January 30

Joshua 6:18, 20–21

18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse,

and trouble it.

.... .

20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.

Biblical Insight

The Hebrew word herem in verse 18 is translated “accursed” in the KJV can also be translated as “banned” or “devoted to the Lord for destruction;” in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, herem is translated to the Greek anathema, the same word famously found in I Corinthians 16:22. When the people shouted in verse 20, they did so before they had achieved victory, but their act of faith and worship caused the walls to come tumbling down.

Daily Devotion

Faith is a funny thing. It requires you to be fully and completely reliant on God, even when you cannot see the road ahead of you. Shouting before a victory is just not logical. It really doesn’t make much sense, but God does not always ask for sensical devotion.

We know faith to be the substance of things we hope for and the evidence of things not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1). Could we even take the text another step and add that faith is the substance of “things not heard”?

Imagine how the Israelites felt. Perhaps some wondered why in the world they were walking around the walls over and over again. And even more so, why were they causing so much racket? The reality is that God knew the victory was on the way, even when they did not. He also knew how they would achieve that success. Their obedience opened the door to triumph.

Praising in advance may feel unorthodox, but putting volume behind your faith may be exactly what God is waiting on. Speak to that situation. Shout before the victory. The walls are ready to fall!