By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. (Hebrews 11:30, NKJV)
This is an enlightening statement about the nature of faith that pleases God. We must remember the inspired scribe had earlier stated, “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). We cannot please God without the kind of faith by which the walls of Jericho fell. (And, when we do, we have earned nothing; we have put our faith in God to save us in His Son.) The historical account of Jericho is in Joshua 6, where the Lord said to Joshua, “See! I have given Jericho into your hand” (Joshua 6:2, 16). God’s grace was on full display as He gave the city as a gift to Israel. Still, Israel did not receive this gift from God until they had encircled Jericho for seven days as the Lord the way God commanded. They obeyed God by faith, and the walls fell (Joshua 6:12-20). This is how God saves sinners today “by grace…through faith” (Ephesians 2:8-9). God is the Giver of salvation to all who believe the Son. And, we learn in Hebrews 11:30 that our belief pleases God when we obey His word (Luke 6:46; Matthew 7:21). To be saved, one must obey Jesus, who commands sinners to believe, to confession faith, to repent and to be baptized (John 8:24; Romans 10:9-10; Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 17:30; 2:37-38; 22:16). Sinners who obey God are saved by grace because their faith pleases God.
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