By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Jericho is significant to the trustworthiness of Scripture because its exis­tence is tied to key historical events documented in both the Old and New Testa­ments. BIBLICAL CORNERSTONE In Jericho Jesus continued his mission to “seek and save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10) with his encounter with Zacchaeus. During the same visit to the city, He healed two blind beggars, including Bartimaeus, on His way to Jerusalem and the cross. Meanwhile, Jesus cited the Jericho Road as the set­ting for His “Parable of the Good Samaritan.” Moreover, Jericho is mentioned in what is known as the “Roll Call of Faith” because “By faith the walls of Jericho fell” (Hebrews 11:30). Jericho also was a key location for events in the Old Testament such as Elijah’s miraculous whisk­ing up to Heaven in a chariot of fire and the first miracle by Elisha, upon succeeding Elijah, when he healed the city’s “bad water” (II Kings 2). But perhaps the city is most well-known for the victo­ry God wrought there, not through military might but through faith and obedience. Joshua 6 records that on the seventh day of Israel circling the heavily fortified city, when the priests … [Read more...]