Ancient Jericho: The Fortress City

The City of Palm Trees

☐

Jericho is one of the oldest cities in the world. When Israel came to it, people had already lived there for a very long time.

An oasis. Jericho sits in the Jordan Valley near a strong spring of fresh water. Around it, the land is hot and dry, but the spring made the city green.

Palm trees. Moses saw “the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees” (Deuteronomy 34:3). Date palms grew well there.

Very low. Jericho sits far below the level of the sea, near the north end of the Dead Sea. In winter it stays warm.

A doorway. Jericho stood near the fords of the Jordan, the places where people could cross. Roads went from Jericho up into the hill country. Whoever held Jericho held the door into the land.

Strong walls. Jericho was protected by walls and a gate that was shut at night (Joshua 2:5). After Israel crossed the Jordan, “Jericho was securely shut up” (Joshua 6:1).

Houses on the wall. Rahab's house was built right into the wall: “her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall” (Joshua 2:15).

A king and soldiers. Jericho had its own king and its own fighting men (Joshua 2:2; 6:2). It was a small kingdom, like many cities in Canaan.

Up from the valley. From Jericho a traveler climbed thousands of feet up steep, dry hills to reach Jerusalem. Armies coming from the east had to pass Jericho first.

Fear inside. Rahab told the spies, “I know that the Lord has given you the land” (Joshua 2:9). Even behind its walls, Jericho was afraid.

A city that heard. Rahab said, “We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you” (Joshua 2:10). The whole city knew about God.

A city that hid. Instead of asking for mercy, Jericho shut its gates. Only Rahab turned to the Lord and was saved.

Walls cannot save. The strongest walls in Canaan could not stand when God judged the city (Joshua 6:20).

What we learn. People trust many things to keep them safe. Only God can truly protect us. “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer” (Psalm 18:2).

What to do. Think about what you trust most when you feel afraid. This week, pray Psalm 18:2 and tell God you trust Him most of all.

Jericho was not a random target. It was an ancient, walled oasis at the main crossing from the east into the hill country of Canaan.

Tell es-Sultan. The ruins of Old Testament Jericho are a mound called Tell es-Sultan. A tell is a hill made of layer upon layer of a city's ruins, built one on top of another over many centuries.

The spring. A powerful spring still flows beside the mound. In the dry Jordan Valley, that water made Jericho a garden. In 2 Kings 2:19-22 Elisha healed this spring, and it has watered the area ever since.

Below sea level. Jericho lies roughly 800 feet below sea level, among the lowest towns on earth. Winters are mild, and palms and fruit grew well (Deuteronomy 34:3).

The gateway. East of Jericho are the Jordan fords where Israel crossed. West of it, roads climb toward Ai, Bethel and Jerusalem. Taking Jericho opened the way into the center of the land.

City-states. Canaan was not one country. It was a patchwork of small city-states, each with its own king. Joshua 12 lists thirty-one kings defeated by Israel, beginning with “the king of Jericho.”

Walls and houses. Joshua 2:15 says Rahab's house “was on the city wall.” Some ancient cities had double walls with rooms built between or into them.

A city warned. Rahab confessed, “the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” (Joshua 2:11). Jericho had the same news she had. The difference was faith.

A fortress that failed. The Hebrew in 6:1 describes a city shut tight and shut again. All that defense meant nothing once God acted.

Joshua 2:9. Rahab said, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us.” Jericho's walls held people in, but they could not keep fear out.

Psalm 18:2. “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.” David used the language of walls and strongholds for God Himself. The only fortress that cannot fall is the Lord.

Application. Ask what your walls are: grades, friends, talents, being liked. None of them is bad, but none can save you. Make the Lord your fortress.

Jericho Through the Bible

☐

Jericho's story did not end when its walls fell. The city shows up again and again in the Bible, all the way to the life of Jesus.

A warning. Joshua said, “Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho” (Joshua 6:26).

The warning came true. Hundreds of years later, in the days of wicked King Ahab, a man named Hiel rebuilt Jericho. He lost his oldest and youngest sons, just as Joshua had said (1 Kings 16:34). God's Word always comes true.

Bad water made good. The men of Jericho told Elisha their water was bad. Elisha threw salt into the spring, and God healed the water (2 Kings 2:19-22).

Elisha's town. In Elisha's day a group of prophets lived at Jericho (2 Kings 2:5). A city once judged had become a place where God's people listened to Him.

A road with robbers. Jesus told a story about a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Robbers beat him, and a Samaritan helped him (Luke 10:30-37). Jesus said, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).

A blind man calls out. Near Jericho, blind Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus for mercy. Jesus healed him, and he followed Jesus (Mark 10:46-52).

A man in a tree. In Jericho lived Zacchaeus, a rich tax collector. He was short, so he climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus (Luke 19:1-4).

Jesus stops. Jesus looked up and told Zacchaeus to come down, because He would stay at his house that day (Luke 19:5).

A changed heart. Zacchaeus said, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor” (Luke 19:8). He paid back the people he had cheated.

Salvation came. Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9).

On the way to the cross. Jesus passed through Jericho on His last trip to Jerusalem, where He would die for our sins and rise again (Luke 19:28).

Why Jesus came. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Two visits. When Israel came to Jericho, God judged a city that would not turn to Him. When Jesus came to Jericho, He brought mercy and saved people who trusted Him.

What we learn. God is both a fair Judge and a loving Savior. The same Jesus who saved Zacchaeus saves anyone who comes to Him today.

What to do. Like Bartimaeus, call out to Jesus. Like Zacchaeus, let Him change your heart. Then help someone in need, like the good Samaritan.

Jericho appears from Joshua to the Gospels. Following the city through Scripture shows both God's judgment and His mercy.

Joshua 6:26. “Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.”

1 Kings 16:34. In Ahab's reign, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho's foundation and gates, losing his firstborn and youngest sons, according to the word the Lord spoke through Joshua. Ahab's reign was a time of open idolatry, and Hiel ignored God's word.

A town of prophets. By Elisha's day Jericho had a community of prophets (2 Kings 2:5). Elisha healed its spring with salt in a new bowl, saying the Lord had healed the water (2 Kings 2:19-22). The cursed city received a blessing.

Herod's Jericho. In Jesus' day a newer Jericho stood near the old mound, with palaces built by Herod the Great. It was a wealthy town on the road to Jerusalem.

The Jericho road (Luke 10:30-37). The road from Jerusalem drops about 3,400 feet through dry hills to Jericho. Jesus set His story of the good Samaritan there, a man loving his neighbor across a deep divide.

Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52). He called Jesus “Son of David,” a title for the Messiah. Jesus asked what he wanted, healed his eyes, and Bartimaeus followed Him on the road.

Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). A chief tax collector, rich and disliked, climbed a sycamore to see Jesus. Jesus invited Himself to his house. Zacchaeus repaid fourfold anyone he had cheated (Luke 19:8).

Luke 19:9-10. Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham” (19:9), and then He explained why He had come: “to seek and to save that which was lost” (19:10).

The Samaritan's lesson. Jesus ended the parable with, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). The road where Joshua's war began became the setting for a story of mercy.

On the road to the cross. Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus met Jesus on His final journey to Jerusalem (Luke 19:28). The Savior passed through Jericho on His way to die for sinners.

From Rahab to Zacchaeus. At Jericho God saved a Canaanite woman with a sinful past and, centuries later, a hated tax collector. The pattern is grace for people others wrote off.

Application. Is there someone you have written off as too far from God? Pray for them by name this week, and be kind to them the way Jesus was kind to Zacchaeus.

📖

Complete all sections to finish!

Read each section and answer the questions correctly.