By Faith the Walls of Jericho Fell Hebrews 11:30

The writer of Hebrews shared how Moses and the children of Israel, “passed through the Red sea as by dry land”, however, “the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned”. In chapter eleven and verse thirty of Hebrews the writer shares how “by faith” “the walls of Jericho fell down” where we read:

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.

The verse begins, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down,...”. The writer began with the words, “By faith” which means “the conviction of the truth of anything and belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ which springs from trust in the same” “the walls” or “the town walls or walls around the city” “of Jericho” which means “place of fragrance” and was “a noted city abounding in balsam, honey, cyprus, myrobalanus, roses and other fragrant products. It was near the north shore of the Dead Sea in the tribe of Benjamin and between Jerusalem and the Jordan River” “fell down” or “descended from an upright to a prostrate position”. Jericho's walls “fell down” because Joshua and the people of God had “faith” in Him.

The verse goes on to say, “...after they were compassed about seven days.”. The writer continued with the words, “after they were compassed” which means “came, lead, surrounded, encircled or stood around” “about seven days” or “upon, by, over and against it seven natural intervals between sunrise and sunset as distinguished from and contrasted with the night”. The children of Israel were to walk around the “walls of Jericho” for seven days, and as they obeyed this directive from God, the walls “fell down”.

When we think through these words in Hebrews, we see how “faith” was the key component to those who encircled the city of Jericho. (See Joshua 6). The children of Israel who were allowed into the “promise land” were told to circle the city of Jericho for six days one time per day. After those six days, they were to encircle the city seven times on the seventh day without knowing what would happen next. As they obeyed in “faith”, “the walls of Jericho” “fell down”. Even so Jesus Christ asks people to “believe in Him”, and He promises they shall obtain “everlasting life”. Though they cannot see the final result of their obedience, just as sure as God had a plan for the “walls of Jericho”, He has an “eternal” plan for those who put their “faith” and trust in Jesus.

Next time the writer shares how ”by faith” “the harlot Rahab perished not”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.