Remember to obey God’s commands and give Him the glory (Josh. 6:17–27)

I. Devote the entire city to God (Josh. 6:17–19).

17 Now the city shall be doomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. 18 And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. 19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.”

A. Everything was dedicated to the Lord.

The people, the houses, the animals, and all the spoils of war—and He could do with it whatever He pleased. In this first victory in Canaan, Jericho was presented to God as “the firstfruits” of the victories to come.

Ordinarily the soldiers shared the spoils of war (Deut. 20:14), but not at Jericho; for everything there belonged to the Lord and was put into His treasury (Deut. 13:16; 1 Kings 7:51). It was this command that Achan disobeyed, and his disobedience later brought Israel defeat and disgrace and brought Achan and his family death.

B. Rahab’s house didn’t fall down!

Remember that Rahab’s house was on the wall, so when the walls of the city fell down, it appears that the section of the wall that held Rahab’s house (2:15) didn’t fall down! It wasn’t necessary for the spies to look for a window with a red cord hanging from it , because the only house that was preserved was the house in which Rahab and her family waited.

When the spies made their covenant with Rahab, they didn’t know exactly how God would give them the city.

II. Destroy the people (Josh. 6:20-21).

20 So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then 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, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

A. Isn’t our God a God of mercy?

It disturbs some people that God commanded every living thing in Jericho to be killed. After all, it’s one thing for the Jews to kill the enemy soldiers; but why kill women, children, and even animals?

To begin with, this commandment was not a new one. The Lord had given it to Moses years before. In the “divine law of war” found in Deuteronomy 20, the Lord made a distinction between attacking cities that were far off (vv. 10–15) and cities in the land of Canaan where Israel would dwell (vv. 16–18). Before besieging a city afar off, the Jews were to give that city an offer of peace; and if the city surrendered, the Jews would spare the people and make them subjects. But the people in the cities in the land of Canaan were to be destroyed completely, and their cities burned.

B. Why?

The civilization in Canaan was unspeakably wicked; and God didn’t want His holy people contaminated by their neighbors (7:1–11). We must never forget that God put Israel in the world to be the channel for His blessing (Gen. 12:1–3), which involves, among other things, the writing of the Scriptures and the coming of the Savior.

The people in the land had been given plenty of opportunity to repent and turn to the Lord, just as Rahab and her family had done. God patiently endured the evil of the Canaanites from the time of Abraham to the time of Moses, a period of over 400 years. From the Exodus to the crossing of the Jordan was another 40 years in Israel’s history.

C. The Canaanites knew what was going on!

Every wonder that God performed and every victory that God gave His people was a witness to the people of the land, but they preferred to go on in their sins and reject the mercy of God. Never think of the Canaanites as helpless ignorant people who knew nothing about the true God. They were willfully sinning against a flood of light.

We should also keep in mind that these historical events were written “for our learning” (Rom. 15:4) as we seek to live for Christ today. In the destruction of Jericho and its population God is telling us that He will tolerate no compromise with sin in the lives of His people.

III. Rescue Rahab and her family and burn the city (Josh. 6:22- 27).

22 But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.” 23 And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. 24 But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. 25 And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. 26 Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.” 27 So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.

A. God saved and protected Rahab because of her faith.

She led her family to trust in Jehovah, they were also saved. These Gentile believers were rescued from a fiery judgment because they trusted the God of Israel

They were “afar off” as far as the covenants were concerned, but their faith brought them into the nation of Israel; for Rahab married Salmon and became an ancestress of King David and of the Messiah!

B. Rahab and her relatives were put “outside the camp”

They were unclean Gentiles, and “outside the camp” was the place designated for the unclean. The men in the family would have to be circumcised in order to become “sons of the covenant,” and all of the family would have to submit to the Law of Moses. What grace that God spared Rahab and her loved ones, and what abundant grace that He chose her, an outcast Gentile, to be an ancestress of the Savior!

Like Jericho of old, our present world is under the judgment of God; and His judgment will eventually fall. No matter what “walls” and “gates” this present evil world will try to hide behind, God’s wrath will eventually meet them. God has given this lost world plenty of evidence so that sinners can believe and be saved. The tragedy is, lost sinners willingly reject the evidence and continue in their sins.