Joshua 6

Joshua 6:1-27

THE FALL OF JERICHOJos_6:1-27.THE Fall of Jericho is one of the interesting and exciting records of Old Testament history. It involves at once the miraculous, and upon its face, the absurd. In consequence, it has for millenniums been a conundrum for believers, and the basis of a scoff for skeptics; and yet, here, as elsewhere, history confirms Scripture. That Jericho once existed cannot be successfully disputed. It occupied a large place in Old Testament history. There are more than fifty-nine references to it in the Books of the Bible.

It is spoken of seven times in Numbers, three times in Deuteronomy, twenty-seven times in Joshua, once in II Samuel, once in I Kings, six times in II Kings, twice in I Corinthians, once in II Corinthians, once in Ezra, twice in Nehemiah, twice in Jeremiah, once in Matthew, once in Mark, three times in Luke, and in Hebrews. The Book of Maccabees also refers to it, and Josephus describes it, and the fertile plain about it, in glowing terms.

In spite of the curse pronounced against it, it was rebuilt, and was prominent in the day of Jesus, as the parable of the man wounded on the way to Jericho would indicate; and even present ruins testify to the exact location.We are not dealing, then, with a myth, but with an incident full of interest. It reveals The Wonder of God’s Ways, The Wisdom of Joshua’s Word, and The Salvation of the Harlot’s House.THE WONDER OF GOD’S WAYS“Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the Children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.“And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour” (Joshua 6:1-2).God’s promise is as completed history. The conquest was only in prospect, but the language is in the past tense. “I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour”. His decision is history! When He speaks it is done even though it may yet remain to be accomplished.The making of history is with God. His mind and hand determine the same.

He who knows the end from the beginning can speak positively of any point lying between. Therein is the profit in prophetic study.

Men may scoff and despise unfulfilled Scriptures, but tomorrow will turn their laughter into alarm, and their skepticism into awe.His methods seem absurd to men.“Ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.“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” (Joshua 6:3-4).When ever did a city surrender without the drawing of a sword, or firing a gun, or even hurling a missile? When did walls crumble without the use of battering rams? Well, while these questions seem intelligent, the uniformity of events, of which we hear so much, does not confirm their sanity.In the late war, Jerusalem fell without the use of a sword or the shot of a gun. Its gates opened and a man of God led his conquering army in with bared head, and in the Name of Jehovah took possession without the shedding of a drop of blood. After all, is the Jericho incident so absurd? and, after all, is the Jericho event so unscientific?

Isn’t it a fact that Christians have commonly triumphed by other than natural or rational means? Isn’t it true that“God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;“And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:“That no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)?The present debacle in Protestantism is due absolutely to the circumstance that an apostate church has rested its entire hopes for conquest upon natural and worldly means.

We have purposed, by the battering ram of education, to tear down Chinese walls and walk in as conquerors; and lo, our battering ram has been turned against us and Russian leadership has invaded with another philosophy of life, anti-religious in character, but more in accord with the desires of natural men, and our mission to China is beginning to appear the utterly mistaken thing that it is. We have trusted to something else than the supernatural to conquer and we are facing defeat. After all, man’s wisdom is not always wise.God’s plans and commands are clear.“And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.“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.“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” (Joshua 6:3-5).As usual with God, these commands are associated with the covenant. No man lives in intimate communion with the Heavenly Father and finds extreme difficulty to understand Him. No vocabulary known to the mortal tongue could make more clear a will and a way than God made both clear to His servant Joshua.

This is a characteristic of the Divine custom. Men are not in darkness because God has not spoken, nor yet because His speech is abstruse and difficult to understand.

Men are in darkness because, having ears they hear not. And men’s programs fail because they have not conformed to the Divine plan; and expected victories come not, because they have not trusted absolutely to the Divine Word.So much for The Wonder of God’s Ways. Let us turn, now, toTHE WISDOM OF JOSHUA’S WORDS“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.“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” (Joshua 6:6-7).Joshua interposed no personal opinion. He is not doing here what his best judgment indicated. How many men tell us that they follow their own best judgments! That may be better than taking the opinions of other people, but it is a poor substitute for Divine commands.

Jonah exercised his own opinion when he bought a ticket and set sail westward. He thereby thought to set aside a very plain command.

We know the consequence. Pride of intellect closes the path into the Divine presence. Pride of intellect seeks to set revelation aside and names its mistaken meanderings rationalism. “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance (or with the lifting of his nose) will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts” (Psalms 10:4).Paul was an accomplished man, but after his regeneration he never put confidence in his culture, nor sought to correct revelation by his reason. It is very interesting to hear him defend what he has to say by reminding his readers of its source. “I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received”. That is exactly what Joshua did. That’s the sole function of any minister.

