Title: STORIES OF FAITH:
JERICHO’S DOWNFALL
Focus: Our pilgrimage of life includes battles of faith, trusting that we shall inherit the renewed creation as God’s gift of salvation through Christ, our Lord.
Function: To encourage the people to live by faith, obeying God’s Word and focusing on the prize—the restored creation.
Texts: Joshua 5:13-6:27;
Hebrews 11:30
How do we think of ourselves as Christians? In the Old Testament we notice that Abraham is a pilgrim. He is on his way to settle in the land of Canaan. Later on, we notice that Moses and God’s people do likewise: they are pilgrims yearning to inherit the Promised Land of Canaan. But how should we think of ourselves today as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Well, in
the New Testament we notice a number of interesting images depicting Christian
discipleship. For example, in Hebrews, Christians are depicted as athletes,
running a race: (Hebr.
12) “…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us….”
The apostle Paul speaks about Christians being engaged in warfare: (Eph. 6) “…be
strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so
that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
And elsewhere (II Tim.
4) Paul speaks about fighting “the good fight,” and about having
“finished the race.”
The apostle Peter presents us with the image of a temple and priesthood, thus underscoring that we must see ourselves as servants presenting works of service and ourselves as living sacrifices: (I Peter 2) “…you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” And elsewhere (II Peter 3) Peter reminds Christians that we are on the way (pilgrims) “looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”
In light of these biblical images depicting Christian discipleship as warfare, a race, a priesthood of service, and a journey toward the new heavens and earth, and also in light of the story of faith regarding Jericho’s downfall, I declare that our pilgrimage of life includes battles of faith. And as we fight the good fight of faith by trusting God’s Word, we shall inherit the renewed creation as God’s gift of salvation through Christ, our Lord. The faith of God’s people surrounding the downfall of Jericho is an encouragement for us to live by faith. That faith shows itself in obedience of God’s Word, and that kind of faith keeps its eyes focused on the prize—the restored creation.
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Now many people, women perhaps more so than men, do not like to observe and analyze battle scenes. “Too much violence and physical brutality” is the common response to such scenes. I can’t say that I like to watch battle scenes with all its gruesome horror, but it’s true that I am more intrigued by such scenes than, for example, my wife Rosanne. Yet, tonight I want to encourage us all to pay close attention to the battle of Jericho and its downfall.
We must do so, however, through the prism or glasses of the grand story of God’s redemption. As Christians, we have the benefit of hindsight. And our hindsight must take place through the lens or telescope of Jesus’ work on the cross and in the tomb. Our hindsight is also colored by what is as yet to come. In other words, the entire story of God’s salvation—from the beginning of time to the end of time—enter into our observation of Israel’s faith and Jericho’s downfall.
As we take into account the entire story of God’s salvation, we also must work with the biblical concept of “shadows” and “reality.” For example, God’s rescue of Israel from the bondage of Egypt and Pharaoh is a shadow pointing forward to the reality of God’s rescue of his people from the bondage of sin, death and Satan.
Also, Israel’s
sacrifice of a Passover Lamb to escape the angel of death visiting their homes
is a shadow of Christ, the Passover Lamb of God, who has shed his blood so that
we may escape God’s judgment and eternal death.
Shadows and reality—it’s a concept that helps us also understand the story of Jericho’s downfall.
Let me explain: The grand story of God’s salvation leads
to the renewal of all things at the end of time. God in Christ will return,
together with all God’s people who are in heaven and with all God’s people who
shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye. At that time there will be final
judgment: God will pronounce his wrath upon all who have been disobedient and
who have resisted him and rejected his Christ. They will be judged and eternal
perdition or destruction or hell will be their destiny.
God’s people, saved through faith by the blood of Christ will inherit “the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” God will grant them the inheritance, the Promised Land, the new heavens and new earth. This is the reality for which God’s people have been waiting throughout history. It will come. And it is foreshadowed in the battle of Jericho and its downfall.
So as we consider the story of Joshua and God’s people entering the Promised Land of Canaan, let’s keep in mind the shadows and their reality.
The story begins with Joshua, the leader of Israel, encountering the commander of the Lord’s army. Some think that this commander is an angel of the Lord; others are inclined to think of this commander as a Theophany or Christophany—that is, as a manifestation of God the Father, or of Christ, the eternal Son of God appearing in human form.
The text leaves us in mystery as to the clear identity of this commander. What is clear, however, is that the Lord God reveals himself and his Word to Joshua and the Israelites. And it becomes clear that Israel’s battle against Jericho has its command center in heaven. All the battle instructions come from the mouth of God. The entire battle strategy is God’s plan and gift to Israel. Joshua’s headquarters is found on holy ground, fully controlled by Israel’s God. The battle of Jericho is the Lord’s battle.
