6:1The city of Jericho, built thousands of years before Joshua was born, was one of the oldest cities in the world. In some places it had fortified walls up to 25 feet high and 20 feet thick. Soldiers standing guard on top of the walls could see for miles. Jericho was a symbol of military power and strength—the Canaanites considered it invincible.
Life Application Study BibleJoshuaChapter 6
Joshua 6
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 322, 323
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
6Joshua 6
1Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. 3You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. 4Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying aram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. 5When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.” 6So Joshua called together the priests and said, “Take up the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant, and assign seven priests to walk in front of it, each carrying a ram’s horn.” 7Then he gave orders to the people: “March around the town, and the armed men will lead the way in front of the Ark of the LORD.” 8After Joshua spoke to the people, the seven priests with the rams’ horns started marching in the presence of the LORD, blowing the horns as they marched. And the Ark of the Lorv’s Covenant followed behind them. 9Some of the armed men marched in front of the priests with the horns and some behind the Ark, with the priests continually blowing the horns. 10“Do not shout; do not even talk,” Joshua commanded. 11Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout. Then shout!” So the Ark of the LORD was carried around the town once that day, and then everyone returned to spend the night in the camp. 12Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests again carried the Ark of the LORD. 13The seven priests with the rams’ horns marched in front of the Ark of the LORD, blowing their horns. Again the armed men marched both in front of the priests with the horns and behind the Ark of the LORD. All this time the priests were blowing their horns. 14On the second day they again marched around the town once and returned to the camp. They followed this pattern for six days. 15On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. 16The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the town! 17Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed* as an offering to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies. 18“Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. 19Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the LORD and must be brought into his treasury.” 20When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. 21They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys. 22Meanwhile, Joshua said to the two spies, “Keep your promise. Go to the prostitute’s house and bring her out, along with all her family.” _ 23The men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all the other relatives who were with her. They moved her whole family to a safe place near the camp of Israel. 24Then the Israelites burned the town and everything in it. Only the things made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron were kept for the treasury of the LORD’s house. 2°So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day.
26At that time Joshua invoked this curse:“May the curse of thé LORD fall on anyonewho tries to rebuild the town of Jericho.At the cost of his firstborn son,he will lay its foundation.At the cost of his youngest son,he will set up its gates.”
27So the LORD was with Joshua, and his reputation spread throughout the land.
Textual footnotes
- by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; similarly in 6:18, 21.
- 6:17 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the LORD, either
Life Application Notes 4 notes
6:3-5Why did God give Joshua all these complicated instructions for the battie? Several answers are possible: (1} God was making it undeniably clear that the battle would depend upon him, and not upon Israel’s weapons and expertise. This is why priests carrying the Ark, not soldiers, led the Israelites into battle. (2) God’s method of taking the city accentuated the terror already felt in Jericho (2:9). (3) This strange military maneuver was a test of the Israelites’ faith and their willingness to follow God completely. The blowing of the horns had a special significance. They had been instructed to blow the same horns used in the religious festivals in their battles to remind them that their victory would come from the LORD, not their own military might (Numbers 10:9).
6:21Why did God demand that the Israelites destroy almost everyone and everything in Jericho? He was carrying out severe judgment against the wickedness of the Canaanites. This judgment, or ban, usually required that everything be destroyed (Deuteronomy 12:2, 3; 13:12-18). Because of their evil practices and intense idolatry, the Canaanites were a stronghold of rebellion against God.
6:26This curse was fulfilled in 1 Kings 16:34 when a man, Hiel, rebuilt Jericho and consequently lost his oldest and youngest sons.
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This threat to the right kind of living that God required had to be removed. If not, it would affect all Israel like a cancerous growth (as it did in the sad story told in the book of Judges). A few people and some items in Jericho were not destroyed, but these were special cases. Rahab and her household were saved because she had faith in God and because she helped the Israelite spies. The silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron were kept, not to enrich the people, but to beautify the Tabernacle and its services (6:24). God’s purpose in all this was to keep the people’s faith and religion uncontaminated. He did not want the plunder to remind Israel of Canaanite practices. God also wants us to be pure. He wants us to clean up our behavior when we begin a new life with him. We must not let the desire for personal gain distract us from our spiritual purpose. We must also reject any objects that are reminders of a life of rebellion against God. (For more information on how Israel handled its plunder, see the note on Numbers 31:25-30.)