Joshua | Chapter 6

Chp. 6-12 Conquering our Canaan

Chp. 6-9 Central campaign

Chp. 6 Tearing down walls

Joshua 5:13 – 6:5

         “Three steps to victory”

        I. Intro

        II. Vs. 5: 13-15 Whose side am I on

        III. Vs. 6: 1-5 Let’s get this party started


        Intro

        The Lord had promised to be with Joshua just as He had been with Moses (1:5). If you read the bible and note the different ways the Lord appeared to people you will find that:

        • To Abraham the pilgrim, the Lord came as a traveler to share in a friendly meal (Gen. 18:1-8).
        • To Jacob the schemer, He came as a wrestler to bring him to the place of submission (32:24-32).
        • To Daniel three Hebrew men met Him as their companion in the furnace of fire (Dan. 3:25)
        • And with Joshua He met him as the Captain of the Lord’s armies.

        What do we learn from these encounters with our Lord? Well He always comes to us when we need Him and in the way we need Him. Warren Wiersbe said, “In Christian ministry great public victories are won in private as leaders submit to the Lord and receive their directions from Him.” Chinese Bible teacher Watchman Nee wrote, “Not until we take the place of a servant can He take His place as Lord.” Joshua was reminded that he was second in command. In a meeting with a small group of missionaries in China, James Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission reminded them that there were three ways to do God’s work:

        1. To make the best plans we can and hope they succeed.
        2. To make our own plans and ask God to bless them.
        3. To ask God for His plans and then do what He tells us to do.

        Robert Murray McCheyne wrote; “It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy servant is an powerful weapon in the hand of God.”    

         

        Vs. 5: 13-15 Whose side am I on

        Vs. 13 Joshua was gazing up at Jericho a sight that he and 11 other spies had seen 38 years earlier. It was this fortress that had caused 10 of his fellow spies to say in Numbers 13:31-33 “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” Nothing had changed in those 38 years those walls were still just as dwarfing as they had been years earlier, Jericho was still undefeated in those 38 years as no one had been able to breach their fortified city. And in the midst of Joshua’s gazing he saw the Lord standing before him with his sword drawn. Joshua saw the situation and it was out of control and at that very moment the Lord came to take command and Joshua came under His control. 

        Go ahead with me for a moment to the first verse of the 6th chapter as Joshua records that “Jericho was securely shut up” though hearts that were melting nonetheless they were sealed up tight in their walled city. Joshua and the Israelites had been delivered from the bondage of the world, baptized in the Spirit when the crossed the Jordan cut away the flesh and celebrated the Joy of their relationship afresh but there was still a wall, a fortress standing in their way, hindering them from going deeper into the land of promise. Hey saints can you relate to that? You are going after the Lord there is a fresh work of His Spirit in your life that has led you to cut away some of the flesh in your life and have entered into a new sense of joy but there still is a wall, a barrier that seems to stand in front of you keeping you from going further. It may be your job or relationships with folks; maybe your spouse and you just can’t see away around the obstacle. Lesson up friends as this section provides us with three scenes that will directly relate to those walls coming down that hinder us from moving forward in our relationship with the Lord.

                    Before we get into the first scene notice what Joshua does when he is by the walls of Jericho in verse 13 as it says that he, “lifted his eyes and looked”, now the N.I.V. declares that Joshua “looked up”. Here Joshua was standing right in front of these massive walls which were keeping he and the nation from going after the Lord and His promises for them and He doesn’t look down and kick the ground, he doesn’t turn around, no instead he LOOKS UP! “Oh pastor you don’t realize what I’m facing, it’s huge, it’s massive and everything is “shut up and shut down” they won’t let me in, I’m done for.” Oh friends don’t look down, don’t turn around LOOK UP! Jesus said in Luke 21:28 “When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” And who is it that Joshua sees when he looks up? Well it is none other preincarnate Jesus.

        Now this speaks to my heart friends as the Lord will appear to us in the midst of the circumstances and surroundings we find ourselves in and in away that we can receive Him. So look up my friends and you will find Jesus waiting to minister to your needs.

