They were safe. Positioned behind a raised bank and double wall structure, the city was nearly impregnable. For hundreds of years, it had been so. From the ground level below the outer wall, to the top of the inner wall at the crest of the embankment was roughly 45′. From the perspective of a potential invader standing and looking up, 45′ must have seemed like it reached to the sky! (Deuteronomy 9:1) So, maybe there might be another way to take the city. Surround the city and lay siege to it! However, one of the main reasons the city was located here in the first place, were the fresh- water springs in and around it. Meaning, that the city had a sustainable water supply. When the fallen city (roughly 1400 BCE) was excavated, container after container of grain was found among the burned rubble. The fatal blow came not long after harvest and the city had much food stored. A siege was obviously not the answer. The answer was unconventional at best. God’s people would march, blow trumpets and yell and the fortified walls would fall. Excavations as late as the late 1990’s support the Biblical account of this conquest of Jericho. (Joshua 6)

It is interesting how much time we spend, trying to make our world safe and secure. We struggle to make our surroundings ordered and predictable. Our main goal is to get through each day with as little difficulty as possible. We work to secure our national borders, our public schools, our large venues and our homes. We watch as random violence against those around us, undermines our sense of wellbeing and comfort. With each collective failure to maintain a secure environment, our discomfort grows. Like Jericho, we can’t seem to build the walls strong enough.

Maybe we miss the point entirely. The search for safety and security in this life is an impossible goal and likely a goal that is counter-productive to our spiritual growth. You see, it is when our world seems unsteady and we reach for a handhold, that we find the hand of God. Adverse circumstances and unsettled days can cause us to live in a conscious dependence on God. Trouble can highlight our awareness of Him, and the darkness of adversity can illuminate the radiance of His face. Remember that there is great value in maturity and endurance that comes as a result of various earthly difficulties! (James 1)

Dean Murphy