At the Cost of His
Firstborn Son . . .
"Cursed before
the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city,
Jericho: 'At
the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations;
at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates.'"
(Josh 6:26)
After the fall of Jericho, Joshua, under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, declares a curse on anyone who tries
to rebuild Jericho: 'At the cost of his firstborn
son will he lay its foundations; at the cost of his
youngest will he set up its gates.'
1
Kings tells us the story of what did happen when
someone tried to rebuild Jericho: 1 Kings 16:34:
"In Ahab's time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid
its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram,
and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son
Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by
Joshua son of Nun."
Is the Word of God
accurate, or what???
But somehow, I fail
to see that this curse was given simply to prove the
accuracy of God's Word! Let's take a closer took:
The city of Jericho
was considered the first-fruit of the conquest of Canaan,
and as a result, all of its inhabitants were destroyed,
with the exception of any who were in the home of Rahab,
where there was a scarlet cord tied in the window.
Doesn't this sound
kind of like something we are told will happen on the day
of Judgment? Any who are covered by the blood of the
lamb will be saved, but anyone else will be lost.
Only then will the world be remade!
But let's go back to
the curse Joshua spoke over Jericho, the curse that was
fulfilled in the days of King Ahab. Joshua said that
the it was at the cost of his firstborn son that Jericho's
foundations would be laid.
Just as Hiel of
Bethel lost his firstborn son in rebuilding Jericho, God
lost His firstborn son in His efforts to rebuild the
perfect world that He had originally created! There
would be NO hope for this world if God hadn't sent His
firstborn son to die for each and every one of our sins!
And because of His Sacrifice for us, God will one day
rebuild His perfect world!
Have YOU accepted His sacrifice? If not, why not today? Answer the Savior's Call. To do so, just click on the following link: Click here (http://www.answers2prayer.org/saviours_call.html)
"At the cost of
his firstborn son will he lay its foundations . . ."
Lyn Chaffart
Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org ,