by Jessica Hatton
I was reading the story of Jericho to my 3 year old the other night. (If you don’t already have “The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name” by Sally Lloyd-Jones then you should get it, the way she weaves Jesus into every story throughout the Bible is beautifully artistic and wonderful for both children and adults alike.) As I was reading, every few sentences my daughter would interrupt and ask questions about the story. Typically my response was “shhh, let’s wait and see.” She is a very inquisitive child anyway, but these were some pretty good questions. I remember one question she asked was “what kind of trumpets are those and why did they blow trumpets?” I cannot tell you how much I love my daughter’s questions, but at this point I was getting tired and annoyed about getting interrupted so many times. I quickly responded with a flippant, “because that’s what God instructed them to do”, shushed her and went back to finish the story. This answer sufficed for her and she moved on. We finished reading, said her prayers and she went to bed.
Not ironically, the next morning I was reading in Joshua and my next chapter was the fall of Jericho. It read…
You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” Joshua 6:3-5
Can you imagine how the people of Jericho responded when they saw Israel march around their city on day 1? Day 1 they probably were pretty intimidated and fearful. I mean the word of Israel and their God had already spread across Cannan. But, as Israel retreated back to their camp after day 1, day 2, day 3 and then day 6 what about then? I imagine the people of Jericho were laughing at them, mocking them, getting pretty comfortable watching them march around their walled city. This battle plan made no sense. Meanwhile, Israel was following specific instructions from the Lord, and waiting for that perfect day when they knew that the walls of Jericho would come tumbling down.
In scripture, 7 is often seen as a number of perfection, and here we see God instructing them to have 7 priests, 7 trumpets, 7 days, and on the 7th day march around 7 times. Talk about perfection! But what about the trumpets? It turns out that the trumpets that were used were called jubilee trumpets. These trumpets were used at feasts to declare the presence of the Lord. Here we see God’s chosen people claiming the land that God is presenting to them by blowing horns that declare His presence. (For more info on the trumpets see Numbers 10:10 and Psalm 24:7.)
So what does this have to do with counseling? As believers, we are required to follow Christ’s instruction on a daily basis with little or no knowledge of tomorrow. This is a huge step of faith, but one that can bring monumental dependence on God. Perhaps, God was testing Israel to see if they would follow his instruction. They probably endured terrible amounts of mocking, ridicule, and possibly even doubt. But, they had already seen God show himself in miraculous ways previous to this and they followed His seemingly senseless instructions. In the end, the walls of Jericho fell and Israel recognized that it was nothing of their own doing that led to the capture of Jericho, but God who conquered the city. My 3 year old had asked a pretty heavy question that night, and I didn’t appreciate the answer as much as I should have. But, Israel followed the Lord’s instruction even when it made no sense, and their reward was complete dependence on Him. Are you in the dark about how a specific situation may end? What daily instructions from the Lord are you following in faith, trusting that He will work His plan out in your life?
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