Joshua 6

HERE we get two things brought out into distinctness: the world and the power that overcomes it. It is a great matter to get distinctness. Joshua says, " Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? " There is nothing between; there can be no mistake about it. There is nothing visible for us. It is a great thing to start upon heavenly ground with the knowledge that there is nothing visible for you. The visible is against you; the invisible is for you. " We see him that is invisible." So it is "faith that overcometh the world."
I think Jericho is the system of the world; a city is properly a centralization. When Eve looked away from God she took the world. What she took was good in itself; it was the taking it apart from God that made it bad. The world in itself is not bad-not what we call the kosmos. But it says, " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world; " it necessarily becomes attractive to a man, and, though in itself not bad, yet, if you let yourself be occupied by it, you lose the power that- is to keep you through it; you make the visible thing the thing that you rely on. Any one with practical experience at all, knows what a difficult thing it is to get rid of the visible-to go on as if it were not there, knowing all the time that it is. The one who only is able to overcome it, is " he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God." I have to do with the Person who has overcome it, and with the dignity of that Person: He is " the Son of God." Any believer knows that He is the Son of man-the Christ; but how much do you know Him as the Sou of God? If you believe that God sent some one into the world to deliver you from the consequences of your sin, then you are a converted man. I think a very little thing saves a soul-the smallest sight of Christ; it is the happiness of God to do it, as we read, " the gospel of the happy God; " but it takes a Very great thing to make a soul walk like Christ.
Now the mode of contending with the world is very important. What is the mode of warfare? It is a well-known thing that everyone looks to the general for the order of battle. The order with Nelson was, Do not wait for any particular thing, but hit the enemy whenever you, can. Now the order we find here is most interesting; you are not to attack the enemy, but he cannot touch you. This brings us to the practical value of keeping the law. You must be a righteous man or you will not be able to stand- the enemy; that is the armor. You cannot enter the land but by keeping the law, and, to overcome in the warfare, you must be free from the aspersions of Satan. There may be plenty of reproach, but that will not hinder so long as there is righteousness and so on.
"Ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war. It is an honorable position to be a man of war; it is a great thing to be one. Our fighting ships. are called men of war.
And they were to go round about the city once, a day for six days. What is that, now? suppose it means that it is to be a continued-thing; there is to be put no limit to it. You are to go on the whole time; it is the six days of work, and we work until the day of rest comes. Then do we never get the advantage of the world until the end? We do; but we do not get the full victory until the end; we have victory all the time, but the wall does not fall down until the end. We start with the knowledge that we are not to put our armor off till then.. " Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast him self as he that putteth it off." Your purpose is to go on the whole time; and the great principle is that the enemy cannot touch you; you are invulnerable, and if you are invulnerable you are invincible. A man can move about among his worldly friends, or; worse still, relatives, and say, You cannot touch me, I am encased in armor. But a child in a. worldly family, if it, go in for playing croquet and so on, it is lost. Then would you never enter into any amusement? Yes; I would play chess with a child that was sick, for instance; but I would not play with my equal, for that would be for my own amusement. It is remarkable, however great may be the reproach, that in times of pressure the pious one in a family is always the one who will be turned to by the others. As we are told of John Newton in his unconverted days, there was a pious coxswain on board, and, a storm coming on, there was no safe place in all the ship for John to sit in but alongside the pious coxswain.
The heavenly man is himself personally weak; he has no strength to show. The natural desire in us is to wish to show our ability, but we can only take the place of helplessness; and that is the place of power. We must always carry with us the remembrance that we are across Jordan-that we are dead men, and therefore perfectly helpless in a human point of view. It was what you would call a very ridiculous thing-this marching round Jericho; there they were, all these aimed men, and seven priests bearing seven trumpets of ram's horns: the armor was character, and the trumpets dependence. There they went-armed men, priests, and trumpets-and I do not see any power that you have. No, you do not; you may not see it, but you will feel it some day.
