Spiritual Victoryjoshua 6:1-27

Spiritual VictoryJoshua 6:1-27

Rev. Min Chung

Introduction

Spiritual victory. Last week, we talked about spiritual preparation. As they prepared to have victory in Jericho, this passage is about the victory they had in Jericho. When we think about “victory,” we can misunderstand. We’re not talking about victory as in getting something we want, we’re talking about spiritual victory. Normal victory is getting what we want, spiritual victory is getting what HE wants. Normal victory is about getting temporary joy and pleasure, spiritual victory is about getting eternal joy and pleasure. We want to learn about spiritual victory as we look into this passage because we can misapply and think, “Oh, we can always get what we want, we can have victory.” But this passage is about spiritual victory as we talk about redemptive history.

1. Understanding spiritual victory

-Joshua 6:9

When we look at verse 9, the armed men were walking before the priests who were blowing the trumpets. That’s how they won. Think about that – armed men, soldiers, walking before the priests. Soldiers, priests – together, to have victory at the wall of Jericho. As soon as the Israelites started to conquer Canaan, one of the key cities – Jericho – and they’re winning with soldiers walking before the priests who were blowing the trumpets to make sure that the Israelites understood that it was a spiritual war. Trumpets of the priests and swords of the soldiers, together. Spiritual priests and physical battle. Spiritual battle in physical battle. Spiritual victory through physical battle. There’s worship with priests and war with soldiers. There was instruction of the king to the priests and destruction of the enemy through the soldiers. Just to make sure we understand that this is a spiritual victory, we need to see the victory in this passage redemptively, for spiritual and redemptive purposes. We can see that there are spiritual victories, not only in victories but also in defeats.

A.In defeats

1. Unbelievers may be in need of God

For both believers and unbelievers, there could be spiritual victories. Unbelievers may be in need of God. When there’s suffering, defeat, hardships, when people don’t get what they want, suddenly hardships come, defeat comes, death comes – unbelievers may be in need of God. Thinking about life, thinking about God – “I need a higher being.” In defeats there can be spiritual victory.

1. Unbelievers may be warned in love for the coming eternal justice

When hardships come, when death surrounds us, we may think God hates those people who are facing death. But we have to understand that anything minus eternal death is a love warning of God. If God really hated us, there would be no two particles of us left. No matter what hardships and difficulties we face in this life, they’re still love warnings from God. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even exist.

As we see in this passage, the city of Jericho was “devoted,” meaning everything and everyone had to be destroyed. We can look at that and think, “Whoa, God hated them,” but you have to realize that they lived until now. Death is ordained for everyone sometime in life, and God uses to all those things to love other people as well, if people are dying at that moment. Death is ordained for everyone. God uses life, and God also uses our deaths. We don’t know how God has been warning them in their lives – we just don’t know how God works in each person’s life, and it’s hard to judge based on one’s – or many people’s – life(ves).

We know in this passage that they were warned for seven days. Israel walked around for seven days. Why? Why didn’t God just destroy Jericho on the first day? Seven days they walked around, giving them a chance to surrender, but they did not. We know that they heard the Israelites. When we looked at the last chapter last week at Joshua 5:1, people were scared. They had heard of the Israelites and could have easily given up and received the God of Israel, but they did not. That’s why Rahab the prostitute was mentioned a couple of times in this passage, to show that God would have accepted them, forgiven them. Then it would have been receiving blessings. We usually have to show mercy and grace to others, but sometimes He uses us to exercise justice to show them a love warning that an eternal justice is coming.

1. Believers may be disciplined for their sins to hate their sin and love God more

Even in hardship, suffering, and defeat, there can be spiritual victory. We can grow, we can hate sin. We can love Christ more.

1. Believers may be used by God to picture the suffering Christ

As we go through hardships, God may be strengthening us inside to show Christ through us, so that people can see the strengthening gift of Christ through us, that they can be blessed. How many times do believers go through sickness and hardship and difficulty and they show the love of Jesus Christ - and people are much more blessed in those times. So in defeats there can be spiritual victories…but also in our victories.

B.In victories

1. Unbelievers may be used for God’s purpose

As we look into this passage, both believers and unbelievers, of course there can be spiritual victories. Few things here – first, unbelievers can be used for God’s purpose. Why do things go well for unbelievers? They don’t believe in God. Even some evil people. Well, unbelievers can be used for God’s purpose. God can be showing justice through them to us. For example, God uses the superpower nations to judge the Israelites. Things go well with them because God is using them to discipline the Israelites. Also, they can be doing well because God wants to use them to free the Israelites. For example, the Persian king, Cyrus – cruel, but was used to free the Israelites in history of Israel. Government is always like that. Many unbelievers in the government all over the world – God may be using them to exercise justice, restrain evil, and protect people. Otherwise, there might be much more injustice going on. Also, God may be using them to discipline even believers in this world. Unbelievers may be used for God’s purpose in their victories.

