I have often found encouragement in the account of the battle of Jericho. The Hebrew people were faced with an obstacle to their possession of God’s promised good land. A fortress city stood in their way. What were they to do? All they had to do was trust and obey God’s direction. It wasn’t by their effort that they would inherit the promised land, it was a matter of God’s grace.
Similarly, in our Christian life, we walk by faith and depend on God’s promise and His action on our behalf. We take Him at His word. We trust and obey. The promised land of sanctification and God’s blessing in our life, comes through His effort not ours. I made this case previously in a post called “Thoughts on the Battle of Jericho.”
Here is a visual depiction of this same important lesson. It comes from an adaptation of The Jesus Storybook Bible, one of our favorite kid’s Bible story books. Tim Keller referred to this book as “a storybook for preachers” and I quite agree. It communicates the heart of the Bible stories powerfully, and highlights the fact that all the stories in the Bible unfold the wonder of Jesus and His love. It has brought tears to my eyes at times, and if you don’t have this book, you really should get it!
Watch the animated story below of the battle of Jericho, and I pray that you and I both will grow in our trust of Jesus Christ, our true Warrior Leader.
For more on The Jesus Storybook Bible visit JesusStorybookBible.com or preview/purchase the book at the following online retailers: Westminster Bookstore, Monergism Books, Christianbook.com, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, or direct from Zondervan.
Hey, nice post, but I can’t view the video 🙁
Joe,
It might be due to your location – are you outside the US?
Also the video seems to be only available on Facebook – not Youtube or anywhere else (except it can be purchased via Zondervan.com).
Thanks,
Bob
“The promised land of sanctification and God’s blessing in our life, comes through His effort not ours.”
Bob while I agree in part, I must disagree in part. Why?
As you say they had to obey. Now was obedience required? What obedience was required? We must remember the fuller context. What happened at Kadesh Barnea? Had the spies previously viewed the city and the people distrusted? Yes. And some died? Yes. This means that they were unwilling to try and “take” the land. Back then maybe it was because they did not know it would be “easy?” Did they know that all they had to do was, (as you say) “trust and obey” marching behind their leaders every day around the wall? Probably not. Yet was that easy or hard? Does it matter? The question is, was it required?
Certainly we all agree, “If God before us who can be against us!” And God did it, not man! But this does not hinder God from commanding us to do something, apart from which He will not act. If man does not cooperate will God do His wondrous work on our behalf?
If there is not a willingness to seek to move forward to take the land and do the work to which He calls Israel, God will not act on their behalf, right?
Secondly, the context for the taking of Jericho was circumcision! If they had not stopped and opened themselves up to the weakness and therefore the danger of obeying in this bloody act of circumcision would God have called them to take their pilgrimage around Jericho every day?
You are absolutely right. Obedience is essential. And painful.
This is not to say that God did not do the work at Jericho, and that God gets the glory. Only to suggest that faith without works is dead, as you know. But Luther wanted that phrase and the Book of James thrown out of the Bible. He would of course give his doctor’s cap to anyone who could show why such a book was part of the canon!
Thirdly I would submit that obedience is not all that easy, and that at the next city, the battle was truly a battle! God did not call Joshua to take AI (or the consequent cities) by having an all-night prayer meeting, or having a service in front of the city gates as God’s angels did the down and dirty slaughter. As a matter of fact did not God call upon the Israelites to cooperate with Him and His will for their lives by their own hands-on, swords unsheathed, activism?
Did not God call upon them to effect their own war, through His power? Did he not ask for them to “save [themselves’ from this untoward generation? (as KJJV terms it) 🙂
This is not to say that this is not all metaphorical for us in the New Covenant era as I am sure you understand. We too must wage war. If we began without war why would we think now war is necessary. If we began by means of the cross and by crucifying ourselves then why would we not realize we must continue in this way? Or do you reject the notion that men are saved by becoming disciples of Jesus and gaining faith through his words, words apart from which there is no spirit and no life?
I bring these points up because I want to challenge you to not use a systematic theology to determine how and what you will say about story lines in the Bible. The story line has its own metaphors which properly depicted show us in our day how to fight the good fight, and that we must not depend on God’s “sovereign” grace, but on that grace – and truth – which comes by Jesus Christ in John 1.
Again I will say as elsewhere I believe in Presentation Theology. Today we do not need Protestant Theology in my opinion. It can hold us back. Lets keep pushing forward and trusting to God’s light, his progressive illumination, (I did not say progressive revelation I trust you understand and agree!) as did heros of the faith in the past. His light continues to be brighter, praise God.
Yours, for our Captain of the Hosts of the Lord’s sake, God bless! Roy