The Walls of Jericho, Joshua 6:1-2

 

Joshua and crew finally made it.

Home sweet home in the Promise Land. Now, it’s just kick back, relax, have fun, golf, Gulf, beach, fishing, shuffle board, daily specials at the diner, life of Riley, in the land of milk and honey.

Well, that’s not exactly how it went.

Before they could kick back and retire, God enlisted them in Promise Land Boot Camp. They were taught God’s Protection, by way of circumcision; His Provision, via removing manna; and a couple points in Promise Land Protocol: There’s only one side—God’s. You’re on Holy Ground.

Chapter five closes with Joshua, barefoot, on his face, in front of the Lord who is holding a sword; and Jericho, is within sight.

Now, the conversation continues in chapter six.

 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. 

Jericho was tightly shut up. All doors, and windows, and gates were closed. No one waving from the wall saying, “Welcome to the neighborhood.” No Visitor Center. No Welcome Wagon. Nothing. Well, except for one peculiar looking scarlet rope dangling from a window.

Why was everything shut up?

The Heart of a Harlot, says it well, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.” Joshua 2:9.

Israel was new to the land; yet, the long-time residents were the ones who felt like occupiers, because they knew they were on borrowed land, and living on borrowed time.  

Down inside, those without Christ, know they’re on Someone else’s land. They may not admit it, or even be conscious of it, but they live in a constant, undercurrent of fear.  

As a child of God, we can, and should walk secure, at peace, free from fear.

So, the next time someone shuts you out, turns away, doesn’t welcome you with arms wide open. Rather than being hurt, getting mad, or offended, consider, that they may be afraid. Perhaps the Light of Jesus, hurts the eyes of their soul. Pray. Ask them, “How can I pray, for you?”

Lord, we pause right now to listen to what You have to say about fear, and to pray for any who are battling fear.

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (freedom).  2 Corinthians 3:17

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7.

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Romans 8:15

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid. John 14:27

Lord Jesus, thank You, that Your Word, does not return void, You watch over it to perform it. Thank You for helping us, to be, in You, bold and courageous.

Amen.

Now, Joshua and Jesus are just outside Jericho. Can you see them? Joshua on his knees, the Lord with the sword.

I picture them both looking at Jericho—but seeing entirely different things.

So, the Lord slowly raises His sword, points it toward the city…

² And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor...

See?

Um…all I can see is walls.

Tall walls. Big walls. Thick, hard, solid, double barrier, walls. Walls so wide, chariots can race on top.

I must not be seeing what You’re seeing.

Jericho is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Jericho today, sits next to the remains of the walls we read about today. And every stone, confirms the Truth of this story.   

Imagine you’re Joshua, right there, next to Jesus. Let your eyes drift from where you’re standing, toward the walls of Jericho.

Just before you reach the wall, there’s a steep incline. Then a wall shoots straight up twelve to fifteen feet. On top of that another wall heads toward heaven, another twenty to twenty-six feet. That’s just the outer wall, about three to four stories tall.

You can’t see it, but just inside the upper, outer wall, there’s land, it’s on a slight incline, away from the outer wall. There are several small houses, some built into the wall. Rahab the harlot’s house is one of them.

Some distance inside the outer wall, is another wall, it reaches toward the sky another twenty to twenty-six feet. Inside that wall, is the main, and more prosperous, part of the city.

The inner circle of the city was only about six acres, the outer ring, added about three or four more acres. Thus, the entire city of Jericho, was only about ten acres.

According to historians and archeologists, they figure the population to be around two hundred people per acre. So, the population of Jericho, was probably around two thousand people.

If you’re Joshua, you might be thinking, it’s not that big, but still, it’s impossible to breach those walls. But all you have to do, is close your eyes and listen.

Listen close. Do you hear it? Gurgling, churning, flowing, water? That sound is coming from the rushing, raging, flood-stage-rising, Jordan River. Remember, it’s the river that just days ago, the invisible hand of God, held back, so all Israel could cross, on dry ground.

Those walls? Impossible? Ha! Those walls, to God, are nothing more than a house of cards.

But those walls, weren’t the walls, that Jesus saw. He saw the walls, that could cause those walls, not to fall.

In many ways, it’s the same walls, that stand in our way, to this day.

So, God, why do we need to bother them anyway? I mean, just look at them, they’re scared. They’re not bothering anybody. They’re all locked up, minding their own business, why don’t we mind ours? We have all this other land, they only have ten acres, why can’t we just leave them alone? Why can’t we all just get along? They’ll do their thing, we’ll do ours. I mean, after all, Rahab is one of them, and she’s not so bad, right? We’re all just people, who are we to say, I’m right—you’re wrong? Why can’t we just say, I’m okay, you’re okay? You have your truth, and I’ll have mine. You know, how about we just, coexist?

That line of thinking only leads to one thing—there is no right, there is no wrong. Therefore, God is unjust, to judge.

Jericho wasn’t destroyed because of those walls that fell…but because of the walls that didn’t. This is important because it reveals the, loving, longsuffering, not willing that any perish, heart of God.  

To understand we’ll need to listen in on a conversation between God and Abraham, over four hundred years earlier…

Which is what we’ll do first thing, next time and we’ll see why the walls of Jericho, had to go… (and as a bonus we might just hear the remains of the walls tell an amazing story about the relevancy and accuracy of the Bible).

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank You for doing Your part, tearing down the wall of separation between us, and building a bridge, in the shape of a cross. Now it’s our part. We willingly, humbly, come to You, and submit to Your will. Lord, forgive us, heal us, have Your way in and through us, that no wall, come between us, ever. We love You.

Amen.