25-1214a Transcript

(3:12) Thank you, Roger. (3:14) Good morning, everybody. (3:17) Today we’re going to explore the history in the Bible surrounding the ancient city of Jericho.

(3:25) It’s one of the oldest cities in the world and is considered the very first walled and fortified city ever built. (3:35) Archaeologists claim that it was established and continuously inhabited from before the time of the flood. (3:44) Jericho lies in the Jordan Valley on the west side of the Jordan River, just north of the Dead Sea.

(3:52) It is just about 15 miles northeast of Jerusalem. (3:58) Jericho was inhabited by the Canaanites after the flood, and they were an evil pagan nation. (4:06) And their sin became so great that God was going to use Israel to exterminate them because they wouldn’t repent.

(4:16) If you recall Noah’s genealogy, his son Ham also had a son named Canaan. (4:26) And they were both cursed by Noah for dishonoring Noah. (4:31) So it was Canaan who settled this area after the flood.

(4:37) From the time of Moses, his successor Joshua, Jericho was located in the tribe of Benjamin’s territory. (4:52) Centuries later, when Jesus' time on earth was coming to an end and his crucifixion was less than two weeks away, (5:01) we find he and his disciples in the area of the ancient city Jericho. (5:08) In our first story today, we’ll examine the Lord’s and Israel’s history with this town.

(5:16) When Joshua led Israel to the Promised Land, they sent out two spies to survey the new land. (5:25) A woman of Jericho named Rahab saved the spies from capture when it was found out that there were spies in their camp, and she hid them. (5:39) They returned with their intel of the city and told Joshua to spare Rahab and her family for the help that she had given them.

(5:49) When Israel came to the Jordan River opposite Jericho to take the city, it was there God spoke to Joshua how to cross the river and conquer this heavily fortified city. (6:07) The Levite priests carried the Ark of the Covenant to the edge of the river, and as soon as their sandals touched the water, (6:16) the waters piled up on one side of the river and stopped flowing on the other side, which dried up and Israel was able to cross over on dry ground. (6:28) The heads of each tribe were commanded to take a stone from the river and stack them up as a reminder of the power of God when he led Israel over dry ground.

(6:45) And that was the angel of the Lord leading them. (6:49) This was done also to engender respect and awe towards Joshua as they had for Moses, who was no longer with them. (7:00) Prior to that moment, Israel spent 40 years wandering in the desert until all those in that generation who complained and murmured against God and Moses had died out.

(7:14) Joshua 5, 6, and 7 reads, (7:18) They did not listen to the voice of the Lord. He would not let them see the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. (7:30) Their children, whom he had raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised, for they were uncircumcised.

(7:38) So the covenant between God and Israel was in a state of suspension during those 40 years because of their unfaithfulness and was then reinstated after they were all circumcised. (7:55) And did you notice that it said God raised the children up in the wilderness? (8:00) He was making a people for his own possession, a people that would follow him without complaint. (8:09) And that takes faith and obedience.

(8:12) When they were healing from circumcision, they celebrated the Passover in Jericho where that hadn’t been observed in years. (8:23) And on the next day, they ate the produce of the land and the manna that God was supplying for them ceased from that time on. (8:33) What happened next was quite amazing.

(8:37) Joshua was looking over at the city of Jericho, probably wondering the strategy, how they were going to take it when he sees a man. (8:47) The man has his sword drawn in his hand and Joshua approached him and asked, are you for us or our adversaries? (8:58) He said, no, rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of Yahweh. (9:05) And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and bowed down and said to him, what has my Lord to say to his servant? (9:14) The captain of Yahweh’s host said to Joshua, remove your sandals from your feet for the place where you are standing is holy.

(9:27) And Joshua did so. (9:30) Joshua met one of the faces of Yahweh God. (9:36) The Jews in Jesus' days called Jesus Yeshua.

(9:42) And that’s a variant of Joshua. (9:45) And both of their names, Joshua and Yeshua, means Yahweh saves. (9:52) If you recall, Moses, his commission started in a similar way.

(9:58) In Exodus 3, which was read for us by Mike, Moses met one of Yahweh’s various forms. (10:07) Moses saw a bush on fire that wasn’t consumed and he went up to look at it. (10:14) And the holy being in the bush who in that conversation was called by several different names.

(10:22) The angel of the Lord, Yahweh, Elohim, and El Shaddai. (10:30) And he told him to remove his sandals because the place where he stood was holy ground. (10:38) And so all of those names for that same being that was talking to Moses from the bush was God.

(10:47) And with proper Bible exegesis, you see that those two characters are one and the same persons but in different forms. (10:59) It was the pre-incarnate Jesus, the second person of the Godhead. (11:08) So the being that appeared to Joshua and the being that appeared to Moses was pre-incarnate Jesus.