1. Unbelievers may have temporary pleasure which accentuatestheir pain, to eventually need God

Why do things go well for awhile for unbelievers? God may be setting them up, so that as they taste pleasure, their fall would be a lot more painful. Then they would eventually need God. So God out of love is always warning them so that they can repent.

1. Unbelievers may be left alone in judgment

Why are things going so well in their victories? Things are going well for them. Romans 1 says that when people do not repent, God may be leaving them alone. It looks like they’re having success, but God may be leaving them alone. As we look into the Scripture, they are heaping up judgement upon them and their lives.

1. Believers may be used to show the power of God, the victory of Christ, and theirimpendingeternal victory

The victories of our lives are to picture the power of God, victory of Christ, and eternal victory that is coming. You see, it’s just a glimpse and a picture of it. It’s nothing compared to what’s coming – it’s to show resurrection power.

1. Believers may be used to exercise justice to others, to point to the coming eternal justice

The fourth and fifth points show how God is using the Israelites in this victory in Jericho. God is showing His power and exercising justice to the Canaanites in Jericho. They were a very sinful and evil people, and God may be using [the Israelites] to give them a chance to repent.

C.Spiritual victory

In the next chapter, we’re going to see the Israelites getting defeated, not winning, in a city called Ai. In that situation, why do the people of Ai -who do not believe in God - win? It might for the first and second reasons. The people of Ai are being used for God’s purpose to discipline His people because His people sinned. So, the point is that God is using these victories and defeats for spiritual victory. Again, do not misuse this passage for victory – a physical and temporary victory. We have to look at this as a spiritual victory. What is spiritual victory? It’s when Jesus wins. When we love Christ more. When we hate sin. When Jesus is shown through us. It’s when Jesus wins, and that can happen in our defeats as well as victories. It’s when He is glorified, when God is glorified. When the people of God love Christ more and hate sin and through them, the whole world may see Jesus in us and through us – so that they can come to know Him. The Old Testament is a physical and historical illustration for our spiritual and redemptive historical truth, and that’s how we have to see this passage.

1. Trusting for spiritual victory

A.We need to grow in our trust of God

-Joshua 6:20

We have some understanding of the theological background, so let’s look at the text - trying to get the lesson for spiritual victory. First, we need to grow in our trust of God. Let’s look at 6:20 – people shouted. How did the walls of Jericho come down? People shouted! Trumpets were blown! What does that do??! They’re physical objects. A great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight in before him, and they captured the city. You know, it was out of faith and trust in God. Faith is the condition of the believer’s heart. Only believers can have this faith, so when you initially trust in Jesus Christ, your heart, another heart – we’re born with a sinful heart – but another heart, a spiritual heart is born. And now, because we have two natures, we can not believe or believe, we need to have a condition of heart that is believing, because even as believers there are times when we will believe and not believe. When Peter was walking on water, he saw Jesus and walked on water – he was believing. When he saw the wind and waves, he was not believing, so what happens? He goes into the water. Faith is the condition of the heart, the believer’s heart. So we must grow in our trust, constantly believing more than not believing, constantly having a habit of believing. So we must grow in our trust of God – we gotta know how to do that. The Israelites went through three stages in their lives: slavery in Egypt, traveling in the desert for forty years being trained, and now they’re entering into the land of Canaan – the third stage - fighting, serving, and grown up. They changed from a slave’s mentality in Egypt to a soldier’s mentality in the land of Canaan. Where did that happen? In the desert. There was a training ground, and they needed to grow in their trust of God. That needs to happen in our lives. We need to grow in our trust of God.

B.We can grow in our trust of God

How can we grow? Three things here. Now we have the capability to believe, trust in our hearts because we are believers in Jesus Christ. We must get into the habit of changing the condition of hearts constantly.

1. Seeing problems

-Joshua 6:1

None went out, none came in. They shut themselves. That’s a problem, isn’t it? It’s not like, “Wow, that’s nothing.” We see the problem. The problem is real, the problem is big, the problem is huge – it’s hard to go into Jericho. We’ve got to see the problem in a realistic way, that’s the first thing. I’m not saying be blind to your problem. No, the Christian life is realistic. We’ve got see our problem, we need to assess it, we need to know the difficulty of the problem because the greater the difficulty we see, greater faith we can have as we see God overcome it.

