“Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors. You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days.” (Joshua 6:1-3 NASB). Thus, the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did so for six days. Then on the seventh day they rose early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same manner seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times. At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city.” (Joshua 6:14-16 NASB)
There have been some historic marches in our time that brought about social change and changes in the mindsets of many. In no special order, there was “The Black Lives Matters Marches (2020),” “The March on Washington (1963),” “The Poor Peoples March on Washington (1968),” “The Women’s March (2017)”, “The March of Our Lives (2018),” and “The Selma to Montgomery March (1965), “ just to name a few.
I know the aforementioned marches created a picture in your mind. But let us turn our attention to the march of God’s people as described in the verses above, pertaining to victory at Jericho. For if we want to bring about change, as Christians, we have to keep on marching and continually seek victory over Satan’s grip on our society. Following what we can take from the march of God’s people around the city of Jericho, we learn what we must do. (1) Follow the Lord’s directions. (2) March until the day of victory! Complete the march! (3) March with the word of God manifested in you, just as the priest took the ark of the covenant before the marchers in the text above. (4) March peacefully! The Lord will bring about victory! (5) March every day that the Lord requires you to march. For us, children of God, we must march until the Lord returns, day after day, and generation after generation. (6) Shout aloud so your voices will be heard amongst those who are wrongly occupying the places that you must travel through! Shout the gospel! Shout out words that reveal your faith and trust in God! Shout with assurance that no matter what the odds look like, you have the victory! (7) After you have returned to your “camp,” your home, get up and march on the next day! Repeat that process, day after day! If you do, you will change somebody along the way! You will bring about, not only some degree of social change, but spiritual change. The latter, by the way will change society!
Keep on marching! In addition to what I have written above, apply some of the basics of marching. Remember all in this paragraph! Like soldiers in your country’s army, remember you are soldiers on the battlefield for the Lord and you should: (1) Remember to march forward, as marching on to war. Remember our struggles is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places. That’s bible! (2) Remember you need to be dressed for the march! Put on the full armor of God! (3) Remember that you have already practiced! So, if you have been doing what they call “march time,” marching in place, realize that now, right now, is the time to move forward and keep marching! (4) Remember to turn in the direction you are ordered to turn by the Lord. His direction will always be “right” as opposed to wrong. (5) Remember you are expected to march in synch with your fellow saints; other soldiers in the Lord’s army. (6) Remember to march with your eyes looking forward! Keep them on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith! (7) Remember to march with a sense of consciousness! Let your God-consciousness be evident in all you say and do.
A new day is come! So guess what I am going to say next! You already know, don’t you? It is time to march; march in to each room of your house, march into your virtual meetings, march into your physical workplaces; march into your workout places, your vacation spaces, and your travel destinations! Keep marching! March from the rising of the sun until the going down of the same wherever your travels take you this Tuesday! Again, I say, “Keep marching!” You can be part of the remedy for our cities! Be blessed!
“Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:13-18 NIV)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King