Joshua 6:6-11

⁶So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” ⁷And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”
⁸When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. ⁹The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. ¹⁰But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” ¹¹So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.

Not Boring

Many believers may not say it aloud but reality would reveal that they’ve very little idea how lively and enjoyable heaven is. Millions are not willing to leave this earth anytime soon, why? They have not figured out the unlimited creativity of our Creator.

1. Creativity

⁶So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” ⁷And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

God has unusual approach on how to solve a problem. God did not advise Joshua a particular ordinary methodology. He did not prescribe specific process/procedure, why?
It’s limiting God’s creativity. He reveals Himself very uniquely to each person. He solves each problem very creatively. He provides specific solution to a specific problem. Different problem, different solution! Our Creator is perpetually creative.
When the Israelites crossed the Read Sea, the Lord told Moses in Exodus 14:16, ¹⁶Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
When the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, the Lord instructed in Joshua 3:8, ⁸Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”

Those are similar situations of crossing a body of water but the Lord instructed different approaches in each situation. When the Israelites fought against the Amalekites, Moses told Joshua in Exodus 17:9-11, ⁹“Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” ¹⁰So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. ¹¹As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.

The Israelites were about to conquer the promise land but Moses, Aaron and Hur were gone. Instead of just few men, all armed men marched around Jericho. Joshua gave no instruction of raising his hands. No raising of hands! No raising of voices!
The first obstacle of conquering the promise land was the Jordan River at flood stage. The next obstacle to overcome was the city of Jericho. Take note: when they crossed the river, the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of the Israelites, and stood in the middle of the river. With Jericho-the next obstacle, the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant did not march ahead of the army. Actually, the Lord instructed in Joshua 6:3-4, ³March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. ⁴ Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark.
Observe: First, the Lord instructed the army to march. After that the priests were instructed to carry trumpets in front of the ark. Yet, in verses 6 & 7, Joshua relayed the Lord’s instruction remarkably. First, he told the priests what to do. After that, he ordered the army to march ahead of the priests. Why did Joshua not give the Lord instruction word for word or in the same order that he was told? Why did he instruct the priest first?
With God, He prefers whoever He prefers to address or give honor. The Lord says in Exodus 33:19, ¹⁹I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

Such is not the same case for humans. Humans would prefer to address those they deem to be more honourable and honor people with higher profile ahead of everyone. Joshua did just like that. He gave instruction to the priests first. Did the Israelites expect also that the priests would go ahead of them just like when they crossed the Jordan River?
With the verses following Joshua’s instruction, (we can observe that) it is narrated that the priests complied first but the army marched ahead of them.

2. Compliance

⁸When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. ⁹The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding.

What was so significant in the writer’s mind so that the priests were mentioned ahead of the army? Why not just write that the priests followed the army? Or, next to the army, the 7 priests blew the trumpets, followed by the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant? Does the word “follow” or “next” downgrade the status of the priests?
Bible scholars suggest that the writing of the Bible has been influenced by the writer’s point of view and circumstances. Has God used both the writer’s point of view and circumstances to teach us some kind of proper respect and courtesy in the church?

Priesthood of Believers

It says in TMEC Constitution ARTICLE II under Statement of Faith, The Competency of the Believer Before God. This implies the priesthood of all believers, that every believer under God is competent to approach Him without any intermediary. This means that everyone has the right to worship God according to the dictates of an enlightened conscience without any earthly hindrance. As a result of this principle, we teach that every believer is responsible, under the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit, to develop his own personal and spiritual relationship with God.

The priesthood of believers pertains to believers’ competency to approach God any time anywhere. As members of the church, individual believers contribute to church needs. Church needs are appropriated so that members would function corporately as one body. No overlapping but coordinated efforts. Deacons have different roles from elders.
In 1 Timothy 5:17, ¹⁷The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

Does this passage imply that all elders are potential preachers and teachers? It says elders are worthy of double honor, why? This promise is exclusively given only to elders who preach and teach. Double honor is not a promise for everyone. Does it undermine the priesthood of believers? Is it unfair not to give double honor to all believers?
Does it teach a principle of proper behavior? How do you interpret? God did not specify it but Joshua interpreted the Lord’s command on how the army should behave.

3. Command

¹⁰But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” ¹¹So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.

It was not included in the Lord’s instruction, but Joshua commanded the army to keep quiet until he gives them the “go” signal to shout, why? Why did Joshua give instruction of not raising their voices while they were marching? Does it indicate that Joshua was growing in his confidence as the new leader of the Israelites?
Nonetheless, Joshua and the Israelites did just as the Lord commanded them. No question asked. No complaints. Were they eager to see the result of their obedience? What can we learn from the Israelites’ attitude and behavior?

Membership Class

It is stated in TMEC By-Laws ARTICLE V Section 3A: Regular member – is one who qualifies as above, who has been baptized by immersion, completed the required membership class and/or special class covering the Church doctrines and polity, has been personally interviewed by the Board of Elders, is 18 years old or that over, and has signed the membership covenant.

Maybe, there are some church attendees who regard Membership Class as irrelevant. Attending Membership Class is a requirement for regular members included in TMEC By-Laws—that the congregation has approved. Therefore, to ignore what the church has agreed upon is not only defiance to the church but also defiance to the Lord, the head of the church. Did God give authority to the church to approve church By-Laws?

The Israelites did not question the authority of Joshua, the instructions of the Lord given to Joshua and Joshua’s interpretation of the Lord’s commands. Because of their obedience, the Lord gave them victory over their enemies.
Problems, concerns, struggles and obstacles may still come our way.
Whatever our situation is, sure victory awaits those who obey the Lord’s instructions.

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