        Vs. 13c-15 Joshua had read in the Book of the Law what Moses had said to the Lord after Israel had made the golden calf in Ex. 33:15, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here”. Joshua had no right to claim God for his cause but God had every right to claim Joshua for His. This was not Joshua’s or Israel’s war and God was not on any side but His own! God would not be following Joshua and the armies of Israel into battle instead they would be following the Lord into victory! God is not the “party leader” to any particular human point of view be that religious denominational or secularly political. It is the work of well meaning men in their attempt amplify their own point of view that have placed God on their side. Jesus gave us this council with regards to determining whose side men are on in Matthew 7:16-20 “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”  

        Every father and mother, pastor, and Christian leader is second in command to the Lord Jesus Christ; and when we forget this fact, we start to move toward defeat and failure. Joshua was standing in “heathen territory”; yet because God was with him, he was standing on holy ground. If we are obeying the will of God, no matter where He leads us, we are on holy ground. There’s no such thing as “secular” and “sacred,” “common” and “consecrated,” when you are in the Lord’s service.

        Here then is the first of my observation lesson as we read of Joshua’s question to the Lord, “Are you for us or for our adversaries”? Hey, doesn’t that sound a lot like us when we are facing an immovable wall of opposition, “Whose side are you on”? Ah but look at the Lord’s response to the question, NO!!! NO? You see that response by the Lord is quite revealing as the Lord is telling Joshua, you’re asking the wrong question, the wall isn’t going to come down by trying to get the Lord on our side but rather it is going to come down by making sure we are on His side. So many times we reduce everything to those for us and those against us but the greater issue is to check our hearts and make sure that we are on His side. That is what Jesus said in Matthew 12:30 when He said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” Far to many times when we are facing wall and barriers in our relationships with folks we make it an “us verses them” a good verse bad but as long as we keep it on that level the walls will stay up. Ah but when we start with making sure that we are on the side of the Lord rather than trying to convince Him to be on our side then the walls will begin to crumble. Apparently Joshua gets the “NO, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have come.” As his response is “What does my Lord say to His servant?” Friend’s walls seem to always come down when we realize that it is not about trying to convince the Lord of our position but rather seek to submit to His!

        We further know that this is a preincarnate manifestation of Jesus because we are told that Joshua fell on His face to worship Him and else where we know that angels would have forbid such an action by Joshua as well as the fact that the Lord tells him that where he is standing is holly ground.


        Vs. 6: 1-5 Let’s get this party started

        Vs. 1 Jericho was not an exceptionally large city; but it was an important, formidable fortress city. The land of Canaan was divided up among a number of “city states,” each ruled by a king (12:9-24). These cities were not large; Ai, was smaller than Jericho (7:2-3), had about 12,000 people (8:25). Excavations of Jericho indicate that the city covered perhaps eight acres and was protected by two high parallel walls, which stood about fifteen feet apart and surrounded the city. The purpose of telling us this is Joshua’s way of revealing the utter hopelessness of the situation. Yet according to Numbers 13:28 it was the sight of cities like Jericho that convinced ten of the Jewish spies 38 years earlier that Israel could never conquer the land.  The purpose of telling us this is Joshua’s way of revealing the utter hopelessness of the situation.

         If Israel could defeat Jericho, they could defeat anything else that would face them in Canaan.  Again we see the wisdom of God as opposed to human wisdom, in that Israel faces their most difficult opponent first. Obviously, it was something that God could have done without Israel’s help at all, but He wanted them to be a part of His work as He wants us to be a part of His work today. The Christian life involves challenge and conflict whether we like it or not. Our enemies are constantly waging war against us and trying to keep us from claiming our inheritance in Jesus Christ.

        Vs. 2 The tense of the verb here is “I have given Jericho into your hand” in other words the victory had already been won! All Joshua and his people had to do was claim the promise and obey the Lord. It’s possible to believe a promise and still not reckon on it and obey the Lord. Believing a promise is like accepting a check, but reckoning is like endorsing the check and cashing it.  Jericho which had defeated them 38 years earlier stood as a barrier to Israel’s advancement into the presence and promises of the Lord. How were they to conquer what they had failed to do so 38 years earlier? In verse 2 we are told that the Lord told Joshua that He had given the city into their hands and in Hebrews 11:30 we are told the means by which the Lord would bring this about as we are told that “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.”  The plan for advancement beyond the walls was outlined by none other than the “Commander of the army of the Lord” and there was no room given for human schemes or military tactics nothing man could do except obey the Lord would bring the walls down. The walls of the world must come down before we can enjoy the riches of His grace in the land of promise. 

