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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY JOSHUA The Conquering of Jericho Lesson # 21 BIBLE REFERENCE: (The book of Joshua) BOOK OF STUDY: Joshua (Chapters 6) Season of Study: Season of Bringing the Savior into the world HISTORY The book of Joshua belongs to the history section of the Old Testament. Joshua is embraced in the Season of Bringing the Messiah into the world. Joshua records the history of the Children of Israel from the death of the great leader and lawgiver Moses, to their entering the land of Canaan (the Promised Land) and until a great 1

portion of the land was possessed by them as a people. The Children of Israel, during Joshua s life, did not possess all the land promised them by God. Joshua, the minister to Moses, is credited with the authorship of this book bearing his name. The name Joshua is of Hebrew origin and means Jehovah is Salvation. Joshua is one of the two (2) men who departed Egypt with Moses and was blessed and honored to cross into the Promised land. The other was the man Caleb. All other men who departed from Egypt perished in the wilderness because of their disobedience. The ATS Bible dictionary says of Joshua, His last grand convocation of all Israel, at Shechem, and his solemn address to them and renewal of their covenant with God, form the worthy close of a life on which in the sacred records no blot rests. The book can be divided into three (3) sections: The defeat of the Canaanites, chapters 1 12; The Division of the land, chapters 13 21; and The Death of Joshua, chapters 22 24. INTRODUCTION The Children of Israel were divinely prepared for engaging the people of Jericho in battle. God had demonstrated His presence with them through the report of the two spies, drying up the river Jordan and allowing their crossing, and through the revelation of an angel to Joshua assuring Joshua that God was on their side. The exchange between the angel and Joshua is recorded in Joshua 5:13 15. And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? 15 And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so (Joshua 5: 13 15). 2

In this passage of scripture, God assures Joshua all that the Children of Israel had experienced was due to their obedience. Continued obedience of the people is shown in Joshua s removing his shoes at the command of the angel. And Joshua did so (Joshua 5: 13 15). This lone act of obedience coming from Joshua the leader of the Children of Israel seals the success of Israel and the defeat of Jericho. The chapter closes with that statement, and nothing more is said of the angel. THE PRINTED TEXT (Joshua 6) 6 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. 3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. 4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. 5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord. 7 And he said unto the people, pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord. 8 And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the Lord and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. 9 And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. 3

10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. 11 So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. 15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. 16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city. 17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. 18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. 19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. 20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. 21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. 22 But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. 23 And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred and left them without the camp of Israel. 4

24 And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. 25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. 26 And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. 27 So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country. EXPLORING THE PRINTED TEXT I. THEIR ORDERS (Joshua 6: 1 7). There was no guess work for Israel in knowing what they were to do to conquer Jericho. God the Almighty, laid out for the people their every move of the week in which they were to go up against Jericho, defeat her, and take possession of her treasures. God gave to Joshua the orders, and Joshua passed them on to the people. In the orders given to Joshua, the people needed no special training. The text says, And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. Their concern was not fighting but being faithful in what God ordered them to do. They had but only to walk in obedience around the wall of the city one time each of six days, and on the seventh day they were to circle the city seven times. The armed men were to lead the parade, followed by the priest bearing seven trumpets that were to be blown as the parade advanced around the wall, and the Ark of the Covenant after the priest. The people then were to join in the parade behind the Ark, which represented the presence of God leading them. They were instructed to be in complete silence, until the order would be issued by Joshua for every man and woman in the procession to shout-out. According to the 5

Lord, when the order was issued for them to shout, the walls of Jericho would fall. II. THEIR OBEDIENCE (Joshua 6: 8 11; 15 20). In the book of I Samuel he declares, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams (I Samuel 15:22b). The Children of Israel taking the city of Jericho is one of the few times in scripture where they were in complete obedience to God the Almighty. Joshua gave to them the orders from God. No where recorded are questions being asked nor of their being puzzled and confused by the simplicity of what was asked of them to do. There was only a concerted effort to carry out the orders of Jehovah. In this collective act of obedience, what the Almighty promised occurred. Upon their completing their march the seventh time around the city, on the seventh day, the wall of Jericho fell to the ground and the city of Jericho belonged to them. The text reads, So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. III. THEIR OBLITERATION (Joshua 6:20 21). Israel was given divine instructions to destroy the city of Jericho. They were to leave no one alive, nor were they to take personally any of the gold or treasures of the city. Jericho was to be obliterated. To obliterate means to, remove from existence; to destroy utterly all traces of, or significance. The text reads, And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. 6

They were not to personally take any of the treasure of the city, but all treasures were to be placed in the treasury of the Lord. The text says, all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. Many have wondered why Jericho was obliterated and feel as if this was cruel and unusual behavior by the people of God. There is only one justifiable reason for such complete destruction of the city, and that is that the Almighty God said so. To be in obedience to the command of God, Israel had to obliterate the city. It is better to Obey God than man! IV. THEIR OBEYING THEIR PROMISE (Joshua 6: 22 25) Israel had come to this precious victory on the back of a promise the spies made to Rahab the harlot. They said to Rahab, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. Therefore, we read, And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. Man s obligation to God is bound to his obligation to men. Our honoring God is closely associated with our honoring our fellowman. What Israel had promised to Rahab had to be honored if the nation was to be in complete obedience to their God. We hear Jesus, Our Lord and Savior say of the greatest of the commandments, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 7

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Matthew 22: 37 39.). Israel, in the taking of Jericho, is found to be in total obedience with what Jehovah God requires of man to God, and of man to man. LIFE APPLICATION *Former NBA star Bill Bradley served as a U. S. Senator from New Jersey for many years. In that position, he had to take some unpopular stands and his constituents were not always happy with him. One irate voter wrote him, "Bradley, I am coming over to you house and I'm going to kill your dog." Bradley noticed the fellow had actually put his return address on the envelope, so he wrote back, "I don't have a dog." A few days later, the UPS truck dropped off a big crate. Inside was a mutt and a note: "Bradley, don't get too attached to this dog." What are you attached to? WHAT WE KNOW ALREADY: PREMISE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH: 1. God Is 2. God Speaks 3. God Speaks Through That Which Has Already Been Spoken - We believe the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God. WORKING DEFINITION OF GOD: God is the Personal Spirit, who in Holy Love, Creates. Orders, and Sustains all. SEASONS TO SPIRITUAL PERFECTION God created the physical universe in six (6) days. God creates the perfect universe in six (6) seasons. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of the heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (Revelation 21:1-2). 1. Season of Beginnings - Genesis 1-3 8

2. Season of Boundaries and Borders - Genesis 4-11 3. Season of Bringing Christ or the Messiah into the World - Genesis 12 thru the Gospel of John. 4. Season of Broadcasting Christ to the World - Acts - Revelation 5. Season of Burdens and Tribulations - Revelation 6. Season of Birthing a New Creation - Revelation 9