"And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year."
The Israelites (some estimates say there were around 2 Million of them) were encamped "Gilgal", which is said to have been just to the east of Jericho. They had been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years and they were headed to the PROMISED LAND! Excitement had to be rampant!!
Yet, Joshua would not let them stray from The LAW. The Israelites had to observe Passover in the plains of Jericho, because that is where they were on the anniversary of GOD delivering them from captivity. In Joshua 1:7, it is recorded, "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: TURN NOT from it to the RIGHT hand or to the LEFT, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest." Joshua knew they key to Israel's success was honoring GOD!
It is said that Jericho is only 34 miles from Jerusalem. The "anticipation" had to have been causing some to want to go ahead of GOD. But Joshua "followed" GOD's direction and Jericho and the other cities were delivered into HIS hands.
Sometimes, we think we know where GOD is leading, and we want to conquer without waiting on HIM. Our anticipation gets the best of us. I saw a quote recently from an unknown author; "God has perfect timing; never early, never late. It takes a little patience and it takes a lot of faith. but it’s worth the wait."
"IF" we wait on HIM, as Joshua did, the walls of our Jericho may crumble at our feet and we can start eating of the fruit of Canaan!
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