        There is something I found very interesting with regards to these instructions given by the Lord and that is they went against what Moses had instructed on most every point:

        1. They were to use priests yet we are told that priests were exempt from all military duty.
        2. They were told to take the Ark into battle but else where we learn they were never to take the Ark into battle.
        3. They were to blow seven rams horns but we are told in Numbers 10 that they were to blow two silver horns.
        4. They were told to walk around Jericho seven times on the seventh day which would have been the Sabbath yet we know that according to the law they were forbidden to travel on the Sabbath.
        5. Finally they were told to engage on battle on the Sabbath yet we know that the law forbids such a thing.

        So how are we to understand this seeming contradiction, especially in light of the fact that Joshua was there during the time in which Moses wrote down the law? I believe the answer may lie in a prophecy in Zech. 14:3 where we are told that “Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” This is a word about a future time when the Lord Jesus will fight in the battle of Armageddon but just when did Jesus fight before? We never see Him draw a sword never deliver a blow in the gospels. Yet when we consider that prophetic word in light of this passage in makes sense as the Lord Jesus was the Commander of the army of the Lord. So then Jesus was in the midst of them and His word was above the law. That brings us to the 2nd scene instructing us on how walls come down. Based upon verse three they were to walk around Jericho one time each day for six days then on the seventh day they were to walk around in seven times. Now I don’t know about you but doesn’t that sound a bit familiar? I mean have you ever felt like the Lord has you chasing your tail going around in circles? Think of those soldiers as they walked around each day for six days then seven times on the seventh day and nothing changed, the walls didn’t shrink, white flags didn’t start waving from the inhabitants of Jericho. All that happened in those seven days was they had no doubt mentally exhausted every human means to breach those walls. I’ve gone through times in seasons in my life where God has me walking around in circles staring impossibilities and what happens to me is the walls seem to get higher and thicker. So why does the Lord do that in our lives? Well I rather think HE allows us to go in circles so that we can come to the end of ourselves and realize that the only way to see the walls come down won’t be through our ingenuity it will be by the hand of the Lord. Friends before we will see the Lord knock down the walls in our lives we are going to have to spot trying to do so in our own strength. In other words don’t give up, LOOK UP, and give in!

        Vs. 4-5 Had there been military council given I’m certain that no officer would have given this advise instead it would have involved siege ramps and lots of time and effort. From a human stand point nothing could have been more useless then a regular march around the city and the blowing of horns. The preparation for the walls to come down my friends was nothing more than a shout of victory prior to them falling down.   Francis A. Schaeffer commented, “Joshua did not take the city merely by a clever, human military tactic”, the strategy was the Lord’s. No situation is too great for the Lord to handle, and no problem is too much for Him to solve. God always knows what He will do. Our responsibility is to wait for Him to tell us all that we need to know and then obey it.

                    God’s instructions were that the armed men march around Jericho once a day for six days, followed by seven priests each blowing a trumpet. The priests carrying the ark of the Lord would come next, and the rear guard would complete the procession. The only noise permitted was the sound of the trumpets. On the seventh day the procession would march around the city seven times, the priests would give a long blast on the trumpets, and then the marchers would all shout. God would then cause the walls to fall down flat so that the soldiers could easily enter the city. In biblical numerology the number seven represents completeness or perfection. The Hebrew word translated “seven” (shevah) comes from a root that means “to be full, to be satisfied.” It spoke of God’s ability to finish whatever He started.   

        The Jews used two different kinds of trumpets, those made of silver and those made of ram’s horns. The silver trumpets were used especially by the priests to signal the camp when something important was happening. The ram’s horns were used primarily for celebrations. The Hebrew word for “trumpet” is shofar; but the Hebrew word for “ram’s horn,” it is jobel, which is the root of the word jubilee. As such we see that the Lord had them blow the rams horn of celebration instead of the silver trumpet to get their attention. Israel was not declaring war on Jericho, for there would be no war! No instead they were announcing the celebration of the arrival of Israel in their new land. Hey saints we should be living like victors, not victims.

