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April 15 - Joshua 6 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello, friends, it's Sean here. It's Wednesday, it's the 15th of
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  April, and it's so good to have your company.
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  And we are continuing along this rampage of the Israelite nation,
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  moving through these lands and taking up possession of what God
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  had promised them. And it might sound a little
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  brutal that the poor old inhabitants get booted out.
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  And how is that fair? But they were on their own
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  trajectory and their trajectory had not been good.
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  And part of Israel taking these lands was part of God's
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  judgement of them all at the same time.
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  Killing two birds with one stone, if you like.
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  And if you have been wondering, Lord, how are you going to help
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  me overcome this challenge? Well, today's reading is an
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  absolute crackerjack to say God does not do things in the
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  typical way that we would anticipate.
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  He just comes out of left field with some crazy creativity, as
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  is evidenced in the story about the fall of Jericho.
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  So without further ado, let us dive in and read together Joshua
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  chapter 6. Now the gates of Jericho were
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  tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites.
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  No one was allowed to go out or in, but the Lord said to Joshua,
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  I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong
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  warriors. You and your fighting men should
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  March around the town once a day for six days. 7 priests will
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  walk ahead of the ark, each carrying a ram's horn.
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  On the 7th day you are to March around the town 7 times with the
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  priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give
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  one long blast on the ram's horns, have all the people shout
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  as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will
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  collapse and the people can charge straight into the town.
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  So Joshua called together the priests and said take up the ark
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  of the Lord's covenant and assign 7 priests to walk in
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  front of it, each carrying a ram's horn.
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  Then he gave orders to the people.
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  March around the town, and the armed men will lead the way in
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  front of the ark of the Lord. After Joshua spoke to the
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  people, the seven priests with the ram's horns started marching
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  in the presence of the Lord, blowing the horns as they
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  marched, and the Ark of the Lord's Covenant followed behind
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  them. Some of the armed men marched in
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  front of the priests with the horns and some behind the ark
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  with the priests continually blowing the horns.
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  Do not shout, do not even talk. Joshua commanded.
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  Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout,
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  then shout. So the ark of the Lord was
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  carried around the town once that day, and then everyone
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  returned to spend the night in the camp.
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  Joshua got up early the next day, and the priests again
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  carried the Ark of the Lord. The seven priests with the ram's
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  horns marched in front of the Ark of the Lord, blowing their
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  horns. Again the armed men marched both
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  in front of the priests with the horns and behind the arc of the
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  Lord. All this time the priests were
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  blowing their horns. On the second day they again
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  marched around the town once and returned to the camp.
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  They followed this pattern for six days.
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  On the 7th day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched
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  around the town as they had done before, but this time they went
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  around the town 7 times. The seventh time around, as the
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  priest sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded
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  the people shout, for the Lord has given you the town Jericho,
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  and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an
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  offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and
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  the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our
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  spies. Do not take any of the things
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  set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be
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  completely destroyed and you will bring trouble on the camp
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  of Israel. Everything made from silver,
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  gold, bronze or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought
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  into His treasury. When the people heard the sound
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  of the ram's horns, they shouted as loud as they could.
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  Suddenly the walls of Jericho collapsed and the Israelites
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  charged straight into the town and captured it.
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  They completely destroyed everything in it with their
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  swords, men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats and
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  donkeys. Meanwhile, Joshua said to the
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  two spies, Keep your promise. Go to the prostitute's house and
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  bring her out along with all her family.
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  The men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her
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  father, mother, brothers, and all the other relatives who were
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  with her. They moved a whole family to a
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  safe place near the camp of Israel.
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  Then the Israelites burned the town and everything in it.
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  Only the things made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron
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  were kept for the treasury of the Lord's house.
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  So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who
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  were with her in the house because she had hidden the spies
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  Joshua sent to Jericho and she lives among the Israelites to
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  this day. At that time Joshua invoked this
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  curse. May the curse of the Lord fall
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  on anyone who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho.
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  At the cost of his first born son, he will lay its foundation.
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  At the cost of his youngest son, he will set up his gates.
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  So the Lord was with Joshua and his reputation spread throughout
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  the land. You are a faithful God.
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  You are a God who walks with us. You are a God who keeps your
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  word, and you are a God who blesses us.
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  And Lord, as we hear this wild and unexpected story of how the
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  people of Israel conquered this fortified town, our Lord, you
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  are the same God today as you were on that day.
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  And Lord, I wonder how you have got plans to overcome some of
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  the seemingly impossible hurdles that seem to lie before us.
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  Lord, you do not need to do things in conventional ways.
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  You do not need to take on the powers that we face head on.
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  Know your creativity and power works in its own glorious way.
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  And Lord, I pray that we can be open to your creativity and your
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  ways of bringing about your Kingdom.
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  Our Lord, we stand in awe at your absolute sovereignty over
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  everything, and we're so grateful that you love us like
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  you do. And so we come before you with
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  praise in our hearts and pray all of this in that saving name
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  of Jesus, Amen.