THE Israelites have just ended their 40 years of wandering about in the Sinai Desert after God delivered them from 400 years of bondage in Egypt. God, my God, the God of Moses and Israel, Who sent to us His only and beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Who became man through the Blessed Virgin Mary, Who willingly suffered and died for us on the cross that we may have eternal life with Them in paradise, forced pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to release the Jews by punishing Egypt with natural calamities ending with the death of the first born of all Egyptians, including Pharaoh’s first born. God then parted the red sea to let the Jews pass safely through to the desert.
God promised Moses that He would lead them to the promised land of milk and honey. He gave them the Ten Commandments written by the Hand of God Himself in stone and placed in the Ark of the Covenant. But along the way, the Jews made and worshipped a golden cow. They complained that they were better off as slaves in Egypt, where Pharaoh gave them food to eat. God was displeased with their betrayal and complaints but nevertheless fed them with manna, something similar to bread, everyday for 40 years. But of the original 600,000 who left Egypt, only a handful survived to be at the point where they could see the Promised Land. God did not allow anyone who worshipped the golden cow or complained of deliverance from Egypt to set foot in the Promised Land. So, most of the people who were about to set foot in the Promised Land were the children of the ones who left Egypt.
The Promised Land was Canaan, now Palestine, which was already inhabited. Jericho was the first city in Canaan that the Israelites had to conquer. Joshua, the leader of the Israelites, encamped about 10 miles outside Jericho which was heavily fortified by a very high stone wall and securely barred. No one went in and no one came out. The Jordan River separated Jericho from the camp of the Israelites.
An angel appeared before Joshua to deliver a message from God: “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the 7th day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”
The angel further informs Joshua that the priests must carry the Ark of the Covenant to the Jordan River with the army trailing a thousand feet behind them. Joshua then announces God’s instructions to his soldiers. When the feet of the priests carrying the ark touch the Jordan River, the waters part, just like the red sea parted, to allow the priests and the army to pass through! If God is for you, who can stand up against you?
Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets, with the army behind them, encircling the stone walls of Jericho. They did this for six days.
On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!”
When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed! Your debt problems will collapse too if you bring your problems to the Lord!
* * *
Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in bankruptcy, business, real estate and civil litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S Fremont Ave Bldg A-1 Suite 1125 Unit 58 Alhambra, CA 91803.
