Answers Bible Curriculum 2nd Edition Unit 7 Lesson 66
This week in Sunday school, we look at Israel’s first conquest in the promised land: the city of Jericho. Why was Jericho such a difficult but important obstacle to overcome? Why did God give the battle directions that he did? And what was God demonstrating for all time by leaving Jericho a smoldering ruin?
Our main text for this lesson is Joshua 5:13-6:27.
Auto Transcript
Note: This rough transcript was automatically generated by YouTube’s AI algorithm. We provide it here for your convenience, but know it will surely contain errors as it has not been proofread or edited by a human.
all right well I’ll have to do a little bit of truncate version of what I prepared today but welcome to Sunday school we’re moving on through the book of Joshua and we are looking at the next thing that God did he’s done preparing the way for the people of Israel now he’s actually going to have Israel conquered their first their first city in Canaan and we’re gonna see how that happened today and we’re gonna see how the fall of Jericho really is meant to be a sobering sobering reminder on the one hand it shows God’s power to deliver but it also shows what happens when you do not stand with Yahweh when you persist in unbelief and we need to see that picture today so we’re gonna go through that let me pray before we go on Heavenly Father we thank you for your perfect provision we know you’re doing all things well I pray Lord that you would bless this time together amen okay please take your Bibles then open to Joshua chapter 5 Joshua 5 and we’re gonna be starting in verse 13 between where we were last time and where we are today the only big difference or the only thing to her let you know what happened is that all Israel’s males were circumcised apparently the previous generation had not accomplished that part of the Mosaic law which they had been given and also Israel celebrated the Passover at Gilgal but then and Joshua 5:13 the narrative continues and that’s what we’re going to pick up we’re gonna do the Jericho narrative in two parts first we’ll hear the battle directions from God from 513 265 and then we’ll see how things play out but look at 5:13 and we’re going to read to chapter 6 verse 5 here’s what it says now came about when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and looked and behold a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand and Joshua went to him and said to the man who was standing opposite him or said to him are you for us before our adversaries he said no rather I indeed come now as captain up the hosts of the Lord that is Yahweh and Joshua fell on his face to the earth and bow down it said to him what has my lord to say to my sir to say to his servant the captain of Yahweh’s hosts said to Joshua remove your sandals from your feet at a place where you are standing is Olli and Joshua did sit at Jericho was tightly shut because the sons of Israel no one went out and no one came in Yahweh said to Joshua see I have given Jericho into your hand with its king and the valiant warriors shall march around the city all the men of war circling the city once you should do so for six days also seven priests I’ll carry seven trumpets of rams horns before the ark then on the seventh day shall march around the city seven times and the priests shall blow the trumpets shall be that when they make a long glass with the ram’s horn when hear the sound of the trumpet all the people shall shout with a great shout and the wall of the city will fall down flat and the people will go up every man straight ahead well let’s start observations on this first section text just basic observation of the detailed passage understand the very first verse you read 5:13 that Joshua is out by Jericho I’d appreciate everything that’s about to happen we need to know a little bit about Jericho as far as we can tell so let’s hear some background ancient Jericho appears to correspond to the archaeological site known as tell s Sultana today which is this outside the modern city of Jericho and this site if it is indeed ancient Jericho and there seems to be good evidence that it is built on the western side of the Jordan Valley on a hill next to a spring and though much of the southern Jordan Valley is pretty barren I mention that for you last time the area around Jericho was pretty much the alternate title for Jericho sometimes using the Old Testament is the city of palm trees for example we see that in Deuteronomy 34 3 so environmentally it was pretty nice place Jericho not only had water access and a good climate but it was situated on a very strategically or militarily and economically strategic location as it basically function as the Gateway to Canaan from the east if you want to get to canons interior had to go through Jericho which was good for the economy of Jericho because merchants would have to pass through there you wait to assess customed used but lost cement if an army was trying to come to Canaan from the east they had to face Jericho if they didn’t conquer Jericho well then raiding parties from Jericho would continue to harass that army from the rear so with these environmental economic and military factors in its favor you can understand that Jericho became a desirable place to live in fact Jericho the earliest cities ever built secular