There are times to shout and there are times of quietness. There are times to be clamorously foolish and times to reflect and worship. There are times of overwhelming tears of gratitude and joy, and there are times of wailing for unexpected loss. But whenever God directs us to shout We should never hold back, even in the quietest of places. If He wants us to shout then all of heaven stands ready to defeat our enemies before us. Personality and temperament charts are out the window, it’s time to shout! There’s a line to a song that goes like this. “Don’t wait till the battle is over, shout now! Hallelujah to the Lamb of God!!
We have all faced uncertainty in lots of ways this year. Covid rocked our nation, churches, families, government and the world. Fear has stifled the voices of many believers. They lost their shout to a mask. But as long as I have breath I will shout to the Lord. The mask doesn’t prevent me from raising my voice in the sanctuary, hallelujah! And it certainly doesn’t prevent me from shouting at home. Satan is trying his hardest to silence our voices, but he can only succeed if we let him. Now is the time to shout! So if you have lost your voice- find it. There isn’t enough time to waste on the trivial. God is waiting for a shout! Hallelujah!
When Joshua was facing the walls of Jericho, God gave specific instructions. As long as he obeyed, the victory was theirs. The people under his charge had to, well let’s read it, but I’d like to use this verse to set the tone for where we’re going.
“Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged,” Joshua told his men. “Be strong and courageous, for the Lord is going to do this to all of your enemies.”
Joshua 10:25 NLT(read the entire chapter)
Let those words settle into your spirit. No matter what you may be facing, no matter what you’ve lost in this season of COVID-19, Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged! God has His hands on your life, and no devil in hell can remove it! Israel had just defeated five enemy kings, this victory would serve as a reminder that God was in control and would remain faithful no matter what things looked like. Keep your eyes on Jesus, keep your heart right. Don’t be like those who have no hope. Shout your praise in the mess, our God is greater than Covid or whatever your fear is. Now to the main event.
“Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.” So Joshua called together the priests and said, “Take up the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, and assign seven priests to walk in front of it, each carrying a ram’s horn.” Then he gave orders to the people: “March around the town, and the armed men will lead the way in front of the Ark of the Lord.” After Joshua spoke to the people, the seven priests with the rams’ horns started marching in the presence of the Lord, blowing the horns as they marched. And the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant followed behind them. Some of the armed men marched in front of the priests with the horns and some behind the Ark, with the priests continually blowing the horns. “Do not shout; do not even talk,” Joshua commanded. “Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout. Then shout!” So the Ark of the Lord was carried around the town once that day, and then everyone returned to spend the night in the camp. Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests again carried the Ark of the Lord. The seven priests with the rams’ horns marched in front of the Ark of the Lord, blowing their horns. Again the armed men marched both in front of the priests with the horns and behind the Ark of the Lord. All this time the priests were blowing their horns. On the second day they again marched around the town once and returned to the camp. They followed this pattern for six days. On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!”
Joshua 6:1-16
Have you ever been told by the Lord to keep quiet about something He’s told you? It’s the most challenging thing to do, especially if it’s exciting news. Jesus did that a lot. He would perform a miracle with the instructions of not telling anyone, it never worked lol. I have no idea why He’d do that but I’m sure He had a reason. The excitement of victory must’ve made it hard to march around the city walls and be quiet. We love to talk. Yet no one said a word for six days while marching. I guess when they got back to camp they let it all out. But on the seventh day they had to march around it seven times. Let’s take a look at what archeologists have to say about Jericho to understand what Israel was up against. This wasn’t a wall made with straw.
The mound, or “tell” of Jericho was surrounded by a great earthen rampart, or embankment, with a stone retaining wall at its base. The retaining wall was some four to five meters (12–15 feet) high. On top of that was a mudbrick wall two meters (six feet) thick and about six to eight meters (20–26 feet) high. At the crest of the embankment was a similar mudbrick wall whose base was roughly 14 meters (46 feet) above the ground level outside the retaining wall. This is what loomed high above the Israelites as they marched around the city each day for seven days. Humanly speaking, it was impossible for the Israelites to penetrate the impregnable bastion of Jericho.
Within the upper wall was an area of approximately six acres, while the total area of the upper city and fortification system was 50% larger, or about nine acres. Based on the archaeologist’s rule of thumb of 200 persons per acre, the population of the upper city would have been about 1,200. However, from excavations carried out by a German team in the first decade of this century, we know that people were also living on the embankment between the upper and lower city walls. In addition, those Canaanites living in surrounding villages would have fled to Jericho for safety. Thus, we can assume that there were several thousand people inside the walls when the Israelites came against the city. Source: answersingenesis.org
When God is in control man’s weak attempt at protecting himself is futile. We can trust Him in all circumstances. When was the last time your shout to the Lord sent the enemy fleeing? When was the last time you stared death or sickness in the face and shouted Psalm 103:1-5, Isaiah 53:5, Psalm 118:17, looked in your cupboards and refrigerator and the mound of bills and shouted Philippians 4: 6,13,19. Looked Covid in the face and shout Luke 10:19 and 2 Timothy 1:7. His Word will bring down walls more fortified than Jericho. But you must by faith act upon it. We are indeed more than conquerors. Romans 8:37. Shout! Your God has given you the victory! Glory to God hallelujah!
Before Israel entered Jericho, their enemy was already defeated. Before we face our challenges, the enemy was already defeated. We need to walk, talk and act as though we already have the victory. It isn’t a denial it’s faith over circumstances. What was the first verse we read? Go read it again. Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged. What God has done in the past, He’s about to do in our present and future. If you believe that then shout those walls down! The enemy has been, the enemy will be defeated in Jesus Name!
🙏 yup! It’s that time.
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant