After tearing down the walls of Jericho and burning the city to the ground, Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: “At the cost of his firstborn son he will lay it foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”

For generations folks took this curse seriously. Then along came a man named Hiel, who centuries later decided to rebuild the city. Just like Joshua proposed, Hiel first laid the foundations of Jericho—at the cost of his firstborn son. He later set up the gates—at the cost of his youngest son.

The Bible often understates terrible situations. In this case, Hiel sacrificed two of his children for the glory of rebuilding Jericho.

What kind of man acts in such a way? One who’s hard-hearted. Opportunistic. Obsessed with glory. Maybe he never heard of the prophecy? If so, that explains the death of his first son, but not the second. Someone would have warned him and stopped construction.

I believe that Hiel knew all about the Joshua’s oath, and chose to build anyway. How did the mother of his sons feel about the rebuilt Jericho, with foundations and gates bathed in the blood of her children? Hiel pursued glory at the cost of everyone around him.

While such a craven attitude seems impossible, I wonder—what tempts me to sacrifice the good of others for my cause, or for my advancement, or to make myself look better in the eyes of the world?

Better to climb alongside others than to climb over their backs. Or better, as Jesus said, to do unto others as you would have done to you.

Hiel dreamed of being remembered as a great visionary and builder. Instead, he’s footnoted as a callous fool. We already have plenty of those.

1 Kings16 in week twenty-eight of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo of modern Jericho

I believe I’m a pretty good person, and always have been. I’ve not killed anyone, or pillaged any villages. But the Scriptures reveal a different perspective:

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another (Titus 3:3).

In reality, this describes my natural state, and apart from the goodness of God in this state I remain. Miraculously, an alternative exists:

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy (Titus 3:4&5).

This passage continues on to describe the washing by the Holy Spirit one receives through the grace of Jesus Christ our Savior. Few other places in Scripture describe in such clarity the work of God on our behalf.

Work due not to my winsome personality, or genetic makeup, or kind acts toward others, or place of birth, or any of the thousand other things I might consider redeeming qualities.

No, God saves me, and you, simply because of his mercy.

Titus 3 in week twenty-eight of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Dominik Kuhn

Paul employed sports metaphors in his writings, making me think that he would have enjoyed the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. In 2 Timothy, his last letter written before his death, Paul recognizes that his time on earth is drawing to a close—the time of my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (4:7).

In the previous paragraph, Paul charged Timothy, the young pastor, to preach the word, to endure hardship, to keep his head in all situations, and to realize that people often choose their own desires over sound doctrine.

That’s all part of the race.

Not all of Paul’s companions finished the race. Demas loved the world and deserted. Alexander harmed Paul a great deal. Others simply faded away.

The race of the Christian life emerges as a marathon rather than a sprint. The encouragement to endure underscores this reality. I need to run long and hard.

Like Timothy, I take encouragement from Paul’s words. The way is long, the fight is real, but the reward is worth it.

Keep the faith.

2 Timothy 4 in week twenty-seven of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Mārtiņš Zemlickis