SCRIPTURE UNION DAILY DEVOTIONAL – DISCOVERY (USA)
Scripture Union Discovery 5th February 2025 Devotional Message for Wednesday
TOPIC: The Fall of Jericho
Opening Prayer
Loving Father, thank you that you never turn me away when I come to you. As I meet with you today in your Word, show me how to serve you with greater faith and confidence.
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Read JOSHUA 5:13–6:20
The Fall of Jericho
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[a] have for his servant?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
6 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March 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. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”
6 So 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.” 7 And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”
8 When 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. 9 The 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. 10 But 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!” 11 So 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.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14 So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! 17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted[b] to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent.
18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”
20 When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.
Reflect
Bring to God today any problematic situation that looms large before you and seems to be without solution. The God who caused Jericho to fall is your God. He is able!
The conquest of Jericho begins with Joshua’s encounter with a mysterious armed stranger who turns out to be commander of the army of the Lord (5:13–15). This heavenly figure is probably the angel of the Lord (a term that can mean either a messenger of God or possibly God himself in the Old Testament), or even, as some suggest, a pre- incarnate appearance of Jesus. Either way, it is a moment for Joshua to surrender himself to God before the battle and recognize that Israel is not fighting for God: God is fighting for them.
This is an amazing story of the power of God to demolish strongholds and deal with impossibilities. It is all God’s doing, and victory is given, not gained. Yet it requires faith on the part of Israel to follow the rather unorthodox battle plan given to Joshua. It must have required great self-control to march around the city so many times in silence, apart from the trumpets blowing (vv. 6–11). Once again, the ark symbolizes the presence of God, the key ingredient in the heavenly strategy. Finally, on the last time around as they give a battle cry, the walls come tumbling down, a pure act of God (6:20).
Apply
The way through difficult circumstances often begins with yielding to God and asking that his will be done. Remember that the battle belongs to the Lord.
Closing prayer
In faith, Father, I lay my burdens at your feet, yielding to your way for me, knowing that nothing is too difficult for you.
Scripture Union Discovery 5th February 2025 © 2025 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved.
