Joshua 3:9-17
[9] And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.
[10] And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
[11] Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
[12] Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
[13] And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
[14] And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
[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.
They crossed the Jordan River and were reminded of the Red Sea. This was a confirmation moment for Joshua to realize his authority in God and the favor he was given to lead the children of Israel.
Joshua 6:1-2
[1] Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
[2] And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
It was humanly clear: scale the walls, beat down the gates, and tunnel in at night. At least for our human perspective the only way to take things are by our own devised cunning strategy and force of will.
Joshua 5:13-15
[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.
Encounters with God empower faith.
Joshua 6:3-14
[3] And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
[4] 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.
[5] 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.
[6] And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.
[7] And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.
[8] 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.
[9] 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.
[10] 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.
[11] So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.
[12] And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.
[13] And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.
[14] And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days.
All of God’s blessings come by faith.
Faith requires our obedience.
Faith without the works of obedience is dead.
We will reach our blessings by abiding in faith!
Just think of how foolish that it must have appeared to look to those that were residing in Jericho. God’s plan takes that appearance to the world, but if we will abide in His will and plan we will overcome!