And the Walls came tumbling Down

Hebrews 11:30

You may want to think about this today, the walls of Jericho were two walls thirty-foot high, they ran nearly parallel and circled the summit of the mound.  They were made of sun-dried brick some four inches thick and varied in length from one to two feet.  The inner wall is from eleven to twelve feet thick and is constructed on the foundation of an earlier wall.  The later outer wall is about six feet thick and stands on the edge of the mound.  The space between the two walls varies from 12 to 27 feet and at frequent intervals the two are tied together by brick walls.  How do we know this; it was excavated by Charles Warren (1868), Ernst Sellin (1907-11), John Garstang (1929-30), and Miss Kathleen Kenyon (1952-58).

Jericho is the first city captured by the Israelites under Joshua’s command and this is what the people did; they listened to their leader, Joshua because God had given him this word; “And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.” (Joshua 6:2)  This is like Mexico attacking the United States of America, with one exception; Joshua had a promise from God.  Now it may be of some importance to explain that God’s instructions in taking this great, fortified city were not in keeping with standard practices.  This rag-tag bunch of Israelites walking around those thirty –foot high walls for six days and on the seventh day they were to do it seven times, and the priests blew the trumpets, and when the ram’s horn was sounded, all the people shouted with a great shout, and the walls of the city fell down flat, and the people went into the city and took it captive.

Did I tell you that the ark of the Lord was being carried around the city and the armed men walked before and after it and the trumpets blew continually?  For the people of Jericho it was the biggest show in town, they were on top of the wall and wondered why would anyone fear this group, yet they had heard about Israel’s God, and what they had heard about Him gave them cause to fear. 

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to live in a way that people did not fear you, but they feared your God?  To live in nations that had this motto on its money, (In God we Trust) and all the nations of the world knew that you as a people believe that motto.  That is why this rag-tag army was feared; it was their faith in what God had spoken to Joshua and because of that act of faith, they were put into God’s hall of fame, chapter 11 of Hebrews, verse 30, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had encircled it for seven days.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice