Prophecy Fulfilled

We're one day from encountering one of the great prophets of the Bible, Elijah, and in the very last verse of today's reading, one verse before we meet Elijah, we read this in 1 Kings 16:34:

In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun.

It's when we read verses like this that it's very handy to have a Bible with a cross-reference at the very least, and explanatory notes. This is one of those cases where I believe the "Read the Bible without outside influence and let the Holy Spirit guide you" method of Bible study falls short. I strongly challenge anyone to understand what this verse means without expert commentary, and I further suggest that this IS the Holy Spirit guiding us in Bible study--by gifting others to instruct us when our own knowledge falls short.

Anyway, I went immediately to my NIV Study Bible upon reading that verse and started by checking for cross-references, which led me to Joshua 6:26:

At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: “At the cost of his firstborn son he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.” 

We all remember how Jericho was destroyed upon Israel's entry into the Promised Land, some of you (not me) remember this prophecy, but I had no recollection of this fulfillment of the prophecy, over 500 YEARS after the fact. I have no further information as to how Hiel of Bethel lost his sons--did they die, were they ritually sacrificed, something else--no idea. What I do know is that God specifically told the people of Israel what not to do, what the consequences would be if they did, and when it occurred, did exactly what he said he would.

I'm going to say and write many things throughout the year. To put some numbers on it, if I write 400-word posts each day, that will be about 146,000 words, and if I present 20 times on Sundays and go 20 minutes each and speak at my usual 120-150 words a minute (let's go with 120), I'll speak around 48,000 words, which will put me in the neighborhood of around 200,000 words this year. Some things I'll say or write will be more memorable than others, some will resonate with you at different times, but I beg you to clearly etch these five words in your mind:

GOD'S WILL WILL BE DONE

This small example is a reminder that God's does what he says and is consistent in his actions. God's word is clear, unambiguous and available to all. 

Scott