Joshua 6, Jericho

Joshua has encountered the commander of YHWH's army and now it is time for the Israelites to move on Jericho.

Joshua 6: 1-5, March around the city

Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.

    

Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in."

Instructions are given for another dramatic demonstration of God's power.  Once again, the number seven is important.  The Israelites will march for six days around the city and then on the seventh day, the priests will blow trumpets, the people will shout and God will act.

Joshua 6: 6-11, Instructions given to the people

So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant of the LORD and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it." 

    

And he ordered the people, "Advance! March around the city, with the armed guard going ahead of the ark of the LORD."
    

When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the LORD went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the LORD's covenant followed them. The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding.

    

But Joshua had commanded the people, "Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!"

    

So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. Then the people returned to camp and spent the night there.

Joshua passes on the instructions to the people. Seven priests carry seven trumpets, with the ark following them. They circle the city once, then retire.

Emphasis is placed on the travel of the ark and, as in the last chapter, we are reminded that it is YHWH Who is really at work. The people are just following YHWH, the priests and the ark.

Joshua 6: 12-14, Marching

Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the LORD and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets kept sounding.

    

So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

The people and the ark travel around the city, day after day. Each day they do a full circle.  There are seven trumpets and they will march for seven days with seven priests.

Joshua 6: 15-19, Seventh day

On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 

    

The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD."

    

"Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury."
    

The climactic day has arrived. Once more the people march around the city. This time they circle it seven times, then shout and blow the trumpets.  

Final instructions are given. Rahab, and those in her house, are the only ones to be spared.

Joshua 6: 20-21, Victory and destruction

When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it--men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.

Victory is complete. As instructed, everything in the city is herem, that is, devoted to YHWH. (The NIV footnotes want us to be aware that this Hebrew word, herem, sometimes translated "devoted" means "giving over things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them." In some cases this seems to mean "destroyed" but in other cases it may mean "full submission".)

Joshua 6: 22-24, Rahab saved

Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the prostitute's house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her." 

    

So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.

Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD's house.

Joshua makes sure that Rahab is protected. Everything else is destroyed or moved into the treasury in LORD's house.  (Commentaries are unclear as to what this last line means -- this is the first mention of a treasury for YHWH and at this time the LORD's house is presumably the tabernacle. It is possible this phrasing reflects the language of a later date.)

Joshua 6: 25, Rahab saved

But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho--and she lives among the Israelites to this day.

    

We do not hear of Rahab again in the Old Testament, although the text of Joshua says she (or her descendants) reside in Israel at the time of this writing.  However this foreigner is mentioned in the New Testament, in the line of the Messiah (Matthew 1: 5), and as an example of faith (Hebrews 11: 31, and James 2: 25.)  Even in the book of Joshua we will see a dramatic difference between the faith of this Canaanite woman and that of a true Israelite in the very next chapter.

This theme will be repeated in Joshua and Judges: If the people of Israel are devoted to God, they will be successful in their conquest.  Their enemies will be destroyed, with even a foreign remnant joining Israel.  Here the remnant is explicitly described as Rahab and her family.

Joshua 6: 26, A curse on Jericho

At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: "Cursed before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: "At the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates."

    

Although people will continue to live in the ruins of Jericho off and on for centuries, no one tries to rebuild the city until the reign of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel during the divided kingdoms much later. The fulfillment of this curse is described in I Kings 16: 26.

Joshua 6: 27, YHWH with Joshua

So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.

The mantle of Moses has passed on to Joshua.  If YHWH is with Joshua, who can defeat him?

What happens if the people of Israel are not fully devoted to God?  That will be described in the next chapter, since, as it turns out, not everyone followed Joshua's instructions.