archaeologists archaeologists need to found in Jericho to about eight thousand percent thousand see now in this class we argued that that’s that’s not a good timeline that doesn’t take the time details of the Bible seriously especially in Texas five Genesis 11 so we would compress what is usually stretched out by secular archaeologists and say that Jericho is probably founded not too long after the Tower of Babel around 2100 BC it would be the Neolithic period at the end of the Ice Age but certainly whenever it was found at Jericho was in each and see over time Jericho became heavily fortified city was built on the top of a mountain area and then go back to the other slide city was built on the top of a mountain T had two sets of walls at first earlier said it was built on the top of the Mount and within those walls would have been housed the main part of the city this wall was 26 feet high and six feet thick and then a second later set of walls was built near the bottom of the mound and it consisted of two parts there was the retaining wall of large boulders about 15 feet high and five feet thick so painting wall goes right up against the ground against the soil and then on top of that was another mud brick wall that had similar dimensions to the wall on the top of the hill so in all the bottom wall of boulders and mud brick was about 40 feet high that’s a pretty big one that’s four stories you can see that the picture’ the strategic management here at the at the bottom of the slide I’m showing you now it seems there was some ballsy be there were some houses in between the two walls but archaeologically these houses appeared to be flimsier than the houses on the top of the hill that was probably the less desirable part of the city to live shadier area where you’d find even prostitutes like Rahab now in human terms Jericho presented a very imposing defensive obstacle if one tried to scale the bottom wall they then had to climb a steep slope under fire from those in the top wall and then scale or break through that second wall it’s basically a slaughter field an assault on Jericho would be a death trap you would lose tons of soldiers trying to break through the walls so it makes more sense to just try and stage this you starve out the inhabitants but Jericho was also welcomed prestigious the city’s spring as I mentioned before is built near spring that spring was in the same walls so it has a constant water supply moreover by the time Israel approaches Jericho Jericho has just finished the grain harvest that’s around the spring around Passover when the green harvest would have been brought in fact the archaeological remains a telethon they have found remains of grain in containers at Jericho or at this site so by the time Israel reaches Jericho the inhabitants are well supplied with both food and water and they would have had extra defenders in the city now ancient Palestinian cities were usually not that big but any times of danger people who lived around the city would come into the city for protection so maybe there would be normally a few thousand people in the city that number would have smelt swell dramatically because of the invasion of Israel so Erika has a ton of food a ton of water and a ton of men to defend it so Israel faces this strategic puzzle Joshua faces a strategic puzzle salting the city doesn’t sound like a good idea seizing the city is going to be difficult and take a long time Israel will probably suffer more in the seeds than in Jericho will because after they’re done foraging the food around the area there you’re not gonna have any more food so what you about Jericho well that’s continued on in the narrative notice again in 5:13 as Joshua’s by Jericho Joshua encounters a man this man has a drawn sword unsure of his allegiance Joshua asks the man declare his side draw you for Jericho but notice in verse 14 man responds says no just not exactly the way that Joshua Frank the question says no or neither and he declares himself to be part of Yahweh’s army even the captain of Yahweh’s by me well after hearing this replying notice how Joshua responds he falls in his face by I was down and asks what was captain asked say to Joshua before proceeding the captain commands Joshua to remove his sandals saying the place where you’re standing is fully hey we’ve heard that phrase before remember back in Ex chapter 3 the same thing was said to Moses at the burning bush and remember and that earlier is instance in whose presence Moses was he was in Yahweh’s presence God’s presence even the angel of Y always presence each of those things is set to be true there now here in Joshua 5 notice we have God’s captain speaking to Joshua but then in chapter 6 verse 2 who’s speaking – Joshua there it says y’all y’all ways notice in also at verse 1 of chapter 6 that the narrow dimensions that Jericho’s in lockdown nobody coming in or out inhabitants of Jericho would likely expect that it has come siege the city they’re preparing to outlast Israel God hasn’t mind something different than a long siege for his people notice in chapter 6 verse 2 God confirms he has given Jericho and all its warriors and its king it’s the hand of Israel but he gives specific directions for how visible is that actually conquered this city who sees verses 3 to 5 in chapter 6 visuals warriors are to march in a