Jericho is the first city that fell when Israel entered the land,
and the town where a beggar cried Son of David on the way up to Jerusalem.
The walls of the city will fall down flat.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient,
because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
A cursed heap became a roadside where mercy still stopped.
It sits by the Jordan, the city of palm trees, the lock on the road into the hill country. Joshua sends spies. Rahab hides them, ties the scarlet cord, and is sworn into the family of the invaders because she has heard what the Lord did at the sea. Seven priests, seven trumpets, seven days, seven circuits on the seventh day. Shout. The wall falls down flat. The city is devoted to destruction. Silver and gold go to the treasury of the Lord. Achan keeps what was banned, and the next town does not fall until the ban is faced. Joshua lays an oath on the ruins: whoever rebuilds Jericho pays with his firstborn and his youngest. Centuries later, in Ahab’s days, Hiel of Bethel builds it again and buries his sons under the price.
The New Testament still knows the road. Jesus passes through on the way to the city that will kill Him. Zacchaeus climbs a tree. Blind Bartimaeus will not be hushed. A priest and a Levite pass by a man on the Jericho road; a Samaritan does not. The firstfruits of the conquest and the last mercies before the cross share a name. Faith walks around a wall. Faith also stops for a shout on the shoulder.
- First city means the pattern: the Lord fights, the people obey a strange order.
- Rahab is inside the ban and outside the judgment. The cord is faith with an address.
- Seven is the shape of the week of the fall. The shout is the people’s part.
- Achan proves the ban was not a slogan. Hidden spoil stops the next victory.
- The oath on the rebuild is kept in Kings. Joshua’s word outlives Joshua.
- Son of David at Jericho is Messiah-language on the same road the spies once walked.
- The Jericho road in the parable is where neighbor gets defined.
- The Lock – City of palms; the gate into the hill country.
- The Cord – Rahab; spies; a house on the wall.
- The Seven – Priests; trumpets; days; the shout; the wall flat.
- The Ban – Devoted; Achan; the trouble in the camp.
- The Oath – Rebuild at the cost of sons; fulfilled under Ahab.
- The Road Up – Bartimaeus; Zacchaeus; on the way to Jerusalem.
- The Neighbor – A man half dead; a Samaritan who stops.
- Joshua 2:1, 18 – Joshua sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.”… “You shall tie this scarlet cord in the window.”
- Joshua 6:2-5, 20, 25 – “See, I have given Jericho into your hand.”… “On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times.”… The wall fell down flat… Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive.
- Joshua 6:26 – “Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.”
- Joshua 7:1, 11-12 – Achan… took some of the devoted things… “That is why the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies.”
- 1 Kings 16:34 – In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua.
- Hebrews 11:30-31 – By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
- James 2:25 – Was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
- Matthew 1:5 – Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab.
- Mark 10:46 – As he was leaving Jericho… Bartimaeus, a blind beggar… “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
- Luke 19:1-10 – He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus… “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
- Luke 10:30-37 – A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho… a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was.
- Deuteronomy 34:3 – The city of palm trees.
See, I have given Jericho into your hand. The wall fell down flat.
Tie this scarlet cord in the window. Rahab did not perish with those who were disobedient.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
Cursed be the man who rebuilds this city. Hiel of Bethel built Jericho, at the cost of his sons, according to the word of the Lord.
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Do not trust a wall more than a word. Walk the strange obedience. Leave the devoted things alone. The cord still marks a house faith can live in. And on the road out of the same town, stop when someone cries for mercy. The first city to fall is still a place where the lost get found.
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