Joshua and the people had their marching orders and every day for a week, they walked around Jericho, blowing their trumpets but not saying a word:
Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 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. So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days. 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 (Joshua 6:12-15).
Have you ever wondered what the people inside Jericho were thinking? "What are they doing? That's stupid. How do they expect to take our city if all they use are trumpets? Why won't they fight?" The Israelites were thinking the same things, which is maybe why they were to maintain silence while they marched—so they would not talk to and discourage one another.
Also, the people could not take any shortcuts in carrying out what the Lord had directed them to do. They had to do their part, which was a daily march in silence for a week, and then and only then would God do His part. The concept is explained in Hebrews: "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised" (Hebrews 10:35-36, emphasis added).
What has God directed you to do? What promise has He made to you of what will happen when you do it? Are you being diligent to carry out His instructions? Are you expecting God to do His part before you do yours? Faith is a partnership, not like hotel room service where you order what you want and then wait for it to be delivered. The people walked, trumpeted, and kept quiet for seven days, and when they did, God gave them the victory. You do your part and just like He did at Jericho, God will do His.
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