Joshua 6:6

Joshua 6:6 says, And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.   Joshua began to implement God's plan.  It is not enough to know what God wants us to do, but we must actually carry out His plan if we are going to be effective in the world.  Verse seven declares And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.  Joshua was getting the people ready for the victory, not just the battle.  As long as they followed God's plan, the victory was assured, just as our victory over sin and death are assured today, if we only put our faith in God through our relationship with Christ.  Verse eight states, And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.  The seven priests bearing the seven trumpets passed before the Lord.  I believe this must mean that they passed before the ark of the covenant, which represented the Lord to them.  As followers of Christ, wherever we go, we pass before the Lord, since we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit.  Verse nine adds, And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.  With the armed men in front, the priests came after the ark of the covenant.  The priests were armed with trumpets, which doesn't seem to be much of a weapon.  When we are following God's directions, we will be capably armed, no matter how the world may view us.  Verse ten declares, And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.  Joshua told the people to remain silent until he told them to shout.  We today would be better off remaining silent unless we are speaking under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and when we are, we need to boldly shout God's word.  Verse eleven says. So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.  The people and the ark of the covenant went around the city once and returned to camp.  I believe that the people of Jericho had to be wondering what was going on, just as lost people in the world today often wonder what is going on with God's people.  When we follow Christ, we should be living by a different standard than the world does.  Verse twelve states, And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.  Then verse thirteen adds, And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.  The next day, starting early in the morning, the priests circled the city, blowing their trumpets continuously.  When we have something to do for God there is no need to wait if we know for sure that God is leading us to do it now.  Verse fourteen concludes, And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days.  For six days, they made a circuit around the city.  Even when we may not understand exactly why God is leading us to do something, all we need to do is to obey His command, and if we do, we will be successful in our task for His glory.