Day 4: On the Jericho Road

Day #4 From Jericho to Jerusalem

Today, we’ll travel to the oldest city on earth. Jericho’s fresh water and shade has long made it an emerald in the brown Judean foothills. Watered by the Spring of Elisha, people have found refreshment here since before the land was promised to Israel.

In Joshua’s time (1400 b.c), the road that God’s people meandered for 40 years came to Jericho through the Negev Desert. When they reached the edge of the Jordan, they must have been overwhelmed by the green. It may not look particularly lush to you but to desert nomads wandering a barren wilderness, Jericho was paradise.

When the Israelites arrived to cross the Jordan, it was at flood stage, 150 feet above the water line. God had told them that the river would divide when they stepped into it. So in faith, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped off the steep bank and God miraculously made a dry road for them.

So they wouldn’t forget what God had done, Joshua ordered rocks piled atop each other as stones of remembrance so that, “When your children ask, “What are these stones? you shall tell them ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground’ and all the peoples of the earth will know that the hand of the Lord is mighty.”

For centuries, untold thousands of people saw those stones as they traveled through Jericho to Jerusalem by way of the Wadi Qelt. The fame of God’s Name spread through the generations. God knew they would need the reminder.

Leaving Jericho’s oasis, the road turns steep. Rising 3,300 feet, the switchback canyon path travels seventeen miles through treacherous terrain. (No wonder Jesus set the Good Samaritan parable here!) (Notice St. George’s monastery far below.)

But this road holds even greater significance. Jesus’ journey to Calvary began here. This lonely track felt even more barren that last time Jesus traveled it. Ahead of Him lay unimaginable suffering and death and behind Him walked His disciples, arguing over who would be first in the new kingdom.

As we travel this road through the Wadi Qelt, look around. Notice that Jesus could have turned around at any time. Temptation to escape would have come easily. Satan had once tempted Jesus in this wilderness and no doubt did again. But this Jericho road—littered with many rocks but no regrets—went in one direction for Jesus—to Jerusalem.

Read all about it: Joshua 4, Good Samaritan: Luke 10:30-37, Christ /Passover, John 2:12-13

Today’s Memory Maker: While in the Judean wilderness, choose a small stone from the Wadi Qelt to take home that represents a victory over temptation. Let it inspire you to future victory.

Map: Dead Sea, Jericho, Wadi Qelt, Jerusalem