Jericho was a great and impenetrable city. In Joshua 4-6, we witness the Israelites’ miraculous victory over Jericho, despite it being a great city. God instructed Joshua to have the priests carry the ark of the covenant around the city walls for 7 days, followed by the people’s shouts on the 7th day and the collapse of the walls (Joshua 6:1-27). To commemorate this miraculous event, Joshua sets up a memorial of twelve stones, taken from the Jordan River, to serve as a reminder of God’s faithfulness (Joshua 4:1-24).
In Acts 23, a group of forty Jews conspired together under oath and plotted to kill Paul. Through divine intervention, Paul’s life was spared as his nephew got to know about this plot and revealed it to him. On hearing this, Paul instructed his nephew to inform the Roman commander about their plans. The commander then increased Paul’s security and transferred Paul to Caesarea with a letter addressed to Felix explaining the situation.
The memorials of faith, like the twelve stones in Joshua 4, serve as reminders of God’s divine intervention in our lives. In the same way, Paul trusted in God’s sovereignty and protection; even amid danger and uncertainty, we can do the same.
Reflection: God always shows his power and faithfulness in the lives of his children
Today’s reading
Joshua 4-6
And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying:
“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe,
and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ”
Acts 23:12-35
And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy.
They came to the chief priests and elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul.