Joshua 6

Joshua 6:1

6:1-21 The conquest of Canaan was accomplished by three military campaigns central, southern, and northern. The central campaign, designed to divide and conquer, consisted of two major engagements, one at Jericho and the other at Ai. Jericho was a fortified city, but her walls and gates served only to keep her inhabitants inside for judgment; they certainly didn’t keep Israel out. It was a low city topographically (over 800 feet below sea level) and morally. It was a doomed city because it stood on God’s land and its rightful tenants had come to claim their property. Many things in our lives loom out as Jerichos, impeding our progress in possessing our possessions. Perhaps we’ve been discouraged with the sheer immensity of our trials. If we will only claim the victory the Lord gives and move ahead in faith, with eyes fixed upon God for success, we too will see miracles. Fear of the Jews had caused Jericho to be barricaded before the invaders arrived. For six days the Israelites marched around the city, once each day, returning at night to Gilgal. On the seventh day . . . they marched around it seven times. When the priests blew the rams’ horns (trumpets), the Israelites let out a great shout. The walls fell down flat, and the people of God were able to enter the city. Some Bible students think that the walls descended into the ground like an elevator, allowing the Israelites to walk across the top of the walls into the city. However it happened, it resulted from the faith of God’s people (Heb_11:30). Notice that the ark is mentioned seven times between verses 6 and 12. Everything in the city was “accursed"that is, doomed by the LORD to destruction as the firstfruits of Canaan. The inhabitants (except for Rahab and her family) and the livestock were to be destroyed, but the silver, gold, bronze, and iron were to be put into the treasury of the LORD. No one could take anything for himself. When one realizes the moral perversity of the Canaanites, it is easy to see why God ordered the complete destruction of life within Jericho. Rather than criticize the Lord for administering deserved judgment to the wicked, we should marvel at His grace which preserved Rahab and her family from the same. 6:22-27 The faith that brought the walls down (Heb_11:30) also brought . . . Rahab and her relatives out (Heb_11:31). The grace of God not only made provision for her safety but also elevated her to a place in the ancestry of David and ultimately of the Lord Jesus Christ (Mat_1:5-6). Grace not only saves us from destruction but also guarantees our exaltation (Rom_8:29-30). Faith is the hand that takes hold of grace. After Rahab and her family were escorted out safely, the city was burned. Joshua pronounced a curse on anyone who sought to rebuild Jericho as a fortress, prophesying that the man’s oldest son would die when the foundation was laid and his youngest son would die when its gates were erected. See 1Ki_16:34 for the fulfillment of this curse.