Here’s the striking thing, however! Israel must follow the precise battle instructions and do the actual fighting. In other words, God’s people must obey their heavenly commander. By their obedience, they show their trust and confidence. By their obedience, the walls of Jericho will crumble. That’s why the writer of Hebrews says: “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.”
Here are some outstanding features of Jericho’s downfall: (1). It is the Lord who gives the victory over Jericho to his people Israel. Remember now that Jericho is the first city that Israel must conquer to enter and inherit the Land of Canaan.
The fact that God gives them the city of Jericho is a tremendous encouragement to God’s people and a huge lesson for the future: when you fight the battles in the name and power of the Lord, victory will be yours. And the miraculous downfall of Jericho is a tremendous blow and warning to the rest of the Canaanites, whose idolatry, disobedience and rebellion against Israel’s God make them the subject of God’s wrath and judgment.
The inheritance of the Promised Land is God’s gift of salvation to O.T. Israel. As such, we see a shadow pointing forward to God’s gift of salvation to all his people throughout the centuries: namely, the inheritance of the new heavens and earth.
Here’s another feature: (2) God’s people enter the Promised Land with God in their midst. The Ark of the Covenant is at the center of the conquest. It’s a wondrous, unmistakable sign of God’s presence. God brings the victory. God protects his people; God dwells in their midst.
As such we see another shadow pointing forward. For this feature rings bells as we consider the words of the apostle Paul speaking about Christ’s final coming when he will grant us the inheritance of a renewed creation: (I Thess. 4:16) “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” As the commander of the Lord’s army leads the Israelites in battle, instructing Israel to shout a loud war cry and sound the trumpets, so the victorious Christ will usher in his kingdom at the end of time.
The trumpet call of God, the booming command and voice of the archangel announcing judgment over all humanity and creation—these features play a role in Jericho’s downfall. We must pay attention to these features, for God is preparing us today for things as yet to come.
Did you notice that other feature—that feature of the symbolic number 7? The conquest of Jericho is accomplished within a 7 day period; 7 priests (the number of fullness) must sound 7 trumpets each day that Israel walks around the city. Here God calls to mind his creative work at the beginning of time. God finished his work of creation in 6 days and on the 7th day he rested, he gloried, he took delight in what he had made.
Now, as God is leading his people Israel into the Promised Land, God brings destruction upon the doomed city of Jericho. And out of the ruins of Jericho and the entire Land of Canaan, God signals that he will usher in a new creation, an inheritance for his people, a land of milk and honey, a land in which his people may find rest. So, on the 7th day, the Israelites must walk around the city 7 times. On that day, the old land of Canaan will disappear and God will give the new Land of Promise and Rest as an inheritance to his people.
When you look through the lens of Jesus’ accomplished work and the entire, grand story of God’s salvation, the downfall of Jericho takes on new dimensions and becomes very instructive for us today. Then we begin to realize anew that our pilgrimage of life includes battles of faith. Those battles call for deep trust that we shall inherit the renewed creation as God’s gift of salvation through Christ, our Lord.
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Let me emphasize, by way of application, three points:
1) God’s judgment upon Jericho is an instructive warning for the entire world. Many Christians have a hard time believing that God will judge humanity and this creation. They believe that God’s mercy and love override God’s justice and wrath on sin. They refuse to speak of the fires of hell or the eternal perdition of unbelieving sinners. Yet, all have sinned; all fall short of the glory of God. All, therefore, are called to repent and thus escape the judgment of God. It is as the ascended Lord Jesus Christ has said while seated on his throne: (Rev. 21:8) “…the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” God’s judgment to come is real.
2) God’s salvation in Jesus Christ is also real. God saved believing Rahab and her extended family from the ruins and destruction of Jericho. He did so because God is faithful and has promised salvation—to Jews and Gentiles alike, to all who turn to him in faith and repent from their sins. God takes note of his people. He has written their names in the book of life.
Holding before us the vision of a new heaven and earth with Christ seated on his throne, we hear Christ speak to us today: (Rev. 21:6) “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Surely, God’s inheritance and salvation in Christ Jesus are real.
3) Living by faith calls for obedience. The Lord gave instructions for the battle; victory is theirs—if only his people would carry out his Word. The Israelites were to demonstrate trust or faith in God by doing what he commanded to Joshua. And thus they inherited the Promised Land and entered Jericho.
So it is with us today: our pilgrimage of life includes battles of faith. And as we fight the good fight of faith by trusting God’s Word, we shall inherit the renewed creation as God’s gift of salvation through Christ, our Lord. It is for that reason that Scriptures hold before us many heroes of faith: Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Rahab and the Israelites who did what God commanded them: “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.”
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.