Children’s Sermon

Joshua 6

Joshua and the Walls of Jericho

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Joshua 6

Joshua and the Walls of Jericho

By Lois Parker Edstrom

So many wonderful sounds in the world! What are some of your favorites? The roar of the ocean, your cat’s purr, a breeze in the trees, certain kinds of music, the call of an owl, the crackle and pop of a fire in the fireplace, rain on the roof, and so many more.

Do you every wonder how we hear those sounds? A sound, whether it’s a voice, a car horn, a musical note, or a door slamming is energy. That energy creates sound waves that travel through the air, enter into our ears and allow us to hear.

Have you ever wet your finger and run it around the rim of a goblet? (Demonstrate.) You will hear a musical note. That is caused by energy within the glass vibrating and producing a lovely sound. If you had a machine that could produce that exact note and you turned the volume up, you could cause the glass to vibrate until the goblet shatters.

The story of Joshua and The Walls of Jericho is a story about sounds and energy. Joshua was the leader of the Israelites (the children of God) and they came to the city of Jericho, which was a city surrounded by high walls. “No one went out, and no one came in” (6:1).

Joshua was told to have the Israelites march around the city once every day for six days sounding their trumpets. On the seventh day they were to march around the city seven times and on the seventh time around the trumpet would sound a long note and then the Israelites were all to shout loudly.

“It happened, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city…” (6:20).

We don’t know how this happened. Did vibrations from their marching loosen the bricks, or did sound waves from the sound of their trumpets and shouting cause the walls to fall? We only know that the Israelites trusted God. They were given God’s power and energy and the walls of Jericho fell.

Listen to the sounds you hear each day and give thanks for such gifts. Enjoy the power and energy of God’s love.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2014, Richard Niell Donovan