God's Reality

Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. 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 6:1‭-‬3 KJV.

1.What made Jericho to be so shut up? The reason given for the shut up was because of the people of Israel. Why? News of past exploits, of God at work, the story of the spies sent earlier by Moses, must have reached the ears of the people of Jericho, and all of them, including the king and his mighty men were afraid. Does my life inspire men to fear God? 

2. Jericho was 'secure' at this time, yet, God was speaking into the future, already assuring of victory. Whose view do you hold on to? The people would weigh the realities of a high fence along with the process God was laying down for engagement with Jericho. Who determines your terms of engagement with the world- your own friends, colleagues, family, pastor? Any of these could be wrong, but God is never wrong. Too many times, we have allowed the pressure of acceptance by friends to push us into the realm of compromise. God referred to Israel's men of war. Recall that all who were 20 years and above had all perished in the wilderness, except Joshua and Caleb. So where did  the experience of war come from? Which fights did they win that God called them men of war?  Indeed, what God sees is totally at variance with what realities around you may say. Gideon, Jehoshaphat, David will all tell you that with God, human reality is deceitful; God's reality is the real deal.

3. If you obey totally, victory is also total. Rationalising what God says is counterproductive; you will never understand it. How does walking around a city once for 6 days and 7 times on the 7th day amount to a military strategy? Man says it is foolish; God says that is my way. Gideon's 300 men had pitchers and torches. Jehoshaphat had a choir, complete with instruments,  facing trained armies with weapons of war.

The substance is not in the size of the battle that you face; it is the size of the God that you obey. His commands do not have to make sense; it only needs to be obeyed. His commands do not have make logical thought; you only need to settle the issue of the one giving direction. The results are left to God to determine. His time of favour is here.