circle around the city once a day for six days will be accompanying by ARC lb7 priests blankets made out of ram’s horns and in the seventh day a little bit different direction it shows to march 7 times around the city and then there’s going to be a long glass with the trumpet and all the men of each bill will then shout what’s the promise result God says when that happens the wall the walls of Jericho will fall down flat or literally they will fall it will fall in its place and then every man will be able to go up straight into the city and slay the inhabitants so these are the battle directions of God we’ve made these observations let’s ask a few interpretation questions now first who is the captain of always art can we make a more specific identification we can this must be God himself even the Son of God we see the same thing here as happened pre-pivot madness if he has to remove his sandals Joshua has removed his sandals it’s because the presence of God is there and also this abrupt switching of where it says the angel of Yahweh or the captain of the always army and then the AH way himself further indicates that this is God Himself speaking to Joshua it’s not like the the captain suddenly disappeared announcer she’s always speaking of this because they’re the same and yet they’re different Yahweh is there and yet this person is distinct from Yahweh represents Yahweh how can that be it’s because God is Trinity of course we’ve looked at that truth before and we’ve also said likely this is the son Oh God because as we here in the New Testament is the explainer he is the mediator of God to men so the son of God is very active in the old pest even here with the people of Israel but why why appeared through Joshua this way with a sword drawn in his hand asking Joshua to remove his sandals and giving direction for Jericho’s defeat well certainly one reason is because this is confirming once again that Josh is God’s name he is the leader chosen by God for his what happened to Moses happens to Joshua Joshua has a similarly special relationship with God but there’s another more important reason it’s to emphasize something to Joshua and all that is Yahweh is the one the papper he is mighty and he will accomplish the victory for Israel I mean Yahweh himself has his sword drawn and is ready to go he’s ready to lead his hosts his army and if you’re always ready to fight well then can the outcome ever be in doubt that’s Joshua did you he used to go forth and fight as well because Yahweh is the one who’s really fighting for him and for all his bill victory is assured not because the people of Israel have power or even because Joshua’s are special it’s because Yahweh fights for Israel I will bring about the victory and the battle directions given by God only further emphasize this point these walls are going to come down these mighty walls these great walls of Jericho are gonna come down without Israel doing anything practical to bring them down no catapults no siege ramp they’re just gonna march around and blow trumpets and shower now normally that would have no effect on the walls maybe it’s effective psychological warfare but that’s not gonna bring down the walls they’re not going to produce enough sonic power to bring down those walls but God was going to use these actions as part of a miraculous deliverance and not all of Israel’s victories are miraculous like this one sometimes it’s merely Providence of God but God shows that this first battle this first conquest would be plainly miraculous God wanted to etch firmly in Israel’s minds who has the power and who’s giving the victory because of this issue was to be confident in God and carefully obey his commands but what Israel do that let’s read on see if God keeps his promise whether Israel believes that promise okay Joshua chapter 6 verses 6 to 27 where we see the rest of the Jericho narrative let’s read that it says so Joshua the son of nun hold the priests and said to them take up the Ark of the Covenant and let seven priests carry seven trumpets the ram’s horns before the ark garlic and he said to the people go forward and march around the city let the armed men go on before the Ark of Yahweh it was so that when Joshua had spoken to the people seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of random horns for Yahweh went forward and glued the trumpets the ark of the covenant of yahweh followed the arms of men went before the priests súplica the trumpets and the rearguard came after the ark while they continued to blow the trumpets but Joshua commanded the people saying you shout out shout no let your voice be heard nor let a word proceed out of your mouth until the day I tell you shout then you shall shout so he had the Ark of Yahweh taken around the city circling it once and they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp now Joshua rose early in the morning and a priest soaked up the Ark of Yahweh the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams horns before the Ark of Yahweh went on continually and blew the trumpets and the armed men went before them and the rear guard came after the ARCIC away while they continued to blow the trumpets that’s the second day they march around the city once and returned to the camp it did so for six days then on the seventh day it rose early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same