Setting – Israel marches around Jericho taking the city and sparing Rahab and her family.
Content – Joshua instructed Israel to march around the city once each day for six days, while the priest blew their horns and carrying the Ark of the Covenant. On the seventh day, they march around Jericho seven times and all cried out at the long blast of the horns from the priest. The walls fell down and Israel destroyed everything, man, women, child and beast. They took the silver, gold and iron for the Lord’s treasury. They where instructed (v.18 NLT), “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on all Israel.”
The two spies went in and saved Rabah and her family. James 2:25, “In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?”
Joshua issued a curse on anyone who tries to rebuild Jericho (v. 26 NLT), “May the curse of the Lord fall on anyone who tries to rebuild the city of Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son, he will lay its foundation. At the cost of his youngest son, he will set up its gates.”
Application – You wonder why God had Israel march around for seven days. Aside from the fact that God wanted Israel to see that it was He who dropped the walls of Jericho and not on their own strength. We may face times in our lives when we think that God isn’t ‘firing on all cylinders’ with what is occurring in our lives. I recall the time when I interviewed for the City of Tracy position and didn’t get it (I was 2nd pick). The job and circumstances made complete sense that I was the one who would get the job. But in hindsight, God spared me from possibly career doom, hearing what went on with the guy who got the job. He was more qualified to handle the situations that he went through; I probably would have been toast. There were other times in my life when we or I didn’t understand why things weren’t going the way we thought they should be. Looking back, we/I realized that God was protecting or redirecting us/me to a better situation.
The main point is for me to trust in God’s direction, even if me means walking around a city seven times.
Content – Joshua instructed Israel to march around the city once each day for six days, while the priest blew their horns and carrying the Ark of the Covenant. On the seventh day, they march around Jericho seven times and all cried out at the long blast of the horns from the priest. The walls fell down and Israel destroyed everything, man, women, child and beast. They took the silver, gold and iron for the Lord’s treasury. They where instructed (v.18 NLT), “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on all Israel.”
The two spies went in and saved Rabah and her family. James 2:25, “In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?”
Joshua issued a curse on anyone who tries to rebuild Jericho (v. 26 NLT), “May the curse of the Lord fall on anyone who tries to rebuild the city of Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son, he will lay its foundation. At the cost of his youngest son, he will set up its gates.”
Application – You wonder why God had Israel march around for seven days. Aside from the fact that God wanted Israel to see that it was He who dropped the walls of Jericho and not on their own strength. We may face times in our lives when we think that God isn’t ‘firing on all cylinders’ with what is occurring in our lives. I recall the time when I interviewed for the City of Tracy position and didn’t get it (I was 2nd pick). The job and circumstances made complete sense that I was the one who would get the job. But in hindsight, God spared me from possibly career doom, hearing what went on with the guy who got the job. He was more qualified to handle the situations that he went through; I probably would have been toast. There were other times in my life when we or I didn’t understand why things weren’t going the way we thought they should be. Looking back, we/I realized that God was protecting or redirecting us/me to a better situation.
The main point is for me to trust in God’s direction, even if me means walking around a city seven times.
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