Ever wondered what it must have been like for the residents of Jericho when Joshua and the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River? They had heard the stories of what Israel had done to the kings on the other side of the river. Now, Joshua 6 tells us, they were shut inside the city because of fear.
God commanded Joshua to have seven priests march ahead of the Ark around the city, each blowing a ram’s horn. The entire army was to march with them (counted as 603,550 in Numbers 14). They were to march around the city once a day for six days, and then on the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times. They were not to speak at all until Joshua told them to shout on the seventh day. “Do not shout; do not even talk,” Joshua commanded. “Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout. Then shout!” [Josh 6:10 NLT]
How unnerving that must have been for Jericho’s residents—the Ark, the priests blowing trumpets, the silent army.
There was only one person in the city who had any hope of a happy ending. She had gathered her relatives into her house marked by the scarlet cord. She was probably the least likely one to be saved—Rahab the harlot inn-keeper who hid Israel’s spies when they were sent into the city to explore the situation. And who would have thought that this survivor of Jericho, this professional prostitute, would end up in the lineage of King David, his great-great grandmother. [Matthew 1:5-6]
Last night as I slept the line of a song kept repeating in my mind … “Oh to be a friend of God. How sweet to be a friend of God.” What an amazing God! He numbers His friends from the great (Abraham the patriarch, Daniel the prophet) to the lowly (Rahab the prostitute, Levi the tax collector). Do you hear Him calling you His friend?
