• The Walls Came Tumbling Down
• Sometimes it becomes necessary for walls to come down.

• Introduction
• In this study we will notice several Biblical instances where the walls came down. We hope to accomplish several points in this lesson.
• The necessity of the walls coming down.
• The appearance or impossibility of it happening.
• The application of the lessons in our personal lives.

• Jericho
• Our first appearance of walls coming down is found in the Book of Joshua.
• As the children of Israel entered the promised land, they came upon a well-fortified city.
• Jericho was a mighty city with huge walls.
• As the children of Israel approached, the inhabitants of the city prepared to defend it.
• You can imagine their perplexity when the Israelites marched around one time and left.
• After six days, this process was probably getting on the annoying side more than anything else.
• The people of Jericho knew that there was absolutely no way that anyone could climb the walls and overcome them.
• Yet we see that the confidence of the people was in the walls and not in God.
• Thus the wall became their own destruction.

• Nineveh
• Our second appearance happens many years later in the land of Assyria.
• The great city of Nineveh was a marvel of the world and its engineering would astound anyone who studied it as well as anyone who physically saw it.
• While the city was in a period of prosperity and greatness, a prophet of God said that in a few short years in a very short campaign, that the walls would be breached and the city destroyed.
• Nahum was laughed at for making such predictions, yet in a few years it actually happened.
• What is so amazing is when we read of the details involving this great city and how the walls were brought down.
• Once again, the people put their trust in the walls to protect them, and they were not prepared when the walls were destroyed.

• Babylon
• Our third instance that we want to mention is the destruction of the great city of Babylon.
• There has probably never been a city so well built, protected, maintained, and admired in all of human history.
• They had a wall that was so large, that it just boggles the mind to comprehend it.
• Imagine a twenty story building that wrapped continuously around a city the size of Houston, Texas.
• Along this great wall were watch towers which rose another one to two hundred feet.
• It is no wonder that Nebuchadnezzar was filled with pride when he looked at what he had done (recorded in Daniel 4).
• Once again the walls were the downfall of the people.
• They had so much security and trust in those walls that they only put a handful of guards to keep watch.
• The rest of the people enjoyed their festivals (a different one each week).
• In one particular feast, the king saw a hand writing on the wall.
• Daniel came forth to announce that the kingdom of Babylon was over.
• Daniel records in Chapter 5 that at the very moment Daniel was speaking, the Medes were entering the city underneath the wall in a waterway.
• The guards were quickly captured and it is reported that the king was the only casualty in that encounter.
• The Medes were not interested in the upkeep of the city and let it go into ruins.
• As time went along, the walls were broken and torn down, never to be built up again.

• Jerusalem
• The next city we want to study is Jerusalem.
• We read in the book of Jeremiah of the terrible conditions of Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar surrounded the city and cut off its supply lines.
• Once again, we see that the people had too much pride to see that a real danger existed.
• They thought that they were beyond defeat because of their great walls surrounding them.
• They did not consider that God would turn against them as He promised them he would.

• Dividing Wall
• The next wall under consideration is read about in the New Testament.
• This was not a physical wall, but a spiritual one.
• Meeting the objective of our sermon goals we will see the necessity of this wall coming down.
• And see who was responsible for it happening.
• Read the text in Ephesians 2:11-16.
• Notice v.14 carefully.
• Jesus broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.

• Personal Walls
• A wall is put up to keep out those who are not welcome and to protect and keep those who are invited in.
• We all have confidence in our own dwelling places.
• We feel a sense of security.
• When someone is robbed, their life seems to be shattered, because they feel violated in some way.

• Personal Walls
• What is to be a place of safety where you relax your guard and rest from your labors, can become a place of insecurity if someone invades or breaches the confines of that wall.
• This includes your close relationships. If your security is breeched, you feel violated, and will lack trust in the relationship.
• This includes our church family, as well.

• Your Wall
• The last wall that needs to come down is the one that you have built up between you and God.
• If you think that building a wall will keep Him from seeing you, you are wrong.
• If you think that building a wall will keep Him out, you are wrong.
• If you think that a wall will protect you in judgment day, you will be lost.
• Where we place our trust in most cases turns out to be our downfall.
• Every one of these cities and religions mentioned tonight relied upon the walls and not upon God for their protection and security.

• Conclusion
• Now, are you willing for your walls to come tumbling down?
• If you want to go to heaven it is necessary.
• Unlike the seeming impossibility of it happening, it can happen if you so choose.
• Won’t you allow Jesus to enter into your heart and you become obedient to His commands?

By Carey Scott

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