Waiting for God to Act
Opening Prayer
Lord, all that I am waiting for I place in Your hands. I trust these things to You.
Read Joshua 6:1-11
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
[1] Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. [2] Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. [3] March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. [4] Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. [5] When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” [6] So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the LORD and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” [7] And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the LORD.” [8] When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the LORD went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the LORD’s covenant followed them. [9] The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. [10] But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” [11] So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What are you waiting for at the moment?Fear dominates Jericho (Joshua 2:9–11; 5:1) and it’s in lockdown (6:1). God encourages Joshua to picture its complete defeat. Not just to hope for it, but to “see” it (2) as a divinely assured reality.The strategy God gives to Joshua builds the suspense and saps the morale of Jericho. Seven priests, carrying shofars (rams’ horn trumpets), lead the ark of the covenant around the city, the Lord once again leading the army. The people are to walk in silence, with no defiance being shouted towards the defenders.To the garrison and people of Jericho, this must have been a chilling, implacable silence, not threatening destruction as much as promising it.The strategy, playing out as it does over seven days, requires the people to place great trust in Joshua. Six days they get to do nothing other than walk, probably taking abuse from the walls. Adrenaline would be pumping, and doing nothing other than march, I guess would have left many twitchy, aggressive and muttering about Joshua back in the camp. They’re required to walk, wait, and trust Joshua and God – always much easier to say than to do when a crisis is at hand.
Apply
Waiting is never easy. What might God be trying to grow in you as you wait (Romans 5:3–5)?
Closing prayer
Father, as I wait, I will look to You and intertwine my heart with Your own.
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