Tear down this wall
Joshua 5:2 – Chapter 6 Read it here
The destruction of the walls of Jericho is one of those stories most of us heard as children, about how God brought the walls down at the sound of the trumpets and the shouting.
Usually the children’s Sunday School version omits the bloodbath that followed, as it presents some difficulties. Regardless of how extensive it really was, the writer’s point is clear: God intends for his people to take the land and remove all influence of the original inhabitants.
This is one of those passages that whenever I preach about it, someone in the church will tell me about something they read (or these days send me a link) that explains what really happened. What usually follows is a lot of jargon about sound waves and harmonics and construction materials and the like.
In the mid-20th century it was popular to find ways to rationalize the miraculous events of scripture and find “proof” that they weren’t really contradictory to the laws of nature. In response, more traditional Christians would construct elaborate proofs that the events could only be evidence of God suspending the normal rules of how the world works.
Personally, I have no trouble believing either explanation, either that God made extraordinary use of ordinary phenomena, or that he intervened and suspended the rules so that his will could be accomplished. In either case, the important thing is that it was God at work, doing his will.
I have said before, and will no doubt say many more times as we read, it’s more important to understand the lessons of the events than to understand the logistics of the events.
In this case, God’s purpose appears twofold:
First, he accomplishes the task at hand, of giving the city to his chosen people. He literally destroys the obstacle that is in the way of his will being done, something he often does in a more figurative sense.
Second, he reminds the people (and us) that his gifts are gifts, not things we have earned on our own.