Nobody Said It'd Make Sense

"Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. Then the LORD said to Joshua, 'See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its 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 seventh 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 all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in.'" (Joshua 6:1-5)

Can you imagine being Joshua at that very moment? I can. I would be questioning my sanity. Wait. So, I'm just supposed to walk around the city until the wall falls down? What!? That's the craziest thing I've ever heard! And, what do you suppose the reaction of the people was? The Bible doesn't tell us one way or the other, but I have to believe that at least some of them were thinking, "I can't believe Moses put this guy in charge. He's a lunatic!" Even if they didn't, I'm even more sure that they would have if the walls hadn't fallen. All of this would have gone through my mind.

Joshua obeyed the Lord, and it all worked out swimmingly.

It seems like God has made "not making sense" some sort of art form. What about when he told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? (Genesis 22) Or what about when God told Moses to tell Pharaoh, "Let my people go"--like that was ever gonna fly? (Exodus 3) And let's face it--things got a lot worse before they got better. And even when Pharaoh finally let them go--for a short while--God then leads them to where Pharaoh can trap them along the Red Sea. (Exodus 13) What about that whole wandering around the desert for forty years thing? Gideon? David and Goliath? It's crazy!

Well, it's not crazy. It's God, and we are simply incapable of grasping the plans he has for us. He doesn't require us to "get it." We must obey, even if it doesn't make sense.