Lesson 4 - Walls

"Walls" are barriers meant to keep people in, out, or safe from what they fear. Everyone has walls that they put up. Some people put up wall just to see who cares enough to break them down, others put up walls so that others can't see the pain they are going through; still, others put up walls to keep themselves away from what they fear. Countries, throughout history, have put up walls. Germany put up a wall not only to keep the west out of the east, but also to keep East Germany in, the Great Wall of China was built to keep others out of China, the wall of Jericho was built to keep enemies out, etc. So if both people and countries put up walls, they must have a great purpose. God told many people in the Bible to build a wall, just as He told many people to knock them down. For instance, God told Joshua

See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compas the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns:and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. - Joshua 6:2-5

This is what the KJV states; however, in the Archeaological Bible, which is KJV, adds an article which states:

Jericho's mud brick walls crumpled in a heap at the base of the retaining wall (6:20). Archaeologists suggest that an earthquake took place and that the fallen bricks formed a ramp by which the Israelites surmounted the retaining wall. (Archaeological Bible, 319)

Hebrews 11:30 states that: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days." So this could mean that God caused an earthquake because the people believed in what God had told Joshua and responded to it. Thus, by faith and the power of God, the wall of Jericho came crumpling down.
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How exactly does this correspond to the walls that people and countries build today? Well in regard to countries, it is merely a warning that you cannot keep someone out that wants to be in, you cannot hide from your fears to protect what you feel is yours, just like Boarder Patrol in America always seems to fail at keeping people out that we don't want in. In regards to people, however, some of the same rules apply.

People that put up "walls", put them up for a reason. Some walls are in the form of a facade, some are in the form of shyness, some are in the form of wildness, some are in the form of music; still, they are there for a purpose. They are setting a boundary that they "don't" want crossed, or, in some cases, do want crossed. However, just as the walls that surrounded Berlin and Jericho fell, the walls that we put up fall. We put them up and feel alone, but man was not meant to be alone. We are social beings. Being alone can hinder a person, not make them better as sitting in your thoughts can lead to madness. When someone tears down the "walls" that we put up, we feel like someone truly understands and cares for us. However, do we really build "walls" at all? We build obstacles to make it harder to find the real us, we hid behind something so that we can appear to be better than we are, we even, sometime, have a separate personality that everyone sees, even our loved ones. These, while "walls"/obstacles, are not impenetrable. I know that I put up "walls" so that I can see who cares and so no one really sees who/what I am. However, a wall can be, by force, knocked down. So, when we put up a wall, what are we really doing?

We, when we hid from what we fear, hid from who we are, or try to keep out those who want to know the real us, are really being unholy in the sense that holy means clearly visible and that everything is known about that object or person. To be who you are with no "walls" is to be closer to God as you would not be lying to anyone, including yourself. To hid from anything is to fear when the only thing to fear is "fear itself" or "the LORD". So to be scared and put up a wall is to, in essence, want control over the situation/fear. This only shows that we, as humans, truly are "of little faith" for, if we had faith as the Israelites did as they walked around Jericho, we wouldn't have to put up any wall because we would not be scared or worried.


Thus, in conclusion, to put up a wall is to be scared due to a lack of control, to be scared due to a lack of control is to have a lack of faith in God and what he can do. When God puts a wall around you, you are safe from harm. When you put up a wall, you only increase your harm as God cannot help those who think they have it all under control. To give all of your so-called control to God is to have faith in Him. When you have true faith in Him, you will get up and follow Him. You won't be left behind, you will be protected, you will live a freer life.


This, however, is easier said than done.





As a side note, I am not doubting in the slightest that the events that Joshua 6 depict did not happen, I can believe that, because of God's power over nature as he calmed the storm, that he could have induced an earthquake at the moment when these events occurred to make the wall fall.