Performing your part
This week's study is on Joshua 6:2-5:
Spoiler alert: Everything in these verses happened exactly as God described them, in case you haven't read to the end of the chapter yet. I heard a good sermon recently on the creativity of God, which pointed to these verses as an example of God being a choreographer. It's funny to think of a city being destroyed by performance art!
In reality, though, the city was destroyed by God's power. Nothing the people did made any difference in the outcome, except for the fact that they were playing along with God's plan. Scientifically speaking, if you recreated the exact steps described, with an exact replica of the city, you wouldn't achieve the same results. Who ever heard of man made sounds destroying thick impenetrable city walls?!
So how is it that the Israelites were sent to do this whole complicated ritual before the walls fell? It reminds me of when you're working on something complicated and a little kid asks if he can help. Of course there's nothing he can do to add to the process, but you'll still give him something inconsequential to help out. "Sure, you can help daddy fix the cabinet door. Here, hold this screwdriver for me until I need it." You could do the whole thing yourself without the kid, but at the same time you want him to feel like he's part of the process, like he makes a difference. It becomes something you do together, even though you're doing all of the actual work. I think that's what God is doing here.
In a way, God is showing us just how unnecessary we are in accomplishing his plans. Is winning a battle against an enemy who outnumbers you any different from winning it with trumpets and performance art? Is it suddenly your effort that saves the day because you were holding a sword instead of a musical instrument? It's almost as if God is saying "Look, you could have gone into this holding a trumpet and I still would have won this for you." Does anyone actually believe he was like "I want to destroy Jericho, but I can't do it unless someone spends a few days walking around in circles, blowing trumpets and yelling." No!
But at the same time, God still wants his plan to be something we do with him, and not just something he does for us. If he had said to the Israelites, "Go away. I'm busy. Tomorrow when you come back the wall will be down and the city will be destroyed. Problem solved," would the fall of Jericho have been as memorable? Not at all! Which is more memorable? The countless repairs you never saw, or the one where you got to play a pivotal role by holding the screwdriver?
There are two comforting things we can take away from this. First, that God wins every time, and doesn't need us in order to do so. We don't have to worry about being strong, or alert, or having the right thing to say or do. We just need to know that he has a plan. And second, that God values a relationship with us. He wants to include us in what he's doing, not because he needs us, but because he wants us. He has a plan, and we have a part to play, not because we're needed, but because we're invited.
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”
Spoiler alert: Everything in these verses happened exactly as God described them, in case you haven't read to the end of the chapter yet. I heard a good sermon recently on the creativity of God, which pointed to these verses as an example of God being a choreographer. It's funny to think of a city being destroyed by performance art!
In reality, though, the city was destroyed by God's power. Nothing the people did made any difference in the outcome, except for the fact that they were playing along with God's plan. Scientifically speaking, if you recreated the exact steps described, with an exact replica of the city, you wouldn't achieve the same results. Who ever heard of man made sounds destroying thick impenetrable city walls?!
So how is it that the Israelites were sent to do this whole complicated ritual before the walls fell? It reminds me of when you're working on something complicated and a little kid asks if he can help. Of course there's nothing he can do to add to the process, but you'll still give him something inconsequential to help out. "Sure, you can help daddy fix the cabinet door. Here, hold this screwdriver for me until I need it." You could do the whole thing yourself without the kid, but at the same time you want him to feel like he's part of the process, like he makes a difference. It becomes something you do together, even though you're doing all of the actual work. I think that's what God is doing here.
In a way, God is showing us just how unnecessary we are in accomplishing his plans. Is winning a battle against an enemy who outnumbers you any different from winning it with trumpets and performance art? Is it suddenly your effort that saves the day because you were holding a sword instead of a musical instrument? It's almost as if God is saying "Look, you could have gone into this holding a trumpet and I still would have won this for you." Does anyone actually believe he was like "I want to destroy Jericho, but I can't do it unless someone spends a few days walking around in circles, blowing trumpets and yelling." No!
But at the same time, God still wants his plan to be something we do with him, and not just something he does for us. If he had said to the Israelites, "Go away. I'm busy. Tomorrow when you come back the wall will be down and the city will be destroyed. Problem solved," would the fall of Jericho have been as memorable? Not at all! Which is more memorable? The countless repairs you never saw, or the one where you got to play a pivotal role by holding the screwdriver?
There are two comforting things we can take away from this. First, that God wins every time, and doesn't need us in order to do so. We don't have to worry about being strong, or alert, or having the right thing to say or do. We just need to know that he has a plan. And second, that God values a relationship with us. He wants to include us in what he's doing, not because he needs us, but because he wants us. He has a plan, and we have a part to play, not because we're needed, but because we're invited.
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