The Battle Is The Lord's

Joshua 6 refuses to become only a flannel graph story with cardboard walls and little trumpets. The text puts every believer in front of something shut up tight: a habit lost to a thousand times, a prodigal who will not come home, a marriage that feels like a fortress, or a heart that will not soften toward God. The battle is the Lord’s, and so is the victory. God tells Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand,” before Israel marches a single lap. God’s finished work stands behind the sevens: seven priests, seven trumpets, seven days, and seven laps on the seventh day.

Fear without faith does not lead to surrender. Jericho feared the God of Israel, but its people locked the doors rather than bowing before Him. Faith trusts what God has declared even when the strategy does not make sense. God does not give Israel a siege plan, a weapon, or a human way to take the city. God gives them one call: obedience.

The ark stands at the center because Israel is not really marching around Jericho. God is going around the city and declaring, “This city is mine.” The people find safety not in their own movement but in following the presence of God. Silence also confronts Israel’s old signature sin of grumbling and complaining. Faith puts trust in God’s ways, not personal opinions, anxious plans, or the urge to take control and ask God to bless it afterward.

God wins after fifteen verses of faithful marching and one verse of falling walls. The shout does not make the walls crumble. The shout believes that God has already given the city. Israel’s teruah is not meant to scare Jericho but to welcome the King into land He already owns. Hebrews 11 says the walls fell “by faith,” because faith is only as strong as the One it trusts.

Rahab shows that judgment never cancels God’s mercy toward those who turn to Him. The scarlet cord marks her household for salvation while the city falls under long-delayed judgment. Rahab, a sinful outsider, enters the household of faith and the very lineage of Christ. Christ remains the center of salvation, and the question remains plain: Who is the object of faith? Walls, fears, children, work, health, retirement, and big decisions belong to God. God has already seen the outcome, and His people need His direction more than their own action.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Fear without faith locks the door. Fear can recognize God’s power while still refusing God’s rule. Jericho had heard what God had done, yet its fear only made the city shut itself tighter. Faith does more than tremble before God; faith surrenders to Him. [39:53]
• 2. God declares victory before battle. God’s “I have given” comes before Israel sees any evidence in the walls. Faith rests in God’s word when circumstances still look impossible. The wall may still be standing, but God is never waiting to discover the outcome. [40:58]
• 3. The ark must stay central. The ark, not Israel’s marching, carries the weight of the story. God’s people are secure when they follow His presence rather than trusting activity, plans, or church routines. Hunger for God must never get replaced by hunger for religious motion. [57:32]
• 4. The shout trusts God’s finished work. Israel’s shout does not manipulate God or produce a miracle through human volume. The shout gives praise to the King before the visible victory arrives. Faith looks at the wall and says, “God, do Your work.” [1:01:31]
• 5. Rahab’s scarlet cord reveals mercy. Rahab sees the same God Jericho fears, but she turns to Him in faith. God spares her household and brings her into the line of David and Christ. Salvation belongs to those who look to God, not to those with the cleanest past. [1:06:30]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [33:18] - When Life Feels Shut Up Tight
• [34:28] - Jericho Is Not Just a Children’s Story
• [36:24] - The Battle and Victory Belong to God
• [38:53] - God Declares Victory Before the Battle
• [39:53] - Fear Without Faith
• [42:24] - Trusting God With Sin, Family, and Fear
• [48:03] - The Ark at the Center
• [51:45] - Silence, Obedience, and Listening to God
• [57:32] - Keeping God at the Center of the Church
• [59:11] - Faithfulness Before the Walls Fall
• [1:01:31] - The Shout of Faith
• [1:02:56] - Judgment, Mercy, and Jericho
• [1:04:48] - Rahab and the Scarlet Cord
• [1:07:25] - Who Are You Looking To?

Bible Reading

Joshua 6:1-20
“Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city.” [33:18]

Hebrews 11:30
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.” [01:02:40]

Joshua 2:9-11
“And she said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” [39:57]

Observation questions

1. What details in Joshua 6 show that Jericho was shut up because its people feared Israel’s God, and what had Rahab already reported about that fear in Joshua 2:9–11? [39:57]
2. Before Israel begins marching, what does the Lord say He has already given to Joshua, and what instructions does He give for the seven days? [37:04]
3. What place does the ark have in the procession around Jericho, and what does that show about who was leading Israel? [51:11]
4. What happens immediately before the walls fall, and how does Hebrews 11:30 describe the reason the walls fell? [01:02:40]

Interpretation questions

1. Jericho feared God’s power but shut its gates rather than surrendering. What is the difference between being afraid of God and trusting Him with a surrendered faith? [40:07]
2. Why is it important that God says, “I have given” Jericho to Israel before the walls fall? How does that shape the meaning of faith when the outcome cannot yet be seen? [40:51]
3. Israel’s main task was not to invent a battle plan but to follow the ark in obedience. What does this reveal about the difference between religious activity and genuinely following God’s direction? [58:35]
4. Rahab and the rest of Jericho had heard about the same God, yet Rahab turned to Him in faith. What does her rescue show about God’s judgment, mercy, and the kind of faith that saves? [01:06:24]

Application questions

1. What “wall” in your life currently feels shut up tight—a repeating sin, a strained relationship, a family concern, a health fear, or a major decision? Where have you been trying to force an outcome instead of bringing it before God? [33:21]
2. Fear without faith can make people either shut down or become frantic and controlling. When you feel afraid, what is your usual response, and what would it look like to bring that fear to God in prayer and trust? [42:17]
3. God’s people were told to be silent as they followed Him. Is there an area where grumbling, constant opinions, or anxious talking is keeping you from listening to God? What simple practice could help you slow down and seek Him this week? [53:24]
4. The ark was at the center of Israel’s march, reminding them that their safety was found in God’s presence. What competes for the center of your life right now—your plans, work, family, finances, health, or reputation—and how can you put God back at the center? [57:37]
5. Israel shouted because the Lord had given them the city, not because their shout could make the walls fall. What would it look like for you to praise God and obey Him before you see the answer you are waiting for? [01:01:31]
6. Rahab’s past did not keep her from receiving mercy when she looked to God in faith. Is there guilt, shame, or a past failure that makes it hard for you to believe God receives you? How does Rahab’s story encourage you to look to Christ rather than to your record? [01:07:25]
7. It is possible to know Christ as Savior while still trying to carry certain burdens alone. What area of your life do you most need to surrender afresh to God’s direction rather than relying on your own action? [01:10:01]