[image: On The Jericho Road, 2013, JA Van Devender]
Location: Covered Bridge, on Jericho Road connecting Jericho and Jerusalem, Md. North of Kingsville, Md.
Proverbs 3:13–14 (NKJV)
13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains under-standing; 14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold.
You can listen to the Old Southern Gospel "On the Jericho Road" HERE.
One of the relatively unappreciated treasures in Maryland is located just a few minutes north of Baltimore. Known as the "Little Williamsburg", Jerusalem Mills is a well staffed and maintained historic site. As part of the Gun Powder Falls State Park it is situated on the "little" falls river with easy trails and nice vistas. The main building dates back to the 1700's but the covered bridge is relatively new, being built as recently as 1860. They have lots of neat events there throughout the year and it is well worth checking out.
How can you not visit the pleasant places "on the Jericho road?" I couldn't help humming the old tune as I took a few images of the bridge, river and Mills area. The theology is a bit shaky (the Jericho Road is not a path that only you and Jesus tred) but you can't help smiling when you sing it. The Jericho Road, both the physical and spiritual one, is a pleasant path that provides encouragement and refreshment to all who follow its course.
In the Book of Proverbs we are confronted with two voices calling us, that of Wisdom and that of Folly. The pathway of Wisdom is the Jericho Road and it is narrow and few are found thereon. The pathway of Folly is wide and leads to perdition, not Jerusalem. Though Proverbs is not a systematic exposition of the ethics of the Kingdom of God in Christ, yet that is its subject. "How Then Shall We Live" asked Francis Schaeffer in his justly famous book of that title, and Proverbs provides us with gleams and glimmers of truths to ponder as we consider that question.
How we live matters. It matters to God and it matters to us and it matters to the world. There is a distinctly Christian ethic or manner of life, which God has given us as our vocation. It is not in the more common "rules" of "do this" and "don't do that", as for example, the specific injunctions against murder and for paying workers their wages when they are due, that the Christian distinctiveness is registered. Rather it is in the comprehensive world view that situates those ethical actions and motivates the believer. The Proverbs point us to a way of life that promotes healing among men and nations and gives evidence of true human flourishing.
Proverbs teaches us that Christian ethics are the vehicle through which God registers His Kingdom on earth and how it is demarcated, set apart, from the other kingdom, that of Satan, known as Babylon the Great. It is in this Kingdom that "Wisdom" proves Her value, where Her proceeds are discovered to be "better than the profits of silver and her gain than fine gold." It is this discovery, the life-nourishing edification and support that is the experience of one walking "The Jericho Road", that Jesus describes as the Pearl of Great Price or the Treasure Hidden in a Field. It's value is discovered or found, it is experientially registered, in the walking of Christ's "Way."
The ethics of Proverbs embody and register the manifest immanence of Christ through His Holy Spirit in the lives of His people. As they listen to Wisdom and conform their lives to Her principles, they see His Spirit moving mountains and repairing foundations. They see that the ethics of "weakness" is actually the "strength of God" that proves the frustration of those who depend only on their own capacities and follow the siren call of Folly.
Wisdom differs from Folly in that it sees all things through the eternal lens, the abiding and perpetual truth, of God's immanent concern for His Creation and how His people live in it. It requires us to ponder and meditate on the things it proclaims, but not only as abstract principles, but as the outline of a well ordered life to which we strive to conform. It calls us to Christ's Kingdom, the doorway of which is Christ Himself. All who are wise will hear His voice and enter. Folly will turn away and dance in the streets and will discover what it means to be ruined.
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