Uproot the Squatters

Joshua 6:20 says, “When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in and they took the city.”

Can you imagine the Israelite army being given this absurd order to march around the mighty city of Jericho without saying a word? I wonder what was going through their heads… For some, it was probably, “This is silly,” or “I feel stupid.” But for others, it was certainly, “We are going to do this! We are going to take this city!” The more they walked, the more their confidence grew. Perhaps some of them, looking forward to that final day, were thinking, “I’m going to be loud, so LOUD!” Faith was stirring within their hearts, and the expectation that God was going to do something great was getting bigger and bigger.

Imagine for a moment the sound of the trumpets and that huge, loud roar going up from the army on that final day. The volume of noise coming from thousands and thousands of men must have been so loud and intense that it shook the very ground they were walking on. The New King James Bible tells us, at that loud shout, the walls fell down flat! Walls that had seemed high and insurmountable flattened at one loud shout! The Israeli army totally destroyed Jericho, nothing was left.

The Canaanites that lived in Jericho would have been a serious threat to Israel’s spiritual welfare. They were steeped in idolatry and immorality. They were squatters in the Promised Land! They didn’t belong. I know that in my own life and the lives of many, there are Jerichos that are holding us back. Huge walls that may seem insurmountable, chains that seem too big to be broken. With God fighting our battles, every single one of those Jerichos will fall! What is it that is holding us back? Let’s uproot those squatters. The Promised Land is worth it!