Cursed Be the Man…​

continued from Sunday Morning Class Articles

At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: "Cursed before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: "At the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates." Joshua, filled with the Holy Spirit uttered this oath and curse. This was God’s way of saying that if Israel ever goes the way of the people of Jericho, full of idolatry and sin, and forsakes God and not heeding his warnings, they would be cursed and accursed. It took five-hundred years for this to happen, and the word of God stands forever. We see in 1 Kings 16:30-31, "Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him." So because of evil kings, the people turned their backs on God and forgot his word. As the head goes, so goes the body, we read in 1 Kings 16:34, "In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun." The people no longer feared God and didn’t take him at his word. This man Hiel rebuilt Jericho in spite of the well known curse of Joshua to the peril of his oldest and youngest sons. It is possible to get to the point where sin blinds you from the truth of God’s word. God is patient with us, but if we are no longer walking with him and are unrepentant of sin, we too will be cursed. To God be true!

 — Jim