Ok, there’s a little trip in the Way-back for folks. I remember that song from when I was a kid in children’s choir at
Of course, many of us remember the story on which the old
Gospel song is based as well; the story that shows up in the daily lectionary
this week from the book of Joshua. A famous story about a famous (or perhaps
infamous, depending on your perspective) battle. Joshua gives instruction from
God to his soldiers to march around the city seven times over the course of a
week and on the seventh day, they blow their trumpets, the walls of city
collapse, and the Israelites rush in to victory.
Archaeological evidence at the site of the city points to
their being some accuracy to the Biblical account of this battle. The walls of
the city did collapse by some cause, although whether the account in Joshua is
literally accurate or an embellishment of the real events is open to some
debate. Regardless, the collapse of the city paved the way for the Israelites
to establish themselves more fully in the Promised Land. A great boon, in
whatever form, for the people of God.
And this has generally been the view of the story throughout
history, regardless of whether it passes a modern standard for historical
accuracy or not. Metaphor is often as important, if not more important, in
stories of faith than a literal or accurate read.
Like many of the stories of the Exodus, the battle of Jericho follows a
pattern. The people encounter a difficulty, an impasse, or some other threat or
danger. God then provides a way out, proving once again his faithfulness to his
people.
The author of Hebrews takes this pattern and runs with it,
fitting the story of the battle into the larger pattern of God’s faithfulness
to his people throughout the ages. Name-dropping dozens of Old Testament
figures in a few short verses, the author makes the point that these paragons
of the faith saw only some of the promises given to them fulfilled, but lived
in trust that since God had proven faithful in some things, that He would come
through for the rest.
That’s a good lesson for all of us to take to heart. Again,
step into the Way-back and look at the whole of your life. How many times has
God come through for you so far? How many times have you witnessed Him at work in
lives of people that you know? How much evidence have you seen that God has
already been faithful in some of the promises given to you? And if faithful in
the little things, will He not prove faithful in the big ones?
We all have been given an immense promise, a pledge of life
and blessing for all eternity. God has secured this blessing through the life,
death, and resurrection of his son. And we are very much like those Old
Testament figures, living in the midst of promises fulfilled so far only in
part, yet we await the full measure of what we have been pledged. It’s
sometimes a tough place to be, caught between the “already” and the “not-quite-yet,”
but that’s where we are. We wait. We hope. We believe. Amen.
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