The Fall of Jericho
#8 in Series: "Learning from the Past, Preparing for the Future"
(A Study in the Book of Joshua)
In our study of the book of Joshua, we come to a climatic section in Israel's history!... For four decades, the nation of Israel have been living out of tents, picking up and moving every few days… They have now, miraculously crossed over the Jordan, into the Promised Land, and are now about to begin the process – under the Lord's direction – of … claiming that land!
Joshua chapter 6 records for us the details involved in the first battle. The first major challenge Israel was facing, was the small, but … fortified city of Jericho… But, just as we saw last time, Israel is not alone in what they are about to face! In fact, we see the Lord clearly directing their every step!
Remember, as we study this chapter, we need to focus not only on the narrative – the details explaining all that happened – we are to also glean from our study, the timeless principles that transcend the narrative – the principles that are timeless, and applicable to every generation of believers!
We are about to learn things about the Lord, and what He calls His children to, in every generation!... In short – what He calls us to, is a life, lived … by faith!
Let's jump right in … this chapter opens with –
1. Divine Instructions
Joshua 6:1-5
1 Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. 2 The Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors. 3 You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. 4 Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead."
This section can be quickly divided into four sections. The first is a simple description of the –
● The Situation
Joshua 6:1
Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in.
Space would not allow for me to reproduce a rendering of the city in your notes…
It is rather … eyeopening to realize that ancient Jericho was a rather … small city!... Jericho had two walls erected around it – and at best – the space located within those walls was … well under 10 acres!
Listen to Alan Carr's description of this small city –
Alan Carr – "Jericho is known as the oldest city in the world, in Joshua's day, it was surrounded by a system of two massive stone walls. The outer wall was 6 ft. thick and about 20 ft. high. The inner wall was about 12 ft. thick and was 30 ft. high. Between the walls was a guarded walkway about 15 ft. wide…"
The population of Jericho could not have been very large… The most generous estimate I've read, was that Jericho could not sustain a population of more than 3,000 people… We would probably call such a place a town, rather than a city – but ancient Jericho was known as a city…
Verse one tells us – "Jericho was tightly shut"... You might say; "they were shuttering in place"! They knew they were far out numbered by this nation of Israel located now, just outside their little city!
This was the situation facing Israel. Their first challenge, was this small, but well-fortified … little city!
What comes next is –
● The Promise
Joshua 6:2
The Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.
God promises victory! In fact, pay close attention to something with me… The Lord gives such a promise, that He states it … in the past tense! "I have [already] given Jericho into your hand"!
Oh – that we would always remember – the The Lord has no limitations with time! He sees the end from the beginning! His plans are sure! His decrees are irrevocable! He said Jericho belongs to Him – and He is giving it to Israel!... Let's press on, and notice what comes next, in God's instructions –
● The Strategy
Joshua 6:3-5a
3 You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. 4 Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout...
THAT, is a rather interesting, unexpected, and unusual … strategy!... God calls His people to follow … specific instructions!... He is being as precise as He was, when He told Noah how to build the Ark (Genesis 6:13-22)... He is as specific as He was in giving Moses the instructions for the Tabernacle (Exodus 25-27)... The point is – God often gave specific instructions!... Those instructions are to be carried out … explicitly!
All the men of war – about 40,000 (Joshua 4:13), were to march around the city – once daily for six days, with seven priest with horns, and the Ark of the Covenant – and then seven times on the seventh day with seven priests blowing ram's horns before the Ark – and then … shout!.
By the way – and interesting footnote about the horns… Bob Utley writes that "The rabbis stipulate that this must be the left horn of a male flat-tailed sheep. It was used to remind the synagogue of the lamb that God used to provide as a substitute for Isaac, Gen. 22:13. It was primarily not a musical instrument, but a loud blast for religious (cf. Exod. 19:13; Lev. 25:9), and at times, military purposes."
One other footnote… It is an interesting study, to realize the "biblical significance of the number seven"... Go to Gotquestions.org, and read the article by that name – The Biblical Significance of the Number Seven...
For our purposes today, we simply need to note God's strategies are specific – and purposeful … even when His people are not told … the why behind the what!...
Notice what the Lord says will happen! Let' see –
● The Result
Joshua 6:5b
… and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead."
The Lord tells them what will be the resulting outcome of their following His strategy! The walls will fall flat, allowing the army to capture the city.
What a promise!... What a strategy!... And think about this – the Lord could have accomplished this without any involvement of His people – but that is not how He normally operates!...
The Lord so orchestrates these events, that the overthrow of Jericho will depend on the … compliance of His people! If fact, let's proceed through the narrative and see what comes next.
It is –
2. Expected Obedience
"Obedience" is a strong word… There is an expected compliance on the part of the people!... The victory will not come simply by the involvement of leaders, or soldiers… This is the expectation God has for all His people!...
