THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Joshua: God's Faithful Giving Of The Promised Land To Israel

Part II: God's Giving Israel Victory Over The Canaanites, Joshua 5:13-12:24

B. God's Call To Trust Him And Heed His Word Versus Practicing Manipulation

(Joshua 6:1-27)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

A "toxic" kind of manipulation that seeks to "empower the weaker against the stronger" exists in today's politics (Pete Peterson, "The Alinsky Way of Governing," The Wall Street Journal, April 10, 2015, p. A13), and it foments hostility and distrust in relationships throughout society.

It began with "Saul Alinsky . . . the . . . activist who died in 1972" as he taught radicals, the "Have Nots," to use the "scare tactics" of "irreverence, ridicule and deception" to seize power from institutions, Ibid. Now "a generation of American politicians who came of age during Saul Alinsky's lifetime has moved into positions of institutional power" and is "showing an inability to leave behind Alinsky's tactics," Ibid.

As a result, society is being negatively impacted: a local radio talk show host often tells of a new hostility he faces from callers who react to Alinsky-type tactics that are used on them by progressives in office to push an agenda!

Need: Accordingly, we ask, "If I face false, unedifying forms of manipulation, what does God want me to do?!"

I. When the Preincarnate Christ gave Joshua his orders for defeating Jericho in Joshua 6:1-5, they left no room for human manipulation by Israel, but only for trusting God and heeding His Word (as follows):

A. God told Joshua to "observe! consider!" (ra'ah, Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 328; B. D. B., A Heb.-Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 906-909) that He had given all Jericho into his hand, meaning the fact that Joshua could see the city was shut up was a signal from the Lord that He had terrified Jericho's people to prepare them for defeat, Jos. 6:1-2.

B. However, Joshua was NOT to initiate his own plan, but instead heed Christ by performing acts He required that were even militarily risky for Israel and that left them utterly reliant on the Lord for victory, Jos. 6:3-5:

1. God called Israel to march around Jericho once a day for 6 days, and on the 7th day to circle it 7 times, with the priests carrying the ark led by 7 priests blowing ram's horns and without Israel's men saying a single word until on the last circuit, at a long trumpet call, they were to shout. At that moment, God would make the wall fall "beneath itself" (tahteha, Ibid., Kittel; Ibid., B. D. B., p. 1065-1066; ESV ftn. to Jos. 6:5), and every man in Israel would go up into the city directly in front of him. (neged, Ibid., Kittel; Ibid., B. D. B., p. 617-618) Joshua added that Jericho was under the ban, that all life forms in it would be slain and its booty go to God, with the rest being burned up by fire, Joshua 6:17, 24.

2. The expression "beneath itself" is clarified by noting Joshua's line of sight: as he looked at Jericho from outside the city at ground level, to see each wall fall "below itself" would mean that Joshua would see it fall out and down the slope, its debris forming a ramp from ground level up to the city for Israel to use.

3. Yet, this plan left Israel's flank long exposed to enemy fire from the outer wall as Israel marched so many, predictable times around it, usually a recipe for military disaster, Jos. 6:3; Bib. Know. Com., O. T., p. 340.

4. Besides, the daily repetition of this march format could have easily tempted the men of Jericho to rush out of their city gate a few days into the exercise and split Israel's line into two parts for a slaughter, Ibid.

5. In addition, the daily silence of Israel's soldiers as they marched (Jos. 6:10) coupled with the blowing of ram's horns could have left the men of Jericho encouraged to mock Israel's seemingly futile effort to frighten them with ram's horns and no taunts like they would face from other foes, and that could reverse the psychological advantage Israel's soldiers had, causing them to come to fear Jericho's men! Ibid., p. 341

C. Nevertheless, God called Israel to heed Him in faith versus trying to manipulate circumstances for victory:

1. All during the seven days of marching around the city, the men of Israel had to trust God to protect their flank from attack from Jericho's soldiers as Israel obeyed the Lord's directives, Ibid.

2. In addition, Israel's soldiers probably received their marching orders each day, so their obedience was a test of a daily reliance on the Lord for protection as they daily obeyed Him in God's marching orders, Ibid.

3. If any ridicule came from the soldiers on the city walls because of what appeared to be a silly exercise repeated for a week, the men of Israel were to entrust the matter to the Lord and keep heeding Him regardless of the ridicule, remaining silent until they were finally told to shout on the seventh day, Ibid.

II. Then, when the trumpets blew the long blast on the last march around the city, Israel's men shouted and the walls fell downhill as God promised, Joshua 6:9-20b. This wall collapse would have killed many people in Jericho, and the men of Israel simply ran up the embankment created by the fallen debris to take the city, slaying everything that remained alive in line with God's will, Joshua 6:20c-21 with 6:17.