(11:17) Yahweh, as the captain of the host of heaven, commissioned Joshua and told him that he would deliver their enemies into his hands (11:27) and then give him instructions to follow in order to obtain the victory. (11:34) For six days they marched once around the walled city of Jericho, (11:39) being led by seven priests with the shofar, which were the ram’s horns, (11:46) and with the Ark of the Covenant and all the men of war following after them encircling Jericho. (11:54) On the seventh day they marched seven times around Jericho, (12:00) and after the seventh time around the priests blew their shofar with one long blast (12:07) and the men shouted and the walls fell down flat, another miracle by the angel of the Lord.

(12:16) The soldiers rushed in and destroyed everything except Rahab and her family. (12:24) They were spared and they ended up living among the Israelites the rest of their days. (12:31) Rahab herself married an Israeli man from Judah named Salmon, (12:37) and they had a son named Boaz who married Ruth the Moabite woman, (12:43) and they had a son named Obed who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David.

(12:52) And what we saw in that story was God’s direct providence protecting Jesus' lineage. (13:04) After their victory Joshua prophesied a curse on Jericho, (13:09) saying, Cursed is anyone before Yahweh who gets up and rebuilds Jericho, this city. (13:17) At the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.

(13:27) Fast forward centuries later when Israel was established, (13:33) Israel ended up backsliding and they forsook God during the reign of Ahab the king, (13:40) and Ahab was perhaps one of the most evil of kings. (13:45) In 1 Kings 16.34 it says, (13:49) In his days, Ahab’s days, Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho. (13:57) He laid its foundation with the loss of Abram, his firstborn, (14:03) and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son, Segob, (14:08) according to Yahweh’s word which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

(14:14) So Hiel rebuilt Jericho and lost his two sons (14:20) because he disregarded the widely known curse on Jericho (14:26) because Ahab and the people of Israel had turned its back on God (14:31) and didn’t believe in him anymore. (14:35) Later in 2 Kings 2.18-22 (14:39) the people of the recently rebuilt Jericho asked the prophet Elijah, (14:46) that’s Elijah, S-H-A not J-A-H, (14:52) the successor to Elijah, (14:55) to help them because their land still suffered from the effects of the curse. (15:02) Their water was poisonous and the land was unproductive because of it.

(15:08) He told them, Bring me a new jar and put salt in it. (15:13) So they brought it to him and he went out to the spring of water (15:17) and threw the salt in it and said, (15:20) Thus says the Lord, I have purified these waters. (15:24) There shall not be from their death or unfruitfulness any longer.

(15:31) So the waters have been purified to this day, (15:35) according to the word of Elijah, which he spoke. (15:39) Friends, when these words were penned, (15:42) the plain of Jericho was a wasteland but became fruitful because of God’s blessing. (15:50) The lesson is God blesses obedience and God curses disobedience.

(15:58) Understand this, Jericho is Israel’s death valley. (16:03) They are 1200 feet below sea level and the temperatures are crazy hot in the day. (16:12) And even to this day, now the plains of Jericho, (16:17) which are in a desert, are like an oasis with an abundance of water (16:23) and is one of the most fertile areas of modern Israel.

(16:28) Even the ancient aqueducts are in excellent shape, all by the power of God’s word. (16:37) From this telling of Jericho’s history, we see cursed men, Ham and Canaan, (16:44) establish a land whose sin and evil practices would reach up to heaven. (16:50) We see a people chosen by God to punish and dispossess the land (16:58) by themselves.

(16:59) They entered the promised land and into God’s covenant. (17:04) We saw miracles done by God which created faith in Him. (17:10) We witness God’s preservation and providence at work in protecting Jesus' bloodline.

(17:18) We see the first Canaanite city, Jericho, (17:22) with its impenetrable walls destroyed and cursed by God. (17:28) Then later in Israel’s history, during a time of apostasy, (17:33) the walls were rebuilt and the curse from long ago came upon the man (17:38) who ignored the prophet’s warning and his two sons paid the price (17:43) for their father’s disbelief with their lives. (17:48) Finally, in Old Testament history, Jericho, through God’s mercy, (17:54) the prophet Elijah healed the waters of Jericho (17:58) and the land became fruitful and alive again.

(18:02) The truth behind the history is that God can take (18:07) what was both physically and spiritually dead and make it alive again. (18:13) God can take what was dead because of sin and make it fruitful again. (18:19) This history from the Old Testament was recorded for us to learn from them (18:26) and to make the spiritual application in our own lives.

(18:31) God will punish the disobedient and the unfruitful. (18:36) This lesson should stimulate us to continue faithfully to serve Him (18:41) and believing in Him, bearing fruit that glorifies God. (18:46) It should also stimulate you to appeal to His mercy (18:51) and ask for forgiveness if you’ve been disobedient and unfaithful to Him.

(18:58) So at this time, we’re going to offer the invitation. (19:02) If you have any need whatsoever of the church, (19:05) we’ll be glad to pray for you and see to your needs. (19:10) Thank you for your attention.