Let's break this section down as well. It begins with –
● Clear Commands
Joshua 6:6-9, 11
6 So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord." 7 Then he said to the people, "Go forward, and march around the city, and let the armed men go on before the ark of the Lord." 8 And it was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the Lord went forward and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. 9 The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while they continued to blow the trumpets…[skip verse :10 for just a moment…] 11 So he had the ark of the Lord taken around the city, circling it once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.
Again, the Lord's commands are given with specificity! There should be no doubt in anyone's mind as to what was expected!... And there is no doubt in anyone's mind that the Lord Himself goes before them, and will accomplish what He proclaims will happen!
The Lord has Joshua to give clear instructions… and notice – within these instructions, is the specific command for –
● Strict Silence
Now, let's go back to verse :10 –
Joshua 6:10
But Joshua commanded the people, saying, "You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, 'Shout!' Then you shall shout!"
The people are ordered not to shout or speak until commanded.
I am sure there is more here … more to this issue of silence … than we can fully understand and appreciate…
One commentator makes this observation –
Rod Mattoon – "According to this verse, God's people were to be totally silent till the seventh day when they would be commanded to shout. This would take discipline. It would not be easy to control their tongue. It never is. The principle of silence is taught all throughout Scripture. Learning to be silent at the right time and learning to speak up at the right time is the secret of the victorious Christian life. We spend so much time talking that we don't hear God when He speaks."
Next, we see the expectation for –
● Faithful Repetition
The procession circles the city once a day for six days.
Joshua 6:12-14
12 Now Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went before them and the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while they continued to blow the trumpets. 14 Thus the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did so for six days.
For six consecutive days, the Israelites complete one circuit around the city each morning and then return to their camp… And note this – the walls did not come down on the 1st day – not the 2nd – not the 6th!... God had a purpose for the persistent procedure of marching in silence, blowing the hours, each of the six days – with NO apparent results!
Do you know that God has a purpose for calling His children to … repetitive practice?... For one – which should be obvious reason – it is for the benefit of teaching His children … trust, obedience, and even patience… But, we need to know that God has His purposes for the consistent, faithful, obedience of His children that we don't even know about!... We can only speculate, but can you imagine what is going on … inside those walls?!... Each day – for six days – thousands of people, far outnumbering the residents of the city – are marching around that city … in silence with only an ensemble of seven horns making a sound… I can only imagine the … terror that is building inside those people – inside those walls…
What follows can only be explained as …
3. Divine Judgement
This is "D" day!...
This section can also be divided into four sections… First, we observe –
● The Sevenfold March
Joshua 6:15
Then on the seventh day they rose early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same manner seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times.
The army rises early and circles the city seven times… Why seven times?... The number seven is used 14 times in this chapter, so its repetition alone should cause us to think about the significance of it…
We really don't have to speculate about it. Seven is a number used many times throughout Scripture, and it denotes something special.
One commentator explains it better than I –
David Howard – "'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."
It is also interesting to note that the book of Revelation also uses the number seven many times… I understand that the Hebrew word "signifies fullness" (Trapp).
In our culture, we may have lost the significance of this number, but I'm certain the Israelites understood it well!
What comes next is –
● The Thunderous Shout
Joshua 6:16
At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For the Lord has given you the city.
On the final blast of the trumpets, Joshua gives the command to shout!...
I doubt that Neyland Stadium every sounded as loud as the shout heard that day!...
There is no need to speculate on how the vibration of such voices could have such an affect on those walls that day – because the answer to what really made those walls fall is one word; GOD!...
The Lord brings this victory! The Lord gets all the glory!... In fact, He is in the process of teaching Israel a great many lessons in these events… He is teaching them trust, obedience, justice, mercy, and I'm sure many other things… He is the Victor! He is the Hero!...
That is why the following instructions are carefully given… Let's look at –
● The Specific Limitation
Joshua 6:17-19
17 The city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the Lord; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. 18 But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things under the ban, so that you do not covet them and take some of the things under the ban, and make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it. 19 But all the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord."
This is really a parenthetical statement… Right in the middle of this great narrative about the battle of Jericho, the Holy Spirit has the writer to record these specific, and limiting … instructions!
Joshua declares that there is to be no taking of spoils in this battle! The city is "under a ban" – because "all that is in it belongs to the Lord"!
The city – all of it, except Rahab, her family, and home – is to be destroyed. All the precious metal is to be placed in the treasury, because it is the Lord's!... No one is to take anything for themselves!... Again, NO one is to take anything for themselves!... (Do you think everyone will obey this command?... You've already read the book… We'll soon see what happens.)
We finally come to see –
● The Miraculous Victory
Joshua 6:20-21
20 So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city. 21 They utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
There are those who read this passage, and …cringe. They want to argue that the God of the OT is somehow different from the God of the NT – as if God has somehow … changed.
