When Salt Heals: The Miracle of Jericho's Water

This morning, I want to take you to Jericho. Jericho. What comes to mind when I say the word Jericho?

The walls fell down. I knew someone would say that. That's not what I'm preaching

on, though, although it's part of it.

When we think of Jericho, most of us immediately picture the famous walls tumbling

down, the people marching around, the trumpets blasting,

and the shout of victory echoing through the valley, don't we? That's Jericho.

And yes, that was an incredible miracle of God.

But it's not the miracle I want to talk to you about this morning.

You see, Jericho was more than just a city with falling walls.

It was a place where God showed himself strong in many different ways.

I heard you say, Rahab, Peter, Andrew, Andrew, Peter.

He'll answer to anything. Sorry, mate. Sorry. it.

Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was in

Jericho when he climbed up the sycamore tree and Jesus invited him over.

Blind Bartimaeus. That was Jericho as well. So there's a few miracles that happened in Jericho.

Peter's just texted me. Peter Jenner has just texted me. Let me get that quickly.

Gene and I having dinner and signed in. That weird name was us.

So they're listening to us on a cruise ship between New York and Miami.

And Peter, Peter and Gene, we bless you guys and we pray that you're having

an awesome time. So that's so good.

That's so good. So, oh, that's great. I love it. All right, back to the preaching.

Listen in and be blessed, guys. So what I want to talk about this morning is

something that happened in the book of two kings.

Now, in the book of two kings, Long after Joshua and the walls,

we find another miracle in Jericho, okay?

One that didn't involve armies, one that didn't involve marching or trumpets,

but still revealed the same power and faithfulness of God.

And it's a miracle that should speak directly to our hearts today.

Anyone can guess what it is?

It's quiet. That's good. Peter's probably listening and going, it's this one.

It's a miracle that speaks directly to our lives today because it's not about walls of stone, okay?

It's about the places in our lives that need healing and restoration and new life.

You see, let's go to two kings together and discover this powerful miracle that

happened in Jericho, okay?

So 2 Kings 2 verses 19 to 22, and it says, one day the leaders of the town of

2 Kings 2:19–22

Jericho visited Elisha.

Okay. We have a problem, my Lord, they told him.

This town is located in pleasant surroundings, as you can see,

but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.

Elisha said, and this was Elisha's first miracle after taking over the mantle from Elisha. Elijah.

Elijah said, bring me a new bowl with salt in it.

So they bought it to him.

Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it.

And he said, this is what the Lord says. I have purified this water.

It will no longer cause death or infertility.

And the water has remained pure ever since, just as Elisha says, or just as Elisha said.

I have a question to ask you all this morning, and this is for you to consider.

Where is the least likely place you would expect God to perform a miracle?

Okay. We often think that miracles happen to other people, don't we?

But not to us. But frequently, God chooses the most unlikely places and the

most unlikely people to bless with a miracle.

He calls sometimes the most unlikely people and places to perform miracles.

We all have our stories and experiences with miracles, don't we?

Okay. Some of these miracles, not just the ones that we have heard about,

but the ones we have experienced, you wouldn't believe sometimes unless you

actually experienced it, would you?

I've got a story about a miracle that I experienced when I was pastoring at quite a large church.

And it was my role to be in amongst the church when healing or altar calls were called upon.

And it was my job to watch what was going on. I was the new people or the new

Christians pastor at this church.

Anyway, this particular day, there was a guy who I met before the service,

who clearly had a lame withered arm.

He had no movement in that arm at all. It was fully braced up.

He could not move it. And I said, what happened there? And he said,

it was a motorbike accident.

I've got no feeling and no use of this arm at all.

So I welcomed him and he was in the service. During the service,

the pastor called on healing.

He called on healing and he said, I want to call upon those that need healing in their bodies.

And I was watching this guy because I knew that he needed healing.

And I was watching him and remember, I'd met him beforehand.

I knew that this arm was lame.

Anyway, during the prayer that this pastor called, I was standing there watching

this guy and all of a sudden both arms went up. both arms went up.

And that was just a miracle that I witnessed. One of those miracles where sometimes

if you don't witness it, you wouldn't believe it.

And I witnessed it and I saw that miracle that day.

Anyway, I want to speak about the miracle of the water at Jericho this morning.

Okay. It was a great, greatest miracle that was performed in Jericho, I believe.

Okay. The greatest miracle in our lives that we can experience is being transformed

by the blood of Jesus Christ. Amen?

Who agrees with that? But I want to talk about Jericho and the miracle of water

at Jericho. And let me say this to start with.

I want us to recognize that Jericho was a very unlikely place for miracles to happen.

Why? Because Jericho was cursed.