manner seven times only on that day and they marched around the city seven times at the seventh time when the priests blew the trumpets Joshua said to the people shout yahweh has given you this city the city shall be under the ban it and all that is in it belongs to Yahweh only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live because she hid the messengers whom we sent it asks for you only keep yourselves from the thing–the under the ban so that you do not covet them and take some of the things under the ban and make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it but all the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron holy to Yahweh they shall go into the Treasury of Yahweh so the people shouted and the priests blew the trumpets when the people heard this out of the trumpet the people shouted with a great shout and the Wall fell down flat so that the people went up in this the everyman straight ahead and they took this city they utterly destroyed everything in the city both man and woman young and old ox sheep and donkey with the edge of the sword Joshua said two men would spied out the land go into the harlots house and bring the woman and all she has out of there as you have sworn to her so the young men who were spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all she had they also brought out all her relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel they burned the city with fire and all that was in it only the silver and gold your articles are bronze and iron that put into the Treasury of the house of Yahweh however Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had Joshua spared and she has lived in a mystic jewel to this day where she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy on Jericho then Joshua made them take an oath at that time saying cursed before Yahweh is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho but the loss of his firstborn when he shall lay its foundation and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates so Yahweh was with Joshua and his fame was in all the land let’s make observations on the second section now you can see Israelites do just as y’all become in march around the city once a day for six days and then seven times on the last day as Parcher part of marching around the city notice the additional restriction given by josh man in verse 10 for this chapter he says no one is to shout or make any noise at all just made for a bit of an eerie singing they’ve got these armed men all these armed men from Israel marching silently all their priests below periodically on their ram’s horns can you imagine what this would have looked like from Jericho now how close did the Israelites get to this as they march around text doesn’t say but I imagine they didn’t march close enough to be struck by arrow fire or by sling stones they probably put a little bit of a distance between and the walls defenders notice in verses 16 to 20 on 7th day before Israel shouts Joshua announces that the cities the place gods I shall him what does this ban mean well it’s everything is dedicated to Yahweh and the city and its people are to be utterly destroyed notice here explicitly it says no one is to be left alive except Rahab and her family and as for the metal items of the city they’re to be added to the always treasure and everything else is to destroy livestock other goods clothing items all to be destroyed now for many other cities in Israel’s conquest God does not command Israel to place the city and it’s items and and its items under the band normally Israel is free to take the plunder of the cities they conquer but in every city whether under the ban or not that people of the land are to be completely wiped out and woman-child old man other infant all to be killed no one left but the ban is something that’s put in place here and the battle precedes just as God said it would see from the text when the trumpets give belong blast people of Israel give a great shout and the walls immediately fall down and the Israelite warriors proceed into the city collapsing walls likely made ramps for the issue is to easily scale rushed into this though interestingly according to archaeology it’s Alisal times there was one section of outer wall that did not completely collapse which would have allowed the homes or home in that section halte name tax and can we think of any good reason why God would want a certain part of the wall not to fall certainly right because someone’s house was in that wall mayhaps apparently there was some fighting that took place even after Israel went into the city Joshua 2411 a does mention that the citizens of Jericho fought against Israel but this was a battle whose outcome was not in doubt at this point the walls have fallen the defenders have no chance at the end of the battle verse 22 tells us that Joshua has the two spies bring out Rahab a family from the city of Jericho why is that because usuals going to burn the whole thing which is what they do and again can you imagine what this experience would have been like for Rahab and her family members he leave the city of Jericho they see the rubble wall they see all all the people of their city slaughtered and then they see the city burned certainly this would have been a very sobering picture even though