Be still and know

“And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.” (Joshua 6:8-11)

Being an ex-military man myself, I enjoy reading about the exploits in the Bible. Each one is unique in its approach according to the guidance of God. This particular one – the conquest of the city of Jericho – has been studied and discussed at great length by a variety of experts in different fields. For example, there are those who study the use of sound in military operations. Frequencies have long been known to break down barriers through continuous exposure to high frequencies which penetrate the very atomic construct of materials. Low frequencies, when blasted at repeated intervals accomplishes the same effect as a battering ram except on the subatomic molecular structure. Those whose expertise is in seismology (earthquakes and similar events) like to consider this victory from the standpoint of the repeated, rhythmic drumbeat of thousands of soldiers walking in lock-step. It is believed this procedure, repeated as in the biblical account, could break down the foundational footings and the ground upon which the structure was built, thus weaking it until it collapses on its own. Theories, theories, theories. Everybody has them.

From a pastor’s viewpoint, however, I look at this passage through a different set of eyes. Simply put, God told the Hebrews to perform this activity in exacting steps. They simply obeyed God and were blessed with an inconceivable victory. That is the long and the short of it. Mathematically speaking, IF...THEN. Nice and clean. But...let’s look at this from a different angle, shall we? The passage says, “Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until…” AND THEY DID IT! For six days they did it – exactly as the LORD had commanded them. That, my friends, is the biggest miracle of all – even greater than the great fall of the walls on the seventh day and the capturing of the city. The simple fact that these men obeyed so completely and brilliantly for that long is amazing!

Watching sports is fun because you often get to see peoples’ attitudes come out in different ways. There may be chest-poking, name calling, tussling or fighting at a press conference, and just good old-fashioned trash talking. I love it when guys (and gals) talk trash to each other. I don’t know why, maybe it’s my old personality coming out through them, but we all know when tempers flare and emotions explode the mouth kicks into full tilt, full frontal attack mode.

Imagine being in that group of men who have been commanded to simply march around your enemy’s fortress. Archaelogical digs have revealed that the distance totally around the city would have measured approximately one mile (+/- .25 miles) and would have taken between 1 and 1-1/2 hours to march around. Further imagine the enemy is watching from the walls. They would have been extremely vigilant the first day – just trying to figure out what your plans were. They would have listened to the blaring of the trumpets and observed a peaceful march around the city. You would have seen them watching, fully prepared for anything. The second day there were possible more observers on the walls – perhaps an occasional taunt being shouted, but still rather subdued. After all, there were estimated to only be about 3,000 people total living within the city. But by day three and four, knowing the nature of men, you would have begun catching pieces of trash being thrown down upon you, lots of verbal taunting mixed with threats and smack-talk. How would you feel, simply doing what God told you to do while very probably being soaked with human waste and other yuck pouring down on you? How hard would it have been to keep your mouth shut and not utter a sound? And still the Bible records that the Hebrews obeyed completely.

In Psalm 46:10 God told David to behold the mighty acts of war God has performed on behalf of His people and, in light of that record, to stand still and know that HE IS GOD. There is something about the calm, quiet assurance of the Christian in light of trials and tests that allows God to show out in full strength for His people. That’s hard for us – I know it is for me. Do a concordance search sometime on the command to “be still” or “stand still” and see what God has to say and do about our battles. It is amazing!

We as modern-day believers are called to do just that. We are called to face condemnation from our enemies, trash-talking by those around us, and even outright persecution at the hands of our enemies – with silent assurance that God is with us. Christ left us an example by His life when He faced arrest and conviction by those in power as He went silent as the Lamb to the slaughter. Sure there are examples of God telling His children to rise up and fight in many passages, but the most surreal appearances of God on behalf of His people occurred when they were told to simply stand (or, as in the case of our scripture today – march) in silence. Until.

I can tell you, my friend, the past three or four months for me have been just such a time. I have walked some pretty dark and lonely places, I have often felt as though I was not going to come out of it – and had the doctor’s reports to verify that very thing. Yet I continued to walk in calm assurance that He would turn out for me. Sure, I had a handful of brothers and sisters standing with me – even though they may not have known the entirety of the situation. They encouraged me, they gave me grace and distance, and through it all they gave me love. Here I am, praise God, on the backside of the issues, fully healed, re-establishing my standing physically and mentally, and better equipped than ever before. Hallelujah!

Whatever it is you are facing today, dear reader/listener, I encourage you to find those who will ally with you, who will support you, bathe you in prayer, lavish you with grace, and love you with God’s love. God may not have given you the command to mount up and attack; instead, He may have left you virtually speechless. Whatever your case may be today, I challenge you to follow in the footsteps of our brothers and sisters in this story. Simply carry on with no sounds or words escaping your lips as you march around your particular Jericho. God sees you, He hears the cry of your heart, and He has an appointed time for your victory. It will be glorious and all will see the salvation of God in your life. Hold on, my friend. Your win is just around the corner. Obey the commands of God for your individual situation totally and completely, then prepare to see the salvation of God!

Be blessed!