Walls of Jerico

 

NKJ Joshua 6:2-5

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.    You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days.  And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.  It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”

Why is this ponderable?

After spending forty years wandering in the desert of Sinai, the people of Israel were now on the eastern banks of the Jordan. Their challenge: take the land of Canaan, the Promised Land. However, an insurmountable obstacle, the city of Jericho, stood in their way. It must have seemed to these weary travelers that God was playing a cruel joke on them: placing an unconquerable, walled city right at the entrance of the promised land. 

Excavations of this ancient city reveal that its fortifications featured a stone wall 11 feet high and 14 feet wide. At its top was a smooth stone slope, angling upward at 35 degrees for 35 feet, where it joined massive stone walls that towered even higher. It was virtually impregnable.

In ancient warfare such cities were either taken by assault or surrounded and the people starved into submission. Its invaders might try to weaken the stone walls with fire or by tunneling, or they might simply heap up a mountain of earth to serve as a ramp. Each of these methods of assault took weeks or months, and the attacking force usually suffered heavy losses. However, the strategy to conquer the city of Jericho was unique in two ways. First, the strategy was laid out by God Himself, and, second, the strategy was a seemingly foolish plan. God simply told Joshua to have the people to march silently around Jericho for six days, and then, after seven circuits on the seventh day, to shout.

Though it seemed foolish, Joshua followed God’s instructions to the letter. When the people did finally shout, the massive walls collapsed instantly, and Israel won an easy victory.

Fast-forward a few thousand years and we find American Christians courting God's favor in their struggle to enter the promised land. However, this promised land was not proffered by God, but by godly Politicians at the Jericho rally.

A toxic ideological cocktail of grievance, paranoia, and self-exculpatory rage was on display at the “Jericho March,” a protest staged...in Washington, D.C., by the president’s most devoted Evangelical Christian supporters. Their aim was to “stop the steal” of the presidential election, to prepare patriots for battle against a “One-World Government,”      [source: Christianity as Ideology: The Cautionary Tale of the Jericho March]

 

Non-Christians might ponder how Christianity can be twisted and drafted into the service of a political ideology that is not readably compatible with Christianity. However, ideology goes hand in hand with politics and nationhood because its purpose is to abstract from the particular lives of individuals certain general rules or truths about human behavior that can then be used to organize society.  For this reason, ideology excludes the unique and unrepeatable personality of each human, what we usually call our “self.”

This flattening-out of people into manipulable abstractions is necessary to have a political order at all. American Politicians govern over 300 million people. They can’t hope to have a personal relationship with each and every citizen or to legislate according to the unique predilections of personal lives. They have to search for concerns their constituents share then treat them as avatars of those concerns. So in the eyes of the state, they are "members of a tax bracket", "pro-lifers", "pro-choicers", "white", "black", residents in a particular zip code. In all cases, their unique and individual personalities, as distinct from the things shared with other members of a political group, are excluded. Because of this, politics is, in a very real sense, inhuman.

We can ponder whether this scenario in Joshua is factual or just an Old Testament tale meant to bolster trust in a Higher Power in the face of insurmountable obstacles. However, don't be too quick to dismiss it as fiction. We are just beginning to understand the power sound waves have over matter. Here is one example:

Sonic Weapons' Long, Noisy History

by Eric Niiler

Bullets, missiles and swords may be what most people think of when it comes to weapons, but sound has also been deployed over the millennia to disrupt, confuse or even injure opponents on the global battlefield.

From the Israelite army of trumpet-blaring priests who shook the walls of Jericho 3,500 years ago to the U.S. Navy’s current use of long-range acoustic devices, nations and their armies have deployed both sonic weapons and various sounds as a form of attack.

 

This Is My Body

NLT Matthew 26:26

As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”

Why is this ponderable?

While biblical scholars disagree about whether Jesus was speaking in literal terms or using bread symbolically when he said these words, all agree on the translation.

 Here is what Paul writes to the Corinthians around A.D. 54: For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is [broken] for you. He did not say "think of this bread as though it were my body. And other stories in Matthew support the notion that Jesus had the power to transform water, bread, fish, and wine. So it is unlikely he wanted his disciples to think of the broken bread as a symbol rather than the real thing.

Breaking bread is associated with miracles of the multiplication, as when Jesus fed the multitudes with loaves and fishes. The very first transformation that Jesus performed was at the wedding feast when he changed water into wine. So, in ways we do not understand, Jesus was capable of transforming the bread at the Last Supper into the elements of his physical body.

Perhaps, at some future date, scientists will figure out  how matter and energy interact with each other and  the words of Jesus will make complete sense. Albert Einstein determined that the laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers, and that the speed of light in a vacuum was independent of the motion of all observers. This was the theory of special relativity. Few people in 1905 understood what that really meant. One hundred and fifteen years later, we not only understand it, but we can use it to develop things previous generations never have imagined possible. 

