God is the greatest storyteller ever—and the hero of his own story. Consider the Birth of Israel. Incredible stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Pharaoh, and Moses. Then when the people finally reach the Promised Land, the first real battle is with Jericho. Jericho was protected by a huge wall but Rahab said her people were scared—they’d heard how God dried up the Red Sea forty years earlier.
Next Israel crossed the Jordan—and God dried that up too. Now Jericho was shaking in its boots. Then Jesus appeared:
“When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’
‘Neither,’ he replied. ‘I have now come as Commander of the Lord’s Armies.’ Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in worship” Joshua 5:13-14.
Jesus said to march around Jericho once a day for six days, blowing trumpets, but saying nothing. For six days, Israel marched in silence. (Imagine how that stoked the fears of the pagan people of Jericho.) Then on the seventh day Israel marched around the city seven times. On the seventh trip, the trumpet blasts changed, Joshua gave the order to shout, Israel shouted—and the walls of Jericho fell inward, allowing every soldier to march straight into the city.
Imagine the next morning’s headlines all over the Promised Land! God used the miracles in Egypt, the Red Sea, the Jordan River, and now Jericho to proclaim his truth throughout the pagan lands. As Rahab said, “the Lord Your God is God in heaven above and on earth below” Joshua 2:11. Like Rahab, some would turn to Him. Most would refuse and would die without excuse.
God, thank you for telling such an amazing story of miracles, of good and evil, of courage and fear, of grace and forgiveness. Help us to love your STORY—and to better recognize your work in our own smaller stories.
ΑΩ
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