The Walls of Jericho Fell for You and Me

My Sunday school teacher said something really interesting the other day. He was teaching on Ephesians, but made a quick side road into doubting one’s faith. Asking us how we were to deal with times of crises and lack of faith, he pointed us to the Old Testament and the Old Covenant. For thousands of years, God has been orchestrating his plan of redemption in history. It began with the Fall, and then Noah. Then God called Abraham, Isaac, and then chose Jacob over Esau. His people were put into captivity, but then were lead out into the Promised Land. Hundreds of years they stayed there, until foreign powers conquered them and displaced them. But they eventually by Divine Providence found their way back. Then the Romans conquered the Jews, and then Jesus came. He died to save the world from its sins, and then set up His church to proclaim Him crucified. Then the truth spread from Palestine to the Middle East, and from there to Greece and then to Europe. From Europe, it spread to Africa, America, and Asia.

My teacher then challenged us that in our next time of doubting our faith to look not on our own faithfulness or worthiness, but on God’s faithfulness to His people. God has done all this to bring people like you and me into the covenant community; do you think He would reverse it all and your election because you are having an existential crisis? Certainly not. You see, having faith is not so much about the quantity or strength of your faith, but is more about the quality of the One in whom your faith is in. Anyone who looks to their own amount of faith rather than to God’s faithfulness for assurance can never find that assurance, because as sinners the strength of our faith waxes and wanes.

The implication from all this, however, is even more incredible. For in one way of looking at it, the walls of Jericho did not just fall so that the Hebrews could cross the Jordan. The walls of Jericho in a very real way fell for you and me. You see, the battle of Jericho or David killing Goliath wasn’t just about setting up an ancient Hebrew kingdom (although this was a major part of it). It was also about completing God’s redemptive plan. Jericho and Goliath had to happen so that Bethlehem and Golgotha could happen. Noah, Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria are all stories about you and me! Throughout history, God has been ordering events so that one day the Son of God would become man and provide salvation for all who would come to Him. Deniers of predestination should be wary here, for in denying God’s sovereignty, libertarian free will nullifies God’s ability to order and arrange history and thereby bring about salvation. Further, nothing could be more comforting than knowing that the God who love us also controls history so that all things will work for the good of those who love God. We would do well to remember that.