Hey. What's Up? It's Tuesday and we're tryin' to play it really, really cool. You see today we get to hang out together and rap about music and other stuff. No need to get overly excited or hyped up. We'll just be settlin' in on some smooth grooves and easy readin'. It's gonna be a relaxin' day. That's right...take it easy. Have a cold glass of lemonade or sweet tea on the front porch and wait for the cool breezes to come blowin' past the bangs hangin' down in our face. It's time to take a break from all of the pent-up troubles of the day. Gotta have a few days like these. Otherwise, we might find ourselves feelin' like a really thick wall that's bein' surrounded by some Israelites...did I just hear a crack??? Ok...NOW it's time to get excited...
Today's featured song is the first single from the 1983 album Uh-Huh by John Cougar Mellencamp (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Pink Houses" (John Cougar Mellencamp)). As are many of the songs on Uh-Huh, today's #9 hit features Mellencamp writing songs with other folks, which he doesn't do very often on his other records. "Crumblin' Down" finds Mellencamp writing with his "Hurts So Good" collaborator, George Green. Along with Green, others with co-writing credit on the album include John Prine and Will Cary.
It is the first album to use John Cougar's given last name, Mellencamp, and the seventh studio album by the artist who co-founded the Farm-Aid music festival/events with Willie Nelson (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "On the Road Again" (Willie Nelson)) and Neil Young. Since they began in 1985, these music festivals have raised over 60 million to assist those who struggle to stay on family land due to mortgage debt. "Farm Aid" - wikipedia.org The benefit concerts, as well as other efforts by the artists involved, have done much to keep those who supply us with food from literally seeing their walls come crumblin' down.
If it seems we have camped here for a couple of weeks, there's a reason for the feelin'...we have. Ok, we confess the story of Jericho is one of our all-time favorite accounts from Scripture. (and yeah... part of the reason is the VeggieTales video... "...keep walking, but you won't knock down our wall..." "Josh and the Big Wall" - VeggieTales (full movie)).
In The Notes opinion, the most interesting part of the book of Joshua is the first 8 chapters (Joshua 1-8 NASB/AMP/KJV) especially chapter 6. This passage of Scripture is so prolific that it has found its way into countless children's programming (see above), award-winning movies ("Walls of Jericho" - It Happened One Night - Columbia Pictures, produced and directed by Frank Capra) (the first film to ever win all 5 major Academy Awards, highly recommended by Tuesday's Musical Notes), music ("Jericho" - Carman), and scientific debate ( "Walls of Jericho" by Bryant Wood, answersingenesis.org, March 1, 1999, "The Walls of Jericho Came Tumbling Down" by Marshall Chasin, hearinghealthmatters.org, June 7, 2016).
A couple of things to remember about this story. The priests and the army were the ones God instructed to march around the wall. (7 priests, 7 rams horns, and the army (according to Joshua 4:13 NASB, AMP, KJV, this would have been about 40,000 men), 1 time a day for 6 days and 7 times around Jericho on the 7th day). On the 7th day, everybody got to play. The Bible says that all of the Israelites were to give a great shout after hearing the priests blow the ram's horn (I've blown on a ram's horn (shofar)...don't inhale). God then tells them after their shout, the walls will fall and they can take the city, with the exception of Rahab and her family (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Bad Girls" (Donna Summer)). God said it, they did it, and the walls came tumblin' down resulting in the first Promised Land victory for the Israelites, and God's punishment on a wicked city that did not repent.
So what?
The walls of Jericho were fortified. They were wide enough for chariots to ride on top. They were also doubled (two walls) with enough space that folks could live in between them (probably Rahab and her family). Everyone has walls that they have built up around themselves. Those walls can manifest themselves in a myriad of ways, from physical boundaries to walls around the heart. Those walls are placed to keep things that we feel might cause harm out of our lives or keep change from our lives from happening if we allow them to fall. That is the difference between the walls of Jericho and our walls, for now. Just like Jericho, we build up a wall around our hearts and lives every time we say "NO" to Holy Spirit's drawing of us.
God continually sends Holy Spirit to us to change us, either through repentance and salvation (The apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, Romans 3:21-23 NASB/AMP/KJV, Romans 5:8 NASB/AMP/KJV, The Gospel of Jesus according to fisherman John, chapter 3, verses 16-17 NASB/AMP/KJV. Romans 10:8-11 NASB/AMP/KJV. Romans 8:1 NASB/AMP/KJV), or repentance and sanctification. (The apostle Paul's letter to the church in Galatia, Galatians 2:20 NASB/AMP/KJV, Romans 12:1 NASB/AMP/KJV, The apostle Paul's letter to the church in Philippi, Philippians 2:12-13 NASB/AMP/KJV)
Today, God would like to see the walls you have made come crumblin' down as you seek Him and His salvation. Today, God doesn't need priests, ram's horns, or an army to cause your walls to come tumblin' down.
Today, He just needs your willingness to accept His salvation.
Today, God is waitin' outside to claim your tumblin' walls...
'Cause when the walls, come tumblin' down
When the walls come crumblin', crumblin'
When the walls come tumblin', tumblin' down...
salvation, love, freedom, joy, and an eternity with Him await...Hey yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...
'Til Tuesday,
Loving HIM by loving You,
randy
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