We are not to proclaim our opinions. We are to emphasize the Divine mind and present the Divine plan and demand obedience to the same.Joshua silenced the speech of even orators,“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? (Joshua 6:10).There has been more trouble in the camp of the saints because orators could not be kept silent than from any other source.

The man who can speak, and knows it, wants to speak. He is anxious to deliver his opinion. Had he been privileged on this occasion, he would have broken up the program on the first day. He could have proven that the whole procedure was absurd by saying that “solid walls did not crumble with silent circling, and that they were walking around at the risk of life itself; long before the seven days were up, they would be discovered as weaklings and destroyed to the last man by stones hurled by the hands of Jericho men.”There are men who get into the army of the Lord by some sort of registration, or church membership, that are orators. They must be heard on all occasions, and they are often dangerous men. They have the power to divide, to excite discontent, and to start rebellion.

There are more churches in America split in twain today by glib spokesmen than by all other sources combined. They shout before God has bidden them shout.

They speak when God is silent. They disorganize the army. They provoke defeat.Joshua was to signal the time for a shout. “The day I bid you shout, then shall ye shout”. That day was to be the seventh day—the holy day—the triumphant day. When shall we shout? On the day that our Joshua came forth from the grave a victor against the same, and even conquered death and hell in our behalf. It is a type of the day when we also shall have a complete victory against every enemy, and shall, through the resurrection, triumph with Him. What a day of shouting that will be! “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout”, and every sleeping saint of earth shall ascend from the grave with a shout.

It is the day when every wall of opposition shall crumble, and when every enemy of the Christ shall succumb.Do we sleep late on Sunday morning? Why?“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.“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” (Joshua 6:5; Joshua 6:16).Let us learn two things: First, the seventh day was not a time for prolonged slumbers. If there is any day in the week when the Christian should be up early it is the Lord’s day, for of all the days of the week that should be the day for victory, for conquest. Shame on us that we so seldom see the rising of a Sunday’s sun! And if there is any day in the week in which, with shouts and praises to the Lord, we should prove our confidence, that is the day.The critic may say that this number of people could not have marched around the city seven times that day. The Scriptures do not demand that; but the men of war did it, and the men of war are the only men that will ever use the Sabbath as it should be used, and win the victories that belong to the promises of His Word.THE OF RAHAB’S HOUSE“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” (Joshua 6:22).The covenant with Rahab was not forgotten.

The double greatness of Joshua is herein suggested. First, in this while, or when there were a thousand things upon him, he did not forget this woman.

There are those who laugh at the idea that God knows us individually and scorn the Scripture statement that “the very hairs of your head are all numbered”. All such ignore the fact that the greater the mind, the more possible for it to attend even to details. An infinite God does infinite things.But Joshua was more than mindful; he was faithful. His word had been given; it must not be forgotten or left to fall.We have a Joshua in Jesus, whose word is neither forgotten, nor yet faileth. He himself assured us that though “heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18). The ground of Christian confidence is here.

The promises are not only eternal; they are finding fulfillment in every case.“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord!Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!What more can He say, than to you He hath said,To you, who for refuge to Jesus have fled?”“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” (Joshua 6:23).“And Joshua saved Rahab, the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had”. (Joshua 6:25).Of all that God hath given Christ, He shall lose not a one. Our salvation is as sure as are His promises clear.The harlot became an Israelite indeed. “She dwelleth in Israel even unto this day”.

You will see that it is not impossible for a harlot to be saved. Let the New Testament teach us. The incident of the woman taken, but dismissed with the Lord’s forgiveness and injunction, “Go and sin no more”, the allusions to Mary Magdalene, the marvelous history of Florence Crittenden missions and like merciful movements prove that Christ can save the sinful woman. “The Blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). The favor of our Joshua suffices for salvation.The fate of the city was forever sealed.“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 first-born, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it” (Joshua 6:26).It would seem unlikely that a city so overthrown should ever be rebuilt again, and yet, such is the effrontery of man, that what God prohibits, he proposes to attempt, and this city was rebuilt. But as God is faithful to His Word in mercy, so God forgets not His Word of judgment. When we shall come to 1 Kings 16:34, we will read, “In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho”.

Nearly five hundred years has intervened, and yet, we are further informed, “He laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which He spake by Joshua the son of Nun”.Who shall stand against the Divine judgment, and who dares to affront the Divine will? There are men who imagine that they can build cities without the Divine approval.

Such cities, like Jericho, are destined not only to trials, tribulations, but to eventual overthrow. The greatest single need of the modern city is, God in the midst, as the greatest single need of the individual is God with him.