by Robert F. Turner<\/p>\n
“And Jehovah said unto Joshua, See I have given into thy hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor<\/em>” (Joshua 6:2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
According to some theories of Gift and Grace, this promise says, “(1) you already have the city and can’t lose it; and (2) no condition could possibly be asked of you, for then this would not be a gift.” Evidently, God had not read that particular theory or did not subscribe to it, for in the next three verses, He instructs Joshua concerning specific conditions that must be met to obtain the city of Jericho.<\/p>\n
Using a specific marching order, the people were to march about the city once a day for six days. Then, on the seventh day, they were to circle the city seven times; then, some special trumpet sounding was to be made, and the people were to shout with a great shout.<\/p>\n
When God specifies, the faithful obey specifically. This is the kind of evidence of faith that God has always required; nor may His promises be enjoyed until we show such faith.<\/p>\n
God promised — but the city stood. Joshua and the people marched–but the city stood. They marched, again and again–but the city stood. On the seventh day, they marched seven times–but the city stood. Then the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua said, “Shout, for Jehovah hath given you the city.<\/em>” “Hath given” mind you, yet the city stood.<\/p>\n
Then It Was “All Over But The Shouting”<\/h2>\n
“...the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, the people went up into the city every man straight before him, and<\/em>—” What’s this?<\/strong>\u00a0Joshua 6:20 says, “they took the city<\/em>.” Took it?<\/strong> I thought this was a gift of God. Yet that’s what the Bible says; and there goes man’s Gift and Grace theory.<\/p>\n
Did God Give The City?<\/h2>\n
Yes indeed! The marching, blowing, and shouting did not produce the collapsed wall. This was brought about by the power of God. He could and did cause those walls to fall without the assistance of any man. By His power, Jericho could be put at the mercy of any to whom He saw fit to give it. And He saw fit to give it to those who would trust Him explicitly–do exactly what He said for them to do. Joshua and the Israelites had this kind of faith and so obtained the gift of God–Jericho.<\/p>\n
Simple Application<\/h2>\n
Salvation is a gift of God. It is made possible by His power, love, and plan — centered on the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Sins are not erased by the waters of baptism — any more than the walls fell because of the marching. But to whom does God give this gift? He says He will give it to the believing, who repent and are baptized (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). The gift is ready — for those who will take it according to the specific instructions of God.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Robert F. Turner “And Jehovah said unto Joshua, See I have given into thy hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor” (Joshua 6:2). According to some theories of Gift and Grace, this promise says, “(1) you already have the city and can’t lose it; and (2) no condition could…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,55],"class_list":["post-67871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-grace","tag-works"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62749,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-did-jericho-fall\/","url_meta":{"origin":67871,"position":0},"title":"How Did Jericho Fall?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Joshua 6:6-20 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The record of the fall of Jericho is familiar to many people. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was an impressive victory for the people of Israel who had recently entered the land. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Despite the fact that the city was heavily fortified - Joshua 6:1 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4279,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-can-i-find-information-about-the-falling-of-jerichos-walls\/","url_meta":{"origin":67871,"position":1},"title":"Where can I find information about the falling of Jericho’s walls?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am doing a paper for school trying to prove that the Bible is true. One example I was going to use was the walls of Jericho.\u00a0 What I have to do is find the verses, and then try to prove it looking in books, interviews, the Internet, etc.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45317,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jericho-and-our-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":67871,"position":2},"title":"Jericho and our Salvation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant After reading the title, some might wonder what the battle of Jericho has to do with our salvation today. The battle when Israel conquered Jericho was about 1410 B.C., over 3,400 years ago. Thus the question might be, \"What in the world would some event over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9005,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/questions-about-the-battle-of-jericho\/","url_meta":{"origin":67871,"position":3},"title":"Questions about the Battle of Jericho","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am getting ready to give the lesson Joshua and the Battle of Jericho. I have a few things that I had not noticed before and wondered if you had considered them. In Joshua 5:15 a reference is made to \"sandal\" NKJV or \"shoe\" KJV. Since this is in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21216,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ive-read-that-joshuas-conquest-of-jericho-and-ai-could-not-have-happened\/","url_meta":{"origin":67871,"position":4},"title":"I’ve read that Joshua’s conquest of Jericho and Ai could not have happened.","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 4, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've been reading about archaeology and the city of Ai and\u00a0that\u00a0Joshua's conquest could not have happened there as the Bible claims. I really could use some help with that. Answer: You need to remember that archeologists' \"datings\" are based on modern-day chronologies, which have a likelihood of errors. Interestingly,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7118,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-one-person-put-a-curse-on-another\/","url_meta":{"origin":67871,"position":5},"title":"Can one person put a curse on another?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 22, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A friend asked me about someone putting curses on others and what does the Bible have to say about it?\u00a0 Could you share some thoughts in this regard?\u00a0 He feels like he is cursed by what his great-grandfather did years ago. Answer: Your question doesn't deal with a matter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67871\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}