Are You on the Lord's Side?

With the army of Israel consecrated to the Lord, God's people were ready to complete the first victory at Jericho. The destruction that appears here, and elsewhere, was the true and just judgment of God on flagrant sinners who lived in a holy place (Gen.15:16; Lev. 18:24-27; Dt. 9:4-5). God used the destruction to fulfill his gracious promises to Israel. Because the world is full of evil people opposed to the ways of God, salvation cannot take place in its fullness without judgment. These accounts of destruction therefore testify to God's faithfulness to his promises, and prefigure his future judgment on those who reject his grace when Christ returns to make a new and holy creation.