One Year Bible Readings and Commentary for Tuesday, April 12th "The Walls of Jericho Come Crashing Down" "Jesus Teaches That Lost People Matter to God!"
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Click Here to Read Joshua 5:1-7:15
Israel Reestablishes Covenant Ceremonies
As Israel entered a new land it was time to renew the old covenant of circumcision. The boys who were born in the wilderness had never been circumcised so Joshua has them circumcised. This was not a very popular decision, but circumcision was the mark of the covenant God made with Abraham when his son Issac was born. It was a mark that the Israelites were God's chosen ones, who had been set apart for God's purpose.
There are some similarities between the old covenant circumcision and the new covenant of baptism. The water of baptism cleanses us of our sins and is a sign of the new covenant made through Jesus Christ. It is an outward sign of an inward reality. In this case baptism is as Paul says, "The sign of circumcised heart". It is a sign that God has turned our heart of stone into a heart of flesh.
It is a sign that we are a child of God and marked with the cross of Christ forever. We are set apart for His work in the world.
The Lord’s Commander Confronts Joshua
As Joshua drew near to the town of Jericho, he was reminded that he was not fighting alone. He met a commander of the Lord's army. Whether it was an angel or the Lord himself, we do not know, but he clearly had the power and authority of God. Joshua bowed down before him as he came into His presence. The commander was holy and that made the ground he was standing on holy, so Joshua removed his shoes.
This was God Himself pulling rank on Joshua, who himself was a great military leader – but he was not Commander in Chief. We know that this Being, standing before Joshua, was God. Though the title Commander of the army of the LORD could perhaps apply to an angel (such as Michael, based on a passage like Revelation 12:7), Joshua’s falling down, and worshipping is inconsistent with angels, who never receive worship (Revelation 22:8). - Guzik
The Fall of Jericho
In order to show that the power to conquer the town and people of Jericho was of the Lord and not of man, God gave them a unique way to do it. The priests, led by the ark, were to walk around the city once each day for six days. On the seventh day they were to walk around the town for seven times. The priests would blow the horn, but the people would not say a word until on the seventh day Joshua told them to shout.
The method of warfare was one that made absolutely no sense according to military intelligence. It required total dependence on God. - Guzik
The Ark would be prominent in victory just as it had been when they crossed the Jordan River. It was the presence of the Lord, which made all things possible.
Jericho was not a large city; they could easily march around it in a day’s time. As the people of Jericho saw the Israelites marching around their city, they probably had a sense of both awe and horror. - Guzik
When the walls of Jericho came tumbling down, the Lord instructed Joshua to completely destroy the town and all its inhabitants, except Rahab and her family. When Rahab hid the Jewish spies from the army, they had promised her she would be kept safe when they came back. They kept their promise to her.
The only thing they were to keep was the silver and gold, which they brought to the temple treasury. The chapter ends with Joshua giving a curse to anyone who would try to rebuild Jericho ever again.
"This was fulfilled in 1 Kings 16:34, which says In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid 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." - Guzik
What did Joshua and the Israelites learn from this battle? First, Joshua trusted in the Lord's battle plan. Second, under Joshua's leadership they obeyed the plan down completely. Third, they had courage, especially in the way they marched around the city, as they could have been attacked at any time. Finally, they had endurance as they waited six days before the Lord's victory came.
What battles are you facing where you need to trust in God's battle plan, be obedient to the strategy he gives you, exhibit courage and patiently endure until you see the Lord's victory?
Ai Defeats the Israelites
After all the lessons the Israelites learned in the battle of Jericho, one would think they would do the same thing in the next town. Wrong! One of the men named Achan had violated the directions by secretly taking some of the things dedicated to the Lord. Joshua had explicitly told them not to do this. Why?
Joshua commanded the nation in Joshua 6:18 that they should not take of any of the accursed things, those things that were associated with the demonic and debasing worship and practices of the Canaanites.- Guzik
When the men went into battle with the city of Ai, they were defeated badly. Joshua was beside himself. How could the Lord have let them down? Now all of the cities would know they could be beaten. Soon all the nations would believe they can wipe us off the face of the earth. It is interesting that the Lord says to Joshua, "Get up why are you lying on your face like this!"
Then, the Lord tells Joshua to assemble all of the men by tribe, so that the man who had disobyed the Lord's instructions would be pointed out and burned for his rebellion.
"Though the identity of the sinning family was unknown to Joshua, it was known to God. Secret sin on earth is an open scandal before God. Therefore, we should live our lives with “one set of books,” with one kind of life that can be seen by anybody, anywhere." - Guzik
Do you have any secret sin in your life? While you may be able to hide it from those around you, you can't hide it from God! Eventually your secrets will be found out. Turn from any secret sins and confess them to the Lord and gain victory over bondage.
Click Here to Read Luke 15:1-32
As we have seen, Jesus often reached out to the marginalized among the people. The tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, and many others who were ostracized from the community. When Jesus did this, it drew the ire of the Pharisees, who saw these people as sinners who needed to by avoided at all costs. Since they were pure, they didn't not want to be defiled by those who were unclean.
So Jesus tells them three parables, which all have something in common. Something of value is lost and the person who owned it dropped everything until what was lost was found.
The shepherd who lost one sheep, intentionally left the other ninety nine to find the lost one. When he returned with the lost sheep on the back, he encouraged others to celebrate with him.
A woman with ten coins loses one of the coins. She does an all out search to find the lost coin. She looks in every nook and cranny and shines a light in all of the dark places in her house until she finds it. She rejoices when she finds her lost coin.
A father's younger son asked for his share of the inheritance and left home. Reluctantly the father let's him go just like God allows us to go our own way, if we so choose. After the son spends all of his inheritance on loose living, and he is literally eating with the pigs, he remembers his Father and His house. When he returns home, his father is scanning the horizon waiting for his lost son to come home.
When the two see each other they have a tearful embrace. The father takes his lost son home and throws a huge party in celebration of his homecoming. His older son meanwhile is angry. After all, he hasn't left home and has been faithful to his father, but dad didn't throw him any parties.
The father reassures him how much he loves him, but says to him, "We must rejoice because your brother was lost and now he is found."
So what can we conclude? Lost people matter to God and they should matter to us. Though it is great to have people in the church, what about those outside the church who are lost and headed for a Christ-less eternity? If we are to follow this teaching from Jesus, there are times when we have to leave the flock and give ourselves fully to an all out search party for the sons and daughters of God who are lost!
Click Here to Read Proverbs 13;1
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