there’s joy and deliverance there is also that awesome fear of what they have been spared from even the judgment of God after the city has made a smoldering debris pile notice what Joshua pronounces in verse 26 curse on whomever rebuilds Jericho now get the idea of the rebuilding here this is not simply people building homes on this site again actually we’re gonna see we’re not going to see but if you if you investigate there are several times in the Old Testament where it mentions people living in Jericho Jericho is one of the cities given as tribal inheritance and yet there is this curse and notice he says the one who lays the foundations and sets up at Gates Foundation’s and gates her for what four walls Josh was saying whoever refortified this city tries to build the walls again let that person be cursed he will lose some of his sons and we actually see this curse fulfilled later on in the scripture first Kings 1634 thefts in his days were in Ahab’s days he yelled at Bethel I built Jericho that is fortified Jericho he laid its foundations the loss of Abram his firstborn incentive its gates who lost his youngest son tsukuba according to the word of yahweh which he spoke by joshua the son of nun and that was many years later yet the curse of joshua which really gods curse came to pass with these observations in the second section let’s ask a few more questions of interpretation how would you characterize the obedience of joshua in israel to the lord’s battle plan again it is complete it is total obedience and again we might be shocked and I remember as a young believer being particularly shocked at the fact because growing up on VeggieTales and its version of Joshua at Jericho that depiction makes it seem like you sure was questioning God and not really sure whether they should go through with his battle plan but that’s not what we see here no second-guessing no grumbling didn’t seem to bother issue at all that God said to do things that weren’t practical for bringing the walls down God said that it wouldn’t bring the walls down and they believed him God vindicated their faith now it’s possible there was some grumbling some second guessing that’s not recorded in the scripture but it’s not the impression we get them to text fact as we’ve already seen and as we are going to see as we continue through the book of Joshua this second generation is are you different from the first generation first generation was characterized by unbelief and disobedience and complaints second generation not perfect but they are characterized by obedience which comes from faith they actually believe Yahweh and he always pleased to give them the land and to fulfill his promises to Israel Hebrews 11 30 confirms that these walls came down by faith Hebrews 11 30 says by faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days God rewarded the faith of Israel now some might say that God shows himself cruel here by commanding the complete slaughter of Jericho and the rest of Kanaan’s inhabitants but why is this not the case and this is a question we brought up but as we go through the Congress we need to keep reminding ourselves that this was not cruel or evil by God why because God had ordained this as a judgment of the people the land for their wickedness he had given them time to repent even centuries to repent and we told Abraham back in Genesis 15 the iniquity of the amorite is not yet complete I’m giving them time but they won’t repent and their evil practices are even recorded at the Torah the things that they would do like sacrifice their children through their gods and all sorts of other debauchery and cruelty God says now it’s time for judgment Israel you’re gonna be my agents of judgment you will destroy them and I will give you the land so this is not cool from God this is justice from God also we saw with Rahab it’s not as if the people the land had no option they could have sided with Israel and they could have fled from the land but they chose not to do so and partially that was because God was gonna bring judgment on them and we also know that God warned Israel do not leave any survivors because if you do and if you live with them and even intermarry with them they will lead you astray they will lead you into idolatry and all sorts of sin that’s exactly what we see happen to Israel because they don’t keep bounced camp and that comes later see that in the book of Judges this was not evil this was not from God this was according to his wisdom at justice but why was Jericho put under the ban what most the other Canaanite cities that Israel conquers are not now why does Joshua pronounce a special curse on whoever refortified Jericho hex doesn’t tell us specifically but think about the significance of this moment this is the first city that Israel’s conquering and Canaan and it’s one of the most impressive cities even seemingly impregnable therefore it makes sense that God intended for Jericho to be made example I wanted an object lesson to be made in Jericho for Israel to see for the surrounding nations to see Jericho was this wicked city that seemed like it could not be conquered yet it was easily conquered by God and his people and all of its inhabitants were destroyed saved Rahab and her relatives so this was to be a testimony like Sodom and Gomorrah it’s a testimony to both the awesome power