The story of Joshua leading Israel in the battle of Jericho is a favorite of many beginning with their first childhood hearing. The dust and roar of stone walls collapsing mingled with the shout of Israel’s circling armies in today’s reading are as graphic as it was more than 60 years ago. I always have the urge to stand , shake a fist upward and shout, “Yes!” when I read the account. As a child, I overlooked the fact that moving huge numbers of troops in an orderly manner required planning.
Have you noticed the time delays tucked into the narrative? The victory took longer than it takes to sing the old spiritual commemorating the feat. The story includes an encounter Joshua had with the angle of the Lord. That was followed by organizational meetings Joshua chaired with hundreds of assembled Levites. For young children, seven days is close to eternity! One trip around the city is fun. Day three, four, five gets boring!
“Joshua had commanded the people, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. (Joshua 6:10) Human nature wants to shout today. Let’s get on with it! Young husbands surely wanted to get back to their wives. Fathers missed their children. “Come on, Joshua, let’s move ahead!” This summer’s gardens lie dormant. Several more weeks must pass before the first “colds” can be planted. Budding careers remain in classrooms. Tradesmen serve apprenticeships carrying the tool boxes of the masters. Recent university graduates complete mundane, repetitious tasks in laboratories. The days of dust and roar and shout are somewhere out there, but not yet.
The prophet reminds us, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:3) We are prone to get impatient and prefer to skip the waiting. Not saying a word until the day we are told to shout, well, that’s not too much fun!
Pat and I have a house for sale. I really am ready for shouting, “It’s sold!” A couple of very personal promises are still pending, and am I eager to get into the dust and roar of stones falling because I like the shouting! But, we wait! We must stay organized and poised. The days of shouting will come, just as He promised!
I am listening for the final order, when every detail has been set in place. It will happen as surely as every other promise of God has been kept. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage each other with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)
Listen carefully! The time of a great shout is very near! The Apostle John wrote, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” (Revelation 21:3-4)
Be encouraged friends! Save your voice for the perfect moment!
Rev. Otto Wegner
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