3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.
This is probably not the smartest strategy ever developed for a military battle. They are to spend six days just marching around. That can get pretty tiring. And then on the seventh day they are to march around the city seven times. That would wear them out. They wouldn’t have much strength left to do battle. The smart thing would have been to put them into some marching training, slowly building up to the seven rounds. You would have them march three times around and them give them a day or two of only one time, then do five times, and then back to one time. Remember, these men are not battle hardened men. They have been living in a desert for the last forty years. About the only thing they know how to do is eat manna. Perhaps the lesson being taught is one of obedience. Remember, the Lord is the One who is going to fight the battle, not the Israelites. It is not their strength that will cause them to prevail. It is the Lord’s strength. This is the same lesson we need to learn in our lives. When we need to conquer something in our lives, we need to be obedient, and allow the Lord to do the fighting. If we get ourselves too much in the battle, then we will mess it up. We need to allow the Lord to get the glory for the victory. We need to back down and make sure we are giving the Lord space to do His fighting.
The Arnold Journey 