1 Kings 16:34

JOSHUA'S PROPHECY WAS FULFILLED IN THE BUILDING OF JERICHO

"In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof with the loss of Abiram his first-born, and set up the gates thereof with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of Jehovah which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun."

The prophecy spoken by the Lord through Joshua was:

"Joshua charged them ... saying, Cursed be the man before Jehovah, that riseth up and buildeth this city of Jericho: with the loss of his first-born shall he lay the foundation thereof, and with the loss of his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it." (Joshua 6:26).

It would be difficult indeed to find a clearer example than we have here of a prophecy of God, literally and circumstantially fulfilled many centuries after it was spoken.

This account of the rebuilding of Jericho was probably introduced at this time for the sake of showing the widespread apostasy and unbelief of the people. That man, Hiel the Bethelite, challenged the well-known prophecy regarding the person who would build Jericho, but, sure enough, it turned out exactly as God had prophesied. Of course, the radical critics who deny any such thing as predictive prophecy explain it this way, "Some tragic fate overtook them."[24] However, no matter what happened to the builder's oldest and youngest sons, their death most certainly fulfilled the prophecy. Gates asserted that there is a newer view among commentators which holds that, "The lives of the builder's two sons were cut off as a divine visitation upon Hiel for his disobedience in rebuilding the city that God had cursed."[25] Of course, Dentan explained their death as, "Fatal accidents"![26] But no matter what happened, the prophecy proved to be true.