Lessons from Jericho

“But Joshua had commanded the people, ‘Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!’” Joshua 6:10
The conquering of Jericho was unusual on a number of levels. The thing that most people know about it is that the Israelites walked around the city for six days, and seven times on the seventh day, and then shouted and the walls fell down. This is an unusual battle tactic and not to be attempted unless God tells you to do it.
Here we see Joshua commanding the people not to speak until the day he said to. In many instances, Joshua is a type of Jesus (the name ‘Jesus’ is ‘Joshua’ in Hebrew). There is a parallel here. Jesus commands us to be gentle and not to retaliate (Matt. 5:38-42, Matt. 11:29). He set us an example in this (Isa. 53:7, 1 Pet. 2:23). “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19, quoting Deut. 32:35).
God will judge the world in due course, just as He judged the city of Jericho and gave it over to the Israelites. One day we will return with Jesus and watch as the nations fall before Him (Zech. 14:3-5).