Jericho was cursed. Behind the story of this story of Jericho,

there's a long history that I want to talk about.

When Joshua and the Israelites entered Palestine in Jerusalem,

the first and greatest opposition that they met was Jericho, okay?

Jericho was one of the oldest cities in the world, being first occupied at about 9,000 BC.

So 9,000 years before Jesus. It was a pagan city with rampant idolatry.

Prostitution, and every other kind of evil. This was Jericho.

It stood as a symbol of a world without God, okay? And as such,

it was under a sentence of divine judgment.

It was the strongest city in Palestine at the time as well, with double walls 32 feet wide,

the first wall 32 feet high, the first wall was 6 feet thick,

and the second wall was 12 feet thick.

It was a crowded city, and it had never been conquered throughout its long history. This is Jericho.

The only way the Israelites conquered it was God supernaturally made the walls fall down.

And we know that story very well, don't we?

After the walls fell down, Joshua and God cursed Jericho.

Okay. In Joshua 6.26, in the Amplified Version, it says, Then Joshua made them

take an oath at the time, saying,

Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho.

With the loss of his firstborn, he shall lay its foundation.

And with the loss of his youngest son, he shall set up its gates.

But it was actually more of a prophecy. It was more of a prophecy rather than

a curse, because it had lain ruin the walls of Jericho for over 500 years.

From 1451 BC to 910 BC, if you need to know that, until the evil reign of King

Ahab, when Hiel, the Bethelite, fulfilled that terrible prophecy of Joshua.

Let's read about that, then we'll get a lot lighter, okay, I promise.

So 1 Kings 1634 says, it was during his reign that Heal, a man from Bethel, rebuilt Jericho.

When he laid its foundations, remember the curse, remember the prophecy,

when he laid its foundation, it cost him the life of his oldest son, Abraham.

And when he completed it and set up its gates, it cost him the life of his youngest

son, Seajump, or something like that.

This all happened according to the message from the Lord concerning Jericho,

spoken by Joshua, son of Nun.

So Jericho's walls and Jericho was rebuilt.

But the spring of water and the soil upon which its prosperity depended remained unhealed.

This location and surroundings of the city were beautiful on the west bank of

the Jordan River. but the water was bad and the land miscarried.

The unusual word here indicates that the water actually caused expectant mothers to miscarry.

That's how bad the water was and their children to be stillborn.

That was the curse that was on Jericho.

Second thing I want you to recognize is that the people there were helpless.

They were helpless. The situation created a sense of helplessness in Jericho.

Though generations had lived there and attempted to correct its deadly detriments,

the struggle was useless.

The land was barren and the water was bitter. No effort by the people could remove that curse.

Now, how striking is the image of a godless civilisation, stately imposing,

yet lacking, the means to cure the spring of the corrupt human heart?

So firstly, the city of Jericho was cursed. And secondly, the people of Jericho were helpless.

The third thing I want you to recognize is this.

We are all under a curse and we are all helpless.

The Bible tells us individually that we are in the same trouble spiritually as Jericho was.

Until we surrender to Jesus, until we surrender to Jesus, we're also under a curse.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 27, 26, cursed is the one who does not confirm

all the words of the law by observing them.

The Bible also says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

And the soul that sins, it shall die.

Terrible judgment awaits those who don't accept Jesus after death.

We, like Jericho, can't change the situation ourselves.

The corrupt waters equal or are the same as a human heart, our human heart, until we accept Jesus.

Peter said in Acts 3 verse 19, so repent, change your inner self,

Acts 3:19

your old way of thinking, regret past sins and return to God.

Seek his purpose for your life so that your sins may be wiped away,

blotted out and completely erased so that times of refreshing may come from

the presence of the Lord,

restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day.

So let's go back and look at these waters of Jericho.

Let's go back and have a look at the miracle of the water at Jericho.

The people of Jericho asked the prophet Elisha for his help.

And as I said this morning, this would be Elisha's first miracle after taking

up Elijah's prophetic mantle.

I want us to see the trust and the obedience in Elisha.

I want us to see his trust and I want to see his obedience of Elisha.

Firstly, why salt? Why salt?

Salt is a strange substance to add to bad water, isn't it?

Why salt? Scientifically, salt would make the water worse, wouldn't it?

It would make the ground more barren, not less barren. You can't drink salt

water without harmful effects, can you?

So why salt? Why did God say collect salt?

Well, I believe God was testing the prophet.

I believe God was testing the

prophet to see if he would follow the instructions that seemed illogical.

Okay? We must follow God's leading, even if we don't have complete knowledge.

When we won't know the reasons why till later. We need to trust and we need to obey.

