Dr Paul Allen

THE WALLS OF JERICHO So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the trumpet sound, and the people shouted with a great shout that the wall fell flat. Then the people went into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.  Joshua 6:20 It is one of the most dramatic events chronicled in the Old Testament, but for generations, scholars have debated whether the Israelites’ assault on Jericho was fact or myth. Over the past three decades, the consensus has gone against the biblical version. The late British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon established in the 1950s that while the ancient city was indeed destroyed, it happened around 1550 B.C., some 150 years before Joshua could have shown up. However, archaeologist Bryant Wood, who wrote in the March/April issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, claims that Kenyon was wrong. Based on a re-evaluation of her research, published in detail only recently, Wood says that the c...

Inside the walls of Jericho lived a woman who has forever been nicknamed by those who know of her as Rahab “the prostitute.” History has a strange way of remembering people, but in Christ, Rahab “the prostitute” would eventually become Rahab “a daughter of Zion,” and we can be confident that in heaven she is known by that better name. But the transitions from life in sin to salvation often happen on dramatic stages, and Rahab is no exception. Hebrews 11:30 actually records the destruction of Jericho before the salvation of Rahab. Jericho was something of the Las Vegas of the known world in Rahab’s era. The inhabitants of Jericho were violent, murderous, and idolatrous in the extreme. The evil of the city’s inhabitants was such that God had placed the entire city under His punitive ban; the whole city was to be destroyed.  Joshua 6:17 says, “The city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction.” This particular type of judgment was the most severe. The Heb...

I have been writing about the alarming Bible passages in which God commands the destruction of the older peoples of the land of Canaan, ordering what by any common sense understanding we would call genocide. Early Christians were not too troubled by such texts, because they mainly saw them as allegorical, and they saw no need to confront the moral dilemmas in their own writings, particularly in the New Testament. But here is one exception, and a significant one. It appears in a devious and quite sneaky way in the Gospel of Matthew. Am I allowed to call gospels sneaky? The genocide commands are explicit. In Deuteronomy 7, God orders that When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations ….  and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. The word for “destroy totally” is herem, Greek anathema, and...

Perhaps you have sung: “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho.” Perhaps you remember the song’s chorus: Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho. Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, And the walls came tumbling down! The song is a lot of fun for kids, as it gives them an excuse to march around the living room and simulate the fall of Jericho’s walls with hand motions. It is also a good way to impress on their young minds the basic truths of one of the most famous stories in the Old Testament.  In fact, I would venture to say that most children who spend any length of time in a church’s educational programs will hear the story of Joshua and Jericho several times over. TELLING THE WHOLE STORY I know that we learned the basics of the fall of Jericho. Who could forget Joshua and the Israelites’ marching around the city once a day for six days, seven times on day seven, and the blowing of the horn and the shout that resulted in the walls’ miraculously falling to the gr...

The Road to Emmaus appearance, based on Luke 24:13-32, painted by Joseph von Führich, 1830. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) He may have been a wee little man, but he was the kingpin of the Jericho tax cartel. He was a filthy rich little guy, this Zacchaeus . But when he met Jesus , everything changed — not only his heart, but his hands. The same fingers that once reached to extort filthy lucre, now extended with generosity to the poor, and to pay back fourfold anyone he’d defrauded (Luke 19:8). Sign of a New Soul It’s only a few verses earlier in Luke’s Gospel that Jesus encountered another wealthy man, who we call “the rich young ruler .” His great possessions were the barrier to him following Jesus. Veteran pastor Kent Hughes , who served nearly thirty years at College Church in Wheaton, Illinois , says the contrast is unmistakable: How we handle our money has everything to do with how we orient on Jesus. The rich young ruler chose his wealth over Jesus, but for Zacchaeus, meetin...

Heard a great message at Hillsong Conference a few weeks ago on Jericho from Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church using Jericho titled "Don't Stop On 6". The point that stuck with me was that those with Joshua had no idea how many times they would circle Jericho before the walls would come down.  I thought there was a powerful metaphor in that for us to not give up when facing our walls. Don't give up fighting through your trials because this may be the last time around the wall before it comes tumbling down. Just keep marching as if it was the 6th day, you never know what God will do. Pastor Brian Houston from Hillsong Conference Sydney - No Other Name spoke highly of this message from Steve Furtick. #NoOtherName. Thank you Steve!  Related articles Hillsong Worship: Latest Hillsong album 'No Other Name' to be rebranded (crossrhythms.co.uk) Greg Laurie promotes Furtick's new book (standupforthetruth.com) A Baptist Pastor goes ...

Stained glass window of the sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in the former Mosque (Cathedral) of Cordoba, Spain (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem , and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death , and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”   Matthew 20:18–19 The road from Jericho to Jerusalem was just fourteen miles. A half-day’s journey. Jesus is at the front of his band of disciples. A young soldier marching into battle. As Jesus states his mission, forget any suggestion that he was trapped and made a miscalculation. Ignore any speculation that the cross was a last-ditch attempt to salvage a dying mission. These words tell us that Jesus died . . . on purpose. No surprise. No hesitation. No faltering. The way Jesus marched to his death leaves no doubt: he had come to earth for this moment. The journey to the cro...