I think God often lets us get into such a place as this, that we may just feel our dependence before He brings in His power. Just as in the shipwreck in Paul's day; all looked very hopeless at first, but every one was saved in the end, though it was on broken pieces of the ship. If 'man has rejected Christ, and has been the instrument of His rejection, God, if he ever use him again, must do so where nothing can come out of man. It must be walking on the water, now, where man is nothing. Man, except as a vessel, is entirely set aside by God; even Paul was not able to use his natural abilities; he first tried by prayer to have the thorn removed, but he ends by accepting it, as he says " that the power of Christ may rest upon me;" and therefore his letters were better than his speaking, taking them as merely human works.
What is the force of the tenth verse? I always connect it with a saying of dear Mr. Bellett's, That the time was not come yet for us to sing aloud-to shout; you cannot call upon every one to praise the Lord; it is not the day of victory -it is not the universal hymn yet: " The words of wise men are heard in quiet." It is very remarkable, in every department, the quietness with which a man issues his orders if he is sure of power, The not shouting here is, I think, that you are not to anticipate-not even in a certain way, to speak of your expectations-not to tell the world what will be done some day.
I have two characteristics: I am an armed man defying the world, and I am praying to God because I have no strength. If I look at Satan I am not a bit afraid; I can stand in armor against Satan. But with God I am only dependent; the armor is not a bit of use Godward. People often turn it just the other way round, and think that, if 'they are behaving well, they will get what they want out of God; and they meanwhile pray against Satan. In that way I object to people saying, Let us pray about a thing, unless they act according to their light at the same time. People just pray to ease their consciences; they are often like Balaam: they know what they ought to do, but they do not like it, and so they pray to relieve their consciences for their negligence: The great, thing in prayer is, not so much that I am going to God about anything, as that I have learned from Him how to act. The day is come when our mouths should be opened with all boldness. That verse in Ephesians is a very remarkable 'one; chapter 6:19. The apostle is in prison, at the time; and his desire is "that utterance may be given unto me that I may open my mouth boldly." It does not appear that he ever got the desired opportunity himself; so that the answer to that prayer we ought to be. Philippians would be the answer to it: " Many waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear."
It is remarkable that one of these seven days must have been the Sabbath. If they began to go round on the first day of the week, this seventh day would be it.
Verses 17-19.-It was all belonging to God, but yet they were not to touch it. It is a very bright opening to their story in the land, showing us with distinctness the power of God. And yet at this very moment Achan comes in and lays hold of two things which corrupt the whole of society-money and dress.
As to what Jericho is in itself, I think it is, " The world will hate you." It is the world as against Christ. It is not merely that you can take it or leave it as you like; it is antagonistic. They were encroaching on it, 'and this it would not stand. In Revelation you get " The synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not; " they are the very ones who interfere and hinder. There is no place to which Paul goes where the Jews are not his opponents. I question whether a person comes in conflict with this if he be not on heavenly ground. Many a saint is in conflict with his own temper, evil tastes, and so on, and has never got to standing against the world for Christ. It is the world against Christ that Jericho is. If a man be turned out of his employment for Christ, shunned because he is standing faithfully for Him, I say that is Jericho.
And I have seen most remarkable instances of the walls falling. down just as they did here. I remember a father who said to his daughter, " You must not go to any meetings except the morning meeting, and you may not visit any one." I said, on being asked as to this, " Do just what you are told." And in a very short time afterward, he said, "Why do you not go to see some of your, friends, or ask some of them here? " The walls fell down. I say, Never give up your conscience, but submit to the limitation of your liberty. God has to do with my conscience, though man may have to do with my liberty as a human being. But where saints fail is in asserting their rights, and then they become refractory. It is grievous: when the ordinance of God and Christ's service clash. This is what Satan is always aiming at-seeking " to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." The principles that God lays down in Scripture are the ones we are to act upon. We all have different difficulties-a different world to meet-but it is everything to walk with God in obedience to Him. A wife who goes to the Establishment now and then with her husband to conciliate him, has lost all power. But, if she be thoroughly faithful to her light, she will yet see the walls fall down.
Verse 23.-All her house! What a wonderful thing! How God delights to include all that our hearts are set upon in the blessing! The wonderful bountifulness of God! He loves to do everything in a magnificent way; there is no smallness in His acts.
Verses 24-27.- Who do you think was the youngest son My impression is that it is Antichrist. Jericho, this world-city, was begun, in Adam, the eldest son; and it will be ended in Antichrist, the last man. " Now is the prince of this world judged."