So what does this miracle represent? That's what I want to talk about now.

This miracle of Elisha taking a new bowl, filling it with salt,

what does that miracle represent?

Well, I believe it's a picture of God healing the cursed nations who are barren and corrupt.

The new bowl is equal to a fresh vessel free from defilement.

This vessel represents Jesus himself.

The salt represents the living truth of the gospel, which when thrown into the

world has the power to heal and to cleanse it.

This not only pictures what Jesus did, but what God wants to accomplish through

us, through the church. OK, Jesus told us in Mark 9, verse 50,

Mark 9:50

he talks about salt here.

He says, salt is good and useful.

But if salt has lost its saltiness or its purpose, how will you make it salty?

Have salt within yourselves, it says, continually and be at peace with one another.

It says, have salt within yourselves, continually.

Followers of Christ need to have salt in us, and we're called to be renewed by the gospel.

Romans 12, verse 2 says, And do not be conformed to this world,

Romans 12:2

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is

the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

We need to experience metamorphosis.

There's a word. We need to experience metamorphosis. We need to change.

We're not just improved, we're transformed, God's word says.

Our saltiness, the saltiness that God calls us to have, is the transforming

nature of the truth and God's spirit operating in us.

The salt is like the water that was turned to wine.

It was like the yeast penetrating the dough. It was the new wine expanding to destroy old wineskins.

It's all similar. It was the Shekinah glory of God manifested in an earthly tent.

The salt, the salt. If we lose the provocative nature of the divine life, we're good for nothing.

Jesus told us where to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

That is we're called to

be a salty influence a salty influence

on the world around us we have the obligation as a church and as individuals

to change our world yeah so calm down a little bit what does the salt represent

what does the salt represent salt is a preservative okay in the days before refrigerators,

putting salt on meat was one of the few ways available to keep meat from rotting or decaying.

Salt is also penetrating. In foods heavily salted, like salted pork.

You can taste the salt through the meat, can't you?

It dissolves in water and dominates its taste.

Salt is also potent and powerful. It's very strong tasting. Only a little bit is necessary.

Your salt is concentrated. It's sharp and it's biting. Who loves salt?

I love salt. I probably shouldn't, but I love salt.

We went into Sydney yesterday with Josh for his birthday and Angela and Sam,

our son, and Katie, our daughter-in-law, was there as well. and we went to a Chinese restaurant.

Yeah, no, not a good Chinese restaurant to the point that Angela called the

waiter over. Well, she came over, she was there.

And the waiter was there, okay. And Angela turned to the waiter and said,

do you have any salt and pepper?

And the waitress looked down and she said, okay.

Anyway, I don't know why that came up. But salt is concentrated.

It's sharp and it's biting. It provides flavor, doesn't it?

So in our lives, the salt symbolizes our new divine life, okay?

It puts to death the old nature and spreads into every part of our lives.

So let's have a look at the change that happened in Jericho.

The outcome of Elisha's prophetic action was that the Jericho waters were purified by salt.

This is prophetic. It shows the church's calling to reach the world and bring

transformation to every open heart. That's what it represents.

How did the salt change Jericho? Well, firstly, it changed the water from bitter to sweet, okay?

It changed the water from unusable to useful, and it changed the water from

thirsty to satisfied, okay?

Permanent change. It was a permanent change. In 2 Kings 22, 22,

it says, So the waters have been purified to this day in accordance with the word spoken by Elisha.

But the salt did more. The salt also changed the barren land.

It changed the barren land from being dead to alive.

It changed the barren land from being fruitless to fruitful.

It changed the barren land from emptiness to fullness.

I want us to see something this morning. I want us to see something very profound

about Jesus and Jericho.

Jesus and Jericho. Jesus himself demonstrated his love to the people of Jericho.

Remember, it was a cursed town. It was probably the most unlikely place for

miracles to happen. but Jesus demonstrated his love to the people of Jericho.

The law given by Joshua said that no one should ever go to Jericho again,

but grace spoke through Elisha and later by Jesus, who himself went to the place

of cursing and imparted blessing.

So Jesus went to this town of Jericho, the most unlikely cursed place.

He went there and he imparted blessing upon them.

Instead of remembering their past, Jesus was not holding it against them.

He accepted them for what they were then. He had mercy and forgiveness,

just as Jesus has mercy and forgiveness on all of us.

We know at least three things that Jesus did there.

We spoke about them. He taught the parable of the Good Samaritan in Jericho.

He saved Zacchaeus in Jericho, and he healed blind Bartimaeus in Jericho.

So this unlikely town, this unlikely city where no miracles could happen,

where it was cursed, Jesus went and performed miracles. Josh, come on up for me.

