The battle of Jericho

Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the Israelites; no one came out and no one went in. The Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers. You shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once. Thus you shall do for six days, with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets. When they make a long blast with the ram's horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight ahead." So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark of the Lord." To the people he said, "Go forward and march around the city; have the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord."

As Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the Lord went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them. And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets; the rear guard came after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. To the people Joshua gave this command: "You shall not shout or let your voice be heard, nor shall you utter a word, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout." So the ark of the Lord went around the city, circling it once; and they came into the camp, and spent the night in the camp.

Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord passed on, blowing the trumpets continually. The armed men went before them, and the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets blew continually. On the second day they marched around the city once and then returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

On the seventh day they rose early, at dawn, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. The city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live because she hid the messengers we sent. As for you, keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it. But all silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are sacred to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord." So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat; so the people charged straight ahead into the city and captured it.

Joshua 6:1-21 (NRSV)

Grace and peace,

Ron

There are no winners behind walls

So the day came that Jericho falls. Has it ever struck you as odd that Joshua places a curse on a city in his own land (Joshua 6:26)? Why would you place a curse on the first piece of land which you took into possession? Either Hiel didn't know the story of the curse, or he didn't take the stories of his people very seriously, because he ignored the curse at a very high cost (I Kings 16.34).

There are several good reasons for Joshua's action. First, he was wise enough to know that there would be some who would think that this was an ideal spot and stop to rebuild and live. Long live the status quo! After all, most cities in the middle east are not built on new ground, but from the rubble of pre-existing cities. After 40 years in the wilderness, this place had to look good. But the people of Israel still had far too much territory to conquer to put down roots yet.

Or it could be that he was concerned that they would be tempted to rebuild the fortress and try to hide out in it when things got tough. But God has never been inclined to have a fortress mentality. Fortresses are what people trust in when they don't trust quite enough in God. His people are, when they behave as courageously as he would have them behave, marching at the gates of their enemies.

This is an important lesson for our kids to learn as leaders of the church. The church was never designed to have a fortress mentality, a defense of the status quo, with arrows for those who dare to march outside, but within bowshot. Instead, the church is intended to attack the very gates of hell, gate by gate.

Grace and Peace,

Ron