“Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And 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. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s 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. And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD. And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.”
Joshua 6:1-7
A difference maker realizes the benefits of following God’s path and obeys His commands.
Jericho was no ordinary ancient city. This was an impenetrable city surrounded by a giant wall, the “Great Wall of China” of its day. If you wanted to build a successful defense system in that day, you looked to Jericho as your guide.
Jericho was situated on a desert oasis. An underground reservoir supplied water to the city and provided enough sustenance for the entire city to hold up for large amounts of time in case of a surrounding attack. Not only was Jericho a well-fortified city, it was the key defense on the road to Jerusalem and into the central highlands. Roads to the eastern cities led through Jericho, therefore any enemies or attackers had to defeat Jericho before traveling into Canaan.
One group of “attackers” who needed to get through Jericho was the Israelites. God had promised them the land of Canaan to establish their nation, yet He commanded them to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan. Some of those inhabitants were the people of Jericho.
How could the Israelites get past Jericho? They were a group of fathers, mothers, children, grandparents, and friends. They weren’t equipped for battle, nor were they trained in military tactics. Some had fought before, yet no one had the expertise needed to fight Jericho. If skilled armies of the world couldn’t defeat Jericho, how could Israel?
More peculiar than God’s command to conquer Jericho was His plan of attack. The Israelites were to march around the city for seven days. Military geniuses would have laughed at such a plan. Yet Joshua realized the wisdom in following God’s plan, and made a difference by obeying God.
The walls didn’t fall because of expert planning or strategizing. Jericho’s walls fell because Joshua obeyed God. He made a difference by obeying God’s command.
What walls stand in your life? Has God given you a plan of action in some area of your life? You won’t make a difference by resorting to your own methods or following your own plan, but by obeying God’s commands. God’s plan may sound peculiar to you and you may even question its effectiveness, but His desire is for you to obey Him and trust that His plan will work.
A difference maker realizes the benefits of following God’s path and obeys His commands. It doesn’t matter if God commands you to be faithful in your Bible reading, He still desires your obedience. Determine to faithfully obey God even in the smallest of tasks so that you can make a difference through obedience today.