Picking up with our study of Joshua, we left them just after they had miraculously crossed the Jordan river, and after they had obeyed God by having the nation circumcised as a sign of faith in God’s promises. They had entered the land only by God’s power, He had protected them in their state of complete vulnerability as they gave an external sign of faith, and now in chapters 5 and 6 they have their first major battle: Jericho.

Joshua receives his “marching orders” directly from God in chapter 5. I wonder what the generals were thinking, waiting for these divine battle plans? They must have been pumped up and ready to go! Imagine their internal response upon hearing the plans:

“You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”
Joshua 6:3-5

Ah, yes. You will be led by the musicians. You will march around the city for 7 days (while the people of Jericho surely must have been mocking them), and then you will blow the trumpets and shout and the walls will collapse!

There is no macho glory here. Who is getting the glory in this battle? God alone. Just in case you still think (after the Jordan, after the circumcision) that you’re coming into the land in your own might and are going to conquer it with your skill, here is one vivid lesson. You will conquer the stronghold of Jericho only through faith and humble obedience. (“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way…”)

Now, keeping in mind that this generation has lived in the wilderness all their lives, eating manna for each and every meal of every day of every year, waking up in a tent in the desert every single morning… Jericho would have been one attractive place.

This city was in a beautiful spot. In fact, Herod had a summer palace in Jericho because it was a gorgeous oasis. I’m sure the thought of taking this city and living in it would have been extremely appealing. Now, look at God’s command:

“Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”
Joshua 6:17-19

The city is doomed by the Lord to destruction. In other words – completely destroy it and all who live there, and keep NOTHING for yourselves.

This would have been one hard command. Why? Is God being cruel and controlling? [This would be a great time for the classic question, "If God is such a good and loving God, doesn't He want me to be happy?"]

This city was a giant “first fruits” offering to the Lord. In the Old Testament, you would give a first fruits offering at the time of the harvest, giving the first yield of your crops to the Lord before keeping any for yourself. Yes, it was an act of worship and obedience, and it was also an act of great faith: You have provided this much so far – it is all a gift from You. I will now give it back to You in faith that you will continue to provide.

That “if God is so good…” question is completely flawed. The issue is not “if God is good.” We KNOW that He is good. The issue is, “God is holy, and everything, including me, belongs to Him.” As living, breathing memorials of His nature, His power, His mercy, His forgiveness, what is His greatest goal for us? Not happiness, but holiness – being wholly set apart for Him.

Not that God is against happiness! In fact, in their next battle, God told them that they could keep everything for themselves! The question is: do you recognize that everything belongs to Him? Do you believe that He can continue to provide if you give the first fruits to Him?

I think that the issues of giving and finances are excellent tests of the authenticity of our walks with God. Why does “God love a cheerful giver?” (2 Cor. 9:7) Why was it that when the rich young ruler asked Jesus what he must do for eternal life, Jesus told him to give all he had to the poor? (Matt. 19:21-22 – From the rest of Scripture, we know that giving away money doesn’t save us. What was His point?)

Giving freely out of a heart of gratitude and faith is an evidence that we have this right – God owns all, I deserve nothing. He blesses me, not just to provide for me and allow me to “be happy,” but in order that I may bring Him glory and honor in my response.

The first few years of our marriage were “lean” financially, to say the least. My husband was in graduate school, and although he had some part time work, the vast majority of our income was from me- the Bible teacher at a Christian school! We also lived in the Virginia Beach area, which was quite expensive. I still think back through our budget and have no IDEA how we lived on our income without going into serious debt (well, besides school loans!). I vividly remember working on our budget for the first time and coming face to face with the reality of our financial situation. We began working on it and I remember looking at the space at the top of the budget for “tithe” and discussing, “do we tithe on gross, or net?” It didn’t make that big of a difference in terms of dollars, but to our meager budget, it made a HUGE difference.

God taught us a lot during those very, very strapped years. We can tell you way too many stories about things in our house that were given to us, found in the trash, recycled from something else… :) But God never, EVER failed to care for us. We learned to give when it didn’t make sense, and we never went without. We never missed a bill, we never went hungry. We received random checks in the mail that we didn’t know were coming, which occasionally even allowed us to go out for dinner! I really believe that because we gave the first fruits, even when it seemed illogical, He provided what was lacking. It might not have made sense on paper, but it was an act of faith that God honored.

Our God is faithful. Our God is holy. Our God is able to provide. Believe Him! Even in the financial crisis that’s happening around us – McCain cannot provide for you. Obama cannot provide for you. Greenspan cannot provide for you. God will provide for you. If you believe that, live like it.

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:7-8