A. God’s commands and Israel’s obedience before the fall of Jericho.
1. (1-2) God’s promise of victory against Jericho.
Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.
a. Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel: Jericho was already regarded as the best-defended city of Canaan, the most difficult to conquer. Now, the city was on the highest alert because tens of thousands of Israelites were camped nearby. The Canaanites were terrified of the Israelites (Joshua 2:9-11), they knew Israelite spies had visited the city (Joshua 2:15-16, 22), and therefore the city was securely shut up.
i. Almost 40 years before this, Israelite spies surveyed the land of Canaan and were afraid of the fortified walls of Canaan’s cities (Numbers 13:28). Jericho was one of the most fortified and strongly defended cities of the region.
ii. “Jericho was not a big city; it was only about seven acres in its entirety. It was really more of a fortress—a very strong fortress prepared to resist siege.” (Schaeffer)
b. The LORD said to Joshua: The person who spoke in verse 2 was the same one who met Joshua at the end of Joshua 5. This was the commander of the armies of the LORD giving Joshua military direction.
c. I have given Jericho into your hand: Despite all the defensive measures taken by Jericho, God boldly told Joshua that the battle was as good as over. Speaking in the past tense, God said that Jericho already belonged to Israel.
i. Regarding the conquest of Canaan, everything to this point had been preliminary and preparatory. Now the real task before Israel must be faced and accomplished. The Canaanites must be dispossessed if Israel was to occupy what God had promised them.
ii. Jericho was not a large city, but it was an important and formidable fortress city. If Israel could defeat Jericho, they could defeat any other enemy facing them in Canaan. In God’s wisdom, He gave Israel their greatest single military challenge first.
2. (3-5) Instructions for the action against Jericho.
You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”
a. You shall march around the city: God’s commanded plan against Jericho made no military sense. It depended on God, not brilliant strategy, or military might. Soldiers and priests of Israel would march around Jericho, making the approximately half-mile (1 km) walk around the 7-acre city.
i. There were two basic strategies for defeating a strongly defended walled city. One was to attack by digging under, punching through, or climbing over the walls. The other was to circle the city, launch a siege, and wait for the city to surrender because of starvation and lack of re-supply. Neither strategy was used at Jericho; the commander of the LORD’s armies gave a different way to conquer this city.
ii. Israel was to march around Jericho once a day for six days, with the priests carrying the ark and trumpets made of ram’s horns. Each day the priests were to sound their horns while marching, and the people were to remain silent. On the seventh day, after marching around the city seven times, the priests were to make a long blast with a trumpet made with a ram’s horn. At that signal, all the people of Israel were to loudly shout. God promised that then, the formidable walls of Jericho would collapse, and Israel could rush in to conquer the city no longer defended by walls.
iii. This plan required great faith from Israel and her soldiers. It required great faith from Joshua because he had to explain and lead the nation according to this plan. It required great faith from the elders and the people of Israel because they had to follow Joshua in this plan.
iv. The number seven is used 14 times in this chapter. “‘Seven’ is the number of totality, completion, and perfection in the Scriptures; and its predominance in this chapter emphasizes the completeness of Yahweh’s victory on Israel’s behalf.” (Howard)
v. “Here were many sevens, as also in the Revelation. Many mysteries throughout the Scriptures are set forth by this number: the Hebrew word signifieth fulness.” (Trapp)
b. All you men of war: It is unlikely that the entire army of Israel participated in this, rather these were representative soldiers from every tribe. The fighting men of Israel numbered more than 600,000 (Numbers 26:51), and Jericho was only about 7 acres in size (about 3 hectares).
i. The procession had soldiers in the front, priests with trumpets and the ark in the middle, and soldiers in the back (Joshua 6:9).
c. The wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him: If Israel conquered Jericho by this plan, it would clearly be the work of the LORD. Yet, God did not send an angelic army or fire from heaven against Jericho, working while Israel stood aside and did nothing. God’s plan required the active participation of His people.
i. God could have conquered Jericho and defeated the city for Israel without any participation on the part of His people. Sometimes God works this way, but not on this occasion. He wanted Israel to be a part of His work. God often works today after this same pattern, choosing to wait for the active participation of His people before He decisively acts.
3. (6-7) Joshua tells the priests and the people what to do.
Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.” And he said to the people, “Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the LORD.”
a. Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests: Joshua communicated this unusual plan to the priests of Israel. It wasn’t normal practice to carry the ark of the covenant in battle. Yet in some sense, this wasn’t a battle; it was a declaration of God’s authority over Jericho and the coming triumph.
i. Circling the city walls of Jericho over seven days as God commanded would speak to Israel: “Trust in God, even when it doesn’t seem to make sense. Put Him first, exalt Him, and trust that the LORD will do His work.” Spurgeon noted how this might have challenged the faith of Israel: “‘Why,’ the fool might have said, ‘you are doing nothing, you are not loosening a single stone,’ and at the end of the fifth or sixth day, I suppose it was suggested by many, ‘What is the good of it all?’”
ii. Circling the city walls of Jericho over seven days as God commanded would speak to the priests: “This isn’t a normal battle; here, the ark will be prominent, and you will carry it. You will need to trust the LORD, even as you did in the crossing of the Jordan River.”
iii. Circling the city walls of Jericho over seven days as God commanded would speak to Jericho: “Israel, the covenant people of Yahweh, are not afraid of you. They run circles around you, proclaiming the greatness of their God. Your judgment is coming soon.”
iv. Trapp noticed Joshua’s prompt response: “He yielded prompt and present obedience, ready and speedy, without shucking or hucking, without delays and consults; leaving us herein an excellent precedent.”
b. Take up the ark of the covenant: The ark would be prominent in this victory, even as it was in the crossing of the Jordan River. Israel had to keep their hearts and minds on the LORD who was present with them, instead of putting their hearts and minds on the difficulty of the task in front of them.
c. And he said to the people: Joshua had to tell the people because what they were asked to do was unusual. This wasn’t the customary way to conquer a walled, fortified city. There would not be a long, drawn-out siege of Jericho.
i. The people who marched around Jericho may have been only soldiers and priests (Joshua 6:9). There may have been other Israelites among the people who were to walk around the city, but since these were the same ones who later attacked and took the city, it is likely that that the majority were soldiers (Joshua 6:20).
3. (8-14) The march of the first six days.
So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” So he had the ark of the LORD circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp.
And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.
a. When Joshua had spoken to the people: Joshua did not hesitate to do what the LORD told him to do. Delayed obedience is often caused by lack of faith.
b. Advanced and blew the trumpets: God told Joshua to have the seven priests carry the trumpets made of ram’s horns (Joshua 6:4). Here we learn that they sounded the horns as the procession walked around the city.
c. So he had the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around it once: Jericho was not a large city; they could easily march around the walls of the city in a day. As the people of Jericho saw the Israelites silently marching around their city, they should have understood the judgment they dreaded (Joshua 2:9-11) would soon come upon them.
i. “Notice that the central feature of the procession was the Ark of the Covenant—it is mentioned eleven times in this chapter.” (Redpath)
ii. “We must not overlook the possibility that the march around the city was another expression of God’s grace giving the people one last opportunity to repent.” (Madvig)
d. So they did six days: It took courage for Israel to do this. The procession was vulnerable to attack from the city walls during those days. When their obedience to God made them seem vulnerable, Israel trusted God to protect them. This also took endurance. Israel did the same thing daily, for six days, with no immediate result.
i. During the six days, Israel was silent except for the sound of the trumpets. “I can well imagine that the silence of the army was often broken by the taunts of the people who watched behind the walls.” (Redpath)
e. So they did six days: Walking around Jericho, silent except for the sound of the trumpets, God gave Israel a close look at Jericho’s impressive walls. They saw how difficult it would be to conquer the city through direct attack or siege. This sense of helplessness increased their sense of dependence on God.
i. “They had the difficulty, I say, always before them, yet they kept on in simple faith, going round the city. Sometimes we get into the habit of shutting our eyes to difficulty; that will not do: faith is not a fool, faith does not shut her eyes to difficulty, and then run head — foremost against a brick wall — never. Faith sees the difficulty, surveys it all, and then she says, ‘By my God will I leap over a wall;’ and over the wall she goes.” (Spurgeon)
4. (15-16) The march of the seventh day.
