Jericho

The oldest known city in the world—

dating five thousand years before the time of Abraham. It is located about one mile southeast of where the city was in Old Testament times. Jericho is famous because its walls fell down after Joshua and his army marched around it for seven days. At God’s command, Joshua and his men destroyed everything in the city. The city was not rebuilt for more than five hundred years. It became an important city but was later destroyed.

The Jericho of the New Testament is near the modern town of Jericho. It was a great city, built by Herod as his winter capital because it has a tropical climate. Jesus often taught and healed there. Zacchaeus, who climbed a tree to see Jesus, lived in Jericho. Jesus’s famous story about the Good Samaritan is placed on the lonely, winding road between Jerusalem and Jericho—a distance of about twenty miles.

608 and Joshua 6; Mark 10:46–52; Luke 10:29–37; 19:1–10.

Jeroboam

The first king of the northern kingdom of Israel, who ruled from about 931–

910 BC. He began as a counselor under King Solomon. He helped stir up anger against Solomon over the high taxes the people had to pay.

The prophet Ahijah announced that Jeroboam would become the leader of ten tribes of Israel. Ahijah warned Jeroboam to obey God’s laws. After King Solomon’s death, the prophecy came true, and Jeroboam became king. He forgot about obeying all of God’s laws.

A prophet told Jeroboam that God would judge his actions. When Jeroboam ordered the prophet arrested, Jeroboam’s hand shriveled up! Jeroboam pleaded with the prophet to ask God to heal him. The prophet did, and Jeroboam was healed. But Jeroboam did not return to worshipping God.