Joshua - The Conquest of Jericho
It cannot be doubted that the walls of Jericho fell down. This is confirmed both in the historical account and archaeologically. Yet, the real question in skeptic’s minds is how did they fall down?
Some may think, “they were knocked down by an invading army.” Yet, if this were so the walls would have fallen inwards into the city. In Garstang’s excavations of Jericho from 1930-1936 he found that the walls fell outwards, rather than inwards.
Other theories have also been proposed concerning the walls of Jericho. Some may believe an earthquake struck at just the right moment to shake the walls to the earth. Weirder still, some may excuse God’s power by claiming the trumpets and hollers of Israel caused sound waves to reverberate against the walls until they fell. (Go ahead and try yelling on the nearest brick wall and let me know if this works, not even the big bad wolf could do it!)
So, how did those walls fall? Hebrews 11:30 says, “By faith the walls
of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.” The
Bible says they fell—by faith!
What does that mean? First, it meant that Joshua believed in God and His promises. God promised in Joshua 6:2, “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.” When God offers a gift, we can be sure He will keep His word.
Second, true faith will act in obedience to God’s commands. As James 2:17 says, “...faith, by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” In this case, God commanded Joshua and his men of war to march around the city once for six days (Joshua 6:3). On the seventh day, they were to march seven times and blow their horns and trumpets and the wall would fall down (6:4-5). They did exactly as instructed and God kept His promise completely (6:6-16).
God’s grace must always be met with man’s obedience. Do not question God’s commands—just trust and obey and you will be blessed.
May 2007