Joshua 6

Jericho was a city in Canaan with a king and with mighty men of valor. But God gave Jericho into the hand of Joshua and the people of Israel, and the conquest of Canaan began.

The Lord was the leader of this campaign. He was not second-guessing Himself about the events described in this chapter and in the rest of this book. Hundreds of years ago He had announced that He would give this land to Abraham.

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:18-21)

God knew the timing of this conquest, and He had His reasons. As He told Abraham, “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” It is a pleasure to follow a Leader who has such confidence and such perfect moral judgment. He is not plagued by doubts. His purposes shall be established.

We need to trust Him. We need to believe in the wisdom of His goals, and we need to follow His voice. He knows where He is going, and He knows the best way to get there.

Only the Lord could have come up with His specific plan for the defeat of Jericho. His plan was not according to the wisdom of men. It could easily be critiqued, but to be God's critic is never wise.

Even today, in the New Testament era, God has a goal for the church, and He has revealed a plan for the achievement of that goal. We need to trust and obey. The gates of hell shall not prevail against us.

We blow the trumpet of good news everywhere today. We preach Christ, the cross, the resurrection, the forgiveness of sins, and the coming of the new heavens and the new earth with the return of our victorious Lord. To some, it is an aroma of life. They are the Rahabs who have the gift of faith. The Lord will not forget His promise to them. “If you acknowledge Me before men, I will acknowledge you before my Father in heaven.” But to others, the preaching of the gospel is an aroma of death.

It is not our place to judge the Lord. It is enough for us to remember that we came from a city of destruction, and that He has gathered us and our households into His loving arms.

When we fight against the Lord, we only try to rebuild the city of destruction. Jesus, who died for us, is the Way. His goals are the right goals. His methods are the right methods.