I was reading the story of Jericho to my 3 year old the other night. As I was reading, every few sentences my daughter would interrupt and ask questions about the story. This is pretty uncommon for children, but she can ask some pretty tough questions. Typically my response was “shhh, let’s wait and see.” But. I remember one question she asked was “what kind of trumpets are those and why did they blow trumpets?” I cannot tell you how much I love her questions, but at this point I was getting tired and annoyed about getting interrupted so many times. I quickly responded with a flippant, “because that’s what God instructed them to do”, shushed her and went back to finish the story. This answer sufficed temporarily until her next question. Eventually we finished.
Not ironically, the next morning I was reading in Joshua and my next chapter was the fall of Jericho. It read…
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 along 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, evening straight before him.”
– Joshua 6:3-5
Can you imagine how the people of Jericho responded when they saw Israel march around their city on day 1? Day 1 they probably were pretty intimidated and fearful. The news that Israel and their God had already spread across Canaan. But, as Israel retreated back to their camp after day 1, day 2, day 3 and then going through day 6 what about then? I imagine the people of Jericho were beginning to laugh at them, mock them, and getting pretty comfortable watching the them march around their walled city. This battle plan made no sense. Meanwhile, Israel was following specific instructions from the Lord, and waiting for that perfect day when they knew that the walls of Jericho would come tumbling down.
In scripture, 7 is often seen as a number of perfection, and here we see God instructing them to have 7 prints, 7 trumpets, 7 days, and on the 7th day march around 7 times. Talk about perfection! But what about the trumpets? It turns out that the trumpets that were used were called jubilee trumpets. These trumpets were used at feasts to declare the presence of the Lord. Here we see God’s chosen people claiming the land that God is gifting to them by blowing horns that declare His presence. (For more info on the trumpets see Numbers 10:10 and Psalm 24:7)
So what does this have to do with counseling? As believers, we are required to follow Christ’s instruction on a daily basis with little or no knowledge of tomorrow. This is a huge step of faith, but one that can bring monumental dependence on God. Perhaps, God was testing Israel to see if they would follow his instruction. They probably endured terrible amounts of mocking, ridicule, and possibly even doubt. But, even before this God had already proven himself in miraculous ways, and so they followed his seemingly senseless instructions. In the end, the walls of Jericho fell and Israel recognized that it was nothing of their own doing that led to the capture of Jericho, but God himself who conquered the fortified city. My 3 years old had asked a pretty heavy question that night, and at the time I didn’t appreciate the answer as much as I should have. But, the Lord is patient with me and thankfully spoke to me in those early hours of the next morning. Israel followed the Lord’s instruction even when it made no sense, and their reward was complete dependence on Him. Are you in the dark about how a specific situation may end? What daily instructions from the Lord are you following in faith, trusting that He will work His plan out in your life?
