Firstly, after its destruction, Yahweh commanded Joshua to put the city of Jericho under a curse:
atheistic or religious variety, it makes no difference, for both stand for "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" - all that is "not of the Father but is of the world" (1 John 2:16, NKJV). The person who has striven hard by emunah (faith) to do what is right and who overcomes the enemy, to later rebuild it, is cursing himself and his own seed, represented by his "firstborn" and his "youngest", the beginning and end of all his increase and fruitfulness. To spiritually rebuild Jericho in your soul by abandoning Yahweh and returning to the world is an act of the utmost insanity - it is a recipe for total self-destruction, the ruination of all that Yahweh purposed for a soul in mortality.
This curse was tested with its bitter reward by Hiel of Bethel in the days of King Ahab:
"In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, according to the word of Yahweh, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun" (1 Kings 16:34, NKJV).
In other words, his firstborn son perished during the reconstruction of Jericho's foundation and his youngest during the rebuilding of the city's gates. How ironic that Hiel, whose name means 'El (God) is Living', should demonstrate that Yahweh is very much alive by defying His toqef (authority) and fulfilling Joshua's curse!
So what brought down the walls of Jericho?
"By emunah (faith) the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days" (Heb.11:30, NKJV).
"So Yah'shua (Jesus) answered and said to them, 'Have emunah (faith) in Elohim (God). For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his lev (heart), but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says'" (Mark 11:22-23, NKJV).
By the power of emunah (faith) the walls were brought down, but not by just any sort of 'faith' as man might call it, but by "emunah (faith, obedient trusting) in Elohim (God)"! And what does "emunah (faith) in Elohim (God)" actually mean? Such emunah (faith) is not in any old god you choose, or in a god you have fashioned in your mind and lev (heart) but in the Elohim (God) whose Name is Yahweh and whose Son is Yah'shua (Jesus).
That might seem a rather obvious thing to say and yet people still exercise faith in 'Yahweh's', 'Yah'shua's' and 'Jesus'' of their own imagining, Deity rooted in part emet (truth) and part lies. We know the true Elohim (God) by what He teaches, the covenants He enters into with us, the mitzvot (commandments) He expects us to obey, the true tavnith (pattern) of their arrangenment in our lifestyles and in the way we respond to divine and divinely-designated toqef (authority). It is the emunah (faith) in all of these things that brings down the walls of strongholds, spiritual as well as physical.
There is nothing quite as disheartening nor stimulating of doubt, confusion and eventual apostacy than to believe in a mixture of emet (truth) and lies. And though Yahweh is patient and graceful in the days of our ignorance, He does not look too kindly upon those who refuse to confess and implement His emet (truth) when He has already clearly witnessed of it to them. In fact, such a rebellious and prideful attitude is more than likely to provoke His wrath, not to mention open doors to enemy activity that such disobedience facilitates.
To disobey Yahweh is to destabilise the foundations of the soul, and to weaken the gates of its comings in and goings out, is madness, especially for one who has believed and obeyed previously and then turned away.
If you are still not convinced that the walls of Jericho were brought down by simple emunah (faith) in Yahweh and yet believe the cause was esoteric sonics or a natural earthquake, consider the fact that Rahab's house was incorporated into the walls itself (Josh.2:15). If sonics or an earthquake were the causitive force of destruction, then how come her house was spared but none of the rest of the fortifications? (Josh.2:12-21; 6:17,22-23)? Or was this just an invention of the writer of the Book of Joshua, a part of the adapted 'Atlantean' myth?
"The German excavation of 1907-1909 found that on the north a short stretch of the lower city wall did not fall as everywhere else. A portion of that mudbrick wall was still standing to a height of over two metres (eight feet) [1] What is more, there were two houses built against the wall! It is quite possible that this is where Rahab's house was. Since the city wall formed the back wall of the housees, the spies could have readily escaped. From this location it was only a short distance to the hills of the Judean wilderness where the spies hid for three days (Josh.2:16,22)" [2]
The evidence all adds up to suggest a sovereign, supernatural act of Elohim (God) in the destruction of this ancient city just as a sovereign act of Elohim (God) is required to destroy demonic strongholds in the soul and expell demons. We need not search for 'alternative' explanations and go down a liberal 'Christian' rabbit hole of unbelief.
