God's Destruction of Jericho
Notes
Transcript
In chapter 5, God told Joshua to circumcise all of the Hebrew men who were born in the wilderness
those who were in Egypt had been circumcised, but those born in the wilderness weren’t
So Joshua did it and they called the place Gilgal
9 And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.
Gilgal - “The Hebrew word behind the name Gilgal means ‘a wheel, rolling.’ The term occurs 13 times in the book of Joshua and 12 times in 1 Samuel.”
They were in the land, they are now circumcised, and thus are almost totally living like their ancestors before Egypt, they just needed to conquer the land now
10 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.
11 And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.
12 And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
We see that now that they’re able to eat from the land of milk and honey, they no longer need manna
God is now taking care of them with food from the land, and doesn’t have to give them manna
He is also getting them used to not having manna all the time
13 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, when he found out who was standing with His sword drawn, immediately fell down and worshipped Him, he gave reverence to him
This shows Joshua’s mindset and piety toward the Lord
He also asks what the Lord would have him to do
so you have the reverent attitude AND the will to action
“And as Joshua, the successor of Moses, was about to fight against the possessors of Israel, his enemies, foreign and most ungodly races, he rightly appears to him with a sword drawn and pointed against the enemy, showing by the vision that he himself is about to attack the ungodly with an unseen sword and with divine power, the fellow soldier and the fellow combatant of his people. Wherefore he gives himself the name of Captain of the hosts of the Lord to suit the occasion.”
Holy ground - space that was considered holy due to the presence of God
we see this moment, the burning bush, the tabernacle, and the temple all seen as holy ground by the Israelite
1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
We saw during the Rahab episode that the people of Jericho were already fearing the Israelites, and we also know that they were camping in the plain right near Jericho even at this point, so they were very close to the city
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.
This is a crucial verse in the story because we see that GOD is the one who is responsible for them conquering the city, not them and their greatness.
We should remember to do this in our lives, because ultimately, God is the one who is in charge
We should do our best to trust in and be happy with His will, many times God has plans we can’t even comprehend, and we know that we can trust in Him
We see God take care of and keep promises to many Bible characters. Noah and the flood, Abraham and his seed, Moses, Joshua, promises to David and so on
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Jesus telling us to take one day at a time, and that God will take care of us and work things out for us, we just have to seek Him and His righteousness
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.
God told Joshua the plan, one time for 6 days on the 7th day 7 times
they would have to trust in God and God’s plan over this 7 day period instead of just attacking, which was probably intense for them, they risk their lives in battle
“The seven days of marching around Jericho are identical to the seven days of Feast of Unleavened Bread. They thus continue to invest this annual event with new significance.”
the rams horn was the most common instrument used by the Israelites in this time period, although they had others like timbrels, which were used after they crossed the Red Sea
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.
They took the ark with them, symbolizing the covenant they had with God, and God’s presence with them
“rereward” in this case means “rear guard” essentially
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.
This would would be kind of odd to see for the people of Jericho, a whole army silently marching around their city for 6 days
however, this would make it all the more intimidating when horns blew and they let out their battle cry on the 7th day and the walls fell
God surely comes up with better plans than we people can
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.
12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.
13 And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the Lord, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.
We see them honoring the Lord’s command
there are many examples in the Bible of what happens to people who keep the Lord’s commands, and what happens to those who don’t
and we know that God always sees us, and knows out heart, and knows our thoughts, and we will have to give an account for every idle word one day
we see just a simple example, God says it, they do it. We see Joshua up to this point has been very obedient and reverent, we should take his example and apply it to our lives
14 And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days.
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.
We see in this verse that Rahab was not forgotten and would be saved
“Verses 16-27 contains 86 words devoted to the salvation of Rahab and her family and 102 devoted to the destruction of Jericho. Thus the book of Joshua regarded Rahab’s deliverance almost as important as Jericho’s destruction.”
