The following is my Vacation Bible School message based on Joshua Chapter 6…
God promised the land of Canaan to Joshua and the Israelites. That’s why it was called the Promised Land. In order to defeat the Canaanites- they had to take the city of Jericho.
The problem was—the city of Jericho was surrounded by really high stone walls!
There was no way to climb them, or get through them. What could they do? Joshua prayed to God for some help…
“God, we can wait them out I suppose- but we might die here in the desert. No one is coming out of the city, and they won’t let us in.”
God said, “Joshua this is what I want you to do…There’s a little bit here, so try to remember it all.
You are going to march around the city. You will circle the city walls once a day for 6 days.
You will have soldiers and priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant. (remember the Ark was the very holy box that held the 10 Commandments). The 7 priests should each be blowing a horn. So, you are going to do this for 6 days. There shouldn’t be any talking—just the priests blowing their horns!
But on the 7th day- you will march around the city 7 times.
Joshua told the people the plan. How do you think they reacted? They probably thought he was crazy. There is no possible way this is going to work. But God told Joshua this would be the plan.
God tested Joshua and the Israelites. They did what God asked. On the 7th day, after walking around the city 7 times- they priests blew their horns- and Joshua told the people to shout—and they shouted!!! And the walls came tumbling down! Then they were able to conquer Jericho!
God gave them some pretty strange instructions- but God knew if they did what God asked- it would work out!
Have you ever seen the movie, The Karate Kid. It’s an old movie now. Everyone my age saw that movie—I bet your parents did too. In the movie, Daniel wants to learn karate. He meets an old man who says he can teach him Karate. But the old man has Daniel doing chores for him. He asks his to paint his fence—and his entire property is surrounded by a tall fence. He asks him to wax his fleet of cards. He asks him to sand his huge deck and patio. Daniel gets mad, he wants to learn karate, but all he is doing is the old man’s chores! Then the old man shows Daniel that all of the moves that Daniel has been doing could be used for karate. In a way—he was teaching him karate all along.
Sometimes our parents ask us to do things that we don’t want to do, or we don’t understand why we’re doing them…Can you think of some? Brush your teeth! There’s a good reason for that.
Make your bed! There’s a good reason for that too. How many of you go right to bed when mom or dad tells you to? Well, there’s a good reason for that too. We need sleep. If we don’t get enough rest—our body gets cranky.
God told the Israelites to do something crazy. It really made no sense- but God had a plan.
Mr. Miyagi told Daniel to do all his chores. It seemed crazy, but it was part of a larger karate plan.
Your parents or teachers may tell you do some things you don’t want to do…but there’s a reason, a plan.
When we listen and follow God, God works through us!
As it says in Proverbs 3:4-5…Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to God, and God will make your paths straight.