But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city!
a. On the seventh day: God commanded that the processions around Jericho take place every day over seven days. This means that they marched around the city on a Sabbath, breaking normal Sabbath-keeping customs.
i. This is a reversing of God’s order at creation. When God created the earth and all that is in it (Genesis 1), He worked over six days, moving the universe from chaos to order and resting on the seventh day. At Jericho, God commanded His people to do their most strenuous work on the seventh day, as He completed His work of judgment.
b. Shout, for the LORD has given you the city! The command was given for the people to shout. After the days of silence, this was a recognition that God would now give Israel what He promised: conquest of the city.
i. The shout had a double meaning. It was a war cry or shout of alarm (Judges 7:20-21, 1 Samuel 17:52, Isaiah 42:13, 2 Chronicles 13:15), but it was also an exclamation of enthusiastic praise to God (Ezra 3:11-13, Psalm 95:1-2, 98:4-6, 100:1). “By raising such a shout, the people would at the same time have been sounding a war cry, which would frighten the inhabitants of Jericho, and also praising God for the victory he was giving them.” (Howard)
5. (17-19) The command to destroy the city and to save Rahab.
Now the city shall be doomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.”
a. Only Rahab the harlot shall live: Joshua was careful to protect Rahab according to the promise made to her (Joshua 2:12-14). God’s people would honor Rahab’s faith in the living God.
b. By all means abstain from the accursed things: Joshua had to command the people of Israel to stay away from the accursed things. This was a broad category that included the idols and things associated with the demonic and depraved worship of the people of Canaan.
i. The severe judgment that was brought against Jericho, and all of Canaan didn’t come because they were an obstacle or inconvenience for Israel. Judgment came because the Canaanites were a people in total rebellion against God and in league with the occult, as the artifacts recovered from this period demonstrate. God held back His judgment against the Canaanites a long time (Genesis 15:16), giving them time to repent. Because they did not repent, judgment came through the armies of Israel.
ii. The importance of this warning will be seen in the consequences of Achan’s sin in the following chapter. “This was a fair warning to that foul sinner Achan; but…covetousness is deadly, daring, and desperate.” (Trapp)
c. But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD: All the valuables belonged to God. Jericho was the first city to fall in Israel’s conquest of Canaan, and so the valuables of Jericho were set apart for the treasury of the LORD, being consecrated as a first-fruits offering.
i. “Metals are not destroyed by fire. They must be removed from common use by being placed in the treasury of the sanctuary where they would provide for the necessities of the sanctuary and the priests.” (Madvig)
B. The fall of Jericho.
1. (20-21) The walls come down and the city is destroyed.
So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
a. The people shouted with a great shout: This was the first time the voice of the people was heard over the seven days of circling Jericho. The ram’s horn trumpets had sounded every day, but the people were silent until this moment on the seventh day. It was a glorious shout of praise and victory from the people of God.
b. The wall fell down flat: This clear miracle (Hebrews 11:30) must have been shocking to all involved; a glorious wonder to the people of Israel and a terrifying event to the people of Jericho.
i. “There has been much learned labour spent to prove that the shouting of the people might be the natural cause that the wall fell down! To wait here, either to detail or refute any such arguments, would be lost time.” (Clarke)
c. They utterly destroyed all that was in the city: God commanded such complete destruction of Jericho because these were unique wars of judgment against the Canaanites. Deuteronomy 18:9-14 (among other passages) explains that the spiritual corruption of the Canaanites was significant.
i. Such judgment seems harsh to the modern reader because it is harsh. Modern readers must recognize, that at unique times, God has commanded such judgments. They may happen either through an army that He has used (as here), or through judgment that He directly brings, as in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-25).
ii. “Some have dared to speak of it as a hideous massacre; but being commanded of the great Judge, who has the power of life and death, it is to be solemnly regarded as a terrible execution for which there was a stern necessity.” (Spurgeon)
d. They took the city: Israel took after God had given (Joshua 6:2). It was clear that God gave, but it was also true that Israel had to take by obedient, persistent faith. The same principle is true regarding the blessings that believers have in Jesus Christ; God has given them in Christ, and believers take them by faith.
2. (22-25) The rescue of Rahab.