Climb over all those kids.

Yeah. All right. Question for you this morning. What's your commitment level?

What's your commitment level?

Who's ever heard of Flynny the Elder? Anyone ever heard of a guy or character

called Flynny the Elder?

Let me tell you about Flynny the Elder. He was a Roman writer who lived during

the same period as Jesus.

Okay. He told a story of the setting up of an obelisk, which when erected would

stand 99 feet tall. Flynny the Elder, this guy.

So from the deserts of Egypt came this giant stone, this giant obelisk,

heavier than the mountains, they described it as being.

Emperor Caligula seized it and he shipped it on a vessel built just for its weight.

And in Rome, thousands of people strained with ropes and pulleys until it rose skyward, okay?

But there was more to it than that. Caligula, Emperor Caligula,

demanded one act which ensured the complete attention and best direction of the engineer.

Okay, this is what the emperor demanded. He ordered that the engineer's own son...

His own son, be strapped to the top of the obelisk so that the engineer's heart, as well as his head,

would be given to the task of raising the obelisk up so that it wouldn't fall because if it fell,

the engineer's son was on the top and we all know what was happening.

What's our commitment level?

What's our commitment level? Well.

God has miracles for each and every one of us. God has miracles,

but God has one requirement of you.

You must surrender your life to Jesus.

And I ask the question, have you done that? Have you done that?

Just as God healed Jericho's waters, he can heal the hidden places in our lives as well.

What looks pleasant, but barren, he can make truly fruitful.

Talking about us, talking about us. What's been bitter, he can turn sweet.

What seems cursed in our lives, he can bless. That's Jesus.

Maybe today, like Jericho, your life looks fine on the outside.

But deep down, you know that the water source isn't right.

Maybe there's bitterness, maybe there's barrenness or brokenness that no one

else sees. What's hidden in our lives?

The good news is this. The same God who healed Jericho's waters is here to heal

the source of your life as well today. day.

If you bring him into your heart, if you bring Jesus into your heart,

he will pour in his spirit or his salt, his power to make you new.

No more death, no more unfruitfulness, but life and healing flowing from within.

It's what I'm inviting us to be a part of today.

If we give him our heart he will pour in his spirit he will pour in Jesus into our lives,

what I want you to do if you want to and I hope you all do is let me pray with

you and I ask you to repeat after me as I pray this Lord Jesus I give you my life.

Heal the hidden places.

Cleanse the bitter waters.

Restore fruitfulness in me.

Let living water flow again.

In Jesus' name. Amen. Lord, I thank you.

I thank you, Lord, for the miracle of the waters of Jericho.

And Lord, I see that. that miracle of the waters of Jericho,

the same as the miracle that you've just performed right then, Lord God.

Providing fruitfulness, taking away barrenness, Lord,

providing us with the salt of Jesus Christ in our lives so that we can go into

the world and we can make this world a better place because of your salt,

because of your Holy Spirit,

because of your divine guidance in our lives.

Lord, we received that this morning.

It's just like Elisha has come into this place with a clean bucket of salt and

poured it into our lives to cleanse us by the power of the Holy Spirit,

by our faith in Jesus Christ, by our acceptance of our Saviour.

Jesus came that we would be saved and that we would be set free.

And I thank you, Lord, that all we need to do is call upon your name and we would be saved.

So Lord, I bless you for that. I thank you, Lord, for the promises that you provide us, Lord God.

And the promises are yes and amen.

Lord, you provided a miracle for the city of Jericho and you will provide a

miracle in our lives right now in Jesus' name.

The miracle of salvation by the blood of the Lamb.

Lord, we receive that this morning. We receive that abundance this morning.

We receive that resurrection power in our lives this morning.

We receive the overwhelming sense, Lord, of cleanliness, Lord,

that comes by being filled with you, filled by the salt of Jesus Christ.

Lord, we receive that this morning. Lord, we declare in Jesus' name our love

and our faith in you, Lord God.

And we declare in Jesus' name our abundance that comes by the love and the blood

of Jesus Christ. We thank you for that, Lord.

We thank you, Father. We thank you, Lord, that we can read this story of the

healing of the waters of Jericho as a great story.

But, Lord, we can also read that as being a mirror of the miracle that Jesus

provides to us in our lives, and we receive that this morning in Jesus' name.

Hallelujah. We thank you, Lord.

We thank you, Father. Praise your name.

Praise him, everyone. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus, for your touch in our lives.

Thank you for pouring yourself out for us, Lord God.

Thank you for touching us. Thank you for restoring us. Thank you for making

us new. Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus. We worship you this morning. Hallelujah.

And everyone said, Amen. Amen.