of God to save and bring victory but it’s also testimony of the terrible price of sin Israel wouldn’t need this picture as they proceeded in the rest of the conquest and as they proceeded in their relationship with God in Atlanta therefore to remove this very startling and important picture would have been a foolish act I would act a rebellious act even an act that warrant the curse of God don’t refortified Jericho leave it a ruin as a testimony even a memorial to Israel on the other nations of course later generations didn’t heed that warning God wanted Jericho to remain a picture even though Jericho was rebuilt we still do have the testimony in the scripture so that we don’t miss the picture and I think that really points us to the final question I want to ask you what is the purpose of this cow why did God have Joshua write about the Battle of Jericho and even devote an extensive extensive amount of text to it does it go through the rest the conquest narrative we won’t see the same amount of time devote to the other city why here is to emphasize what we’ve been saying Israel is to trust in the power of God and be careful to obey Him in whatever he commands why because God is mighty to save or to destroy visuals gonna continue to face trials in the conquest and in the days afterward they would need to exercise faith in Yahweh they would need to carefully obey Him and so they need Jericho’s reminder that’s why Joshua wrote about it but the Spirit of God the next generation would surely be tempted to think from a mere human perspective about the challenges they faced oh we don’t have the strength to go against this pagan invader or we can’t repay God’s and we have to compromise if we want to survive but Jericho God’s victory brought about at Jericho stands as a powerful testimony to the people you can obey Yahweh and if you do he will bring his promises to pass to you believe the Lord nothing is too hard for him he is mighty and look what he did with Jericho most powerful fortress can be reduced to smoking bubble if God ordains it he made impractical measures of men marching shouting trumpet blowing bring down this great city so what will God do for you if you are willing to believe him and obey him will he not also vindicate your faith of course the answer is yes and that wasn’t just something for Israel to realize continually that’s something that we must realize as well and isn’t that what we’re seeing over and over again as we move through the conquest narrative god is mighty you can trust in him if you do obey you will make eight your faith see that is the main message the main takeaway of this account and now I want to think through a little bit more how that applies to us can we be more specific about what this means for you and for me so let me ask you a few questions what’s your Jericho what’s the Jericho that you face right now in your life what situations are you facing that includes seemingly insurmountable obstacles to obedience I understand what I’m asking here I’m not talking about another way that maybe prosperity preachers talk oh what’s that thing you really want that challenge that breakthrough that you’re looking for so that you can get that promotion or that you can have the freedom from this illness not talking about that because God didn’t promise those things in the scripture God did say if you obey me I’ll vindicate you so where are you facing difficult obedience to God you say oh god if I do this it’s gonna be hard Oh God anything but this the consequences of my obedience are going to be maybe too much for me it’s like a Jericho where are you seeing that now in your life maybe would the work our ministry task set before you or relationships where you need to give the gospel or confront soon yes oh god I don’t know how it’s gonna turn out you believe that God truly is the one with real power real wisdom and a good heart that he stands on the side of his people and he’s able to make the greatest efforts the greatest schemes of man which are done apart from God he can turn them into nothing but he can take even the smallest faith-filled efforts and turn them into great victory look at how God provided in Jericho if God is able to do that for Israel is he not able to also provide for you in his perfect way we don’t know how God will do it but know when God will do it but he will do it he will vindicate the faith of his people we’re not to sit by passively until God acts we got to proceed in obedience expecting great things from Gatlin so asks ask yourselves it’s morning are you like Joshua are you like Rahab are you like this believing generation of Israel do you trust God enough to actually obey Him even when it’s difficult if not and if you haven’t been doing this you need to repent because this Trust is a slant or again let’s go he’s the covenant-keeping god he’s the mighty God and so when you refuse to trust it when you live in fear and anxiety what you’re saying is God I can’t trust you no where did my trust you haven’t demonstrated enough I can’t believe you that’s a slander against God’s character we need to repent of that you need to believe Yahweh and worship Him bacon and don’t forget the flip side of this account God does perfectly provide for his people but for those who do not trust in him and persist in stubborn unbelief what’s their lot their lattes with the people of Jericho its total destruction and ruin holy judgement of God comes down upon there’s no middle ground blue God Jesus said you’re either for me or against me you either gather with me or you scatter in opposition to me Jericho we have a powerful reminder of the fate of all those who oppose God and his Messiah there’s no salvation apart from God walls will not save a healthy lifestyle will not save the schemes of the world will not save good works and rituals will not save all those who continue cysts on their own way continue to serve themselves state countable on what they want to do and rebell in their hearts against Yahweh they will be utterly destroyed just as we see in this passage and eternally punished so ask yourselves again which side of the Battle of Jericho do you want to be on this ancient battle is in some ways a shadowing of a battle that is to come a great battle of Armageddon on whose side do you want to be on the believers who conquered the city on the side of unbelievers whose defenses were overturned and perished in the city now one concept I’ve been thinking about lately it’s the idea of testing in these first five or six books of the Testament we see testing have been constantly and there are two ways that we can test God and we can talk about testing in terms of how we could tested by God but there’s also a way that we can test we can test God by unbelief that’s what Israel was doing that’s what the first generation of Israel was doing continually said Oh God why’d you do this why’d you bring us here and they weren’t willing to believe God how did God respond to that kind of testing it was patient at first but he said no more this is evil what you’re doing against me and it brings down my chase think of my judgment and we hear later on the scripture said we are not to test the Lord like the first generation not to test God with unbelief but there is a way that we are to test how’s that by belief now there’s a section in Malachi and much later in the scriptures or God I think it’s God tells the people who have been withholding their offerings from him he says test me in this sea I’m not willing to open the windows of heaven to rain down blessings on if you will obey he says I want you to test me but with belief so another question for you to ask yourself is how you testing are you testing God with belief unbelief when we test got one unbelief and risk his judgement we risk causing his patients to right now it’s a great agent well we test God by beliefs why don’t we see see God’s goodness you see God vindicated work is be in this perfect time is perfect way we see him vindicate we don’t have time for a last question I want to talk a little bit more about archeological evidence there is great corroboration of what the scripture says in a little time not recognized by most archaeologists today and the reason seems to be chronology a dates the destruction of Jericho LSL taunted 1550 BC where the Bible wouldn’t indicate that Jericho was destroyed around 1405 BC they say oh this can’t be Jericho or rather this can’t be the Bible can’t be accurate this is why I can’t trust the multiple but there are good reasons why there’s a discrepancy here number of possible isn’t it could be that telescope I was not really Jericho though it does seem like it is it may be that the dating methods were done incorrectly on the site and they need to be adjusted actually Jericho fell assaults on was first dated in its final to destruction rather its destruction layer to 1400 BC that was later revised so maybe maybe the revision was wrong well it might just be the same issue that we saw in the patterns of evidence exodus DVD that is they’ve dated it’s the right period but the whole kernel analogical system of periods needs to be adjusted to be a little technical the middle Bronze Age is the correct period but destruction tell us the time response to this it’s just that they’ve dated the middle Bronze Age too too early needs to be pushed a little bit late and so one way or another what the archaeologists say today does not really contradict the scripture so there’s a good explanation why they there’s a discrepancy whether archaeology is able to confirm it or not we know that the Scriptures are true Jericho was a great city but a wicked City it seemed like it could not fall but God made it fall and it was to be a testimony the Israel and to all of us the God is able to bring victory for those who believe in him but he will bring destruction on those who do not well that brings us to the end of our lesson today you have questions or comments please email me next week we proceed further into conquest we’re gonna overview the rest of Joshua’s campaigns and israel’s campaigns see how God continued to keep his promises to his faith-filled people thank you for your patience today’s we dealt with the audio difficulties let’s close in prayer and with your father we thank you for your word there’s another good word an encouraging word but a sobering word god I pray that we would not test you with unbelief thank you for your patience for us patience with us as we have done so but what’s wicked for us to do so god help us not to do so anymore but to believe you as this second generation of Israel did and wait for you to bring the victory in Jesus name Amen thank you again scene