Sat.’s Devo -Taking Jericho

Read: Joshua 5:1-7:15; Luke 15:1-32; Psalm 81:1-16; Proverbs 13:1 The Israelites have crossed over the Jordan on dry land and the people in the land are paralyzed with fear. That was a blessing because Joshua was told to circumcise all the male, leaving them no defense. *** The Lord called the place Gilgal which means “their shame of slavery is rolled away.” There, they celebrated the Passover. The next day, they ate unleavened bread to begin the Feast of Unleavened Bread and made the bread from the grain in the land. Manna never appeared from that day forward. *** As they neared Jericho, Joshua saw a man with a sword and went to ask him if he was with them or against them. He told them he was neither. He was the commander of the Lord’s army. That was a true statement. Sometimes the Lord was on their side and sometimes he wasn’t. He doesn’t necessarily fight for Israel as much as he fights for those who obey him and worship only him. The Lord had come to give Joshua strategy. *** He told Joshua to march around Jericho with the Ark, priests blowing horns and armed men in front and behind the Ark. The only sound would be the horns. They were to do this for six days. On the seventh day, they were to surround the town seven times and when Joshua gave the command, they were to shout. The walls came crashing down. These walls were 11 feet high and 14 feet wide. What would have taken weeks or months to take a city, took a week. *** They were to completely destroy everything in the city as an offering to the Lord. It was their first fruit and tithe. The rest of the towns they conquered were all theirs. They were allowed to keep the plunder from them, but not Jericho. They saved Rahab and her family like they promised. *** Joshua put a curse on whoever tried to rebuild Jericho. It would cost him his first born son to lay the foundation and his youngest son when he set up the gates. Joshua's curse was literally fulfilled years later during the reign of King Ahab. We read in 1 Kings 16:34, "In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.” *** Jericho was rebuilt, but at a huge cost to Hiel and his sons. *** Achan broke God’s command and kept some of the things he should have given to the Lord but hid them away. When they went to attack the small city of Ai, they were soundly defeated. The first thing they did was to blame God. He put the blame back on them. They had sinned and someone had taken what belonged to the Lord. He wasn’t going to let them go forward until they settled that matter. God told them to bring the tribes before Joshua and God would show them who the guilty person was. *** In Luke, the Pharisees were fine with Jesus eating with them, but criticized him when he ate with common people. They were trying to make Jesus one of them so they could control him, but he would have none of that. *** When the Pharisees complained that Jesus was associating with sinners, he told them three stories. The first one had to do with a lost sheep, which the common person would be able to relate to. The next was a lost coin, which the religious leaders would relate with since they were lovers of money. The last was heaven’s perspective. It showed how God loves his own. *** The sinners that Jesus was eating with represented the prodigal son. The elder son represented the Pharisees. They had been rich with access to the law and the Temple, but they took it for granted and became entitled. They hadn’t even taken the opportunity to get to know the Father or his commandments. The prodigal son, like the common people in Jesus’ day was humbled by his sin, repented and received the Father’s forgiveness and love. *** Lord, may we guard our hearts against arrogance and pride. May we see what you are doing and be amazed - not afraid. Give us strategy in taking down the Jericho’s that we face.