They were quite a motley crew marching across the land heralded by the continual wailing cry of the rams’ horns. Brawny warriors, fully arrayed in battle gear, boldly led the procession. Sunlight glinted off hilts and blades of freshly cleaned weaponry. Inscrutable faces set like stone gave no indication of their plan. The silent lines of their lips were firmly closed as if they knew that even a breath of verbiage would alter the outcome of their battle.
Behind them came the noisy lot. Priests. Seven of them. Unspeaking but not silent. Their hands cupped rams’ horns. Their lips pressed to the tips. Every effort engaged in creating the deep, earthy, moaning sound currently echoing through the hillsides. Constantly. It didn’t stop. Not from the moment the shoe of the first warrior hit the ground marching. It cried continually. An obvious battle cry. An announcement of reckoning. A warning of destruction for enemies. A promise of safety to Rahab. A statement of victory before any battle had ever begun. Israel was coming.
And their God was coming with them. He was among them. Living. Dwelling. Leading. Doubters had simply to look at the oncoming procession to see the stark reality. Quiet priests followed the noisy ones. Hands and shoulders bent to the task of transportation. Sunlight sparkled and glittered off their precious cargo. It would be Israel’s ark. The presence of their God who traveled with them, went before them, fought their battles, and granted victory. The sight was unsettling, its silent presence a loud pronouncement of what was to come. Without one raised sword, Israel had already signed the termination of Jericho’s earthly lease. If the horns were a warning, the ark was a sign. Destruction was coming.
Yet the strange parade wasn’t finished. More men marched behind the ark. More warriors. More polished weapons hanging at their sides. More solemn faces. More silent lips. Their thudding footsteps echoed beneath the now strident call of the horns. Forward they came to walk a full circle around the city walls and head back to their own encampment. As far as declarations of war went, it was by far the strangest those watching from the wall had ever seen. So far off from the usual ambushments of the day, the warriors inside Jericho began to have second thoughts, reassess their security measures. Perhaps they didn’t need to worry after all.
The city was a veritable fortress. Tiers of stone walls effectively closing out the outside world. Gates shut and locked. Citizens and travelers trapped within. No one could enter. No one could leave. No one thought they needed to do so. Surely they were safe inside the formidable walls of Jericho. They were prepared to endure isolation. At least for a time. Certainly for as long as the Israelites needed to determine if they were going to launch an assault or not. They simply had to obey the rules. Keep the gates tightly closed. No one in. No one out. Keep a weather eye on the parading Israelites. It should be easy.
Except it wasn’t. This was like nothing they had seen before. Their silent siege went on longer than anyone imagined it could. Six days the Israelites had formed the same parade and done the same walk. From their camp to Jericho, around the city walls, back to home base. Only the sound of rams horns accompanied them. No threats had been issued. No spears had been lifted. No missives of negotiation had been launched over the wall. This was a type of warfare they had never seen, had no idea how to combat. They were trained and prepared and skilled for vicious, brutal physical battles. But this? No training could ever have prepared the men of Jericho to fight off a parade.
It would have been much easier if there had been some chit-chat between the non-musical priests. Some conversation on which to eavesdrop. Snippets of news to take back to the king. They would have known how to respond appropriately if the leading warriors had tossed up some snide remarks or shook a spear at a watching guard. They had their own arsenal of inflaming words and each was quite eager to show off his agility with a spear. A strategy could have been intelligently formed if, in response to their own hurled insults, the rearguard had offered up some venomous verbiage of their own. But the silence was deafening. And bewildering. What army announces its arrival into battle with raucous noise, makes no verbal utterances while circling its enemy, then trails back the way it came without lobbing a stone? How do you even fight an enemy like that? Is it still a battle if one side is silently refusing to use their weapons?
It absolutely is. The hardest battle you will ever fight. The one where you practice complete obedience to your Commanding Officer. The battle in which you choose to exhibit self-control. The choice to bite your tongue when it is teeming with responses and excuses, deflections and comebacks, accusations and barbs. The battle to speak only the words God says to speak in the moment He says to speak them. The battle to control your tongue. (Proverbs 23:21)
As amazed as I am that the walls of Jericho fell flat without a dropping missile or exploding bomb, I am even more amazed that a horde of people marched twelve times around a city in complete silence. No one said anything. Not. One. Word. No warrior complained about the absurdity of carrying his weapons with no intention of engaging. No trumpeter dropped his horn to bemoan his lack of breath. No priest laden with the ark of the covenant cried out a need to rest. No one griped about the blister their sandal was causing. No one exclaimed over an ankle twisted on an obnoxious rock. Not one rearguard soldier waxed eloquent concerning the looks of the ladies within Jericho’s walls. No. With the exception of the resounding rams’ horns, utter silence reigned. Why? Because God said so. (Joshua 6)
Well. That’s right there, isn’t it? Right in that spot we are all inhabiting. The place where our words are racing and leaping over one another attempting to find the most express route from our brains to our lips. The place where we listen the least. The place where the outcome of our choice is determined. Silent victory. Speaking defeat. The same place the Israelites were. Had just one person chosen to whisper just one word as they made the fifth trek around Jericho’s walls, the outcome would most certainly be different. It was imperative for them to obey God. It was imperative for them to stay silent. Until it was time to speak. (Joshua 6:16; Psalm 141:3; Romans 2:6-8; Luke 11:28)
Then let it rip! Shout! Scream! Holler! Praise! Lift up your voice to the God who is rewarding your obedience, your silence. Exalt in God who brought you to this place of hard-earned victory. Shout about your God and watch the walls fall down, your enemies crumble before your eyes. The silent obedience was excruciating, but the jubilant shout of victory is worth it. Every moment of biting your tongue. Every day of marching in silence through blisters and turned ankles. Every second of waiting for God to say, “Shout!” Controlling their tongues was absolutely worth it!
In a world where we are encouraged to speak our minds, share our opinions, spout our alleged wisdom, score social points, and straighten our own crowns, we need to remember Jesus’ warnings about our words. He said we need to watch them. Watch your mouth. Guard your tongue. Measure your words. Because your words are measuring you, telling the world what is stored in your heart. Good. Evil. Hatred. Love. Fear. Peace. Whatever is there comes out in every careless conversation, every private discussion, every public debate. And it determines your victory. (Matthew 12:33-37; Psalm 19:14; Ecclesiastes 10:11-14; James 3; Matthew 15:18)
It is impossible to imagine the disappointment had the Israelites marched around Jericho for 6 days only to have someone prematurely whisper a word on the seventh and alter the course of their battle. It is equally impossible to imagine the moment when we stand before God and give account for every word we have ever spoken. Kind words. Careless words. Lying words. Honest words. Words that break down. Words that build up. Yet we will do so. Every single word will be accounted for. Every single time God said, “Keep silent,” yet we chose to speak. Every time He said, “Speak,” yet we chose to keep silent. Every response to every moment of potential obedience will be brought to light. How will you fare on that day? (Proverbs 18:21; Matthew 12:36; Proverbs 13:3; I Thessalonians 5:11; James 1:26)
Perhaps it’s time to make some changes. Time to weigh your words. Time to check your tongue. Time to stop spreading your opinion. Time to pause before you respond to accusations, character assassinations, and blatant lies. Time to ask God for His timing and His words. Time to keep silent and let Him fight your battles. Time to let Him win. Time to wildly shout, extravagantly celebrate, reverently worship your God for the victory wrought by silent obedience to Him. (Psalm 39:1; Proverbs 15:28; Colossians 4:6; Psalm 71:24; Psalm 60:12; Psalm 20:5-7; I Samuel 15:22)