        Notice that they were shouting with a great shout before the walls fell down not after they did. Before the challenge; remember that you fight from victory, not for victory. They weren’t to doubt friends they were to shout with a voice expectant triumph faith. So often you and I walk in victory after the fact but the Lord was telling to walk in victory before the fact which makes this faith. Far too often we act defeated when we can’t figure away over around or through a wall instead of realizing that if the Lord is our commander then we can walk with much more joy then if the outcome lay in my hand. So there you have it my friend’s three things the Lord would call us to remember to dismantle walls:

        • The question isn’t whose side the Lord is on, the question is am I on the side of the Lord.
        • I’m most come to the place where I’m at the end of my self, done with trying to scale over, dig under or go around the wall.
        • I need to celebrate the victory of the Lord before the walls fall down not just after they do.

        Joshua 6:6-27

         “Another Brick in the wall”

          I. Intro

          II. Vs. 6-16 The sound of silence

          III. Vs. 17-27 Let the walls fall down


          Intro

          In Heb. 11:30 we are given the explanation to what was about to happen in Jericho that day as it says, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days” and 1 John 5:4 reminds us that “And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith”. Friends, faith is not believing in spite of evidence, for the people of Israel had been given one demonstration after another proving that God’s Word and God’s power can be trusted. How could they do anything other than believe Him! Faith is believing in spite of the consequences! What an encouragement the fall of Jericho is to trust the Lord’s promises and obey His instructions, no matter how impossible the situation may appear to be. We may not be promised to capture a city but we face obstacles with high walls that challenge us every day. What is the Jericho that has walled us out of the fullness of God’s presence? Is it ambition, pride or worldly pursuits? Only by faith can those walls come down and we advance towards the upward call in Christ. Phillips Brooks said, “Do not pray for easy lives, pray to be better men and women. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for power equal to your tasks.” 


          Vs. 6-16 The sound of silence

          Vs. 6-7 The plan of the first five verses was unveiled and all that remained was how the nation would respond to its execution. Now he first spoke to the priests in verse 6 before he spoke to the people in verse 7 that’s a good word for those who are in leadership be that in the Church or in the home as God always moves those in leadership first.

                      As I mentioned last week I find it rather interesting that God had His people walk in circles around this fortress for six days an event, (if they were anything like me), that would have had two consequences:

          1. I would have pondered every possible human way of defeating the obstacle known to man and would have grown more frustrated and personally defeated with each lap around the walls.
          2. I eventually would have come to the place where I realized that those walls weren’t going to be removed by a work of human ingenuity. Friends we all have some walls in our lives and time has proven to us that we can’t get around them go over them, or dig under them. That is why some of have no doubt chosen to cover the walls with wall paper of some outdoor scenery but the truth is we know that behind the façade there is still a wall.

          Jericho’s walls were 40 feet high with the outer wall being at least 15 feet thick and an inner wall around 12 feet thick. Every time they walked around this city they saw the that scarlet cord hanging out of Rahab’s window and she no doubt looked down and watched them marching around seeing that her redemption was just outside the window. Friends, do you realize that your redemption is just outside the window? Then each day they came back to Gilgal following the presence of the Lord around Jericho and there they would camp and I wonder what the conversation was like as they spoke of the day’s events. The historian does not debate the existence and demise of Jericho but they try to apply human logic to the walls collapse. There are those that wish to suggest that this was nothing more than an earthquake but the evidence would suggest otherwise. I recently watched a program on the History Channel that suggested that was not a miracle but rather science caused by sound waves created from the trumpets blast along with the shouts. Again this would require a miracle of the right combination of things perfectly suited for such a thing at a precise moment in time. But again Hebrews 11:30-31 tells the means by which those walls fell down saying, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.” Friends hear what Paul says in 2 Cor. 10:4 where he says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds”.

          In the third and forth chapters of Joshua the Ark is mentioned 16 times at the crossing of the Jordan and here it is mentioned eight times as the walls of Jericho come crashing down. Hey friends when we take into consideration that the Ark is the visible manifestation of the presence of the Lord we can only come to one conclusion that no matter whether you are in need of crossing over an obstacle that is keeping you from the presence and promises of the Lord or you have a wall or a barrier that is keeping you from move further into what God has for you the first thing you must have out in front of you is the presence of the Lord. Far too often we make the obstacle or the person the focus of our attention instead of the presence of the Lord. The priests could have waded all the way across the Jordan and they could have marched around the walls of Jericho for the rest of their lives with out the Ark of the presence of the Lord out in front and nothing would have happened. It is only when we:

          • Seek His presence
          • Obey His plan
          • That victory is certain     

          Next Joshua tells the army their responsibility and according to Numbers 26 the census of the military there were over 600,000 men able to bear arms. There are several things that God seems to have accomplished with the way in which He orchestrated this attack:

