Intro on 1 Kings 16:34 in My God Is Yahweh.
In the passage we are dealing with tonight, there is a massive and intense conflict between God’s sovereign power and man’s desire for this power with his distrust in God’s power. I will, in this intro try to flesh this out and also try to relate it too our lives today. I will try to give you a picture/image on what is happening here.
Jericho.
The name itself reeks power, human strength and valor. It was, after all ‘The City’ or rather ‘The Gateway’ to the Promised Land. For this reason, we’ll go back and first focus our attention on the fall of Jericho.
Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel, we read in Joshua 6:1. The Israelites had a string of victories to their name, demolishing and conquering all that stood between them and their beloved promised land. Jericho was well aware of the Israelites reputation and also their God who was with them. There was no wonder that they had the city shut up. It is here that God chose to display His almighty power. But what a strange and seemingly foolish way to do it!
Not a sound could be heard but the thomp, thomp of a mighty army tromping around the city. Not a voice was heard. Six days the Israelites marched around the city taking with them the ark of God. Imagine the wonderment and puzzlement of Jericho; imagine the disappointment of the Israelites. The sheer stupidity of it all is very obvious. We have all seen/read on video and books of armies rising against the other with a mighty battle cry, boasting their strength and superiority. Imagine the frustration and overwhelming urge to attack that the Israelites needed to go through, abandoning all their own reason, playing the fool for a time. I seems God is sporting with the Israelites over mere trifles, that His weakness appears stronger than all might and His folly, superior to all wisdom.
The seventh day came, the Israelites were in for some serious walking. At the final lap, the seven priests drew a long blast on their rams horns and the Israelites let of all their pent-up frustrations and declarations of tired legs. What a roar of sound would have reverberated enveloped all through Jericho.
God pulled down Jericho’s walls, demolishing all but Rahab’s house. (This showed that He wasn’t anti-canaanite) There was no order for the Israelites to fight till now, where everything needed to be destroyed and slaughtered. Since God had defeated the city, He received it’s spoils.
So we come back to the origin of the text. “And Joshua charged them at the time saying: cursed is the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho. He shall lay it’s foundations with his firstborn, and with his youngest, he shall set up its gates.” The curse is there for a reason. Man needs, not strong walls to be protected, but rather to trust in God. To rebuild the wall will incur God’s wrath as man depends again on his own strength and capabilities.
Later on, Ahab became king, after his father Omri had died. Ahab did evil in the site of God and here are his 3 main mistakes.
1, He married Jezebel who had sworn to serve Baal
2, He joined her in this serving of Baal
3, Introduced Baal worship in Israel.
These obviously follow on from the other as Ahab fell deeper into his sins. He didn’t want to hear God’s voice and so, couldn’t hear it either anymore.
Jericho was in Ruins. These Ruins shamed Ahab as he saw Babel and Babylon with their fortresses. Jericho, as I have previously mentioned, was the gateway to Canaan. All those traveling to and from Canaan to neighboring cities would see its ruins. The rocks symbolized that the Israelites were saved by grace alone. They testified of God’s righteous judgment against sin, the fulfillment of a blessing, and later, the curse.
It was Hiel of Bethel who took away the voice of the ruins, took away the symbolism of God’s sovereign grace, and inflicted on himself, God’s curse, made through Joshua. Together with Ahab’s consent, Jericho’s walls were rebuilt, its gates set up. The curse became a reality as he lost his firstborn and youngest sons.
Israel again placed their trust in their own strength.
So what do Jericho’s ruins mean for us? How do we apply its symbolism to ourselves today?
The trust in God is what matters. He alone can and will protect you in times of trouble if only we place our complete trust in Him and Him alone. The Grace of God needs to be evident and seen in us, as we tackle our days one by one.
It tells us of the obedience that God requires, that is, if we are told to love our neighbour as ourselves, then let’s do it, without expecting a return. But most of all, trust in God and lets not trust on our own strength and wisdom as that too is weak and warped by sin. If we don’t, we too will receive God’s curse.
Thankyou.