The Faith of Joshua & Israel, Part 1

“By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.” Hebrews 11:30

Israel had crossed the Jordan. There was virtually no time between this act and the beginning of the campaign to possess the land of Canaan. War loomed only hours away. Behind the masses of God’s people, the flooding Jordan blocked all retreat. Before them rose the ominous ramparts of Jericho, her gates sealed tight, her men of war on the walls. Almost no one in the nation of Israel had ever even seen a fortified city, and with what we know of the recurrent pessimism of this people, we can be sure that fear was beginning to run high in the camp – despite the amazing feats God had done both for and before them.

Humanly speaking, Joshua bore all the lonely responsibility of the leadership of this fickle, frightened people. We can only imagine just how much his heart ached to have Moses there to talk to. But there was no Moses. Joshua had sole authority. He needed to get away to pray, to meditate, to plan the conquest. So Joshua stole out of the camp in the darkness to view Jericho for himself and to seek God’s guidance. According to Keil and Delitzsch, the Hebrew word that tells us Joshua was “near Jericho” [Joshua 5:13] expresses the idea of ‘immediate proximity.’ He was very close, perhaps close enough to feel the oppression of the city described as “walled up to heaven” [Deuteronomy 1:28]. There he remained in the night – brooding, meditating, patrolling, his eyes wide to the darkness – when he detected some movement on which he fixed his eyes. What he saw set his heart racing and his adrenaline pumping – for there stood a warrior in full battle-dress, his sword bare and gleaming blue in the moon’s hue.

A less courageous man might have bolted – but not Joshua. His hand was very likely upon his own sword as he strode forward, calling out to the menacing figure, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” [Joshua 5:13]. Basically he was warning this man that if he was from Jericho, it would be steel against steel. Joshua was no armchair general. There was no way Joshua could have ever anticipated the sublimity that was about to unfold. And he certainly could have never expected that the next few minutes would become such a transcendent spiritual milestone in his life.

Joshua’s ringing challenge, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” was met by an answer that put him flat on his face: “Neither, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come” [v. 14]. Most believe [along with Keil and Delitzsch] that this “commander of the army of the Lord” was, in fact, a theophany, an appearance of Jehovah in the form of an angelic messenger. Why? First, Joshua was told to take off his sandals and this very same command had been given to Moses by God from the burning bush. Thus Joshua realized, through the command to take off his sandals, that this “commander” was the same God who had spoken to Moses. Second, the “commander” who spoke to Joshua is identified as “the Lord” in Joshua 6:2: “Then the Lord said to Joshua … "

This encounter with God served to steel Joshua and arm him for the conquering of Jericho, for some very specific reasons. He saw not only that God was with him [as God had promised him to be in Joshua 1], but God’s mystic appearance – with His sword drawn from His scabbard and held ready for battle – was indelibly imprinted on Joshua’s mind and spirit. Not only was God with him, but God would also fight for him! He knew that whatever the enemy mobilized, it would be matched and exceeded by heavenly mobilization. We can take heart from this example and from Paul’s exhortation in Romans 8:31: “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Moreover, Joshua’s encounter with God in the lonely darkness against the towering fortress left him greatly strengthened as God fully informed him just what He wanted him to do in the taking of Jericho: “Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘See I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the Ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in’” [Joshua 6:2-5].

What was the effect of all of this upon Joshua? In a word, it produced the bedrock faith that introduces Hebrews 11 – “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” – faith’s dynamic dual certitude. He had incredible visual certitude, for he had seen the unseen. His conviction regarding the invisible would gird him in every battle. He had awesome future certitude regarding what he hoped for – namely, the fall of Jericho and the taking of the Promised Land. He had no doubt that the walls would fall. And it was this incredible, active faith that made him the great General Joshua, the son of Nun – or to give it a more 20th century ring, how about Field Marshal Joshua von Nun!?!

Joshua’s dynamic certainty enabled him to lead Israel to victory. And here we must emphasize again, as with Moses’ believing parents and as with Moses himself, one person’s faith can make all the difference for God’s people. As we will soon see, Joshua’s faith was communicated to the people and it elevated the entire nation’s faith. This is meant to be living example for us, no matter our walk in life, if we live lives of dynamic certainty regarding God’s Word, we can elevate and energize others to live as they ought. A single person’s faith can raise the faith level of their whole church or organization. I can think of several instances in life of both our kids’ Christian school as well as our church where this has proven true.

That morning, as the bright rays of the early morning sun illuminated the thousands of orderly arranged tents of his people, Joshua knew what he had to do – and in the storied days that followed, he did it. The writer of Hebrews tells us, in a simple sentence, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days” [11:30]. This is the key to the spiritual understanding of the fall of Jericho: the walls of Jericho fell because of the faith of Joshua and his people. It was at the time, the greatest corporate act of faith in Israel’s history and it remains so today.