When Walls Fall by Jason T. Armstrong

One of the enemy’s greatest attacks is to rebuild the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile that was broken down by our messiah Yeshua. Why is the adversary so zealous to maintain this division? It’s because defeat came to the enemy and the believer received fullness of inheritance when Jew and Gentile came together as one in the Messiah.

     The first wall to come down was not at Calvary, it was in Canaan, the city of Jericho at harvest time (Josh. 3:15).  Joshua and the children of Israel were on the threshold of taking the land of promise. A couple of things stood in the way of their promise - a flooded Jordan river and a wall that surrounded Jericho. There was a gentile woman named Rahab who lived within the wall of Jericho (Josh 2:15). She heard about the works of the God of Israel and declared their God to be the one and only God in heaven and earth (Josh. 2:10-11). Joshua had sent two spies into the walled city of Jericho. The King of Jericho found out about the spies and wanted them to be executed. Rahab protected these Jewish spies by covering them with flax (Josh. 2:4-6).  She then made a covenant with the spies for salvation from the destruction that was to come (Josh. 2:12-14). This covenant was marked by a scarlet thread that would hang from her window. All those that were in her house covered by the scarlet thread would be spared from death (Josh. 2:18).

     Before the wall could fall, there had to be a crossing of the Jordan. Joshua received specific details from the Lord on how to cross over. One detail was to have the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant step into the river first.  As the priests stepped into the Jordan, the waters rolled back as they did in the day of Moses and the children of Israel passed over on dry land (Josh 4:23). After the crossing they encamped in Gilgal on the border of Jericho where all the males were circumcised and the Passover (Pesach) was kept (Josh. 5:10).

     It wasn’t until after a covenant was made with Rahab, a breaking of the waters of Jordan, a circumcision of the flesh, and a keeping of the Passover did God release the strategy on how to war against Jericho. The strategy was to release a fullness in worship with seven priests having seven trumpets on the 7^th day to march seven times and then have his people release a shout (Josh 6:4). When the shout was released the walls fell and everything was destroyed except Rahab and her household and Rahab then dwelt in the midst of Israel (Josh. 6:25).

     As one looks at Canaan and compares it to Calvary, there is a beautiful picture of the Lord’s process for birthing the one New Man.  Let’s examine the parallels:

We are living in the time of the restoration of all things.  In this restoration the Lord is rebuilding the tabernacle of David (Amos 3:11, Acts 15:16).  That tabernacle is the One New Man (Eph 2:15). As Jew and Gentile come together and worship as the One New Man in Messiah all the walls that hinder us from our promised land will fall.

~Jason T. Armstrong