The Power of Silence

Joshua 6:10, But Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard, nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’

You no doubt know the story. The walls of Jericho were shut up tight. God gave Joshua explicit instructions for the children of Israel to march around the walls once for six consecutive days. On the seventh day, they were to march around it seven times. Then, the priests were to blow the trumpets followed by a great shout and the wall of the city would come down.

But forget about the trumpets, the shout, and the wall collapsing for a minute. Can you imagine the difficulty of several hundred thousand people marching around the city without a word, not even a whisper, for six straight days! There were the priests with their trumpets, those with the ark, the armed men and then the rest of the people. This may have included the women and children as well. The silence may be even a bigger miracle than the wall falling down!

The passage does not tell us why they were to be silent, but perhaps it illustrates the importance of being silent before God and just resting in Him. There is another passage that comes to mind in Exodus 14:14 where Moses said to the children of Israel as Pharoah's army is chasing after them, Jehovah shall fight for you, and you shall be silent. [MKJV] Then there is Psalm 46:10-11 which reads: Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD Almighty is with us … As this Psalm suggests, the silence teaches us the need to be quiet, to stop our running around that we may rest quietly in Him as we think on Him in the midst of our trials and conquests in life. Our tendency is to gripe and complain to others or seek our comfort from people more than we talk to God and seek our comfort from Him.

What great discipline the children of Israel displayed for those six days. Can you imagine how the people inside the walls felt? The Bible says they were already living in great fear due to Israel's previous victories. I have to think the silence was driving the Jerichoans crazy. By the time the seventh day came and the trumpets blew, and they heard the great shout, and the wall come down...they were no doubt "easy pickins" as Israel's people flooded into the city destroying everything on two and four legs.

In the same way, I believe disciplined Christians drive the enemy "nuts." I am speaking of believers who rest quietly in their Lord trusting Him to go before them and fight the battle. Christ through His death and resurrection has done just that. We can rest, be silent, and trust Him for the victory. Why don't you do that today?