God’s battle plan Joshua 6:1-5

Joshua 6:2 The LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.”

Joshua 6:2 The LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.” Meaning: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider Grammar: Stem - Qal Mood - Imperative

The Condition of Jericho The inhabitants are all in the city The doors and gates are closed and lock The city is full of supplies to get them through the siege The city will not be plundered or looted [6:17-19] It will be burned as a first fruits sacrifice to God [6:24]

Archaeological Advances In the mid 1800's (circa 1867-1868) a noted British engineer, named Charles Warren, decided to investigate a rather striking tell just northwest of the Dead Sea The next major excavation occurred in 1907-1909 and 1911, when a team from Austria and Germany continued excavations Then John Garstang took over the site in 1930 Gartang then asked an up and coming British archaeologist, Kathleen Kenyon to study his findings

Archaeological Advances After pressure was put on Ms. Kenyon, she revised her conclusions Then Dr. Bryant G. Wood reexamined Kathleen Kenyon’s findings, especially the basis of her redating of the key layer of city sediment

All of these findings would prove that: The city was strongly fortified The attack against the city occurred shortly after harvest time, that is sometime in the spring The inhabitants had no time to take their food and flee or else they chose not to The siege of the city was short The walls were somehow leveled The city was not plundered The city had been burned

Joshua 6:2 The LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.”

Joshua 6:2 The LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.”

Lessons Being Taught But even though God has given the City into the hands of His people, they will still have to fight for it Because in fighting for what God has given to the believer, he learns to trust in and rely on his God However the most important weapon that the believer has and what makes him strong is radical obedience

Understand where Joshua’s obedience was built By the faith he had developed in his God By the experiential knowledge that he had of his God By the love that he had for his God And by the fear that burned in his heart for his God

Building a Relationship With the Master C F E A R of GOD F A IT H K N O W I G L O V E Salvation by God’s Grace by Means of Our Faith Jesus’ Substitutionary Death Jesus’ Literal Resurrection The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ The Deity of Jesus Christ Verbal and Plenary Inspiration of the Scriptures The Deity of Jesus Christ

F E A R of GOD K N O W I G O B E D I N C F A IT H L O V E

The Sequence of God’s Plan Humble and submissive worship [on the plains of Jericho] (Eph. 3:14) Walking with God [around the city for six days] (Eph. 4:1, 17, 5:2) Then heavenly warfare [the seventh day and the taking of the city] (Eph. 6:10ff)

Conclusion Like Joshua and the people, we have already been given our inheritance and must overcome the enemy to claim it and to be able to enjoy it