Jericho Comes Down

Joshua 6:15-21
15 On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. 16 And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. 17 And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. 18 But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it. 19 But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” 20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. 21 Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.

After six days and six circuits around Jericho is silence, the people take their final journey around the city walls. On Joshua’s command, they break their silence and give out a might shout and the walls of Jericho fall straight down to the ground. Then they stream into Jericho and take the city that God has given to them. Along with the command to shout at the appointed time, Joshua also tells them that they are to take no booty, but instead to destroy everything; everything except the gold, silver, and bronze items are to be destroyed. Those precious metals are to be set aside for God. That destruction includes the people and animals – with the exception of Rahab and her family.

Our western sensibilities may be offended by these actions. But we need to keep in mind this was God’s plan and His wisdom and ways cannot be called into question, for His will is always just. He knows things we do not.

Jericho, which probably means “moon city,” may have been an ancient center of moon worship. We know that detestable Canaanite practices included such things as incest, cultic prostitution, homosexuality, and child sacrifice. Remains of children have been found in funerary jars at the foundations of temples and other buildings. The OT refers to child sacrifice a number of times, especially in connection with the god Molech. It is now time for God’s judgment to fall on the full-grown sin of the people of Canaan.
Harstad, A. L. (2004). Joshua (pp. 287–288). Saint Louis, MO: CPH.

On a larger scale, we can think of Jericho as a ‘type’ for the future of an unrepentant world. In the end, at the final trumpet / judgment, Jericho – that is the world – will collapse. Those who are repentant (such as Rahab) will be spared and those who choose to mock God will be destroyed. We can hate that all we want, but God’s ways are perfect and right. Those facts must be taken by faith, for trying to figure them out using our weak reasoning will end us in the wrong place. Jesus died for the sins of mankind, but many choose to deny Him. That is not God’s fault or choice, for it is His good and perfect will that all should come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. When we deny Him, we must turn the finger of blame upon ourselves. And the imperative to share His loving salvation with a sin-dark world becomes even greater.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The...
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv...
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl...
Read more