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.
Joshua 6:4. Seven trumpets of rams' horns. Josephus uses this term, “rams' horns:” but in most versions it is holy trumpets, or trumpets used in the Jubilee, as seems to be implied by the Hebrew word Jobel.
Joshua 6:10. Ye shall not shout. Men are apt to shout in war, and animals raise their cries when they fight.
Joshua 6:21. They utterly destroyed young and old. Moses commanded them in future wars to spare the women and the little ones, when storming a city. Deuteronomy 20:14. But the Lord, the arbiter of life and death, had commanded these to be destroyed, and all the Canaanites to be utterly driven out. What can we say, when the last hour of vengeance is come? “Happy shall he be,” oh bloody Babylon, “that dasheth thy children against the wall.” Psalms 137:9. Oh when shall crimes and wars subside!
Joshua 6:26. Cursed be the man that buildeth Jericho. During the wicked reign of Ahab, Hiel the Bethelite, presumptuously built this city. No sooner had he laid the foundation, than Abiram his firstborn died; and no sooner had he begun to set up the gates, than Segub his youngest son gave up the ghost. It was awful to Hiel, as well as to Achan, to meddle with the accursed thing. See on Genesis 9:25. God has often punished crimes against the church by the privation of children. Two hundred years have now elapsed since any king of France was succeeded by a son! Heaven will not forgive the massacre of the protestants.
REFLECTIONS.
Since the fall of man sin has always been pursued with a curse. In the mysterious economy of providence, death is the ultimate consequence of crime. Jericho, hardened in impiety and wickedness to the last degree, was now made a fearful example of God's miraculous and avenging power. They and their neighbours might long deride the laws and power of the Most High; but the dark cloud which rose in Egypt, and hovered forty years in the desert, burst at last in vengeance on their heads.
How was this done? What was the fearful expectation of the wicked? They expected to see a ditch dug around their walls, and lofty engines brought against their towers, and followed by all the horrors of a tremendous siege. Yet they saw nothing but a vast army silently walking round the city, somewhat awkward and irregular in their march. They heard nothing except the harmless sound of shepherds' horns. Emboldened by the singular sight for six days, they began, it is presumed, to mock at the Hebrew mode of conducting a siege. Who can count the curses they uttered against the Hebrews, and against their God. Ah, so do riches, voluptuous habits and infidel principles lull to sleep a wicked age, till they deride all the slow but sure approaches of death.
By the sounding of the rams' horns we learn farther, that God is often pleased to inflict his judgments and to scatter his blessings by means contemptible in the eyes of men. The apostles had the gospel treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power might be of God. How often is a plain, simple servant of God blessed in his prayers and ministry, while the learned and the eloquent produce no effects with their word. The more a man lives and walks in the Spirit, the more will God speak in him and by him. While a worm endeavours to abase himself in the eyes of God, he is magnified by the same God in the eyes of the people.
On the seventh day, when the faith of the Israelites had been fully tried, and when a space had been granted to the citizens if any of them improved it, to seek mercy for their souls at least, the priests blew with the trumpets, and the people gave a shout, and the walls of the city were thrown prostrate on the ground. Then Israel entered at every point, slaying the whole multitude, who by reason of guilt and fear were unable to make resistance. Does human nature account this severe? At another day it might have been cruelty: but now the glory of justice must be equal to the glory of mercy. Human pity is mere weakness in the last hour of God's tremendous judgments: and while they are approaching, the sinful world continue to deride the sound of the rams' horns. Let them deride: the time is short: the ministers of vengeance shall raise a shout against the enemies of righteousness, and in one sad day, like the fall of Jericho, the reward of their own works shall descend upon them.
Amid the dreadful carnage the house of Rahab, in which were gathered all her kindred, was secured by the sign of the scarlet thread, and by the presence of the two Israelites. So in all the days of visitation the Lord knoweth them that are his, having his mark in their foreheads; and the angels of his presence, faithful to their duty, as the spies to their promise, shall surround their persons and defend them from danger. Oh Lord, make us in those evil times thy covenant people, and cover us with the shadow of thy wings.