III. Before burning the city down, Joshua told the two spies Rahab had hid to enter her house and lead her and her family out of her still-standing home to Israel's people, Joshua 6:22-23. Archaeological evidence explains how Rahab's house was not destroyed although it was part of the city wall that had fallen:

A. A German excavating team in 1907-1909 found "that on the north a short stretch of the lower city wall did not fall as everywhere else," and since Joshua 2:15 claims Rahab's house "was in (b) a wall (qir, Ibid., B. D. B., p. 885; Ibid., Kittel, p. 323) of the city wall (homah, Ibid., Kittel; Ibid., B. D. B., p .327)" since "she dwelt in the city wall" (ESV, NIV), that north stretch of the outer wall was likely spared when God saved Rahab's family!

B. Thus, the spies entered Rahab's house, and since she recognized them, she and her family willingly followed them, taking their possessions with them to join Israel before Israel destroyed the site by fire, Joshua 6:23-24a.

C. Only the gold, silver, brass and iron were spared for the Lord's treasury in the tabernacle, Joshua 6:24b.

D. [Archaeological discoveries lend great support to the Joshua 6 Biblical record of Jericho's defeat (as follows):

1. When Israel attacked Jericho, large jars of grain, what was otherwise seized as valuable booty in ANE war, were left full of grain under a thick burn layer, so Israel had heeded God and burned the city's contents just as Joshua 6:24 claims (answersingenesis.org, Bryant Wood, "The Walls of Jericho," March 1, 1999).

2. Also, mudbrick debris from the wall that had stood above the retainer wall was found piled up against the retainer wall, so it had fallen outward to form a ramp up the retainer wall just as Joshua 6:20 claims, Ibid.]

IV. Joshua 6:25 reports that Rahab was living in Israel at the time of the writing of the book of Joshua, and we also know she married and became an ancestress of Jesus Christ, Matthew 1:5 with Ruth 4:21!

V. Joshua then spoke a curse on anyone who rebuilt Jericho as a fortress, claiming that anyone who rebuilt it would lose his firstborn in death when he constructed the foundation and his youngest son in death when he set up its gates (Jos. 6:26), what was fulfilled in the life of Hiel the Bethelite in 1 Kings 16:34.

VI. For humbly obeying the Lord without trying to manipulate circumstances to defeat Israel's Jericho foes, Joshua led Israel to victory and God gave him great fame throughout the land of Canaan, Joshua 6:27.

Lesson: For simply, humbly trusting God and obeying His Word versus humanly manipulating circumstances to defeat Jericho, Israel was rewarded with great victory over Jericho and Joshua was greatly honored by the Lord.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ for eternal life, John 3:16. (2) Then, (a) may we not practice the world's errant manipulation or counter manipulation activity performed against us in our own effort and initiative, (b) but simply, humbly trust in the Lord and (c) heed His Word. (c) That way, God will grant us success and honor.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . .)

Last week, several believers privately asked what I thought of "Christian Counseling," and to apply this sermon's lesson on avoiding manipulation and simply obeying the Lord, here is my response for the body' welfare:

(1) With all due respects for unsuspecting believers who are involved in "Christian Counseling," Martin and Deidre Bobgan's book PsychoHeresy, 1987, p. 5-6 (with a foreword by Dave Hunt) states: "Although Christian psychological counselors claim to have taken only those elements of psychology that fit with Christianity . . . (e)ach Christian therapist brings his own individual psychology borrowed from the world to the Bible and modifies the Word to make it fit. What they use comes from the bankrupt systems of ungodly and unscientific theories and techniques."

And bankrupt they are: (a) "Research psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey . . . says: 'The techniques used by Western psychiatrists are, with few exceptions, on exactly the same scientific plane as the techniques used by witch doctors,'" Ibid., p. 36, citing Robert C. Fuller, Mesmerism and the American Cure of Souls, 1982, p. 46-47. (b) Two framers of modern psychology, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, "eroded confidence in Christianity and established systems in direct opposition to the Word of God . . . Freud argued that religions are delusionary and therefore evil. Jung . . . contended that all religions are imaginary but good," Ibid., M. & D. Bobgan, p. 12-13. (c) Another key psychologist, Carl Rogers, confessed: "'Yes, it is true, psychotherapy is subversive,'" Ibid., p. 20, citing a quote by Rogers from Allen Bergin, "Psychotherapy and Religious Values," Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, v. 48, p. 101.

So, if one turns to "Christian Counseling" for help, he eventually pays heed to harmful spiritual darkness.

(2) Also, Psalm 1:1-6 in today's Adult Sunday School Class teaches us that the truly happy man rejects such extrabiblical sources of thought and rejects uniting with those who heed it to love and meditate on Scripture instead.

(3) Thus, I believe in using Scripture INSTEAD OF "Christian Counseling" for help.

May we handle concerns not by human manipulation, but by just trusting God and heeding His Word.