Back to the Future

by Tim Howard

If you were asked to make a top 10 list of Bible stories found in the Old Testament, a few might come to mind. How about Noah and the ark, the parting of the Red Sea or David and Goliath to name a few! I’m sure your list would include a variety of classics if you’re familiar with the Bible but one great story that comes to my mind is found in Joshua chapter 6.

It was the time when the mighty walls of a city called Jericho collapsed. That miraculous event allowed the Israelite soldiers to conquer their enemies and claim the inheritance God had given them. Even though it was miraculous it wasn’t instantaneous. The siege lasted for 7 days with some very strange directives.

God had instructed their leader; Joshua to have soldiers; priests and people march around the city for six days while blowing trumpets and carrying the Ark. The people were to remain silent for these six days and God promised to defeat their enemy on day seven. On the last day the instructions were a bit different. Here’s what the record reveals:

Josh. 6:4 “Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the horns.”

Josh. 6:5 “When you hear the priests give one long blast on the horns, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the walls of the city will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the city.”

Josh. 6:20 “When the people heard the sound of the horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the city from every side and captured it.”

This victory happened because of faith. “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.” Hebrews 11:30

Trusting God can be extremely difficult when you focus on your problems rather than His promises. The walls or Jericho were unprecedented in that era and it was their first major challenge.

Faith will stretch you because it doesn’t operate on the basis of sight. What you see can be intimidating. What you see can immobilize you and impede your progress if it causes you to run from God rather than to Him. That’s what happened forty years prior to this victory when the last generation of Israelite people stood on the verge of entering the future God had promised them. They listened to the majority, who told them the land was too great, the people too big and the cities to strong. They sabotaged their future inheritance because they lacked faith in God.

Their lack of faith was seen in 3D. One, they focused on their inabilities rather than God’s ability. Two, their mouths did nothing but speak negatively and three, they refused to obey God’s directives.

God has a future for you! You will need to keep your eyes on His abilities and not your inabilities, however. We all have insufficiencies but He is sufficient for all things. With Him all things are possible. You can write a future for yourself but only God can write His future that’s been specifically designed for you. He wants to use your obedience as His pen to write your future. Don’t’ let the devil take away your pen. Walk by faith and not by sight. Be a part of the new generation and get back to the future God intended from the beginning.