Joshua 6:17-7:1
When the people gave the shout, as the Lord commanded, the walls of Jericho fell down flat—all except one small piece. It was that spot where Rehab lived, for her house was upon the wall. Her house was perfectly safe, but it surely was not because she was a good woman—for she was a notable sinner—but she had placed her faith in Jehovah, the god of Israel, and so she and all those in her house were saved. The scarlet line in the window—a beautiful figure of the blood of Christ—marked out her home and made it safe, when all the rest of the wall fell. How wonderful is the grace of god! How different to the thoughts of men!
There was one thing the people were to remember in their hour of victory, and that was that the city was cursed. They were not to take anything out of it for themselves, for it they did they would bring trouble upon themselves and upon the people of God. The silver and the gold belonged to the Lord, and these things were to come into His treasury. There is undoubtedly an important lesson for us to learn here. We are not to seek anything for ourselves in this judged scene. Abraham would not take anything from the king of Sodom that would make him indebted to him (Genesis 14:21-23), and so, just as surely as we look to the world for something, we become indebted to them, and we lose in our souls. The silver and gold, however, where be the Lord’s, and so we can use what we have for the Lord, but to seek anything here, or to make any compromise or alliance with the world in order to get something from it, is not of God. Jericho was under judgment, and everything that breathed was to be put to death, except Rehab and those in her house. The city, was to be burned with fire.
Little do we realize the awful judgement that is to fall upon this dark scene. All those who are outside of Christ will find their portion in the lake of fire, while all those who tire cleansed from their sins in the precious blood of Christ will, like Rehab and her house, he delivered unto eternal blessing. Dear reader, how is it with you?
Again there was another warning issued. A curse was put upon the one who rebuilt Jericho. As we look about in the world today, this is just what is hiking place. Men are working harder than they ever did before to make this world beautiful and gigantic improvement scheme are under way as though they would forget entirely the awful judgments that are about to fall. It could he written across every one of these projects, great or small, the solemn words of God, “reserved unto fire.” 2 Peter 3:7. How solemn this is! How little heeded or believed by the great men of the world!
But, alas, the children of Israel did the very thing that God had forbidden. How quickly they forgot or ignored due commandment of God; and how easily we too, become attached to this world, and things here. Like Achan we covet its “goodly Babylonish garments,” and its gold, to our own trouble, sorrow, and loss. And there is remember, and that is that our sins affect others. We may say, “Oh, that is my business!” but do we realize that others are affected by what we do, so that we are affected by what we do, so that we are either a help or a hindrance? Let us remember that “now of us liveth to himself” (Romans 14:7), and seek to be a help.
ML 03/08/1953