1. Seeing God

-Joshua 6:2

This is the key – I’m going to elaborate on this. You’ve got to learn to see God! Always see God who is always bigger than the problems. Verse 2 says. “See, I have given Jericho into your hands, with its king and its mighty men of valor.” You see, forty years before this in the book of Numbers, Moses sent twelve spies to the land of Canaan. Ten spies saw the Canaanites and said, “Whoa, we’re like grasshoppers in their eyes. We’re small.” Joshua (now the leader after forty years) and Caleb said, “God gave them to us. We’re going to have them for lunch.” Ten spies saw the people. Joshua and Caleb saw God. You’ve got to learn to see God. You have to see the people. They saw the people, but they saw God who is greater than the people. Ten saw the problems. Joshua and Caleb saw the promises. Ten were slaves to fear. Two were freed by faith. Habit of having the condition of faith in our hearts.

What you see besides God will lead to either discouragement because the task is too hard, or faith because you’re excited to see how God is going to help you overcome this problem. We can’t always listen to the pessimistic noise of unbelief. The people listened to that and believed faithless gibberish. Instead of the promise, trusting the words of Caleb and Joshua, they listened to the other spies. Faith is seeing God in every situation, hearing God’s promises through every faithless noise. Why is it important to see God? Because that’s the most important thing, right? I used to ice skate in Korea when I was in elementary school. We didn’t have an indoor ice skating rink in Korea during those days – we’re talking thirty, forty years ago, something like that –and we have to see if the ice is thick enough. Sometimes, the ice breaks and you fall inside. We want so badly for it to be thick enough that we say, “We believe! We trust!” No matter how much we believed, if the ice was not thick enough, it did not matter how much I believed that it was. It doesn’t matter how much faith you have in thin ice. If you walk on it, you might fall through it. But if you have the exact same faith in thick ice, because of the greatness of the object, faith is valid. That is how we have to see God. Our faith is as thick as the object of our faith. Our faith is only as valid as the greatness and faithfulness of the object of our faith. You must see the “big-ness” of God more and more through the Word because He is infinitely big. You have to see Him. You’ve got to learn how to see Him through the Word and every circumstance of our lives.

How can I know if I’m trusting myself or God? The grasshopper test. The world compares the size of their enemies to themselves. “Oh, they’re big, and we’re grasshoppers!” Faith compares the size of obstacles and enemies to God and say, “They are like grasshoppers.” Test: what is the grasshopper – you or your enemies and obstacles? Do you have courage because God is with you, or fear because you are by yourself in the midst of your obstacles and your enemies? Are you a grasshopper, or are you a conqueror? That’s one of the points of Matthew 17:20. It says that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed – which is the smallest seed that the Israelites could talk about – you can move mountains. What’s the point? It’s not talking about the greatness of faith but the greatness of God. God is so great that even if you only have faith the size of a mustard seed for a moment, it can move the mountain. It’s not the quantity of faith but the quality of the object of faith. That’s why you’ve got to learn to see God.

Some of you are discouraged by failing your summer resolutions already. Look at the Israelites who went through forty years of failures! I hope you are not like that. And now they’re ready. You see, God is not as interested in your failures as much as the response to those failures. You’ve got to grow. What do you do after you fail? Learn, move on, go forth, and make another resolution and start to see God in the midst of it. We must trust and look at Him so we can move mountains in our lives. What is your Jericho? Keep walking around it – it will fall down. Spiritual victory.

1. See the problems as opportunities for the greater glory of God

-Joshua 6:20

See God as not one who hinders but nurtures us, and He fulfills His redemptive history. Joshua 6:20 says that the trumpets were blown, a great shout, the walls fell flat, and every man went straight up into the city before him and captured the city. This great wall fell down. When you see it, think of it – if the obstacle or hardship is greater, then greater is the power of God manifested. Rather than thinking, “Great obstacle – I’m in trouble,” think “Greater obstacle – greater glory of God will be manifested.”

In the past, I remember counseling this sweet 80-year-old lady. She committed different kinds of sin in her life: adultery, divorce, remarriage, riddled with guilt, consequences. She just could not get rid of her guilt. She still felt guilty even after forty years. She just could not see anything else except for her sins. “Can’t you see the greatness of God? Your sin is great, yes, but God’s mercy is greater. Great mercy that is as endless as the sea. The blood of Jesus is more powerful than any sin you can commit with your hands in your life. You’ve got to see the greatness of God. Whatever your problem is, whatever your guilt is, whatever your sin is, you’ve got to seethe greatness of God. God is always greater. Faith is a byproduct, a result. Don’t try to generate faith, just see God and His greatness every moment of your life. Faith is the condition of your heart as a result of seeing God.