Joshua 6:1-27
1 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,a 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 rerewardb came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.
10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noisec 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.
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.
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,d 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,e 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 consecratedf 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,g 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,h 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.
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.
When God Brought Down the Walls
When Joshua met the captain of the host of the Lord in chapter 5, he asked him, "What does my Lord say to his servant?" He first told Joshua to take off his shoes, which was a way of requiring reverence from him. Before anyone can serve the Lord in an acceptable way, he must exhibit respect. Nadab and Abihu failed to follow the Lord's command in reference to offering incense to the Lord. After they were consumed with fire, God had Moses tell Aaron, "By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified" (Leviticus 10:1-3).
Joshua followed the Lord's direction and took off his shoes. We next learn that Jericho had been shut up like a city under siege, with no one going in or out. In 6:2-5, there is a record of the Lord's instructions to Joshua in answer to the question he had asked. Joshua had addressed his question to the captain of the host of the Lord and receives an answer from the Lord, or Jehovah, indicating they are one in the same. God promises victory to Joshua and the children of Israel and then proceeds to tell them how to take the city. The trumpets that were to be blown by the seven priests were the same trumpets that were to be blown for the jubilee (Leviticus 25:9).
Joshua sent an armed force of men first followed by the seven priests with trumpets and the ark of the covenant to circle the city once each day for six days. On the seventh day, they were to encircle the city seven times followed by the priests blowing on the horns. When the people heard the horns blow, they were to shout and God said the walls would fall down flat. Then, each man was to go straight up before him into the city to conquer its inhabitants. Obviously, the plan outlined by the Lord is not consistent with the way men would conquer a city.
Leslie G. Thomas said, "God has seen fit in every age of the world to justify men on the principle of faith, and he has always selected such acts of obedience as would adequately test the faith of those who desired his blessings." He went on to say, "The principle has always marked the difference between those who are pleasing to the Lord, and those who are not acceptable to him. (Cf. Genesis 3:1-6; Mark 16:15-16; Galatians 1:6-9.)"
Because he was a man of faith, Joshua passed the Lord's commands on to the people and they began to circle the city each day as directed. Joshua 6:8 describes the priests going before the Lord because the ark of the covenant was where the Lord's glory appeared before the people and was therefore symbolic of his presence among them. In verse 9, we learn there was an armed force after the ark as well as before it and the trumpets were blown each day as they marched. The rest of those marching were to remain quiet until the day the Lord told them to shout. That happened on the seventh day after they had circled the city seven times and the trumpets had been blown.
Prior to the last day's march, God had told the people that the city would be accursed, or devoted as is in the margin of the King James Version. The meaning is that it was to be counted as a holy thing not to be touched by men because it belonged to God. Such was appropriate since he was the one who gave the city into their hands.
No devoted thing was to be touched by men but put to death because it belonged to the Lord (Leviticus 27:28-29). Rahab and her household were excepted from this because she had hidden the spies. Also, the Lord directed that things made out of metal should be taken into his treasury.
After they had compassed the walls of the city on the seventh day, the priests blew their horns and the people gave a shout. The walls fell down flat and the people climbed over them to destroy all that was in the city. The two spies, as directed by Joshua, went in and led Rahab and her family out to safety then all living things were destroyed with the sword and the city was burned. Since Jericho was the firstfruits of conquest, it was to be left unfortified for the remainder of its days. The man who laid again a foundation for the walls would lose his firstborn. His last born would die when the gates were set in the walls. This prophecy was fulfilled some five hundred fifty years later (1 Kings 16:34).