The war was waged with trumpets and loud shouting. This hardly seems like brilliant battle strategy, but it actually worked.
Joshua six records the famous story of the battle of Jericho. Anyone who has ever attended Sunday School as a child learned how "Joshua 'fit' the battle of Jericho ... Jericho ...". But there is a lot more here than just an interesting children's Sunday School lesson.
God had promised the Israelites the land of Canaan, modern-day Israel. It was an inhabited land, and priority number one was to defeat and drive out the inhabitants. Unfair as this might sound, the land was filled with people steeped in idol worship who had earned God's wrath. And so, the task at hand was to inhabit the promised land and rid it of its idol-worshipping occupants.
Here's where the story gets very real and personal: the promised land represents the territory of the kingdom of God - land we will possess, and possess now in part. There are "enemy fortresses" (2 Corinthians 10.4) in the midst that must be defeated. These represent anything in opposition to the king and the kingdom - habits, unholy practices, evil thoughts, etc. And, these cannot be destroyed or conquered by conventional weapons. Carving out impure mental thoughts from your brain would be ... well, suicide - and highly ineffective. Thus, the truth of 2 Corinthians 10.4 comes to bear: "for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses." We fight the war much as Joshua did at Jericho - with "divinely powerful" unconventional weapons.
Challenging as this may be, the priority today is to "map out the lay of the land" of our lives. What activities comprise my life? What am I doing with my discretionary time? What are my hobbies? How am I spending discretionary money? What "fortresses" have I allowed to be built? What stands in radical opposition to the principles and priorities of the kingdom?
Having identified any and all strongholds, it's time for a mental and spiritual "Jericho march". Circle the enemy strongholds in your mind. Shout the walls down in faith. Drive out the inhabitants. Reclaim the land, and institute a new habit and discipline that serves the kingdom.
May your day be gloriously victorious.
Steve
©Steve Taylor, 2012
Joshua six records the famous story of the battle of Jericho. Anyone who has ever attended Sunday School as a child learned how "Joshua 'fit' the battle of Jericho ... Jericho ...". But there is a lot more here than just an interesting children's Sunday School lesson.
God had promised the Israelites the land of Canaan, modern-day Israel. It was an inhabited land, and priority number one was to defeat and drive out the inhabitants. Unfair as this might sound, the land was filled with people steeped in idol worship who had earned God's wrath. And so, the task at hand was to inhabit the promised land and rid it of its idol-worshipping occupants.
Here's where the story gets very real and personal: the promised land represents the territory of the kingdom of God - land we will possess, and possess now in part. There are "enemy fortresses" (2 Corinthians 10.4) in the midst that must be defeated. These represent anything in opposition to the king and the kingdom - habits, unholy practices, evil thoughts, etc. And, these cannot be destroyed or conquered by conventional weapons. Carving out impure mental thoughts from your brain would be ... well, suicide - and highly ineffective. Thus, the truth of 2 Corinthians 10.4 comes to bear: "for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses." We fight the war much as Joshua did at Jericho - with "divinely powerful" unconventional weapons.
Challenging as this may be, the priority today is to "map out the lay of the land" of our lives. What activities comprise my life? What am I doing with my discretionary time? What are my hobbies? How am I spending discretionary money? What "fortresses" have I allowed to be built? What stands in radical opposition to the principles and priorities of the kingdom?
Having identified any and all strongholds, it's time for a mental and spiritual "Jericho march". Circle the enemy strongholds in your mind. Shout the walls down in faith. Drive out the inhabitants. Reclaim the land, and institute a new habit and discipline that serves the kingdom.
May your day be gloriously victorious.
Steve
©Steve Taylor, 2012
posted by steve @ 9:17 AM
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