In the Old Testament, Joshua 6 tells us about the fall of Jericho. In those days, it was customary for a city to wall itself off by building surrounding walls and gates as a way of protecting its citizens and possessions. Jericho had been even more diligent with securing its gates because they were afraid of the Israelites. So, no one could go in or out of the city of Jericho. Joshua had been a faithful servant to Moses and had been schooled in the discipline of service. This is a requirement for any leader ordained of God, he or she must have a heart of service. Because he demonstrated the humility to serve Moses, Joshua graduated to the high honor of leading God’s people after Moses feel asleep. As any good servant would, he humbled himself before God and asked what Heavenly Father required him to do. Conquering the city of Jericho was the mission he was given, and after doing so, Joshua spoke a curse on the city. Through the lasting legacy of Jericho’s curse, God teaches us crucial lessons about the terrible cost of stubbornness, the requirement of humility, and the reward of honoring His instructions above all else.
In Joshua 6:26(NLT), Joshua said, “May the curse of the LORD fall on anyone who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son, he will lay its foundation. At the cost of his youngest son, he will set up its gates.” This curse was about the consequences that would meet the man who dared to rebuild the thing that tried to hold up itself against the Will of God. Looking at this, you might not understand why it was such a forbidden thing, but the curse speaks to the heart of the person seeking to resurrect something that was such an offense to the plan and Will of God.
Wrong beliefs, sinful behavior, and lies are byproducts of a stiff-necked and stubborn-hearted people. These are just some of the attributes that are often passed down from generation to generation. We see it all the time. It’s demonstrated by those who believe God’s Word is for those that are old fashioned and backward thinking. They’ve labeled sinful behavior as progressive thinking and believe folks can do whatever they please, when they please. This kind of thinking is offensive to Heavenly Father. It’s arrogance, and it is more dangerous than anyone of us can imagine. We must know the truth, and the truth tells us that the result of bad actions is bad consequences. It doesn’t matter who you are, this will always be the case.
Nothing good could come out of Jericho because of the pervasive mindset of sin and betrayal that existed there. It was an environment where faith could not move. It would not be mixed with believing, therefore, Jericho was barren and desolate, because God’s Word was not believed. Even in the hometown of Jesus Christ, the people were negative and would not abandon their limited way of thinking, so Matthew 13:58(KJV) tells us, “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”
2Chronicles 16:9(NLT) says, “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” God is looking to see our faith. He’s looking at how we conduct ourselves–what we do, how we think, and what we speak. James 2:26 tells us that faith without works is dead; it won’t move. It won’t accomplish anything. Jesus Christ must see our faith; he must see what we’re doing to prove that we believe and trust in God. This is our responsibility.
We must stop going back to Jericho, a place of cursed realities, where broken pasts, bad decisions, and wrong choices keep us bound. God has redeemed us by the blood of the lamb, His Son, Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:13 tells us that Christ rescued us from the curse, because he took it upon himself to redeem us from the ultimate consequence of sin, which is death. Because of Christ we will never see hell but will live an eternity with him. Let’s not continue going back to the place we’ve been delivered from.
No one had the soundness of mind or humility of heart to invite Jesus Christ to the earth to save it, but he came because of the Father’s great love for us all. He came to be identified with our suffering and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. If we are struggling to believe in what God has done for us through Christ, and if we have issues that are still holding us back, we must call out to God with a humility that gets His attention. This is what the blind man did near Jericho.
Jericho was a cursed place, yet Jesus had compassion. Our Savior stopped by and brought deliverance. The blind man’s custom was to sit by the road and beg from those that passed by. When he heard that Jesus, the Son of David, was near, he cried out for Jesus to have mercy on him. Jesus obliged and told him in Luke 18:42(NLT), “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” Imagine what would have happened if this man had not cried out to our Lord and Savior with faith and humility.
The citizens of Jericho were destroyed because of their refusal to believe and follow God’s Word. Their stubbornness cost them everything. We can and should make a different choice and humble ourselves before the Lord. We are not blessed because we’re so good, we’re blessed because He’s so good. He honors our choice to believe that He is who He says He is, and He will do what He says He will do. He has a good plan for our lives, and He always knows what is best. God commands us to submit to Him, to present all that we are before His throne with a heart that desires to honor Him only. When we do this, He promises to bless us with the richness of His treasures.●
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“The Blessing of Believing God” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2020. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! Sundie Morning Sistas is dedicated to spiritual inspiration and encouragement through the Word of God.