THE MAKING OF A MIRACLE: LEADERSHIP, COOPERATION AND DIVINE INTERVENTION Joshua 2:1 (KJV) 1And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlots house, named Rahab, and lodged there. Joshua 6:1-5 (KJV) 1Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. 2And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. 3And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. 4And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. 5And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the rams horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. INTRODUCTION The book of Joshua records what is arguably the most successful period in Israel’s history. Joshua transformed a group of persons who had been slaves in Egypt for some 430 years, and who had wandered in the wilderness as nomads for forty years, and made them into a nation that was both feared and respected by all the other countries in the region. The conquest of Jericho stands out as one of the most memorable feats in all of Israel’s history. Apart from the crossing of the Red Sea and Joshua’s command that made the sun stand still, the miraculous collapse of the walls of Jericho stand above or alongside all other miracles in the Bible. For the most part however, the analysis of the collapse of Jericho’s walls has focused on the shout and the immediate collapse of the wall and not on the events before and after the shout. A careful reading of the scriptures will show that the collapse of the walls of Jericho, and the conquest of the city was not a one day affair, or even a seven day event, but was the culmination of a process that remains relevant to countries, churches corporations and even to individuals today. Today I would like to share with you as we analyze the events preceding the shout and the collapse of Jericho’s walls, in order to identify key factors that contribute to the experience of the miraculous. Our focus is more on the corporate miracle, but the factors can be extrapolated to the individual as well. I suggest to you that the fundamental components for the making of a miracle are: leadership, cooperation and Divine intervention. When these factors come together we will see the miraculous. EXPOSITION The story begins with Joshua sending out two spies to gather information on the land of Jericho. This demonstrates that although God had promised that he would give to Joshua all the land that he should set foot on, he recognized that Israel would have to fight to possess the land. If they were to fight to possess the land, then Joshua had to prepare a plan of attack that would guarantee victory. If they were to prepare in this manner, then they would need information upon which to base their plans. We see in the scriptures that Joshua from the beginning of his expedition showed good leadership and demonstrated the characteristics of a military strategist. Leadership therefore emerges as the first component in the making of this miracle. We see also that the two spies who were sent out, went and did as Joshua had requested. They cooperated. Nothing is said about them resisting, protesting or in any other way challenging the wisdom of Joshua’s instruction. They could have recounted the problems that were caused the last time that Moses had sent spies to survey the land of Canaan. They could have questioned why they and not others were chosen for this extremely dangerous task. The scriptures simply said “… and they went …” Cooperation is necessary for miracles to happen! The choice of place to lodge for the night was nothing short of Divine intervention! The scriptures said “… they came into an harlot’s house … and lodged there.” Persons have offered various explanations why the spies choose to lodge at Rahab’s house. If she was in fact running a brothel, then the men could expected to be granted lodging without much scrutiny; but this does not seem to be the case as we see later that she was well aware of who they were. The notion that the house on the wall would provide an easy way of escape does seem to ‘hold some water’ but if Rahab had handed them over to the king’s men there would have been no escape. I believe that God supernaturally led them to Rahab’s house because He knew that her heart was ‘soft’ towards Israel and that she had become a woman of faith. Rahab’s faith is one of the most untold stories in the bible. Verse 11 of Joshua 2 contains her great confession of faith “… for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above and in the earth beneath.” Her action stands alongside that of Ruth as pagan women who had extraordinary faith in God. It is therefore not surprising that she is mentioned in Hebrews 11 as one of the heroes of faith and also by James as one who demonstrated faith with action. This was Divine intervention. God led the spies to the home of the only convert in Jericho. Rahab also demonstrated cooperation in receiving her own personal miracle (i.e. the saving of her household) in that she obeyed the instruction of the spies and tied the scarlet thread from her window as soon as the spies had left. In order to receive your miracle you must cooperate with God and the instruction of his servants. Let’s turn to the events immediately preceding the collapse of the walls of Jericho. Here again we see the three principles in action. Joshua led. The people cooperated. God intervened. Chapter six begins: “Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.” God at first assured Joshua that He had given Jericho into his hands. However in order to accomplish the victory there were some things to be done. These were the instructions: - March around the city once per day for six days with all your armed men - Have seven priests carry trumpets of ram’s horns in front of the ark - On the seventh day, march around the city seven times with the priests blowing the trumpets - When the priest made a loud blast on the trumpet have the whole army make a loud shout and the walls of Jericho will fall flat - The army should go straight in and conquer the city Verses 6-20 of chapter 6 records how Joshua and the people carried out God’s instructions. He called the priest together and informed them of God’s instructions. Then he gave the command to the army to march around the city with the armed guard going ahead of the ark. Both the priest and the army obeyed without challenging the wisdom of Joshua or of Gods instructions. We see then in verse 20 that the walls of Jericho collapsed and they went in and conquered the city, just as God said they would. APPLICATION People today we are faced with many challenges and indeed many persons are in need of a miracle today. This applies to countries, including Jamaica; this applies to many organizations and institutions in the land, including our churches; this also applies individuals who need personal miracles, including for some the miracle of salvation and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. God is reminding us today that the old paradigm of seeking miracles without much action on our part is not going to work. First of all, we need corporate and personal leadership. Leaders must be in touch with God and must provide clear direction for the people to follow. If our leaders are not in touch with God we can hope for very little. Of course some things can be accomplished by human effort; but as we see in this story the results can be magnified exponentially when leaders follow God’s instructions. Let me say also that we don’t have to sit and wait to hear God speak to us through an audible voice, or through the thunder or the whirlwind; God has detailed his instructions right here in the Bible. If we follow its precepts and obey its commands we are well on our way to seeing the miraculous. Secondly, the people must cooperate with the instruction of leaders. We note that the spies cooperated with Joshua, Rahab cooperated with the spies, the priests cooperated with Joshua and the army cooperated with Joshua. When people cooperate with leadership we can expect positive results. When the people fail to cooperate the opposite happens. We saw this at Kadesh Barnea, when after ten spies brought back an evil report, the people revolted against Moses, refusing to go up against the Canaanites and this resulted in the death of many, and Israel’s wondering in the wilderness for forty years. In order to apply these principles for your personal miracle, we can substitute faith and obedience for the principles of leadership and cooperation. Rahab demonstrated great faith in the God of Israel and obeyed the instructions of the spies and received her own personal miracle. The final principle – Divine intervention – is applicable both to the personal and the corporate miracle, because no miracle can happen without God. We can plan, we can strategize, we can work hard or we can scheme, but unless God shows up, no miracle will happen. Israel could have marched around Jericho a thousand times, unless God showed up, the walls of Jericho would still be standing. Rabab could have tied a hundred scarlet cords to her window; unless God intervened her house would have collapsed with the rest of the wall. Today we need Divine intervention; Jamaica needs Divine intervention; the world needs Divine intervention; the church needs Divine intervention, all of us as individuals need Divine intervention! Intervene Jesus! Come down in our situation. Let your spirit arise and break the stronghold of the enemy. Intervene Jesus. We believe you, we receive you, we accept your words. Intervene God! Intervene! Be blessed!
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 12:17:58 +0000
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