Sermon Tone Analysis
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Intro
The story is told of small boy named Johnny who went out to where his dad was working under the house.
His dad had been digging a hole in the ground all morning and it was now quite deep.
Johnny could not see his dad at the bottom of the hole that was now about 8 feet deep.
He asked his dad if he could come down to him.
The dad said sure, if you jump into the hole, I will catch you.
The boy heard his father's words but was a little bit scared.
He said but what if you can't catch me dad, it's awfully dark.
His dad replied you may not be able to see me, but I can see you.
Son you know that I love you and wouldn't hurt you.
Just trust me and jump into my arms.
I know I can catch you safely.
Johnny jumped and was caught safely.
This is the picture that we have been given in these beginning chapters of the book of Joshua.
As we read scripture, it has actually been a common theme since Adam and Eve left the garden.
Noah is told to build an ark, when it had never rained.
Abram - Abraham was called to “Go from your country, your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”
Leave any sense of security you have and go.
He is then asked to sacrifice his own son, the son who God promised to him.
Abraham obeys and God provided a ram for sacrifice.
Joseph remained faithful and obedient amidst great adversity.
Moses is told that God is sending him to bring God’s children out of Egypt.
We could continue on to see the many amazing things God did through Moses.
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God asks people to obediently step out in faith.
To trust him.
Worldly thinking, this is the wrong time and the wrong place to be entering into the land of Canaan.
Wrong time remember because all of the men of Israel had just recently been circumcised.
Wrong place, because Jericho was a formidable defensive position, set up to prevent people from entering the land.
Going into this battle Joshua, and the people of Israel, just like when they were told to cross the Jordan, are told to be obedient.
To step out in faith.
Pray before going into text.
The Lord’s instructions V. 1-7
Jericho, was strategically placed.
This was the next obstacle in the peoples path to taking possession of the land.
The first obstacle was at this point: Jericho.
Jericho was a military fortress built to defend the eastern approach to the high country.
It could not be bypassed; to bypass Jericho would mean leaving a large military force at one’s rear.
But, on the other hand, conquering Jericho was a dismaying challenge.
Jericho’s walls were high, its position advantageous.
Jericho was not a small podunk town.
It was a military fortress built to defend the eastern approach to the high country.
Topographically, Jericho sits a little over 800 feet below sea level but the city sat at a high point in the valley.
Jericho could not be bypassed, to do so would mean leaving a large military force behind as you climbed almost 3000 feet in elevation.
Jericho was a formidable obstacle.
The walls were high, they certainly had the defensive advantage.
Another obstacle to be overcome.
But God.
It was simply another obstacle to be overcome.
Verses 2-7 outline God’s plan for overcoming this obstacle.
The first obstacle was at this point: Jericho.
Jericho was a military fortress built to defend the eastern approach to the high country.
It could not be bypassed; to bypass Jericho would mean leaving a large military force at one’s rear.
But, on the other hand, conquering Jericho was a dismaying challenge.
Jericho’s walls were high, its position advantageous.
Jericho was not a small podunk town - military fortification - sealed up
Another obstacle to be overcome.
God told Joshua what to do.
His Plan Seemed Foolish
Jericho's Conquest
Joshua 6:1-27
Stephen Caswell © 1999
Humanly speaking this was one of the most stupid plans ever to be devised.
Fighting Through Faith
Illustration Of A Small Boy's Faith
Who in their right mind would march around a fortified city?
The story is told of small boy named Johnny who went out to where his dad was working under the house.
His dad had been digging a hole in the ground all morning and it was now quite deep.
Johnny could not see his dad at the bottom of the hole that was now about 8 feet deep.
He asked his dad if he could come down to him.
The dad said sure, if you jump into the hole, I will catch you.
The boy heard his father's words but was a little bit scared.
He said but what if you can't catch me dad, it's awfully dark.
His dad replied you may not be able to see me, but I can see you.
Son you know that I love you and wouldn't hurt you.
Just trust me and jump into my arms.
I know I can catch you safely.
Johnny jumped and was caught safely.
They had no battering ram, ladders to climb the walls, or catapults to throw stones into the city.
What could they hope to accomplish by marching around the city for seven days?
They were commanded to be silent.
They couldn't talk or make any noise.
They weren't even allowed to yell out at the people on the wall and try to frighten them.
Introduction
The only ones to make noise were the priests blowing their trumpets.
God had promised them that the walls would fall down if they would obey.
But how?
It didn't seem logical.
Couldn't the Lord just knock the walls down anyway?
Why did they have to march 13 times in 7 days ?
Besides all this, they risked their lives.
Likewise when God revealed His plan to Joshua, it required faith and obedience on Israel's part.
God promised to give them victory, but His plans defied human logic.
Joshua 6:1 says: Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
This is what Joshua would have observed before he met the Divine Captain.
The city of Jericho had shut its gates.
Probably out of fear since Israel was camped nearby at Gilgal.
But it also reveals the fact that Jericho was quite impregnable humanly speaking.
It was securely locked up.
What if the people of Jerciho fired arrows at them from the wall?
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