The Kingdom of Heaven is Like...

NIV Matthew 13:24 

Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field."

NIV Matthew 13:33 

Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

NIV Matthew 13:44  

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field." 

NIV Matthew 13:45  

"Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls". 

NIV Matthew 13:52  

"Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old. 

 Why is this ponderable?

 The seven parables of Mat 13., called by our Lord, "mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 13:11), taken together, describe the result of the presence of the Gospel in the world during the present age, that is, the time of seed sowing which began with our Lord's personal ministry, and ends with the "harvest" Mt 13:40-43. Briefly, the result is mingled tares and wheat, good fish and bad, in the sphere of Christian experience. It is Christendom.

Possessed by Demons

NLT  Matthew 8:28

When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gadarenes, two men who were possessed by demons met him. They came out of the tombs and were so violent that no one could go through that area.

 

Why is this Ponderable?

The term “demon”  derives from the Greek term daimōn, which refers to all sorts of beings, not just ones that are evil. The biblical notion of “demon,” however, refers to malignant supernatural entities who seek to harm humans. This is ponderable because evil demons under the control of Satan, seem more threatening to Christians than to the Israelites. 

Satan confronts Jesus during his 40-day fast in the desert. Demon-possessed men confront Jesus as he enters the region of the Gadarenes. Jesus cures a demoniac by sending a legion of unclean spirits into a herd of swine. When Jesus tells his disciples that he would  be killed, then raised from the dead,  Peter openly rejects this scenario. Jesus retorts, "Get thou behind me Satan." 

The notion of demons, as it existed in the time of Jesus, resembled that of the non-Isrealite Jews of surrounding territories. Demons live in deserts or ruins (Lev. 16:10; Isa. 13:21; 34:14). They inflict sickness on men (Ps. 91:5–6). They trouble men's minds (Saul; I Sam. 16:15, 23) and deceive them (I Kings 22:22–23) – but nevertheless these evil spirits are sent by the Lord.

The mysterious being who attacks Jacob in Genesis 32:25ff. exhibits a trait common to the secular notion associated with demons. They are spirits of the night and must perish at dawn. Even in Israelite popular religion, however, there seems to have been relatively little fear of the spirits of the dead. The Bible often mentions the shades of the dead, but "the congregation of the shades" (Prov. 21:16) carries on a shadowy existence below, and does not seem to trouble the living.

Some features of the Israelite cult bear a formal resemblance to apotropaic measures employed in other religions. Thus, the bells on the robe of the high priest (Ex. 28:33–35) recall the use of bells in other cultures in the belief that their tinkling keeps off demons. So, also, horns (Ex. 19:16; Lev. 25:9; et al.), incense (Lev. 16:12–13), smearing of doorposts (Ex. 12:7), the color blue (Num. 15:38), written scripture-texts (phylacteries; Deut. 6:8; 11:18) – all have parallels elsewhere as devices to ward off evil spirits. In a given case, however, it is often extremely difficult to say to what extent any of these devices were consciously used for protection against demons at a particular period.

Demons in the Dead Sea Scrolls

By the last centuries BC, A great change had taken place in angelology and demonology within Judaism, . In this period, Judiasm safeguarded its monotheistic character, but took on many traits of a dualistic system.  God and the forces of good and truth were opposed in heaven and on earth by powerful forces of evil and deceit.  Ancient mythological themes, and figures from the Bible only potentially demonic, like Satan, were selected to explain the role of evil spirits in the cosmos. These evil spirits are led by a prince, often called Belial, or Satan.

These spirits of good and evil struggle within the human soul, for in this period the role of demons is often conceived of as that of tempting men to evil rather than of inflicting physical harm. As a result, in many passages it is difficult to say whether "spirit" refers to a demon external to man or to a trait within the human soul. Belial is the most common name for the leader of the demons in the Dead Sea Scrolls.  It appears in other intertestamental literature and in II Corinthians 6:15.

¹⁵ What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil^[a]? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. 

In the intertestamental literature, Belial is "the spirit of perversion, the angel of darkness, the angel of destruction" and other spirits are subject to him. Mastemah, which as a common noun means approximately "enmity, opposition" in Hosea 9:7, 8 and in some passages in the Five Scrolls, is also a demon.  "Prince Mastemah" in Jubilees (11:5, 11; 17:16; et al.), and in the Damascus Document (16:5).  Watchers (Aram. ʿirin) are mentioned in Daniel 4:10, 14, 20.  According to Genesis 6:2, they cohabited with women before the flood and fathered the race of giants. Asmodeus (Tobit 3:8, 17) is a demon who had slain the first seven husbands of Sarah, who becomes the wife of Tobias son of Tobit.

