Thoughts & Connections: Jericho’s Curse
FYI:
For the past several weeks, I’ve felt like most of my writing was more forcing writing according to a schedule rather than writing purely because I am inspired. I have been making sure that I post every Sunday and Wednesday. I may become less scheduled and more spirit-led, so hopefully I can provide a higher quality of content.
*I love looking at how different passages relate to each other and trying to determine what this could tell us about the passages. This post tries to do that. Having an engineering background, I also love where science and the Bible meet. I love showing how science actually supports the Bible as truth rather than disproving it (as is so often claimed). I also love studying the Bible to clarify the unpleasant truths and supposed contradictions in it. *
If anyone has a question about science and the Bible, what a difficult passage is saying, or about a difficult/unpleasant passage, I would love to do the research to come up with a biblical answer to your question. Please comment on any post or message me, and I will try to answer your question. Depending on the difficulty of the question, I may be able to make a quick response, or it may take me a while to do the research to find a thorough and well-supported answer. It doesn’t happen often, but you just might stump me. I’ll do my best in all situations and admit if I don’t know or if I’m unsure, including if I think I know the answer but don’t feel 100% confident.
The Inspiration:
Last night I was reading about Elijah passing the mantle of prophet to Elisha. Right after Elijah was taken away, a bunch of people wanted to search for Elijah. Elisha originally said, “No,” but after being pressured, allowed them to search and waited in Jericho. The following happened.
They returned to him while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.” He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. He went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.’ ” So the waters have been purified to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. (2 Kings 2:18-22) {emphasis mine}
The sentence in bold stood out to me. It caused me to wonder if the bad water and the unfruitful land were related to Joshua’s curse on Jericho.
Connections:
Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.” (Joshua 6:26) {emphasis mine}
The explicit curse was exactly fulfilled decades later:
In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun. (1 Kings 16:34)
My question was, “Is the bad water and the unfruitful land also part of the curse?” It is clear that the people of Jericho were evil and were worshipers of false gods.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and** destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places**; and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. (Numbers 33:50-53) {emphasis mine}
God did not want the people following the evil practices of the people in Canaan. Jericho was one of the most powerful cities. When God gave the city to the Israelites, He banned them from claiming any booty from the city. All things of value belonged to the Lord (except things that belonged to Rahab and her family). God specifically did not want the Israelites to covet the things of Jericho.
But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things 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 are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” (Joshua 6:18-19) {emphasis mine}
Application:
If we go back to the original passage that started this exploration, we see the people coveting the location.
Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.” (2 Kings 2:19)
They liked the location of Jericho. They said, “Behold now, the situation of this city is pleasant.” They didn’t like that the water was bad and the land unfruitful, but they wanted the pleasant situation of the city.
Do we act like this in our lives? Do we want to participate in the “pleasant” entertainment, but don’t want the unfruitfulness of it? Do we want the success that comes through cut-throat career moves, but don’t want the bad reputation that comes with it? Do we want to fit in with the crowd without being separated from God?
The people were warned away from Jericho so they wouldn’t be misled and so they wouldn’t wander away from God, but the people just kept returning to Jericho. Hiel the Bethelite lost his firstborn and youngest sons because he chose to rebuild Jericho. The people living in Jericho at the time of Elisha had to deal with bad water and unfruitful land, but they remained in Jericho rather than going elsewhere.
God’s Mercy:
Despite the continual desire of God’s people for Jericho, He had mercy on them. God enabled Elisha to cleanse the water and the land for the people living in Jericho.
He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. He went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.’ ” (2 Kings 2:20-21)
We later see Jesus doing ministry and miracles in and near Jericho. He ate dinner with the tax collector, Zaccheus, leading to his salvation. (Luke 19:1-10) He healed two blind men when leaving the city. (Matthew 20:29-34) Even in the darkest places, Jesus can still heal us body, mind, and soul.
May God give you a desire for the things of God and turn your heart away from all things that are unfruitful. May He show you mercy when your heart leads you astray. May God give you an eternal perspective instead of a worldly, hear-and-now perspective in life so your focus remains on things that matter eternally rather than those which are pleasant in the moment.
Trust Jesus
If you do not yet know Jesus, I beg you to trust in Him. Below are some verses that will tell you what you need to know to be saved. If you have any questions, I’d love to answer them. Just message me on Substack.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)
.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
.
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; (Romans 10:9)
.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:9-10)
.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)
All verses are NASB unless otherwise noted.