And yet, as we have come to understand over the last six days, this was no mere 'simple' emunah (faith) that brought an end to the pagan fortress. Emunah (faith), though capable of being exercised by a small child, is actually quite complex in its arrangement and large in its dimensions, involving as it does an array of principles too complicated to break down and analyse. Even we do not understand the processes in any great depth, nor does the kind of emunah (faith) that brings down citadels or hurls mountains into the sea require such an analysis in order to be successfully exercised. Nevertheless, it is a great asset to both believer and teacher of the Davar (Word) to be able to explain these things to those whose foundations and gates are already built on emunah (faith) and who are, as a result, able to both absorb and use this amazing biblical knowledge and emet (truth). It is for this reason that we both preach the "simplicity that is in Messiah" (2 Cor.11:3) as well as explain the depths to those talmidim (disciples) who are both earnestly going on into perfection (and are thereby strengthened in their emunah (faith) even more) and also who want to put this understanding into daily practice and life.
I had initially thought to devote some time to a discourse on the meaning of the number 7 today. Howeverever interesting though that is in terms of coming to a deeper understanding of the attributes of Elohim (God) Himself, I felt it would be more appropriate and practically beneficial if we instead focussed on the relationship between 6 and 7 as it obtains to our own spiritual walk. The object of these seven discourses is to help the talmid (disciple) find a firmer footing in personal overcoming and spiritual deliverance of the captives. Our goal is not that the Sons of Elohim (God) but the Sons of the Living Elohim (God) who has be known and experienced in real-time. We want to raise living warriors, not write books about them. So let's take a look at 7 as 6+1.
Firstly, the "Beni-haElohim - Sons of Elohim (God)" are only mentioned 6 times in Scripture (Gen.6:2; Job 2:6; Job 38:7; Ps.29:1; Ps.89:6; Dan.3:25) whereas the "Beni El-hai - Sons of the Living Elohim (God)" (Hos.1:10) - are mentioned only once. Is this significant? Very much so. You see, the 6 references are to malakim (angels) whereas the 1 refers to humans. The fact that they are referenced in the Tanakah (Old Testament) in this way and in the number of occurences as a set of contrasts (6:1) indicates the degree to which they fell from their original spiritual inheritance - the bad malakim (angels), as supernatural beings, had a fall considerably grater than ours to beceome demons.
This numerical symbolism is not unique. The two good sons of Noah, Shem (Melchizedek) and Japtheth, who received their father Noah's blessings, occur together 7 times but 6 of these are in connection with Ham whose posterity was cursed. The parallel between the 6 Creation labour days and the 1 or rest becomes apparent. We can better see how this tavnith (pattern) works in Scriptures by considering the relationship of the six perfections of human toqef (authority) and the seventh which marks the fact that these six were a divine gift:
"You (Yahweh) have made him (man) to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen -- even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas" (Ps.8:6-8, NKJV).
When a person writes or speaks in the Ruach (Spirit) this 7/6 Principle manifests again and again. We can look at the psalm extract and arrange it in its 7/6 tavnith (pattern):
"You have put all things under his feet: | 7 |
all sheep | 6 |
and oxen, |
even the beasts of the field; |
the birds of the air, |
and the fish of the sea, |
that pass through the paths of the seas." |
We can apply the same rule to the Seven Ruachim (Spirits) of Elohim (God), the 7th representing the rest or completion of Sukkot and the other six the principle activities of these 6 Ruachim (Spirits) in bringing man symbolically through the other 6 festivals and the 6 days of the Jericho march to the firstborn believer's rest and completion too. By applying this tavnith (pattern) rule we can idenfify the 7 Ruachim (Spirits) described in the Book of Revelation (Rev.1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6) and the Seven Pillars of Wisdom of Yahweh's House in Proverbs (Prov.9:1) with specific functions and see what it is they do through each of the annual festivals and how it is that Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) has them in Their fullness:
"The Ruach (Spirit) of Yahweh shall rest [nuwach = quietly settle down] upon Him, the Ruach (Spirit) of Hochmah (Wisdom) and Hiynah (Understanding), the Ruach (Spirit) of 'Etsah (Counsel) and Gevurah (Might/Strength), the Ruach (Spirit) of Daat (Knowledge) and of the Yir'ah (Fear, Reverence) of Yahweh" (Isa.11:2, NKJV).
