Intrusion: On the Battlefield


Intrusion - to put oneself deliberately in a situation where one is unwelcome or uninvited.

Week 2 of VCF's current preaching series Intrusion is about Joshua and the battle of Jericho.  This is a popular story in the Bible and tells of how the Israelites conquered Jericho after 40 years in the desert.  They were armed and ready to finally take hold of the land promised to them.

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”  “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”(Joshua 5:13-14)

In the verse, Joshua asked about whose side the man was on.  When God intrudes, it is never about sides, it's always about His will.  Even though Joshua was commander of the Israelites, he recognized that he needed to surrender to a higher authority, and was willing to put his plans aside.  Are we fully surrendered to God's will?

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 all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in.” (Joshua 6:2-5)

Joshua had an army ready for war but God's instructed them to march around the city for 7 days.  It was unconventional to say the least but they obeyed and God delivered Jericho into their hands.  In fact, it has been delivered even before they took action.  It is not about our way, it's about God's way.

And it's not about us.  It's about God.  We struggle in life sometimes because we forget this and think that life is about us.  It's good to be reminded of our place and to live accordingly.

- March 11, 2012
VCF Fort

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