There is nothing in the Bible like Joshua 6. In this chapter God’s secret strategic weapon was used. I’ve often wondered as I read this chapter what was going through the minds of His people. He knew every one of their thoughts. What would you be thinking if you were told to circle a high walled city seven times? Verse 10 says, “…You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, Shout! Then you shall shout.”

Hmm. How are you at keeping silent? In 1997 the Lord introduced silence as part of my quiet time. Oh was that ever a battle! Thoughts came flooding into my mind like gangbusters to thwart that new discipline. Psalm 131:2 says, “Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul…” Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God…”

The reason silence is His secret strategic weapon is because the hidden rises. It cannot hide in silence. We saw yesterday in James 1:14 that we are enticed because there is something hidden within. Flesh-fruits: hidden broken expectations, covetousness, and impatience to name just a few.

Joshua 7 is a great lesson for us all. I am thinking about Christ’s body. Perhaps Achan’s sin will help us understand why the church is so weak, and why our nation is troubled. There was sin in the camp. Achan’s hidden was exposed. Could it be some thought raised up in their silent march around the city?

Verse 19 always gives me pause. It says that confessing sin glorifies the Lord. Verse 21 was Achan’s answer. It says, “When I saw…I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden…” Let’s go back to verse 11 to see how Achan’s hidden sin affected everyone. It says, “Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them…” One man caused ALL of Israel to sin?

Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as though one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” When I connected Joshua and Romans it helped me to understand James 1:15 in a different light. It says, “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any sin hidden in your heart, then sit still before Him. Revelation 8:1 says that heaven was silent one half hour after He opened the seventh seal.