“REMEMBER WHEN” Pt II | ”BUILT FOR THE BATTLE” | Pastor Keith Barreto | 11/08/26

Jericho stands securely shut, but God has already declared that the city belongs to Israel. The walls look impossible, and the battle plan sounds nothing like a battle plan: march, bring the priests, carry the ark, and sound the horns. Yet before Joshua six comes Joshua five. Before God changes what stands in front of his people, he prepares what is inside them. Prayer matters, but prayer cannot become an excuse for refusing obedience, self-discipline, or the hard work of growing up.

God prepares Israel through circumcision, Passover, and the end of the manna. Circumcision renews the covenant sign and establishes that these people belong to God before they become warriors. Passover brings yesterday’s redemption into tomorrow’s battle. For believers, that foundation is Christ, the Passover sacrifice: identity begins with what Jesus has done, not with religious duties or personal accomplishments. When the manna stops, God’s provision changes, but his faithfulness does not. A different season does not mean an absent God.

Joshua’s encounter with the commander of the Lord’s army brings another necessary adjustment. Preparation does not put Joshua in charge. God is not waiting to join Joshua’s side; Joshua must submit to God’s authority. Wanting Jesus as Savior while resisting him as Lord leaves that surrender unfinished.

Surrender changes how believers face hard things. It makes room for faithfulness without recognition, forgiveness through pain, and continued obedience when nothing looks different. “Don’t quit on six” names the temptation to stop before God’s appointed completion.

Still, neither the march nor the shofar carries magical power. The power belongs to God and the word he has spoken. Neither a standing wall nor a past failure gets to name those who belong to Christ. Jesus carried sin and shame, died, and rose again. Being built before the battle means knowing who holds the final word and whose people stand before the wall.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Belonging Comes Before The Battle. God renews Israel’s covenant identity before sending the people against Jericho. Their deepest identity rests in whose they are, not in what they can accomplish. For believers, service and responsibility must grow out of belonging to Christ rather than become substitutes for it. [40:15]
• 2. Changed Provision Does Not Mean Abandonment. The manna stops because Israel has entered a different season, not because God has stopped being faithful. A familiar pattern of provision can end without God withdrawing his care. Spiritual maturity learns to trust the same God even when his provision no longer arrives in the same way. [43:13]
• 3. Preparation Never Makes Believers The Commander. Joshua approaches the drawn sword with a question about sides, but the encounter establishes who is actually in charge. Being equipped for responsibility does not give a believer authority over God’s plans. Surrender means moving beyond requests for rescue and allowing the Lord to direct the life he saves. [50:00]
• 4. Faithfulness Continues While The Wall Stands. Day six represents the strain of obeying while nothing appears to change. Continued prayer, generosity, and faithfulness can feel pointless when the same trouble remains in view. The call to keep going rests on God’s faithfulness, not on the assumption that visible movement must accompany every obedient step. [55:10]
• 5. Failure Does Not Get Naming Rights. Neither the shofar nor the march brought Jericho down through power of its own; the power belonged to God. In the same way, a believer’s identity does not rest in a method, a victory, or a record without failure. Christ’s death and resurrection mean that shame, rejection, and the past do not get the final word. [1:00:23]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [27:29] - Built Before The Battle
• [29:01] - Jericho And God’s Unusual Battle Plan
• [35:00] - Prayer Must Lead To Obedience
• [36:47] - Preparation Comes Before Jericho
• [40:15] - Covenant Identity Before Military Victory
• [41:45] - Passover And The Memory Of Redemption
• [43:13] - The Manna Stops, God Remains Faithful
• [44:17] - Small Preparation Matters Later
• [47:26] - Joshua Meets The Lord’s Commander
• [51:35] - Relationship With God Defines Identity
• [54:53] - Do Not Quit On Six
• [56:52] - The Shofar And The Shout
• [1:00:23] - God’s Power, Not A Magic Method
• [1:01:24] - Jesus Has The Final Word

Bible Reading

Joshua 6:1-5
“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.” [29:29]

Joshua 5:1-15
“As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel. At that time the Lord said to Joshua, 'Make flint knives and circumcise the people of Israel again the second time.' So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the people of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord; the Lord swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. And the Lord said to Joshua, 'Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.' And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, 'Are you for us, or for our adversaries?' And he said, 'No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, 'What does my lord say to his servant?' And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, 'Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.' And Joshua did so.” [36:47]

1 Corinthians 5:7
“Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” [42:46]

Observation questions

1. What three events in Joshua 5 prepare Israel before the battle, and what does each reveal about Israel’s relationship with God? [40:03]
2. In Joshua 5:10–12, what do the Israelites eat around the time the manna stops? What changes in their provision, and what continues? [43:13]
3. In Joshua 5:13–15, how does Joshua’s approach to the commander change during their encounter? What actions show that change? [47:26]
4. In Joshua 6:1–5, what contrast stands out between Jericho’s condition, God’s announcement, and the instructions Israel receives? [52:27]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does it matter that God renews Israel’s covenant identity and reminds them of redemption before the battle? How does the connection to Christ in 1 Corinthians 5:7 help explain the foundation of a believer’s identity? [42:24]
2. Why might someone mistake a change in God’s provision for a loss of God’s care? How does the end of the manna in Joshua 5 challenge that conclusion? [43:27]
3. How does Joshua’s encounter with the commander challenge the habit of asking God to support plans that have already been decided? What would distinguish seeking God’s direction from simply seeking his approval? [50:03]
4. Why is it important to distinguish Israel’s obedience from the power that brings down Jericho? How could treating a spiritual practice as a guaranteed formula change a person’s relationship with God? [01:00:23]

Application questions

1. Belonging to Christ comes before service or achievement. Where do you feel pressure to prove your worth through what you accomplish—even at church? What might change this week if you served from a place of belonging rather than trying to earn it? [40:32]
2. Prayer and obedience belong together. Is there something you keep praying about while putting off a step you already know you need to take? What small, practical step could you take, and what support would help? [36:00]
3. Has a familiar source of provision or support changed in your life? What has been difficult about that change, and where, if anywhere, are you beginning to recognize God’s care in a different form? [43:35]
4. In what area is it easier for you to ask Jesus for rescue than to accept his direction? What might surrender look like in one actual decision you are facing? [50:10]
5. Where are you tempted to stop being faithful because nothing seems to be changing or nobody notices? What could continued obedience look like this week without setting a deadline for God to give the outcome you want? How could this group encourage you? [54:31]
6. If you feel comfortable sharing, is there a failure, rejection, or past experience that still shapes how you describe yourself? How does Jesus’ death and resurrection challenge that description, and what truth about belonging to him could you remind yourself of this week? [01:00:45]