Tearing Down Walls
Notes
Transcript
Remember Zollie Bowling
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12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.
13 Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets.
14 And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.
15 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times.
16 And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!
17 Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
18 And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”
20 So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
22 But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.”
23 And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel.
24 But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.
25 And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
26 Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.”
27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.
I. The wall of defeat.
I. The wall of defeat.
The walls fell flat. The word flat is TAHAT- meaning the under part or what is below. Simply worded, the walls fell down.
In the Hebrew it reads - The walls fell below.
The word wall is plural because there were three walls of Jericho. A stone retaining wall, A brick wall above the retaining wall, and then an upper wall made of brick.
God is a God of promise.
He can break down walls in your life. However, He will only do so for His name sake and for His glory.
God will not part the waters or tare down the walls to build or name, but to build His.
Do you give God the glory in your life?
God will tear down the wall of defeat so that He is glorified.
II. The wall of Sin.
II. The wall of Sin.
There is some argumentation by Bible critics against the bible based on a few passages of scripture such as found in verse 21.
So, we must address the issue this morning. Did God demand Israel kill the women and children?
First let us look at the context of this passage.
18 And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”
Here we see that God states that the spoils of the war are His. Remember, God has destroyed Jericho for His own names sake.
So, God says that everything in the city that has value belongs to Him.
Next let’s look at the word for utterly destroy. In the Hebrew this is one word HEDRESHMIM and means to ban, devote, or exterminate.
to give something exclusively to God with the implication that it must be completely destroyed to avoid human use.
have a flat nose
Is some ways this flat nose is a picture of the people being brought flat, just as the walls. It signifies the destruction of a sinful culture being destroyed.
Often in Scripture we see that Israel is said to kill all of a people group, only to see that group still in existence later on.
The Amalekites are a prime example. Israel is said to destroy them and then later we see that they are still a people. Often in scripture we see the language of annihilation used to signify a total defeat.
Furthermore, in verse 17 is says that only Rahab shall live. The word live can also be interpreted as recover.
Yet, the most likely interpretation is the simplest. God ordered Israel to kill every living thing, except Rahab and her household.
So how do we reconcile a just God and this supposed injustice?
First, we must recognize that God is sovereign over life and He does not owe either you or I an explanation. He is both the giver and taker of life.
Second, He is a good God and as such we must look beyond our emotions and see His goodness, even in the difficult matters.
What was victory for Israel was defeat for Jericho. God has His way in both the good and bad in life.
Third, Sin has consequences. The Bible teaches that the wages of sin is death.
Fourth, we see that to utterly annihilate means to consecrate for God. God may have sacrificed them, and their livestock, as a means of consecration to Himself.
Thus, with their death God removed their wickedness.
Jesus died so that we do not have to die. This is the miracle of the cross. He died so I can live, and He lives so that I can live again.
I was destined to eternal judgment, but Jesus, in His loving compassion, took my place.
III. The Wall of Separation.
III. The Wall of Separation.
Rahab was separated from God.
Sin and her environment kept her away from God. Yet, God made a way for her to be reunited with her creator.
in 1907, German archeologist have discovered a small portion of the northern wall of Jericho that is still standing. It is possible that this is the area of the wall that Rahab lived in that God sparred to keep His promise to her.
Rahab was separated from God, but God loved Rahab.
Yet, Rahab was saved, not because she did a good deed, but because that deed was birthed from genuine faith.
I want to look for a minute and see what God did through Rahab.
Let’s turn to the Gospel of Matthew
5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,
6 and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.
Rahab was the mother-in-law of Ruth and the Great-Great-Great Grandmother of David.
The world saw a harlot that was worthless and destined to be destroyed with the rest of Jericho.
But God, He saw a women of great potential and worth.
Now lets be honest with ourselves. Many of us would be comfortable around Rahab. If she came to church we would gasp at such a person. Ladies, you would stand between her and your husband and give her devilish looks. But God does not see what we see. and I’m glad that God doe snot look at us the way people do.
As a matter of fact, God seems to specialize in seeing what others don’t.
He used Rahab - the harlot, Ruth - the gentile moabite, and David - the shepherd boy. And of David God said to Samuel, Man looks at the outward appearance, but god looks at the heart. The same could be said of Ruth and Rahab.
Today God is more interested in your future than He is your past. He does not see what the world sees, He sees what He desires to do in your life.
Regardless of what the reformed preachers will claim, God desires for and freely offers salvation to all of mankind.
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Do not believe they lie that God has predestined some people to hell. The bible simply teaches a different Gospel.
The Bible is a whosever bible and the blood of Jesus was shed for the entire world.
2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
Simply put, there is no such thing as limited atonement in Scripture.
Some will argue that Jesus died for His sheep.
15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
