Joshua 6:3-5 "And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him."

We are living in the day of passive Christianity. Today's perception is that God means some of what He said but not all of what He said. The part that one accepts as what God means and does not mean is left up to personal preference and personal bias. Humanity views God as an understanding God that is more interested in sincerity of the heart rather than His righteous demands that condemns sin and calls for holy living! God is perceived as too loving to loathe the repulsive acts and attitudes of sin. Just pick those items that you deem necessary from the smorgasbord of God's laws, hold them in sincerity and God will appropriate victory in your self-centered life. While this may be the god of society, this is not the God of the Scripture, New Testament or Old Testament.

A close reading of Joshua 6:3-5 reveals something very interesting. In verse 2 God tells what He is going to do and in verses 3-5 He tells how it is to be done. These three verses contain the detailed account of the conquest and conquering of Jericho. In those three verses, the word "shall" or "shalt" is used nine times. This word is used with the idea of purpose, certainty, compulsion or necessity. The thrust of the text is not one of debate or discussion; it is one of clear command! God is saying, "This is the way it is going to be done, Ye shall."

(I) The Clear Command
I will readily admit that there are times when instructions can be difficult to understand and hard to follow. This is not one of those cases! Even a child can understand these commands. There are numerous thoughts that could be pursued, but I want to look at just three. There is the clear command of personnel. Unlike the case of Gideon and his mighty army, there is no choice of going or staying (see Judges 7:3). One of the greatest deterrents to twentieth century Christianity is the apathy or lack of involvement among its worshippers. The conquest and conquering of Jericho would require total commitment from the entire nation, the leadership, the men of war, the priests, and all the people. There was the clear command of preciseness. There was no choice in participation and there would be none in the place or the practice! The Lord gave a precise command as to placement of everyone. Paul told the Corinthian believers, "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him" (I Corinthians 12:18). In the conquest of Jericho, there was order in the procession and it was determined not by the will of man, but of God! Not only was the place predetermined, but also their practice or what they were to do in that place. They were told what to say and when to say it! They were told when, where and how! There was the clear command of persistence. Orders were not just for one day nor where the directions to be followed whenever they chose to. The conquest of Jericho would be accomplished by the faithful perseverance of God people. It did not matter how it looked to the people in Jericho or the inhabitants of the land. It was God's command and they were to do His will.

W. Graham Scroggie said, "the secrets of victory; faith, obedience, and courage. Christian obedience is not based on knowledge, but on faith." God has placed within our hands a divine volume that contains His clear commands. How will you respond?

(II) The Confident Conclusion
In response to His clear commands, God said, "the wall of the city shall fall down flat" (verse 5). There is great speculation as to how the walls of Jericho came down. Some have tried to justify the idea of an earthquake. They study the surrounding area for fault lines to appease the scrutinizing eye of the skeptic. Others justify the collapsed walls by the continual pounding of feet that weaken the mortar thus destroying the structural integrity of the wall. Whether it was an earthquake, sonic waves from the ram's horns and the shout of the people, or the weakening by the continual marching, the sum total of the conclusion is God! When there is obedience to the clear command there will always be a confident conclusion.

There are three observations that can be drawn from verse 5 about this confident conclusion. In verse 5 we see a powerful confidence, "the wall of the city shall fall down flat." The word "city" has a stronger meaning than just a place of habitation or dwelling. The word means a city as a place guarded by walking or a watch. Jericho was a place of fortification where the people set a watch and had resources to prevent an assault from an enemy. This type of fortified city would withstand attacks that could last for months and never be taken. In most instances, starvation was the only means of taking such a stronghold (see II Kings 6: 24-25). While Jericho may have sufficient resources to withstand an attack from a distant force, they were no match for a Divine Force, the Lord Himself. Neither the walls of stone, the watching of the soldiers, the wealth of their supplies, nor the wisdom of their strategy could withstand the power of Israel's God. When God said that the walled city of Jericho was going to fall, they could take Him at His word for there is nothing that can withstand His great power. In verse 5 we have a plentiful confidence, "the people shall ascend up every man." This confident conclusion was not just for Joshua and a chosen few. Neither was it for the select tribe of Levi or those given to serving in the tabernacle daily. It was not just for the trained men of war who had prepared themselves for this day. The promise was given to all, and all could rest in calm assurance that God would give victory to all. There is a personal confidence, "straight before him." The word "straight" means in front of or part opposite. This meant that when each person turned to face the city and the trumpets were blown, that person could shout with confidence and watch as their section of the wall fell. They could look victory in the face for themselves knowing that their God had come through for them!

Attention to detail and yielding to the clear commands of our God will always produce a definite and desired conclusion. When speaking to the sons of Jacob, God said, "For I am the LORD, I change not" (Malachi 3:6). A popular phase of today is, "times change." Times and trends may change men and their religious and moral values, but they do not change the Master. You may want to pick and choose from the divine commands of God and even convince yourself that He does not mean what He says or does not say what He means. This may be your mentality! But, there is one thing that you must take into consideration. The gods of society are controlled by man but the God of Scripture controls man. The Eternal and Everlasting God said, "Ye shall."