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"Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. And the LORD said to Joshua, See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors. And you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. Also, seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And it shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead." -Joshua 6:1-5

What kind of strategy is this? It's obvious that this was not a military strategy intended in some way to soften up their enemy; rather, it was intended to accomplish something in Israel--faith, patience, and obedience. If they were going to win battles God's way, they were going to have to learn from the very beginning to do things His way. 

We must keep in mind that the Lord would move His little finger and all of His enemies would cease to exist. The strategies He gives to us for victories are almost always meant to accomplish something in us--they rarely have anything to do with a strategy intended to outsmart or overpower the enemy. That has already been done. The reason for the battle is what He wants to work in us, not the enemy.
 

Seven Steps of God's Strategy for Working in Us

Let's look at this strategy step-by-step, adding the seventh step that Joshua adds in verse 10, to get a sense of how He is trying to accomplish these things in us:

1) The first thing Joshua had to do was see Jericho as already taken. 

Joshua and the people had to have God's vision, seeing from God's perspective through their spiritual eyes, not just what their physical eyes saw. 

2) They had to march around the city one time a day for six days. 

In Joshua 1:3, they had already been told by the Lord, "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you..." It is interesting that the Lord also made Abraham walk throughout the land that he was being given. There is spiritual significance to actually touching or walking in what we are claiming. For major strongholds, it will often require repetition, endurance, and faithfulness. Therefore, they had to circle the city over and over until it was imprinted in their souls that this was their land. 

3) The priests had to march with the men of war carrying the ram's horns. 

Priests are intercessors, and the ram's horn represented the message going forth. In many of the attempts to bring down some of the great strongholds of our time, there is an assault by the courageous, action-oriented leader types. In others, almost all intercessors will take little outward action. We need to have a joining of the men and women of action, the "men of war," and those devoted to prayer before we will see the victory.

4) On the seventh day, they had to march around the city seven times. 

Seven is the number of completion, and this represented complete obedience to the strategy of the Lord. Again, this strategy was not so much to bring the walls of Jericho down, which would have been an easy thing for the Lord, but it was to bring His people into complete obedience to Him. This will be required before we will see victories over the great strongholds of our time.

5) When they heard the long blast of the ram's horn and the sound of the trumpet, all of the people were to shout, and the walls would fall down. 

The ram's horn was the command of the Lord sounded through His priests. The shout was the command of the Lord which sounded through all of the people. The authority of both, in perfect harmony and timing with the Lord, is needed for the victory. We are going to have to come to this place of harmony and unity so that when the Lord gives His command through one, it is immediately echoed by the people and not run through committees or debated. That may be the democratic way, but it will not work if we are going to be a part of the ones who cross over to take the land. 

6) They were then each to go in straight ahead to possess the city. 

Many great victories in history were ultimately turned into great defeats because the commanders lost control of their soldiers after the breakthrough, and they all started attacking whoever and however they wanted, which resulted in chaos. For this reason, it is said of the army of the Lord in Joel 2:7-8, "They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like soldiers, and they each march in line, nor do they deviate from their paths. They do not crowd each other; they march everyone in his path. When they burst through the defenses, they do not break ranks." 

Presently, the church is a long way from being able to do this because most do not even walk a straight path now, but drift about from church to church, or ministry to ministry, doing whatever pleases them rather than following the clearly revealed will of God. This will change for those who cross over. We will learn how to march in a straight line, with clear purpose and direction. And when there is a breakthrough, we will continue to have the discipline to keep going straight without crowding others.

7) "You shall not shout or let your voice be heard, nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, 'Shout!' Then you shall shout!" -Joshua 6:10

Probably the greatest hindrance to spiritual advancement in the church today is the same as it was for Israel in the wilderness: the murmuring of the people--their grumbling, complaining, and second-guessing of the leadership. This absolutely will not be a part of the generation that is allowed to cross over and begin possessing the Promised Land. There is a multitude of Scriptures that address this issue, but let us just consider these three about how important it is for us to learn to control what we say:

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." -Proverbs 18:21

"He who guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul against troubles." -Proverbs 21:23

"If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless."-James 1:26

Obedience to the Lord of Hosts

Of course, a book could be written about each of these seven principles. It is interesting how closely the most effective leadership and management courses now follow these principles. Sports news has been filled for weeks about one who many consider the best wide receiver in the NFL, and possibly even the best athlete in the league. He was not only benched, but he was removed from his team because he would not march in line with the rest of his team, and he could not control his tongue. He was making many millions a year just for playing a game. Not only has he lost that, he may never play again for anyone. If even the most talented player begins to destroy the fabric of a team, any true leader will get rid of that person fast. The Lord refused to let a whole generation go on with Him because of this. 

The first thing Israel had to do was learn to march in order. The great commanders in history are those who trained their troops well. That alone will not make you a great commander, but it is not likely you could ever be one without well-trained troops. Great commanders are not looking for the affection of their troops--they are looking for their obedience. Consider this: many churches, ministries, and movements faded away because the leader chose their lieutenants more on loyalty to themselves rather than ability or true obedience to the Lord. 

Again, this opens a can of worms that to address effectively would be worthy of a whole book. Consider the following examples from historic battles because we are going to have to fight for our land, and we are going to have to take on a military mentality. There is a reason why the Lord of hosts, or Lord of armies, uses that title ten times more than His other titles.

One of the Duke of Wellington's greatest victories against the French army in his Peninsula campaign came as the result of his troops were just a little more disciplined and a little more trusting of him than the French trusted their general. The two armies marched back and forth over the same ground for nearly two weeks within sight of each other. Both generals were doing this waiting for the other to drop their guard for just a moment so that they could attack and exploit this letdown. They did not have time to tell all of their troops what they were doing. The troops just had to trust their general. Finally, the French army took a brief pause late in the afternoon, thinking it was too late for Wellington to attack them. To the shock of even Wellington's own officers, he gave the order to charge. They did not debate it--they did it, and the French were soundly defeated. 

Wellington could not have done this if his troops had not been so well-trained to be willing to go through this exercise and then immediately change their routine and charge the enemy. Wellington's reward for this brilliant victory was to be made the commander over all of the allied troops. He was chosen then to lead the battle against an even greater foe: Napoleon himself, who Wellington defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. 
 

Faith and Patience

It was basically this same strategy that allowed Sam Houston to defeat the Mexican general Santa Anna and for the Russian general Kutozov to wear down Napoleon's massive army when he invaded Russia. In both of these cases, the armies were taken to the very limits of their endurance, grieving at what appeared to be the lack of the will to fight on the part of their commanders. However, both commanders were waiting for the proper time so that they could fight and win. Afterwards, they were considered geniuses for their patience. 

Few of the truly great commanders in history are ever referred to as "beloved," but rather "revered" or "respected." There are exceptions, but even they do not have one of their goals as winning a popularity contest. Victory brings far more true affection than trying to be a nice guy to everyone. If we are called to leadership, we will love our people far more, and in truth, we should be severe enough to train them right so that they do not die in the battle, but accomplish their purpose.

We must also consider how many well-meaning Christian leaders have attacked some of the great strongholds of our times too hastily, without the proper preparation, training of their people, or even having the strategy of the Lord. The result has been far too many defeats for God's people. It takes both "faith and patience" to inherit the promises of God. Many who have attacked these strongholds had faith, but they lacked patience, and so the only thing accomplished was that the saints became worn-out, and now, many have a defeatist mentality. 

This will change.