Listen, God is God, and He does not changes! (Malachi 3:6)... He is also Holy, and Just! He will exercise justice upon all! (Deuteronomy 32:4, Isaiah 5:16, et al.)... The gospel is … He has provided a Substitute Who … absorbed God's just wrath on behalf of the many whom He would save!...
Israel takes the city, "devoting it to destruction as instructed"...
Again, the collapse of the walls was not merely because of the vibrations caused by the shouts of the thousands surrounding them… The collapse was due to … God's direct involvement! HE is exercising judgement!
Now… there is one other matter that we need to acknowledge, as to what is going on in this miraculous victory… It is a matter of what is going on inside of Israel – not just what is going on inside Jericho!... It is that this victory – this prosecution of divine judgement – was an exercise of … faith!
Write this passage down –
Hebrews 11:30
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
What is meant by this, is not that Israel "faithed" the walls to fall… They didn't "will it" so… What is meant by this statement, is that everything involved in this event is more of a vertical thing, than a horizontal thing!... God ordered it. God's people were involved in it – and it all happens for the purpose of faith! It demonstrated the reality that God is God. It was used to teach His people principles of faith. It was used to bring God's judgement against a woefully sinful people!... And, as we have seen from the beginning – it was also used to demonstrate God's grace and mercy, in the same space of His wrath and judgement…
So, we've seen; Divine Instructions, Expected Obedience, Divine Judgement… Next comes the –
4. Delivered Promise
This promise we're talking about, is the promise made back in chapter 2… And it is being fulfilled here… We witness the –
● Saving of Rahab
Joshua 6:22-23, 25
22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the harlot's house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her." 23 So the young men who were spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel.[skip verse :24 for a moment… and pick up with verse :25] 25 However, Rahab the harlot and her father's household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
Joshua orders the two spies, who were first sent over the river, to now go and rescue Rahab and her family from her house on the wall… In doing this, they are fulfilling the oath they made to her back in chapter 2… And Rahab, as is noted here, eventually assimilates into the nation of Israel.
So, what is in verse :24 that we skipped… It is –
● Purging of the Spoil
Joshua 6:24
They burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.
The city is burned, as a part of God's judgment – but all the silver, gold, and bronze are placed into the Lord's treasury… As we noted earlier, these "spoils of war" belong to the Lord!...
There is one more major division in our text… It is the –
5. Divine Curse
In the final two verses of our text, we read about two specific matters involving Joshua… Remember, he is God's chosen leader, and the Lord is using him to execute His plan in these days…
Let's first read –
● Joshua's Pronouncement
Joshua 6:26
Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, "Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and builds 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."
Joshua places a curse on anyone who rebuilds Jericho.
Joshua pronounces a curse on anyone who attempts to rebuild this city… Specifically, the builder would lose his firstborn child upon the building of the foundation, and then lose his youngest child once the gates are hung!
Question… Was this curse ever realized?... Let's turn to 1 Kings 16, and see…
Somewhere between 450, and 500 years after the destruction of Jericho, we read about a guy named Hiel –
1 Kings 16:34
In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
What is most interesting to me, is not the precision in the fulfillment of this prophecy – you can expect God to do what He says He will do – but what strikes me is the … irony…
The name Hiel means … "God lives"!... The spiritual climate in Hiel's day was grime! He lived during the reign of King Ahab, one of the most wicked kings in Israel's history… Despite the mere "cultural Judaism" that was being practiced in those days – the Lord … providentially has Hiel's parents give him a name that declares a truth about God that many want to deny!... God lives! And He exacted judgement upon Hiel for his willful defiance of the God of truth!...
The final matter we see in our text, is the spreading of –
● Joshua's Fame
Joshua 6:27
So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.
What a great commentary! The Lord is with Joshua!... That would be enough, but the record also reveals that Joshua's fame spread throughout "all the land"!
I want to conclude today, by sharing some thoughts with you that one commentator draws from our text. This is good, so jot this down, and reflect upon these points of application as you review this chapter –
David Guzik – "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."
Questions to Consider in Community Group:
- How does the unusual, seven-day march around Jericho illustrate the need for trusting God's methods over human logic?
- Why might God have chosen this specific, non-military approach to take the city, and what did it teach the Israelites about the source of their strength?
- The people were commanded to remain silent until the final shout (:10). What does this discipline teach about self control while waiting for God to act?
- What should we remember about Rahab in this narrative? In what ways does her rescue demonstrate God's mercy and faithfulness?
- How does the story challenge our desire for immediate results, given that the Israelites had to wait and march for seven days without visible progress?
- How does the story of Jericho, specifically the warning against taking things "under the ban" (:18), help us understand the importance of obedience and the consequences of sin?
- What are your thoughts about David Guzik's gleanings from this chapter?
