“Now Joshua commanded the people, saying, You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, Shout! Then you shall shout” (vs10).
The Lord Jesus has given us clear instruction (Joshua 6:10-11). Salvation is free, but it comes to us God's way. Ephesians 2 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith”, so that grace, the promise of God's sure victory, is received by faith in this promise, and it is by the obedience of faith, that we overcome.
God told Joshua exactly what to do to get the land. Israel had to march around Jericho once a day, keep silent, listen to the priests blast the trumpet before the ark, and then, they were to shout on the last day. Joshua said, “You shall not shout or make noise with your vice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, “Shout! Then you shall shout”, so that exact obedience is required. God has called us to repent, to do verbs, like “believe”, “seek”, “ask”, and “knock”.
We are NOT to say, “The promise is free, so I will do nothing, and God will save me”, when the Lord has told you to believe and bring fruit worthy of faith (Acts 26:20). We are not to take one part of the gospel, “I have given Jericho into your hands”, and forget the WHOLE counsel of God, “You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once” (Joshua 6:2-3). We are to take the whole thing.
Secondly, if we obey, even though we're worthy of hell, the Lord WILL save us, as He promised (Joshua 6:17). Here, Rahab the harlot is set forth, and she is called a “harlot” to remind us that God saves the vilest offender who truly believes. We read, “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” (vs17). The fornicating sinner, the hypocrite, and the person that has wickedly and wholeheartedly rebelled against God, shall all be forgiven and cleansed by faith alone. The child of Satan who says, “I am wrong. I have done it my way, and it has not worked, nor will it. It will only ruin me in the end”, and confesses their sins will receive the promised mercy. God has said to me in His word, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”, and I've tried the promise repeatedly (1 John 1:9). He has never forsaken. There may be consequences for sins, but the Lord is FOR whoever repents and believes.
Thirdly, if we don't obey, then it will be misery for us (Josh 7:1). We read, “But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel”.
Obedience is not optional. If I don't do God's will, zealously obeying Him in every aspect of life, I shall not prosper. I can't say, “I'm saved by grace, so it doesn't matter how I live”. No, if I take glory to myself by being my own boss and doing things MY way, as if I'm God and the honor of obedience belongs to me instead of Him, then I shall perish in my rebellion and/or suffer in unbelief.
I cannot turn from the God who's opened my eyes, because I see that He can love and chasten, and we must obey. I see that many who claim the promises are rebellious against the commands, and I watch them, cursed of God, depart from any real fellowship with Christ. I'm warned that I must obey, and the warning makes me get grace from God, confessing sins.
Throughout the day, as you're zealous, you'll see areas of failure. You'll arise from your idle thoughts and find yourself deep in sin. Go no further. Immediately return.
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