Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land after forty years of wandering in the wilderness. The problem was, the Promised Land was already occupied by other nations—big, powerful, intimidating nations. In fact, the Israelites had wandered for forty years because they were too afraid to fight the inhabitants when God first led them there.
The first major military test for the Israelites after their forty-year sojourn was Jericho, a city fortified and protected by enormous walls. The battle strategy was unusual, to say the least. God commanded the Israelites to march around the city once a day for six days.
The inhabitants of Jericho were likely baffled by the maneuver. Maybe they made fun of the Israelites and planned countermarches around the Israelites’ camp. Maybe they threw garbage at them from atop the walls. All we know for sure is that the Israelites marched once a day for six days in a row.
It’s hard to pinpoint God’s reasoning. Perhaps He was giving the inhabitants of Jericho an opportunity to repent. These people were wicked. They were into every kind of idolatry, perversion, and sin. God had patiently endured the evil of the Canaanites from the time of Abraham to Moses, a period of four hundred years. They had plenty of opportunities to repent before Jericho fell. The Canaanites knew the Israelites were coming. The reputation of God’s people preceded them.
Whatever God’s full purpose, marching around Jericho would have impressed upon the Israelites what a formidable obstacle it was. They needed to recognize that this was something they couldn’t handle on their own.
As believers, we all have our “Jerichos” in life—problems that loom large and things that we can’t handle on our own. Sometimes the Lord will have us figuratively march around them so that we acknowledge that we cannot rely on ourselves to overcome them. He allows us to experience real concern, anxiety, or fear as we come to grips with the fact that even our best isn’t good enough.
For some of us, that realization may be a long time coming. It takes us a while to get to the place where we’re willing to say, “I can’t do this on my own.”
Do you have a Jericho right now? Maybe it’s an incurable illness. Maybe it’s a hopeless marriage. Maybe it’s an economic downturn. Maybe it’s a prodigal child. Maybe it’s some other unsolvable problem.
Now is the time to admit your limitations and give that problem to God. Humbly ask Him to collapse its walls, as He did with Jericho, so that you can see a way forward.
