Jericho's Curse

An interesting side note to the story of Elisha healing the water in 2 Kings 2:19-22 is it appears the unproductive land and poor water were fulfillment of God's curse on those who disobey him. In Joshua 6:26, after the fall of Jericho, the Lord promised that it would cost whoever rebuilt the city his oldest and youngest children, and sure enough, that's what happened when someone ventured to disobey God (1 Kings 16:34). God had promised blessings on those who obey (Exodus 23:25-26) but curses on those who would disobey him (Deuteronomy 28:18).