Lessons from Jericho
Today we are going to look at one of the most well-known stories in the bible, the fall of Jericho.
I am sure the first picture you get in your mind is that of the walls of Jericho tumbling down! But as usual there is much we can learn from this story
It all starts off with Moses standing on Holy ground and a burning bush. God then telling Moses that He was about to lead Israel into a land of milk and honey.
Exodus 3 NIV Moses and the Burning Bush
3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites
It sounds good doesn’t it? A land of milk and honey – wholesome and sweet! Sounds like just the place you can retire in, raise a few chickens, a few sheep. Is a “good and spacious land” so the neighbours should not be too noisy or troublesome- sounds great shouldn’t be too difficult?
As you know Joshua, a great military commander and leader, then takes over from Moses to lead the people into the Promised Land. Jericho is a strategically important first city to take control of, particularly in terms of water supply. In this particularly barren part of Israel, Jericho had ancient springs and also controlled a number of passes in the region. As such it was very well fortified with massive walls. The base of the wall was about 11ft high, then it extended upwards at an angle of 35 deg for 35 feet, and then the main wall extended up from that. It was also wide enough so a chariot could ride along it- quite formidable. So it was their first challenge as they came into the land of milk and honey.
Joshua sent spies into the city to find out how to deal with this fortress, but unfortunately these spies are discovered by the people of Jericho. Fortunately Rahab, a prostitute hides them and smuggles them out, on condition that when the Israelites do take over the city her life and her parent’s life would be spared.
It is now about 1406BC, the Jordan River is in flood and to get into the Promised Land and onto Jericho Israel needed to cross this river. And in the same manner as the crossing of the Red Sea, just as those carrying the Ark of the Covenant come to the Jordan river, it stops flowing and the Jews cross the flooded Jordan river on dry ground. They then head off to Jericho via Gilgal.
We pick up the story in Joshua 5:13
Joshua 5:13-6:25 NIV The Fall of Jericho
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[a] have for his servant?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
6 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 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. 5 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.
And we all know what happened, the city walls collapsed, the city was captured and every living thing was killed, men women, children animals. Rahab and her family were spared
There are some interesting lessons here for us:
The uniqueness of how God deals with us.
Israel had to conquer many other cities and armies and to my knowledge never again was this exact method used to defeat the enemy. There is no formula to break down any walls of your own. No formula you can follow to ensure that God defeats your enemy, no formula to ensure you overcome whatever challenge you are facing and there is no formula to how we even have church. There is no formula how we come into God’s presence, no formula on the type of music.
The only guidelines we have are the Word of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. My experience has been that every time I have received guidance or rhema on any matter it has been completely unique experience? I know we often look at other churches and wonder why we can’t all be in one big church or alternatively why they either seem so staid or ritualistic in their worship, or alternatively some seem to wild and emotive, but you know we are all so different in our needs and mannerisms, and God approaches us in unique ways. So that diversity is in fact a necessity not a weakness. Look at the children of your family all so different, some may be very challenging, but all have the Fathers ear. As we do.
And so when are faced with these challenges and apparently insurmountable challenges, these intimidating walls and Jericho’s in our life, the most important thing when can do is to firstly realise that we are all part of the family of God. As John writes in John 1:12-13 ….. to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
And then, just as Joshua did, to turn to the Father, to take off our sandals, (humble ourselves) stand on holy ground (recognise the sovereignty of God) and then wait for the Lord. Do you notice that God did not instantly break down the walls as soon as Joshua arrived? There was a process, a waiting time. Seven days. The people had to realise this was God in charge
Habakkuk 2:1 2 I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts;
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
We continue to have challenges and drama in the Promised Land.
The barriers that Joshua faced with Jericho may seem insurmountable especially after been promised a land of milk and honey! And we may find ourselves in these situations as well. We may be saying to ourselves “If God is for me who can be against me?” Then …we come up against these obstacles, sometimes life and death issues. If you’re like me you find yourself sometimes grumbling in the desert! I find myself saying” How am I going to fix this problem and sort it out?” And that’s where I go wrong.
“It’s not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit say the Lord”
Challenges, sometimes severe will continue in the land of milk and honey even if God is with us. I am afraid, pruning, pulling out weeds spraying and killing off destructive insects, fungus and the like is all part of the growth process to get a healthy plant- before you get the fruit! Just because we are part of the family of God, it does not make the journey easy. In fact it may be more difficult, but it will be the best thing that has happened to you!
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
The importance of obedience to the Word of God
It was not anything Joshua did that brought the wall down. It was simply obedience to the Lord.To the world this idea of marching around a city for 7 days then blowing some trumpets and shouting is quite illogical and borders on insanity if that what you think will cause the walls to come down?
1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The world is walking in darkness, but in our Lord is life and that life is the light of men. The light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not understood it.
As Christians we do see things differently so we should not be surprised if the world takes a different path. It would be pure foolishness to follow the masses in darkness when we have the Light. No matter how much ridicule or coercion comes your way we cannot afford to be pulled away by those whose whole focus is of the here and now, of worldly things. Is that not a major difference between Christians and non-Christians- we have an eternal view. The challenges we face now are in the scheme of things a temporary inconvenience, but where the word of God is rejected or ridiculed there is only darkness. There is a hymn that goes
There’s a light upon the mountains, and the day is at the spring,
When our eyes shall see the beauty and the glory of the King;
Weary was our heart with waiting, and the night-watch seemed so long,
But His triumph-day is breaking, and we hail it with a song.
That’s the difference – our vision is upwards- towards the Light!
Obedience to the Word brought victory to Joshua!
The final point I want to have a look at is just how encouraging the story of Rahab is.
Remember the encounter Joshua had when he met the Lord
Joshua 5:13-6:25 (NIV)
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14 “Neither,” he replied
I remember playing rugby in my younger days, and when the opposition were kicking for goal, I would often be praying, “Lord please make them miss, bring a wind and blow that ball off course”. Now I am slightly older and wiser I know that prayer was a bit misdirected (excuse the pun). God is not on any man’s side, we are on His side. And God calls us to be on His side even if we are a Canaanite, even if we are a Rahab.
In so many ways we are like Rahab. She was a prostitute, a sinner, worshipper of Baal, idols and things of this world. And while all the Canaanites feared what Israel had done to their enemies, i.e. looked at things on a physical level (as we did), her eyes were opened to look beyond that into the spiritual realm, and she saw the might and power of God in the success of Israel. Even though she had fear, she put her faith in God in this calamity and in this tumultuous time (in fact she risked her life doing so). In doing so she was saved, and more than that, became an ancestor to David and Jesus! Part of the family of God! Who knows what great people your descendants will become one day! Let’s read the story in Joshua 2
Joshua 2:8-13 NIV
8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea[a] for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.[b] 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
12 “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.”
We too, even though we may have fears, can put our faith in God, in whatever calamity or tumultuous time we may experience. And while we will experience the walls of Jericho in our path, as we walk with the Ark of the Covenant (God in our midst and in the ways of God), those walls become gateways to springs of life giving water. Just as Jericho did for the Jews. Just as ALL were asked to shout, we too are all asked to participate in a battle that know is not of might or power but of the Spirit.
But let’s not tire of walking around the city! Press in