But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.” And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
a. Bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her: Rahab and her household were rescued. Rahab and her family coupled their faith in the God of Israel with a willingness to follow through on what God’s messengers told them to do: stay at the house with the scarlet cord hanging from the window (Joshua 2:17-19).
b. They burned the city and all that was in it with fire…. Joshua spared Rahab the harlot: This is a contrast between judgment and salvation. All Jericho heard about the God of Israel (Joshua 2:8-11), but only Rahab responded positively in faith towards God with that knowledge. The rest of the city was destroyed, with only certain treasures brought to the house of the LORD.
i. The rescue of Rahab and her family was not a contradiction to the command that everything in Jericho must be devoted to the LORD. “Those who ceased to be Canaanites and ‘devoted’ themselves to the God of Israel were already ‘devoted’. Therefore they escaped the terrible destruction of the ban.” (Hess)
ii. “Rahab and her family were put in ‘a place outside the camp’ as a kind of ritual quarantine. The camp of Israel was holy, and nothing unclean could be allowed to enter (cf. Leviticus 13:46; Numbers 5:3; 31:19; Deuteronomy 23:3, 14). After the passage of time and the observance of appropriate rituals, they were received into the congregation (see v.25).” (Madvig)
iii. Hebrews 11:31 notes Rahab’s faith and sets her in contrast to the unbelieving of Jericho and Canaan: By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
iv. Rahab demonstrated her faith in many ways.
· By believing the reports of what God had done for and through Israel.
· By declaring the truth about God.
· By seeing the greatness of the God of Israel and choosing Him over the gods of the Canaanites.
· By forsaking the gods and values of her culture.
· By receiving the Israelite spies with peace.
· By hiding the Israelite spies and refusing to turn them over to the Canaanites.
· By asking for the salvation of her family.
· By persuading her family to also trust the God of Israel.
· By marking her home as a place of faith as instructed.
· By leaving Jericho behind and becoming part of the people of God.
c. So she dwells in Israel to this day: This shows that the book of Joshua was written at the time of Joshua; this was not the fanciful re-construction of an imaginative writer working centuries after the fact.
i. “She is not distinguished from, but is part of, Israel. She has ceased to be a Canaanite or non-Israelite and has now become an Israelite…. The text stresses that Rahab rejected her past associations with the Canaanites and transferred her loyalty to Israel. By so doing, it demonstrates how Israel could receive others with kindness.” (Hess)
ii. “For the Christian, the story of Rahab is the story of the shepherd’s search for the one lost sheep (Matthew 18:12–14; Luke 15:4–7). It is the concern of Jesus for the despised of the world (Matthew 15:21–28; John 8:1–11). It is the transformation of values to which Christianity calls disciples. Those rejected by the world are precious to God (1 Corinthians 1:18–31; James 2:5).” (Hess)
3. (26-27) Joshua curses the man who would re-fortify Jericho.
Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.” So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.
a. Cursed be the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho: As the most formidable city of Canaan and the first city to fall under the judgment of God through Israel, there was a special curse set on the man who dared to build Jericho again.
i. Later, a man named Hiel built Jericho again. His firstborn son and his youngest son did not survive the building, in fulfillment of this curse (1 Kings 16:34).
ii. “The city was soon resettled (Joshua 18:21; Judges 3:13–14; 2 Samuel 10:5); but the curse was not fulfilled until the time of King Ahab, when Hiel, a resident of Bethel, rebuilt the wall around Jericho to make it a fortress once again (1 Kings 16:34).” (Madvig)
b. So the LORD was with Joshua: This completes the story of Israel’s victory at Jericho. There is much to learn from the things that marked their victory.
· Faith: Joshua and Israel believed the battle plan given by God, as unusual as it was.
· Obedience: Joshua and Israel followed God’s battle plan exactly.
· Courage: Israel followed God’s battle plan despite the danger it posed.
· Endurance: Israel followed God’s battle plan over a period, even when it seemed that nothing was happening.
· Trust: Israel did not rely on their own wisdom or familiar methods; their trust was in the LORD, not in human ingenuity.
c. His fame spread throughout all the country: Joshua’s leadership in the conquest of Jericho was a further warning to all the people of Canaan that the judgment of God was coming. They knew this and had the opportunity to be spared judgment by leaving the land or by forsaking their Canaanite gods and practices, coming under the God of Israel as Rahab did. They knew judgment was coming, but few prepared for it.
i. “The outcome of a leader’s first ‘campaign’ was considered important in the Ancient Near East…. The success of the first battle was considered essential in establishing leadership. Such a victory on the part of Joshua would secure him respect, not only among the Israelites (who already had ample evidence) but also among the Canaanites.” (Hess)
© 2024 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com