Elijah taken up into heaven, by Gustave Doré (1832-1883), based on story in Hebrew Bible, 2 Kings 2:11. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) And the water has remained wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken ( 2 Kings 2:22). Elijah ’s departure out of the land was in a sense a judgment. He led Elisha, his protégé, out of the land with him and into the wilderness. Since Elisha represented all the prophets, who in turn represented all the faithful, we can see in this a new departure from Egypt , so to speak. Ahab and his dynasty were like Pharaoh, Israel was like Egypt, and God’s people had to make an exodus. Moses died in the wilderness without seeing the conquest of the land, and Elijah also departed in the wilderness. No one knows where God buried Moses (Deuteronomy 34:6), and in the same way, the prophets searched for Elijah’s body but could not find it (2 Kings 2:16–18). Later Elisha returned to Israel. Keep in mind that Elisha was to Elijah what Joshua w...

The Children of Israel Crossing the Jordan (illustration by Gustave Doré) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days” (Heb. 11:30). Forty years had elapsed since the Israelites refused to enter the Promised Land . That unbelieving generation had perished in the wilderness. Now Joshua was leading a new generation into the land. The first obstacle they faced was Jericho—a well- fortified city that was near the mouth of the Jordan River . Some city walls of that day were wide enough at the top to allow two chariots to ride side by side. That was probably true of Jericho because of its strategic location. That, coupled with the caliber of its army, made the city virtually impregnable—especially to unsophisticated Israelites, who lacked military training. But what is impossible for man is easy for God. And the stage was set for Him to demonstrate His power and for the Israelites to demonstrate their faith and...

“. . . when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” ( Job 38:7 ) The phrase “shouted for joy” in this verse is actually a single word (ruwa) in the Hebrew , and it can carry a number of meanings. It is most frequently translated simply “shout,” as when the army of Joshua surrounding Jericho shouted and the walls fell down ( Joshua 6:20 ). In Psalm 100:1, it is translated “make a joyful noise.” It can refer to a shout of alarm or shout of triumph, as well as a shout of joy, but it always refers to a loud shout. In fact, it comes from a root meaning “to split”—a noise that would split eardrums or shatter glass. In the context of Job 38, the Lord is reminding Job and his friends of the great primeval event of creation. When the earth—which is destined eventually to house God’s throne in the eternal ages to come—was established on solid foundations (on the third day of creation), a resounding noise like mighty thunder—or, better, a gigantic angelic...

Ruins of Caesarea Philippi (today Banias, Golan heights)) in 1886. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 20:29–34 “They said to him, ‘Lord, let our eyes be opened.’ And Jesus  in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him” (vv. 33–34). Christ began His final trip to Jerusalem after Peter’s great confession (Matt. 16:13–23). In all likelihood, He traveled mostly along the eastern bank of the  Jordan River as He and His disciples moved southward from Caesarea Philippi . This was a common route for Galilean pilgrims in His day, and the crowds that we have read about during this trip are those Jews who, while traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover , have seen the deeds of Jesus and are hoping that He is the Messiah (17:14–18; 19:1–2). These men and women are among those who will hail our Savior’s triumphal entry into the Holy City (21:1–11). This passage indicates that Jesus will soon arrive in Jerusalem to compl...

F rom: Hans (Jan) Collaert (Antwerp, 1566-1628), Rahab (Hol. 13-32). Engraving after Marten de Vos, c. 1581. Plate 8 from a set of Celebrated Women of the Old Testament consisting of twenty engravings (plus frontispiece) by Hans or Adrien Collaert and Carel van Mallery published in Antwerp by Phillip Galle (1537-1612) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee." ( Joshua 2:18 ) These words were spoken to Rahab by Joshua's spies after she had protected them from discovery by the officials of Jericho. She had testified to the spies that "the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath" ( Joshua 2:11 ). Therefore, "by faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the sp...

English: Elisha raising the Shunammites Son (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) He [ Elisha ] picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan  ( 2 Kings 2:13). When it came time for Elijah to be taken up into heaven, he and his appointed successor, Elisha , were at Gilgal . Elijah suggested that Elisha remain at Gilgal , but Elisha insisted on going along with him to Bethel. At Bethel, Elijah repeated his suggestion that Elisha remain behind, but the servant insisted on accompanying his master to Jericho . At Jericho , Elijah urged Elisha to remain in the city, but Elisha insisted on crossing the Jordan into the wilderness with Elijah. Elisha knew that if he were to succeed Elijah, it was important for the rest of the prophets to see him in the company of the master. Of course, an additional factor was his love for Elijah, and his unwillingness to be parted from him. Elijah asked his servant if he had one last request to make o...