God’s Creative Battle Plans – Jericho and the Shout of Praise

God’s Creative Battle Plans – Jericho and the Shout of Praise.

“Yahweh is a warrior! Yahweh is His Name! (Exodus 15:3).

Moses and Miriam in their famous Song at the Red Sea, were the first ones to describe the Lord as a warrior. And throughout Scripture, God was identified as a warrior ever since. The Hebrew word for warrior in this passage is “ish milhamah,” which means man of war, warrior, champion, hero, fighter, mighty man. God’s stature as a fighter was taken up by the prophets, like David, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zephaniah.

The Fierce Warrior with a Vivid Imagination. Lord Yahweh, as we would expect, was not just any common fighter. He was a warrior with the divine imagination that created completely unpredictable battle plans for every conflict between an enemy of God and His Chosen People. In Scripture, the Warrior-King was the master of unconventional warfare, unexpected schemes that would leave people scratching their heads in surprise or shaking their heads in amazement. God’s strategies were so diverse that they might appear to be random, but of course they were divinely orchestrated. His battle strategies to victory were well outside the human imagination, in such a way that the faith of His fighters on the ground was tested.  It became obvious to His fighting men, though, that God was going about this battle in a completely different way than they would, and they were wise when they trusted in Him.

Jesus and Jericho. “Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man was standing opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand, and Joshua went to Him and said to Him, ‘Are you with us or for our enemies?’ And He said, ‘No, rather I indeed come now as Captain of the host of Yahweh.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to Him, ‘What has my Lord to say to His servant?’ And the Captain of Yahweh’s host said to Joshua, ‘Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so.” (Joshua 5:13-15). 

So the Israelites have finally reached the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering. Moses has died and his disciple Joshua has taken command of the Chosen People. “Joshua was filled with the Spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. The people of Israel listened obediently to Joshua and did the same as when God had commanded Moses.” (Deut. 34:10-12). God had earlier commissioned Joshua to take over the leadership of the Israelites, and now the time has come to take the Land.

In Joshua 5, the first big test for Joshua and the Israelites was the gateway city to the Promised Land, Jericho. Jericho was perhaps the oldest and best fortified city in the ancient world, with walls as high as 30 feet and as thick as 12 feet, made of hardened sun-dried bricks. In fact, it was the first walled city in recorded history. Jericho was considered to be invincible, because its walls were strengthened with at least one massive stone tower. Jericho was not, though, a huge city. The city’s population was around 3,000 people, and it was only about 9 acres. It only took about 30 minutes to march around its perimeter. Joshua was commander of the Israelite army, and was waiting for his marching orders from Yahweh. While camping near the city, Joshua was confronted by a mysterious Man, who stood there with a sword drawn in His hand. (5:13-15). This Man identified Himself as the Commander of Yahweh’s army. Joshua immediately fell on his face before Him and worshiped Him. Joshua asked this Commander what He had to say to him, and the first thing this Man said was to take off his sandals, for they were standing on holy ground. By no means was this a typical angel. Joshua wouldn’t have worshiped an angel, and the angel wouldn’t have allowed that to happen. Holy ground only occurs in the presence of God Himself. This Commander was indeed Jesus Christ, ready to give the unusual battle plans to Joshua. Just as Moses was confronted by Jesus on holy ground with the burning bush, Joshua was likewise confronted by Jesus on holy ground outside of Jericho.

The Divine Number of Seven. As their conversation continued, “Yahweh said to Joshua, ‘See, I have given Jericho into your hand!” (6:2). And then the divine Commander Jesus, the Messenger of Yahweh, proceeded to lay out the head-scratching strategy for taking over Jericho. Joshua, filled with faith in this heavenly Commander, followed these instructions to the letter. With its dependence on the number 7, this is evidently the perfect battle plan:

… Have 7 priests, each bearing a shofar, march in front of the Ark of the Covenant, representing God’s presence. March around the city, continuously blowing the shofars, once a day for 6 days;

… On the 7th day, march around the city 7 times, with the priests blowing their shofars;

… At the 7th circuit around the city, Joshua will yell SHOUT!, and all the people will shout at the top of their lungs, and the walls will fall flat.

Ruwa: a Hebrew word meaning… to shout joyfully; to make a joyful noise; literally, to split the ears with sound; to shout a victory cheer in honor of God; to cry aloud at the top of your lungs; to shout aloud in triumph; to make a loud noise of praise; to shout out a war cry before going into battle; to shout out in celebration of God’s goodness and blessing. A related Hebrew word of praise is Ranan, which means exactly the same thing as ruwa.

Ruwa is an important word in Jewish history, in addition to all the psalms. Ruwa was the operative word in God’s instructions to the Israelites as they engaged in their first battle in the Promised Land. “So the people shouted (ruwa) and the priests blew their trumpets; and it came about when the people heard the sound of the trumpets, that the people shouted (ruwa) with a great shout (ruwa), and the walls of Jericho fell down flat… and the people took the city.” (Joshua 6:20).

The Adventist Vocal Ensemble – Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho

Victory. And the rest is history, biblical history. Jericho was routed, Joshua and his people defeated the once invincible city. Joshua the human commander had the faith needed to submit to the divine Commander. And the battle was won. As far as history is concerned, the ancient ruins of Jericho have been excavated, and the archeologists have commented that it appears the walls fell straight down into the ground. It’s as if the walls were pushed from above downward from some powerful force. Interesting.

The Shofar: The blowing of the shofar signifies the historical importance of Abraham’s faith on Mt. Moriah, on which a ram was caught in the thicket and sacrificed in place of beloved son Isaac. The Jewish identity and imagination was fed and nurtured on this story, and no doubt thought of Abraham and Isaac every time they heard the priest blast his shofar. The cow’s horn was forbidden, because the Jewish worship of the golden calf was a major, embarrassing blemish in their family history. There seem to be four scriptural reasons given in ancient Israel to blow the shofar: to summon faithful believers to God’s presence; to sound a battle alarm at God’s command, such as the destruction of Jericho by Joshua and his crew; to anoint a new king; and finally, for specific ceremonies when the shofar was centrally featured, such a Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of the Trumpets in Psalm 81), and the arrival of the Jubilee every 50th year, when all debts were forgiven and all slaves were freed.

Over the Top. God seems to keep outdoing Himself in creative battle plans… This time it involved the preincarnate Jesus giving the battle plans in person, marching around a walled city, blowing loudly on their holy trumpets, accompanying the sacred Ark of the Covenant, and then finally yelling out a shout of praise!