Walls Unmade, Walls Restored

Scripture Focus: Nehemiah 12.43
43 And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away. 

Joshua 8.6-10
6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” 7 And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

8 When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. 9 The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10 But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!”

Reflection: Walls Unmade, Walls Restored
By John Tillman

When the people of Israel came into the promised land from their sojourn in Egypt and forty years of desert wandering, their first act in the land was the destruction of a wall.

Except for the blowing of trumpets, they walked in grim silence around the wall of Jericho. The inhabitants of Jericho were terrified. On the seventh day of walking, the walls of Jericho were unmade. They collapsed along with any hope the city had for survival.

In Nehemiah, the Israelites are returning to the promised land. They have sojourned under the rule of foreign kings. They have wandered, geographically and spiritually. They have been leaderless and without a wall to protect them. After the physical labor of remaking the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah assigns the spiritual labor of dedicating all they had done to the Lord.

Nehemiah’s dedication ceremony has echoes of the march around Jericho. The people march, led by priests with trumpets. This time, however, they march on the wall not around it and they are not a silent, threatening army. They are a praise-filled glorious choir.

This was a solemn moment for the people because they, better than anyone, realized that the same God who had unmade the walls of Jericho had unmade the walls of Jerusalem. Without the blessing of God, any bulwark is mere boasting. Without God’s sustaining influence, any affluence is insufficient. Without his protection, any practical self-defense measure will fail.

In joy, they circled the city with praise. In reverence, they marched upon the wall God restored. Through prayer, they raised a greater line of defence than any stone wall.

As you end this year, where do you find yourself in this story? Perhaps you feel like you have been wandering in the wilderness? Perhaps circling a wall that needs to come down? Perhaps treading the top of a wall, praying it doesn’t collapse? Have some things you had faith in been unmade? Have you struggled at reconstructing your faith? 

In their ceremony, Nehemiah circled the wall one way and Ezra the other. Find your Ezra. Partner with them in accountability and responsibility. Spend some time circling yourself, your home, your relationships, your work with worship and prayer. Recommit yourself to the future and to relying not on your own cleverness or strength but on God. Rejoice in what God restores and let your rejoicing be heard.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to another.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or the land and the earth were born, from age to age you are God. — Psalm 90.1-2

Today’s Readings
Nehemiah 12 (Listen 6:30
Revelation 21 (Listen 4:34)

Today’s Readings
Nehemiah 13 (Listen 5:57Revelation 22 (Listen 3:59)
Genesis 1 (Listen 4:55John 1 (Listen 6:18)

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God’s Presence After Failure

Scripture Focus: Joshua 8.1, 33-34
1 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land.

33 All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.

34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.

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This month, The Park Forum welcomes college and seminary student writers pursuing ministry careers. For more info about our yearly Student Writer program, see our website.

Reflection: God’s Presence After Failure
By Jolene Davidson Crouch

“Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” initially seems an odd way for God to start instruction but, after Joshua 7, this statement is assurance that His presence is still with Israel. In Joshua 7 we read of Achan’s sin and the consequence the Israelites faced because of it. They fail in battle and God tells Joshua He will not be with them anymore until the people consecrate themselves. Atonement was made, God “turned from his fierce anger” (v. 8) and this is where chapter 8 begins. How often have I messed up, repented, and needed to know God’s presence was still with me?  

It’s difficult for me to do something after I’ve failed. Anxiety creeps in with “What if I fail again?” “What if I didn’t hear God correctly?” Reading Joshua 8 I am jealous God gave the Israelites detailed instructions and let them know they would succeed! Yet he provides me with instructions in his word. I am instructed to act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). I am instructed “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 6:18). I am instructed “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you” (Matthew 6:33). I find myself jealous when God lays out an obvious path for others, but I don’t always follow the path God put in front of me.

The beauty of Joshua 8 is found in God’s provision for his people. The final verse of Chapter 8 shows Joshua reading the law, the blessings and the curses to the entire assembly of Israel.  Men, women, children, native born Israelites, and the foreigners living with them were all invited to share in God’s Covenant. When we think of the Nation of Israel, we tend to forget those who were grafted in as they came through Canaan. Israel’s faith was opened to converts, such as Rahab, and outsiders who desired to know God. God’s love is not for one group. God’s love has always included any individual who wants to enter a relationship with Him.

We can trust that God forgives those who repent. His presence never leaves us. Second, we can continue inviting others to be a part of our community, encouraging them to graft into the True Vine by experiencing salvation in Jesus Christ.  

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
I put my trust in your mercy; my heart is joyful because of your saving help. — Psalm 13.5

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Joshua 8 (Listen – 5:55)
Psalm 139 (Listen – 2:26)

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God does not abandon us to the curses we choose. Jesus took the curses of Ebal and he brings to us the blessings of Gerizim.