You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Joshua’ tag.
“Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho” is a popular song for kids in church. One of the stanzas kids shout out is, “And the walls came tumbling down.” Indeed, Joshua 6:20 tells us that when the Israelites heard the trumpets they shouted and “the wall fell flat.” But there is one verse that makes me wonder if the entire wall was actually flattened.
In Joshua chapter 2, we read about how Rahab hid the men that Joshua sent to spy on the city. In 2:9, Rahab expresses her faith in God by telling them she knows “the Lord has given you this land.” She strikes a deal with the spies who tell her to tie a scarlet thread in her window and they would spare anyone in her house. But it is not this deal that gave me pause in this chapter.
If you read the chapter carefully, you’ll notice that 2:18 tells us something amazing, “…her house was on the wall. She was living on the wall.” Anytime a Biblical writer repeats a phrase they want you to take notice. Think about this for a moment. Verse 6:20 tells us the wall around Jericho fell flat and 2:18 tells us Rahab’s house was on the wall.
We know in verse 6:22-23 that the two spies “went in” Rahab’s house and spared her as well as her family. The wall fell flat except Rahab’s house which was on the wall. Imagine Rahab’s family huddled in that house as the Israelites shouted after the trumpets blared. Picture the tremendous noise and vibration as the wall crumbled around them. All they had was the scarlet cord in the window to tell them they would be spared from God’s judgement.
With the wall gone, the Israelites took Jericoh and destroyed everyone and everything as God commanded. Just as death passed over Israelite homes with blood over their doorway in the Passover in Exodus, destruction passed over Rahab and her family because of a blood-colored cord in their window. It was Rahab’s faith in God that brought salvation to her home.
As Revelation 11:15-18 tells us, someday the seventh trumpet will sound and judgement will be at hand for those opposed to God. Just as Rahab was spared, only the blood of Jesus Christ over the doorway of your life will save you from destruction. On that day, you will feel the noise and vibration of the world crumbling around you, but will be reassured by Rev. 12:11, “And they overcame because of the blood of the Lamb and because of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”
#ThrowbackThursday — This post originally published May 18, 2012.
