen times, gave a shout and the wall of Jericho fell down flat.