Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is Joshua 4-6; Luke 9:18-36.
The story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho has always been one of my favourites. I had this passage last year as well, so I'm going to cheat and copy part of last year's post in because I don't think I can say it better...
What I found interesting is that THE DAY after Passover was the day they first ate from the Promised Land and the following day the manna stopped. God doesn't do anything half-way. The people left Egypt following Passover, and ate the first fruits of their new home following Passover. He paid such attention to detail with the timing of their journey and their arrival in Canaan -- he knows the right time for each and every thing that happens in our lives as well.
I love the story of Jericho. In fact, I can't think why anyone wouldn't love it. Well, besides the killing of all the living things and burning of the city that followed. I have to admit, I get a kick out of action movies. I like explosions and car chases. I think it would be totally cool to see those walls crash to the ground without the aid of any dynamite or C4. But maybe that's just me.
Imagine what it would be like to see a couple million people calmly and quietly marching around the city behind the guard and the golden ark of the covenant every day for six days with nothing happening. I'm sure by the seventh day the people of Jericho were thoroughly mystified... maybe even rolling their eyes a bit. "What are those nut jobs doing? They've marched around six days in a row already - haven't they realized yet that they aren't accomplishing anything?" They must have wondered what was up with the priests blowing the horns on the seventh day, though, and then been horrified to hear all those people shout in unison and see their city walls come crashing down. But how cool for the Israelites to see that! I'm sure the story spread like wildfire. I'm also sure I wouldn't have wanted to go up against the Israelites or their God after hearing about it.
I've sometimes wondered why Moses and Elijah were the two who appeared with Jesus during the Transfiguration, although I never bothered to look into it. Why not Abraham, with whom the covenant was originally made? Why not Isaiah? Or King David? Or any one of a dozen others? According to Wikipedia, Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the Prophets, thereby showing how Jesus was the fulfillment of both. I may have heard that before and just didn't retain it, but with studying the Old Testament more since last January than I ever have in my life before I've come to a better understanding of and appreciation of how intricately God has woven everything together and how Jesus truly was the fulfillment of the Law rather than the abolisher of it. Yes, there are parts of the Law that are no longer applicable to us today because of the blood of Christ. Not because they are no longer necessary, but because it's been done for us already. That doesn't make the Law irrelevant by any means... it only reinforces its importance. The fact that God sacrificed His son the way he did in order to ensure that the letter of His Law was adhered to so that we could come to Him under the protection of His mercy and grace really emphasizes how important the Law is.
Well, that's all I've got. Hope you have a great day!
Tomorrow's passage: Joshua 7-9; Luke 9:37-62.
6 comments:
Great post! The story of Jericho was always one of my favorites as a kid and still is!
Yeah, I think it would have been downright weird to watch those Israelites marching around the city! I wonder if those Jericho-ites didn't go through a whole range of emotions ~ probably starting out with fear, but when nothing happened, maybe they laughed and taunted from the city walls. Maybe they threw things. And maybe by the 4th or 5th day, they went back to their normal everyday work, thinking the Israelites were just crazy. But you gotta wonder if there wasn't probably a pervasive sense of doom underneath it all ~ those niggling worries that are never far from the surface. I wonder.
I love how the Passover figures so prominently in God's agenda. The Exodus first, the Grand Entrance in today's reading, the Crucifixion... I'm sure there's some parallels here!!
I loved Revive Our Hearts' look at the Transfiguration several days ago. I found this section, ending with the quote, quite amazing:
This is one time during His earthly life that the veil is lifted, the veil of His humanity, and they [the disciples] are given a glimpse of the glory that He had before He came to earth, and the glory that would be Christ’s for all of eternity...
One commentator said something about this that I thought was helpful. He said, “Essentially, this was not a new miracle, but the temporary cessation of an ongoing one. The REAL miracle was that Jesus, most of the time, could KEEP FROM DISPLAYING THIS GLORY.”
Isn't that incredible??! I'd never thought about it that way before.
Great post! I also love this story! I am always amazed at the perseverance and faith of the Israelites. They just kept marching and marching. I'm sure all the children must have been complaining alot. I wonder if any of them ever doubted that the walls would actually come down. What an incredible story of God's power.
I never thought of how it must have been difficult for Jesus to never show his glory.
That is really amazing, Tammi. I never thought about it that way before either.
I loved that quote too Tammi!
Even if they had felt like mocking them on day 5 or 6, I bet they were terrified on Day 7 when they just kept marching - you'd have been able to feel the tension, knowing the culmination was coming.
Great post. I was thinking about the people of Jericho too and what they must have been thinking.
This stood out for me:
"Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they[c] had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites."
When God shows off his power, no one can doubt it. Not even Kings can deny that God is in control and that it is impossible to get in His way. It makes me think about how important it is to share God's power and His hand in our lives to our kids, and to others, because then they cannot get in the way of God's plan.
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