SEARCH THE SCRIPTURE by Pastor Kumuyi of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry for today is here. Digest the word of the lord and pray believing.
YSTS
LESSON 158
THE FALL OF JERICHO
MEMORY
VERSE: "So the people shouted when the priests blew with the
trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet,
and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so
that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and
theytook the city" (Joshua 6:20).
TEXT: Joshua 6:1-27
The
city of Jericho is fortified with a very strong wall, which seems to be
impregnable for the children of Israel, Theologians described the wall to be
very thick and wide enough to contain four chariots running side by side each
other. This is like our highways today, Pulling down such a wall appeared to be
an almost impossible task. However with divine interventionand guidelines from
the Lord coupled with the prompt obedienceof the children of Israel, the
impossible became possible (Luke1:37). This is a lesson to contemporary youths
to always trust and obey God at every point in time to make every
impossiblesituation in their lives possible.
Question1:
What can Christian youths learn from the response of the Israelites to the
instructions given to them by God?
"But
if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an
enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries"
(Exodus 23:22), The Lord expects us to heed all His instructions every time
whether it suits us or not as He has the final solution to our challenges. All
weneed do is trust and obey.
1. DIVINE GUIDANCE FOR THE CONQUEST
OF JERICHO(Joshua
6:1-51 0:13-151 Exodus 19:14:10 Chronicles 20:15-25)
"New
Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out,
and none came in” (Joshua 6:1). Rahab had revealed that the story of
the victories of the children of Israel had spread to Jericho and made the
king, the nobles and the commoners to be worried Joshua 2:8-11). The result of
this anxiety was a heightened security. They "straitly shut up”
thegates of the city “because of the children of Israel” so that
nobody could either go out or come in. These testimonies sent fear to the heart
of the king and people of Jericho which prompted them to prevent the Israelites
from invading their territory. This should serve as a lesson to Christian
youths thatwhen we have God on our side, others begin to notice God'spresence
in our lives, In our world of growing insecurity, Christian youths should know
that "greater is he that is in [them], than he that is in the world”.
As God stood by theChildren of Israel, He would do the same to all who repent
of theirsins and become children of God. God gave out specificinstructions
meant to bring down the wall of Jericho. “And theLord said unto Joshua,
See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty
men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round
about the city once. Thus, shalt thou do six days. Andseven priests shall bear
before the ark seven trumpets of rams horns: and the seventh day ye shall
compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And
it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blastwith the ram's horn, and
when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great
shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people
shallascend up every man straight before him" (Joshua 6:2-5),
Inevery situation of life that requires accomplishing an impossibletask, we
must depend on God's instructions to achieve our goalsand desired success.
Question
2: What should Christian youths do when they face challenges?
"...Believe
in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so
shall ye prosper" (2 Chronicles 20:20). When faced with a
situation that looks like the wall of Jericho standing in your way of progress,
look up to God for direction. Challenges come in different ways to Christian
youths. These could be in the form of persecution from parents, peer pressure
to do wrong, financial difficulties, academic setbacks, etc. But as we obey and
trust God like the children of Israel, victory iscertain. "Nay, in
all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us"
(Romans 8:37).
2. ISRAEL'S OBEDIENCE AND PARTICIPATION
IN THECONQUEST OF JERICHO
(Joshua 6:6-15,20,21; Hebrews 11:30,31; John 2:5; Isaiah 1:19)
"And
Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said untothem, Take up the ark of
the covenant, and let seven priestsbear seven trumpets of rams' horns before
the ark of the LORD. And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the
people, that the seven priests bearing the seventrumpets of rams' horns passed
on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of
the Lord followed them" (Joshua 6:6,8). Joshua gave clear
instructions to the priests on what to do. The priests obeyedtotally, which
eventually led to the conquest of Jericho. Whenever we get to a challenging
situation, we should bring God into it and look up to Him for help (Psalm
121:1,2). He is always willing to come to our aid. Obedience to His
instructions will bring solutions to those problems. The Israelites
promptlyobeyed Joshua when he delivered the guidelines to them andthey got
their miracle. As Christian youths, if we need divine intervention in our lives
after we have prayed, we should listen toGod's instructions and take
appropriate actions. We also needself-discipline and patience while waiting for
divine intervention.
Question
3: What practical things did the children of Israel do to bring down the
wall of Jericho?
The
children of Israel united with their leader Joshua. Though the instruction
looked unreasonable, that by merely walking round the wall and shouting, the
wall that had stood for years should just fall, but they still did it. All of
them were involved. There was no dissenting voice as all looked forward to
amiraculous breakthrough from God. In like manner, Christian youths should
cooperate with their leaders as they carry out God's instructions.
3.
RAHAB'S ULTIMATE SALVATION IN SPITE OF JERICHO'S CONQUEST (Joshua 6:16-19,22-25;
Hebrews 11:31; 2 Peter 3:9-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; Act 16:30-34)
"And
the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD:
only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house,
because she hid the yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make
yourselvesmessengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise keep accursed, when ye
take of the accursed thing, and make the gold, and vessels of brass and iron,
are consecrated unto theand LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD"
(Joshua 6:17-19). Joshua warned the children of Israel to keep themselves away
from the accursed things lest they make themselves accursed. To maintain
victory in God, we must keep a distance from every defiling thing and keep
obeying God's instructions (Isaiah 52:11).
"But
Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the
harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye
sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought
outRahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she
had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of
Israel" (Joshua 6:22,23). Amidst the destruction that came upon
Jericho, Rahab theharlot enjoyed God's unmerited favour and salvation, just
likeLot who escaped the judgment that came upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Not only
was Rahab saved by God from the destruction of Jericho, but her family was also
spared.
Question
4: What should Christian youth do to have their family members saved from
the wrath to come?
Christian
youths who know how vital it is for sinners to findsalvation should, as a
matter of urgency, pray and preach to themembers of their family (Genesis
18:19; Act 10:24-48;16:31-34).Family members must believe and obey the
salvation story in order to be saved and not perish.
"...
Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up andbuildeth this city
Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his
youngest son shall he set up the gates of it" (verse 26). Anyone who
tries to build again what God has destroyed is a transgressor and the result of
transgression is curse, sorrow, death and destruction (Galatians 2:18). The
complete obedience of Joshua to the Lord, his commitment and zeal brought him
honour from God. "So theLORD was with Joshua; and his fame was
noised throughoutall the country" (verse 27). This event
demonstrates God's powerto deal with men's problems. Therefore, let us trust in
the Lordfor our victory in all situations. "I will cry unto God most
high;unto God that performeth all things for me" (Psalm 57:2).