          1. The way in which He had them walk around the walls would have been a test of their patience. No doubt some of them were anxious to get on with the invasion so they could claim their inheritance and settle down to enjoy the rest God had promised them. “What a waste of time to devote an entire week to the taking of one city by walking around it once a day”, some could have thought. I’m certain that we are all familiar with James 1:3-4 where we are informed by James “that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
          2. Secondly we notice that they were to do silently, which would have tested their self control and personal discipline. Someone has well noted that we will not see walls come down until we learn to control our tongue. God didn’t want them talking, and complaining, He wanted them contemplating and praying. Now this impact was no doubt felt by the inhabitants of Jericho as well as they witnessed two to three million people walking around their city quietly and in order with the only sound the sound of the joyous celebration of the ram’s horn playing. Ps. 46:10 reminds us to “Be still, and know that I am God”. And according Ecc. 3:7 in the believer’s life there’s “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak”. 

          Vs. 8-14 I’m impressed by the lack of hesitation both from Joshua as well as from the priests and the people as clearly this was no ordinary way to see walls fall down. Based upon archeological evidence the dating of this incident was around 1450 BC with the walls indicating an outward fall instead of an inward fall. The circling of Israel once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh day would have left them extremely vulnerable to attack from the inhabitants of Jericho and they had to do so when it didn’t make much sense to continue.

          Friends to live the Christian life the way Jesus intends us to also leaves us very vulnerable to attack from folks in the world but we have no worries as nothing can defeat us when we walk as He walked and our walk around the cites walls ensure their collapse.

          It is this reality that made the walls coming down all the more glorious as we discover that it is not our manipulation that over comes the massive circumstances but rather the Lord. Oh it may take 6 weeks, 6 months or 6 years but rest assured those walls will fall outward. I can’t be certain but it appears to be so in my life that my laps around the walls would have been considerably shorter the quicker I came to the realization that they weren’t going to come down via my strength but rather by the Lord’s. God’s bigger walls to knock down my friend are not the barriers we face outwardly but rather the ones we face inwardly.

                      I believe all of this was yet another witness to the Amorites of Jericho to repent and get their hearts right. You may recall that God had given them 400 years to repent, and then He gave them 40 years more where clearly they had become fainthearted. He gave them a few more days as they witnessed the crossing of the Jordan and circumcision at Gilgal and the celebration of the Passover meal. That was followed by six days of marching around their walls all of which had left them with hearts that melted but unfortunately refused to turn to the living God. 

          Vs. 15-16 This work had to include the Sabbath which suggests to us early on within 40 years of the laws with regards to the Sabbath that the people viewed Sabbath keeping differently then later generations and Adventists do today as clearly they viewed it as did the Lord of the Sabbath Jesus said in Mark 2:27-28 “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.” After six days of silence they were told at the appropriate time to shout for the “Lord has given you the city”. This shout was in recognition that God was now giving them what He had promised and He was doing so in His power not their own. What an amazing thing when we stop to realize that it was to be God’s power demonstrated through man’s silence!


          Vs. 17-27 Let the walls fall down

          Vs. 17-19 According to Deut. 20:14 the soldiers shared the spoils of war but not at Jericho; for everything there belonged to the Lord and was put into His treasury. No Israelite was to appropriate anything for themselves all was either dedicated to the Lord or burned as being worthless. Thus the city and everything in it was dedicated to the Lord for His purpose and plan. 

          In the 17th verse we are told by Joshua that “the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.” Based upon Joshua 2:15 Rahab’s house was part of the wall, so the most dangerous place to be for the rest of the city was the safest place to be for Rahab and her family. When the walls fell outwardly her part of the wall stayed intact with the scarlet cord still hanging from the window. That cord was an outward sign of an inward reality as it should her trust in the Lord’s word for her. It was a sign of her obedience. That reminds folks of baptism as baptism doesn’t save us it is an outward sign of an inward reality that we have been saved by trusting in God’s Word, Jesus.