This is actually an astonishing revelation about the Heavenly Mothers whose titular names and functions are revealed to us in the 7/6 Principle:
"The Ruach of Yahweh shall rest upon Him, | 7 |
the Ruach of Wisdom | 6 |
and Understanding, |
the Ruach of Counsel |
and Might, |
the Ruach of Knowledge |
and of the Fear of Yahweh." |
Let us arrange these with what we already know about their correspondences with other things:
No. |
Ruach |
Moed |
Title (Hebrew) |
Title (English) |
David's Wives |
Colour |
1st |
Rishon |
Pesach |
Hochmah |
Wisdom |
Mikal |
Violet |
2nd |
Shanee |
Matzah |
Hiynah |
Understanding |
Achinoam |
Indigo |
3rd |
Shleshi |
Bikkurim |
'Etsah |
Counsel |
Abigail |
Blue |
4th |
Revee |
Shavu'ot |
Gevurah |
Might/Strength |
Ma'akah |
Green |
5th |
Chamashee |
Teruah |
Daat |
Knowledge |
Haggith |
Yellow |
6th |
Sheshi |
Kippur |
Yir'ah |
Fear/Reverence |
Abital |
Orange |
7th |
Shibi'i |
Sukkot |
Shabbat |
Rest |
Eglah |
Red |
I will not touch on the 7/6 principle of the menorah as we examined this two days ago on the Fifth Day where, you will recall, the central vine stem represents the 7 with the two pairs of three branches making up 6. Let us rather examine something else, namely, the endowments of Israel as described by Paul:
"For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Messiah for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Torah (Law), the service of Elohim (God), and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Messiah came, who is over all, the eternally blessed Elohim (God)" (Rom.9:3-5, NKJV).
We are again able to see the 7/6 principle delineated:
"Who are Israelites; | 7 |
To whom pertain the adoption, | 6 |
the glory, |
the covenants, |
and the giving of the Torah, |
the service [of Elohim], |
and the promises |
Finally, let me share one more example to convince you of this universal divine tavnith (pattern) by taking a look at the Armour that believers are commanded to wear that consists of 6 pieces:
"Stand therefore, having girded your waist (girdle) with emet (truth), having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the besorah (gospel) of shalom (peace); above all, taking the shield of emunah (faith) with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Ruach (Spirit), which is the Davar (Word) of Elohim (God); praying always with [the spear of] all prayer and supplication in the Ruach (Spirit), being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the set-apart ones (saints)" (Eph.6:14-18, NKJV).
Without the seventh piece none of the other pieces are of any avail, the 1 principle, namely "the spear" which, though not mentioned by name, was part of the Roman soldier's equipment and is implied:
Spear of all prayer and supplication | 7 |
girdle of emet (truth), | 6 |
breastplate of righteousness, |
sandals of the besorah (gospel), |
shield of emunah (faith), |
helmet of salvation, |
sword of the Ruach/Davar (Spirit/Word) |
Whenever 6 and 7 are used together, the difference between what they respectively signify even as the distance between man (6) and Elohim (God) (1 or 7) is vast, though bridged by Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ).
There was as great a power gap between those ancient Israelites circling Jericho and Yahweh as there is between modern believers and Yahweh today, but that bridge is still emunah (faith). Emunah (Faith) narrows the gap enabling Yahweh's power to be released on behalf of man who is walking in the Principle of 5 and is not attempting to do it alone in 6. Our emunah (faith) in the New Covenant is in the work of the Cross of Messiah but the principles of growth and sanctification remain identical otherwise we would not find the same 7/6 Principle in the Tanakh (Old Testament) replicated in the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament).
If you are a Rahab, put out the red Sukkot token of your allegience to Messiah from your 'house' on the walls of Jericho and you will be spared. If you are one of those Israelites circling strongholds in your life then march in tavnith (pattern), exercising emunah (faith) in Yahweh through the Messiah Yah'shua (Jesus), not despairing if you don't get the results immediately as your emunah (faith) gets stronger. Above all, see your march through, don't quit mid-way, hold on, understanding that even though you can't see what is happening in the invisible that a lot is going on. And then, suddenly, at a time you least expect, if you're doing what you've been told to in tavnith (pattern), the walls will suddenly crash down. Just remember to do your part in emunah (faith).
Now that we have talked about the principles it is now a matter of putting them into practice. There are huge wars playing out in the world as I write to you today with large armies involved. We need to be kitted up and marching on every level. Be strong, have emunah (faith) and be obedient! The enemy will be routed.
Continued in Part 15
Endnotes
[1] The Hebrew phrase in Joshua 2:15 is beqîr harômah. Usuall qîr means a small wall, but can also indicate the vertical surface of a wall. Driver & Briggs' Lexicon suggests this for Joshua 2:15 (p.885), and in this case the preposition be would mean 'against' (p.89). Thus, literally, "her house [was built] against [the] vertical surface of the [city] wall".
[2] Bryant Wood, The Walls of Jericho: Archaeology Confirms - They Really Did Come A-tumblin' Down
Acknowledgements
[1] Meaning of Numbers in the Bible: The Numbers 6 and 7 Together
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