FAITH, WORKS, VICTORY – PART FIVE
Friday – June 1, 2018, Sivan 18, 5778
What a fascinating study of Joshua and Jericho thus far! God is so good, I hope this is propelling each of us ahead by leaps and bounds. It will if we will but make a mindful conscious decision to make this Word, every bit of it ours and observe it every day of our lives and not depart from it even a little bit. As Jesus cautioned us we must be very careful what we hear and perhaps even more careful what we think upon and say. Out of the treasure of our heart (thoughts) we speak and bring to pass the physical and spiritual realities of our lives. Perhaps you have heard someone say or do something that was contrary to the Word of God and then excuse it by saying something like “well God knows my heart”, well, so do we now. And, beyond that what we do must reflect the will of God for our life. Okay, let’s proceed to read our primary Bible text aloud.
Hebrews 11:30-32 (KJV)
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
The time has come for the children of Israel to occupy the land given them of God in Covenant with Abraham four-hundred and seventy years earlier. The priests with the Ark of the Covenant (containing the Word of God) always move before the people. The priests are the intercessors and the Ark of the Covenant is the Covenant that God has with the people, the Word of God. That Word is already proclaimed by the Prophets and is now in motion and being accomplished by the obedience of the person or peoples. So, let’s read.
Joshua 3:3-4 (KJV)
3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
A cubit is thought to be about 18 inches or 1.5 feet therefore the space between the Ark of the Covenant and the peoples is somewhere around 3000 feet, well over a half mile. Of course, since the Cross of Calvary and the Resurrection we have free and bold access to the Throne of God however that is not to say that we should in anyway be presumptuous or irreverent of God or the Word of God (there is no difference). Again (like the Red Sea), the people cross a waterway on dry ground.
Joshua 3:15-17 (KJV)
15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
You see, God is a miracle working God, we are only to believe and do. God can still split the waters of any sea or river if it is necessary to accomplish His will for the Kingdom and our individual lives. As we precede in our study it does not look like I will make it all the way to the walls of Jericho coming down until next week. Oh well, it is all good. As we see with the next passage, God is already preparing the hearts of His peoples’ enemies for defeat. The devils around us tremble as well when they see that we are diligent with the Word of God. Remember our battles are not with people but the devils behind the people.
Joshua 5:1 (KJV)
1 And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
Next, we find Joshua having an encounter with the Captain of the hosts of the LORD. I will pick up right here, Lord willing on Monday.
Joshua 5:13-15 (KJV)
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
15 And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
Until our next publication, I speak this Scriptural prayer for your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
3 John 1:2 (AMP)
2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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