Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025
I couldn’t come up with a catchy start to today’s blog, so I am just going to jump right in! We are still in the book of Joshua. After the Israelites completely destroyed the city of Jericho, Joshua prophesied a curse on anyone who tried to rebuild the city. Joshua 6:26 says:
26 Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.”
That scripture has stuck with me a few days. There are certainly times when God redeems places or relationships in our lives. And then there are some times when there is just no path to redemption. We would like to think that we can hang out with people from our past or go to places that we used to go to and not be tempted, but there most likely is no good reason to go there. Jericho was a city filled with idol worship and all sorts of unrighteousness. God knew this wasn’t the best for the Israelites.
When they were taking Jericho He specifically told them to destroy everything except the silver and gold which would go in to the Lord’s temple. One man, Achan, did not obey that order and 36 Israelite men of war and Achan’s entire family paid for that disobedience with their lives. Achan’s desire to gain a few tokens outweighed his fear of the Lord. Isn’t that something greatly missing from our society today? We are told we deserve to be happy and be who we want to be. Nobody can tell us what to do. It’s our life, we can live it how we want to. All of this unfortunately leads to a life of sin, rebellion and separation from God.
While Ahab was king somewhere between 400 and 500 years after Joshua made his prophecy, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. 1 Kings 16:34 says that he lost his firstborn son named Abiram and his youngest son, Segub. Whether it was blatant disobedience or lack of knowledge, the word of the Lord went out and it did not come back void. From what we know about Ahab in scripture he surely had no fear of the Lord and again it cost some their lives.
Final Thoughts…
Not everything we encounter in life can be sanctified. Some things are better left behind and alone. Yes there is much God can and will redeem, but the most important aspect of every situation we face in this life is our obedience to God. Obedience to His commands is not a nice-to-have or a goal for when we retire. A lack of the fear of the Lord has and will continue to cost many their lives. Obedience may seem like a constraint, but it’s the guard rails that keep us from a premature end. God isn’t a dictator looking for robots. He is the Creator of everything and He knows exactly how to make our lives as amazing and fulfilling as He designed them to be.