LEARNING DAILY

 

Hebrews 11:30, It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho seven days and the walls came crashing down. (NLT)

 

Jericho was a city that covered about eight acres of land.  It was a fortress city not just for its residents, but also for the inhabitants of the countryside around it.  The walls have been estimated to be thirty feet high and twenty feet thick.  Jericho was considered to be invincible and protected by the gods of the Canaanites.  The capture of Jericho was the key to Joshua’s war strategy because it would demonstrate that Israel’s God was superior to the gods of the Canaanites.  Joshua’s success was certain because he followed God’s plan. (LSSB).

 

In Joshua 6:2, the Lord tells Joshua that He has given to him the city of Jericho, the king and all the mighty men of the city.  This chapter in Joshua records God’s strategy for defeating the city; Joshua was to take Israel’s men of war and walk around the city each day for six days without making a sound.  On the seventh day they were to march around the city seven times.  On the seventh time, when the trumpet sounded, the people were to shout a great shout and the walls would fall down. 

 

Joshua 6:17-18, tells us that Jericho was a doomed city, that it was doomed by the Lord.  Not only was the city doomed but so were all its inhabitants (except for Rahab, who we will write about tomorrow).  The people of Jericho were evil and lived unrighteous lives; God was going to destroy them along with the city.  The people of Israel were instructed by God to take only silver and gold, vessels of brass and iron that were consecrated to the Lord.  These items were to be put in the treasury of the Lord.

 

Joshua and the people did according to God’s plan and the walls fell down flat and they took the city.  The Bible does not record any casualties among the Israelites.  They followed the Lord’s instructions (JSESB).  There are a lot of speculation about what happened to the walls.  I will leave it up to you to research that if you are curious.  The city was not rebuilt for several hundred years and very little remains of the destroyed city have been found.  The city is mentioned again when Jesus healed two blind men there and also when Jesus walked through Jericho and ate at Zacchaeus’ home.

 

You and I are to live by faith; that is the encouragement found in the Hall of Fame of Faith.  When we face “the walls of Jericho” we can enter the battle in confidence because our faith is centered in the promises of God.  That is what the Israelites did for seven days as they walked around the circumstance (Jericho) they faced.  You and I can face enormous walls that certainly test our faith because they are impossible to break down by human ability.  The answer is to put our confidence in what God promises in His Word.  Do what He says, and watch Him break the walls down.  That might mean doing something crazy like walking around a fortress for seven days and shouting to bring down the walls. 

 

I am so thankful that God goes before us, fights for us, and brings us HIS victory. Let me end with the encouraging words God spoke to Joshua.  They encourage us to walk in the narrow way! “Be strong and very courageous.  Obey all the laws Moses gave you.  Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do.  Study this book of the Law continually.  Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it.  Only then will you succeed. I command you – be strong and courageous!  Do not be afraid or discouraged.  For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (NLT)

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB