Help Against Enemies

TEXT: Joshua 6:1-20

At the time of the taking of Jericho, the Children of Israel had learned a hard lesson. They had just finished wandering in the wilderness for forty years because they had disobeyed God. He had told them He would fight for them if they obeyed and trusted Him. As they marched around Jericho, they were obedient to God. The method was unorthodox, but God gave the victory! The people shouted with a great shout, and the walls fell down flat.

QUESTIONS

1. Why were the inhabitants of Jericho so terrified of the Israelites that they wouldn’t come out of their city to fight against them? See Joshua 2:9-11.
2. After the fall of Jericho, Joshua 7 records that the Children of Israel were badly defeated when they fought against the much smaller city of Ai. The Israelites had been told not to take any spoil from Jericho, but Achan disobeyed God’s command, and all the people suffered because of it. What principle does this lead us to understand regarding deliverance from our enemies?
3. Several times in the Old Testament, God used the forces of nature to fight against Israel’s enemies. Look up the following Scriptures and describe what instrumentality God used in each instance.
   Joshua 10:11
   Joshua 10:12-14
   Joshua 24:12
   1 Samuel 14:15-16
4. We likely won’t face the literal battles like Joshua and other Biblical characters did. What kind of personal enemy might we face in our day?
5. We don’t expect the Lord to slay those who oppose us, but what kind of help and victory can we expect the Lord to provide?
6. What does the Lord expect of us after He has delivered us from our enemies? What benefit will we receive by doing this? See Psalm 107:1-2 and Revelation 12:10-11.
7. One of the keys to receiving victory is praise. Paul and Silas are a notable example of this (Acts 16:25). How can we praise God when we are facing an enemy? Why does this increase our faith to believe for victory over our enemies?
8. Jesus told His disciples that He gave them power over all power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). Yet He told them not to rejoice in this. In what were they to rejoice? See Luke 10:20.