Demons in the New Testament

New Testament demonology reflects the dualism attested in the sectarian literature from Qumran. Demons are called "unclean spirits" or "evil spirits," as in rabbinic literature. They are believed to inhabit wastelands. Possession by demons causes various sicknesses, especially those in which there is a perversion of the human personality. The demon, not the man himself, directs his acts and speech (Mark 1:23, 26; 9:17–29).

The story of how Jesus cured a demoniac by sending a legion of unclean spirits into a herd of swine (Matt. 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39) illustrates the persistence of very ancient popular belief, as does the parable of Matthew 12:43–45, in which the unclean spirit, after wandering through the wilderness, takes seven devils with him. On the other hand, in the New Testament lesser demons have little independent personality or power, but are subject to Satan.

The demonic is often presented, not as something occasional and relatively harmless, but as a cosmic reality of great importance; the enemy of God and man (Eph. 6:12). Beelzebul (Beelzebub) is a name applied to the chief demon by both Jesus and his opponents (Matt. 10:25; 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15–19). The spelling Beelzebub reflects identification of Beelzebul with Baal-Zebub, god of Ekron (II Kings 1:2). Possibly there were two different original forms, Beelzebul meaning "Baal is prince" or "Lord of the shrine," and Beelzebub "Lord of flies" (cf. Ugaritic il dbb [in Gordon, Textbook, ʿnt 3:43]).

In the Talmud

Among the accomplishments of both Hillel (Sof. 16:9) and his disciple R. Johanan b. Zakkai was their knowledge of "the speech of the shedim" ("devils," Suk. 28a). The latter also gave the analogy of a ru'ah tezazit ("the demon of madness") entering a man and being exorcised, in order to explain to  heathen the anomaly of the laws of the red heifer. However, he agreed with his wondering disciples that it was but "putting him off with a straw" and that he himself did not accept it (PR 40a; Num. R. 19:4).

Although these statements refer to Erez Israel, the Jerusalem Talmud is markedly free from demonology, and in fact mentions only three general names for them – mazzikim, shedim, and ruhot. A passage in the Babylonian Talmud specifically states that various beliefs connected with demons which were current in Babylon were ignored in Erez Israel. Whereas in Erez Israel they translated shiddah and shiddot (Eccles. 2:8) as "carriages," in Babylon they rendered them "male and female demons" (Git. 68a). The Palestinian R. Johanan stated that the mazzikim which used to hold sway in the world disappeared with the erection of the sanctuary in the wilderness (Num. R. 12:30).

Demonology, however, is more prominent in the Palestinian Midrashim than in the Jerusalem Talmud. Yet the Babylonian Talmud is replete with demonology, reflecting the belief in demons which was widespread in Babylonia. The Babylonian Jews lived in a world which was filled with demons and spirits, malevolent and sometimes benevolent, who inhabited the air, the trees, water, roofs of houses, and privies. They are invisible; "If the eye could see them no one could endure them. They surround one on all sides. They are more numerous than humans, each person has a thousand on his left and ten thousand on his right" and they are responsible for many daily inconveniences.

Soloman's Understanding Mind

ESV  1 Kings 3:9 

Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” 

 

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4000680 

 

Why is this ponderable?

 The Seal of Solomon (or Ring of Solomon; Arabic: خاتم سليمان‎ Khātam Sulaymān) is the signet ring attributed to King Solomon in medieval Jewish tradition and in Islamic and Western occultism. It was often depicted in either a pentagram or hexagram shape; the latter also known as the Star of David in Jewish tradition. Although not mentioned explicitly in the Bible, it was widely believed that just as God conferred blessings on Israel through physical objects such as the stone tablets, the Arc of the Covenant, and the staff of Moses, Soloman's understanding mind was conferred by a signet ring.

"Solomon is represented as having authority over spirits, animals, wind, and water, all of which obeyed his orders by virtue of a magic ring set with the four jewels given him by the angels that had power over these four realms. [...] It was Solomon's custom to take off the ring when he was about to wash, and to give it to one of his wives, Amina, to hold. On one occasion, when the ring was in Amina's keeping, the rebellious spirit Sakhr took on Solomon's form and obtained the ring. He then seated himself on the throne and ruled for forty days, during which time the real king wandered about the country, poor and forlorn. On the fortieth day, Sakhr dropped the ring into the sea; there it was swallowed by a fish, which was caught by a poor fisherman and given to Solomon for his supper. Solomon cut open the fish, found the ring, and returned to power. His forty days' exile had been sent in punishment for the idolatry practiced in his house for forty days, although unknown to him, by one of his wives" Baiḍawi, ii. 187; Ṭabri, "Annales," ed. De Goeje, i. 592 et seq.)."