How great is God’s love toward humanity! He that says “You shall not commit adultery” and that you should not commit prostitution changes her life and proclaims through Joshua “Rahab the harlot shall live.” Joshua the son of Nun, who is a type of Christ, who says “The publicans and the harlots go into the Kingdom of God before you.” She reaped the fruits of salvation not by speech alone by her faith before God.
the city would also be accursed, and if anyone were to keep anything, they would trouble the camp, and make it accursed as well.
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.
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.
We see in this verse that the Israelites are to set aside ALL of the silver, gold, brass, and iron for the Lord and His service
This is similar to the “firstfruits” of Israels harvest and animal sacrifices, they sat aside the best of what they had to sacrifice to the Lord
This is an indicator of where one’s priorities are, are we going to give to God? or are we going to keep our things and worldly possessions
The thing is, not giving to the Lord is shortsighted. Our life on earth is short, it’s like a puff of smoke in the grand scheme of things. Jesus said to store up our treasures in heaven.
Not only does this store up treasures in heaven, but more importantly, it’s about our priorities in life, Paul even encourages us to give happily
we should be glad to give, because it helps further God’s purposes in the world, and this is what we should be focused on
is it about our life and our happiness, or God’s plan and what God wants to do, as Christians, we are supposed to surrender all to follow Christ, as Jesus says, we cannot serve two masters
Verse 20 tells us that God kept His promise, as He always does, and the walls fell, and they went into the city and took it
bleeding edge research is showing evidence for the mud brick walls of Jericho being destroyed at the exact time that Joshua would have been going through there, with the city of Hazor being destroyed not long later, which there is also great evidence for
there is what’s called a “destruction layer” at the old site of Jericho, when you do archeology, you dig down into the site and you find layers, because in those days when a site got destroyed, it was often rebuilt on top of the old ruins and site, so you get layers
these are often denoted by ash, and the city was burnt in verse 24
there is a destruction layer that fits right at the time with Joshua which had these mud brick walls, which people used to live inside of
the sword they used was called a “khopesh” and was a common egyptian-style sword
We see that the “utterly destroyed” all in the city, man and woman, young and old, even down to the animals
sometimes you hear people object to God and Christianity, saying “God was so mean in the OT, look what he commanded during the conquest”
the reason that this happened was because this was a judgement upon the people of Jericho, and later on the rest of the holy land, we have to remember they were pagans and had all heard about the great things God had done for the Israelites but kept worshipping their own Gods
For instance, Rahab said that she knew that God had given them the land, nobody else seemed to think this way
If we remember, we see that Rahab and the spies had made an oath to one another. That Rahab not tell anyone about the spies, and that the spies would come back to get her.
We see that this promise is kept, because they made the promise before God, knowing that God hears every idle word, and so that they shouldn’t be liars
Joshua makes sure, as an honorable man would, that they saved Rahab and her whole family.
They even saved all her possessions, and took her back to the camp
We also see that it says that she lived in Israel to the very day that the book of Joshua was written
you will hear some people try to discount things that happened in the Bible, trying to say they didn’t happen or are unreliable
something people say about the book of Joshua is that it’s unreliable because it was written during the Babylonian exile
This is not a very good theory for a few reasons, a couple of which are verses like the one about Rahab living with them to that very day, and the fact that there are a lot of egyptian loanwords in the pentateuch and Joshua, meaning there are some words that are influenced by or borrowed from the Egyptian language
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.
We see Joshua saying the curse upon Jericho, which we will get back to later on in the book
Also seen is how the Lord was with Joshua and he became famous throughout the reason, they were already famous before, but now they were even more famous, and people likely feared him greatly after the Jericho incident
Some takeaways from this story is how God is the one who conquered in that situation, and now, Christ has conquered the world for us and we can through Him
they put God first in their mind, giving all the “loot” to God’s treasury
they had simple obedience, a single-minded and pure faith
God kept His promises, and those who believed in Him prevailed
The Israelites and Rahab both kept their own promises, and honored their word