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“It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat.” —Joshua 5:6 When Joshua prayed and prepared to enter the Promised Land, the Lord spoke directly to him, revealing the outcome of the battle Joshua faced. Victory was promised! The Lord didn’t give Joshua a military strategy for conquering a city. He told Joshua and his men to march in silence around the city for six days with priests carrying seven ram’s horn trumpets (shofars). On day seven, they were to march around seven times, blow the trumpets, and shout! Imagine two million people shouting, splitting the atmosphere, and unleashing the supernatural into the natural world. The army of mighty angels and God’s presence were unleashed by shouts of faith, an ultimate act of worship. No siege, no weapons. But a promise from God: “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you” (Joshua 1:3). The promises of God remain theoretical until we take those steps of faith to walk the ground He put before us. Joshua obeyed God’s order as an act of worship and faith. Worship shifts the atmosphere and releases the presence of God. Jericho was host to a demonic realm of evil and suffering, human sacrifice, and torture. Jericho represents the strongholds in our lives that hurt us and keep us from God’s blessings. Joshua’s act of worship, blowing the trumpets and a shout of triumph, shattered the strongholds. When we worship and believe God—even when we are vulnerable with no logical plan or strategy—we will see strongholds broken and walls brought down. We will experience triumph and healing! “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down” (Hebrews 11:30). Note: Today, by the Jewish calendar, the Feast of Trumpets is celebrated with a shofar! The sound of the shofar carries memories for Jews of their origins and history and momentous events—including Joshua’s victory at Jericho. You are welcome to join us online or in-person as we celebrate tonight at 7 pm. You can learn more about the Feast of Trumpets in Pastor Ray’s blog: https://www.raybentley.com/blog
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