                      There is a warning given by the Lord through Joshua and that was twofold:

          1. First, in verse 18 the lord says, “And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.” This warning is clearly to the people of Israel not to go after the things that caused the destruction of Jericho. Oh dear ones this is a word four me and you not to chase after the things that has destroyed lives in the world.
          2. Second verses 26-27 was a warning to a yet future generation not to rebuild this destroyed city as it was to be a constant reminder of those who resist God’s grace until their own destruction. Joshua assures the safety of Rahab while also warning the people not to take up the idolatry of the inhabitants of Jericho, who’s residents were so wicked that in verse 26 a prophetic word is issued that it will cost the person’s family if they attempt to rebuild the walls that incased such wickedness. Having toured both Israel as well as the Israel museum in Jerusalem where they have on display the ancient Canaanite culture with human and infant sacrifices that abounded no wonder God judged this city. The facts are the people destroyed far more of their own people over the 100’s of years then God did in judging the city when the walls fell. All the valuables belonged to God not the Israelites and in establishing this we see that Jericho became the first fruits of the inheritance for the nation.

          Vs. 20-21 God gave the reason for such complete destruction of Jericho in Deut. 18:9-14

          Where we read “When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you.” For well over 400 years God have given them opportunity to turn from sin, through knowledge of His judgment upon the Egyptians and the showing of His power in the Red Sea. Through the testimony of one of their own Rahab and the witness of the crossing of the Jordan and the march around their city. And though their hearts melted what Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:19 stands as truth “this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” God who is all knowing, who search’s the thoughts and intents of the heart knew that there was not a person in that city save Rahab and her family that would ever no matter how much revelation and opportunity ever turn from their wickedness and in fact they would only cause more to suffer under the life they so willing lived.

                      So we see that Israel took what God had given by obeying what the Lord told them to do. That my friends is our responsibility in the equation of faith as we simply step out and trust in what God has promised He would do.

          Vs. 22-25 When the walls of the city fell down, it appears that the section of the wall that held Rahab’s house didn’t fall down! In other words it wasn’t necessary for the spies to look for a window with a red cord hanging from it because the only house that was left standing was her house. God saved and protected Rahab because of her faith and she led her family to trust in Jehovah so they were also saved. Their faith brought them into the nation of Israel and Rahab would marry Salmon and became an ancestress of King David and of the Messiah! There in wall or fortress of man that can protect a harden heart from God’s presence and no destruction that He can not deliver one from that will trust Him! G. Campbell Morgan said, “God is perpetually at war with sin, that is the whole explanation of the extermination of the Canaanites.” In Psalm 106:34-39 we are told that Israel “did not destroy the peoples, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them, but they mingled with the Gentiles and learned their works; they served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they were defiled by their own works, and played the harlot by their own deeds.” So we see that because the Jews didn’t fully obey this commandment in later years they were themselves judged. To quote Campbell Morgan again: “Thank God that He will not make peace with sin in my heart! I bless His name for the thunder of His authority, and for the profound conviction that He is fierce and furious in His anger against sin, wherever it manifests itself.” The Lord will not share my life if there are rival gods in my heart. He will not permit me to compromise with the enemy. The Lord spoke through Moses in Deut. 4:24 saying, “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” God’s love burns for every soul and those that step into will not be harmed as Daniels three friends found out but those who refuse will find more than hearts that melt! 

          Rahab and her family were willing to do what the rest of the residents of Jericho weren’t willing to do even though their hearts were melting at the pending judgment and that is repent and turn from their sin to trusting in the living God whom they knew about. Rahab’s salvation wasn’t based upon knowledge but obedience and their disobedience was not based upon ignorance but rather willfulness. Clearly Joshua wrote in the time frame of the incidents as he tells us Rahab was still alive and dwelling with the Israelites and she by the way was no 2nd class citizen but an object of God’s grace and was fully grafted in under the banner of God’s love and grace.

          Vs. 26-27 There is a curious post script to this warning not to rebuild Jericho in 1 Kings 16:34 where we are told of Hiel of Bethel who was living in the time of Ahab rebuilt Jericho but he did so as prophesized with “its foundation with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, according to the word of the Lord, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun.” God knocked down the walls and He warned the nation not to set up those walls again or it would cost you your children. And sad to say there are many a Christian who could testify of the truth of this as they watched the Lord knock down the walls in their lives only to go back to those same things and rebuild them but at the price of their children and grand children. Brothers, sisters if the Lord has knocked down a wall in your life don’t go back into that city and rebuild it. Say you have watched the Lord do a wonder in your life, broken through the hardness in your heart, given you a gentle heart of forgiveness don’t go back and start stacking the old bricks of your former life walk away into the fullness of joy.