Monday Morning Encouragement -- By Faith Walls Come Down

 

"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days." Hebrews 11:30

Last week I read again the Book of Joshua, and once more was struck by Joshua's devotion to God and his total commitment of obedience to God's instructions. Nowhere is it more evident than in the fall of Jericho.

God had led the Israelites to Canaan, the land God had promised Abraham over 500 years earlier, and now Joshua was tasked with taking the land, starting with Jericho. The city of Jericho was a mighty fortress. According to Bible Archaeologists "the mound, or 'tell,' of Jericho was surrounded by a great earthen rampart, or embankment, with a stone retaining wall at its base. The retaining wall was some 12-15 ft high. On top of that was a mudbrick wall 6 ft thick and about 20-26 ft high (Sellin and Watzinger 1973: 58). At the crest of the embankment was a similar mudbrick wall whose base was roughly 46 ft above the ground level outside the retaining wall. This is what loomed high above the Israelites as they marched around the city each day for seven days. Humanly speaking, it was impossible for the Israelites to penetrate the impregnable bastion of Jericho."

I believe it's important to note that God tells Joshua in Joshua 6:2 that He has already delivered Jericho into his hands. Not that He will. But that He has done so. "The king and mighty men of valor" have already been conquered in God's timeline. Now all Joshua has to do is follow God's instructions, and Jericho's wall will fall. As incredible as the instructions are: march once around the city for six days with the ark and then on the seventh day the priests blow the trumpets and the people shout when Joshua gives the command, Joshua followed to the letter what God instructed, the wall crumbled and Joshua's army easily took Jericho. The impregnable is no match for God's power. 

The inclusion of the fall of Jericho in the "faith chapter" of Hebrews is meant to encourage us as we encounter walls in our own lives. Walls that seem too tall, too wide, and too strong to overcome. In our own strength, this is true. But in the power of the Lord they are nothing. We must place our faith in His ability to bring the walls down. As we pray and ask for His wisdom, He may answer with plans that seem foolish. And at that moment our faith must be stronger than our feeble understanding. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (1 Corinthians 1:25)

Today's music video Strongholds by Chris Tomlin gives testimony to the power of the blood of the Lamb to overcome every stronghold in our life.  The Lord is our salvation!

I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.