Ive been studying the book of Joshua with a group of ladies from my church (Geniuses. Seriously theyre all brilliant. Its intimidating) and in chapter 6, I noticed that God tells the Israelites to march around the walls of Jericho 6 times. What stood out is that He tells them to KEEP QUIET as they march. And then on the 7th go around, he tells them to SHOUT. Im seeing there are times for Gods people to keep it zipped, and also times when they are to not keep it zipped -- but whether zipped or unzipped, it all must take place within the context of realizing that God ultimately is in control of the outcome. Gods people have been given the victory -- but it IS absolutely conditional. We have to obey Him. And obey Him exactly on *His* terms. Just look at what happened in the *very next chapter* to Achan (and how it affected all of Israel) when he chose to not obey what seemed to be the smallest of details. I could not help but wonder if God wanted Israel to keep silent as they marched those first six times in order that they could hear the taunts and jeers that mustve been raining down from the citizens of Jericho. To stay silent while being so shamelessly provoked. That would have been SO hard for me! And yet Israel obeyed. The torment only lasted a season. But it was not the Israelites who had the power to silence them. It was the power of God and ONLY the power of God. It is stupid for us to think that God will fight on our behalf if we are unwilling to obey Him. And when we disobey Him, it does not just affect us solely. It affects whole families. It can affect entire communities. I think thats something worth paying attention to.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 18:06:57 +0000
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