Jericho lies in the Jordan Valley, near where the Israelites crossed the river to enter the promised land. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, surrounded by a fertile oasis that contrasts with the desert around it.
It was the first city conquered by Joshua after the crossing of the Jordan. Its walls fell in a way that could only be attributed to the power of God, with no battle and no battering ram (Hebrews 11:30).
Before the walls fell, the prostitute Rahab hid Israel’s spies and confessed faith in the God they served. Her faith saved her, and she entered the lineage of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).
Centuries later, Jericho appeared again in the story of God with his people. Elisha purified its waters, and later Jesus passed through the city: he healed a blind beggar and went to stay at the house of a tax collector rejected by everyone.
Jericho shows that God tears down human walls and reaches people society had cast aside, from a Canaanite prostitute to a wealthy tax collector. The site of Israel’s first great victory was also the setting for some of Jesus’ most personal encounters with sinners.
