The other day Heng and I were just talking about the tower of Jericho in Joshua 6:1-20 and why God specifically told the Israelites to circle the tower for seven days and on the seventh day, to circle it seven times. I got curious and searched the Internet for some clues. I found this message which I think will bless you too.
Seven is a significant number in Scripture: (a) It signifies perfection or completion which reminds us that God’s plan, no matter how silly it may seem to us, is always perfect and cannot be improved upon by man. (b) Further, the number seven shows that the conquest was part of a spiritual exercise or process designed to set the people apart (sanctify them) for the Lord as a holy people who belong to a holy God. (c) Because of the significance of the number seven to creation and the Sabbath and the fact they were entering into their inheritance, it undoubtedly signified the beginning of a new order and the promised land as a picture of the believer’s rest in the Lord (see Heb 4:9).
Before Joshua 6, God gave instructions to prepare the people to believe and obey Him. Israel had been prepared to trust the Lord by the events of the first chapters and their consecration to the Lord, especially in Joshua 5. Luke 16:10 says “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” Spiritual preparation is critical to our ability to appropriate God’s strength in exchange for our weakness.
Joshua’s command in verse 10, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard, nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’” shows the people must have understood God’s plan would involve more than one day. Yet, a careful reading of the text also suggests Joshua did not unfold the entire plan at the first, but day by day gave them instructions. Each day they would go out and march silently around the city and then return with nothing happening. The walls were still standing and Jericho had not surrendered. Yet, they did not murmur or complain or question Joshua’s instructions. They simply obeyed day after day until the seventh day when they marched around the city seven times.
The passage does not tell us why they could not talk, but perhaps it teaches the principle of being silent before God and just resting in Him. Does any passage come to mind? What about Exodus 14:14 “The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” Then there is Psalm 46:10 which reads: “Be still, and know that I am God” As this Psalm suggests, the silence teaches us the need to get quiet, to stop our running around that we may rest quietly in Him as we think on Him in the midst of our trials and conquests in life. Maybe God also didn't want the Israelites to nullify the victory when they opened their mouths to complain or say negative things. Our tendency is to complain to others or seek our comfort from people more than we talk to God and seek our comfort from Him.
Regardless how unusual the plan was or how hard it was to carry out, there was explicit obedience. We read in Hebrews 11:30 “by faith the walls of Jericho fell down …” In spite of the taunts that were perhaps hurled down at them from the walls as they marched silently around Jericho, the Israelites were willing to look foolish and simply rest in the Lord. He alone was their source of strength. He alone was their help.
At the command of Joshua, they gave the great shout and the walls came tumbling down by the mighty hand of God. Is it not significant that Hebrews 11:30 which says, “by faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been circled seven days,” is followed in the next chapter, 12:1-2, with a charge to run the race set before us with endurance by looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith? This reminds us that the Lord often works slowly. We want immediate deliverance, but the Lord often tests our faith and in the process builds our character and our relationship with Him so we find the Lord to be what we really need. Surely, the Lord was teaching us the need to wait patiently to find our rest in Him.
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