Did You Know? - Pt. 3

 

Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” (Joshua 6:1-5 ESV).

 

Every tour visiting the Holy Land today almost certainly includes a trip to the fallen walls of Jericho. Each of the times I have visited I toured the site (Tel Jericho) and was struck with the devastation on the ancient location. The new city is evidenced in the rebuilding through the centuries, but the archeological remains of the fortress of our reading today are all but gone. There are some remnants of portions of the ancient wall that some believe are the site of Rahab’s home, though there is no direct evidence of that in Scripture.

 

I’m sure this is a familiar story to you. However, there is an interesting reference to how the walls would fall. First, they would only fall after the people marched around the walls for seven days, with the blowing of the trumpets by the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant, and a shout from the people. The “trumpet” was what we have come to know as a “shofar.” A shofar is a ram’s horn used by the ancient Israelites when they engaged in battle. Though you wouldn’t guess it from its simple shape, the shofar gives a sound like the piercing call of a bugle.

 

On that seventh day when the directions of God were followed precisely the walls of Jericho come crumbling down. Notice the Scripture says they fell “flat.” They did not fall inward as if they were pushed down, nor did they fall outwardly as if they were pulled down. They fell “flat” with as little danger to the Israelites as possible.  This event was meant as theater, an announcement. God was making something dramatically clear: these were his people, and he alone was giving the land to them. I can well imagine that the people of Jericho were feeling relatively safe behind their walls watching this rag-tag group of men march around the walls and a handful of religious men blowing trumpets. What they didn’t understand was the power and purpose of God. I hope we see this as a reminder that nothing is too great an obstacle for our God to overcome… not even death itself!