An army was preparing for battle against an unconquered walled city. High walls, closed gates, and eyes watching from above made for intimidating odds. Even more challenging was the battle plan the Israelite commander received: no battering rams or siege towers would be needed. Instead, the army of Israel was to circle the city in silence for six days, and on the seventh day, it was to circle seven times - and then the priests were to sound their horns and the soldiers to shout.
It was an oddly conceived attack, and yet it produced an oddly celebrated victory - for the walls of Jericho came tumbling down.
The First City in the Way
The people of Israel had crossed the Jordan River and found themselves in the middle of the land God had promised to them. Stretching before them - the first city in their way - was Jericho. Jericho was an old city. It was surrounded by high walls. Most importantly, it was impregnable. The people of Jericho had heard stories of the crossing of the Jordan and of the battles Israel had fought and won. They were not eager to see the Israelites again and certainly did not want them approaching their city. Scripture says that Jericho was closed up against Israel, and no one was permitted to enter or leave the city.
Jericho was a walled city. Israel was an army of former slaves. And walled cities - when attacked by former slaves - were likely to remain unconquered.
Jericho stood as the first obstacle between Israel and the rest of Canaan: an ancient city with massive walls, sealed shut against the approaching Israelites.
A Commander Meets His Commander
Prior to the battle, Joshua encountered a strange sight. As he drew near Jericho, he spied a man standing before him bearing a drawn sword. Joshua demanded to know whether the stranger had come to fight for Israel or for the peoples surrounding Israel. The man responded that he had come as commander of the army of the Lord. Joshua fell on his face and paid the honor due to the Lord. And the man told Joshua to remove his sandals, for the place was holy.
The message was clear in that encounter. Israel had a commander, Joshua, who was to lead Israel. Yet Joshua was to remember that the Commander of Israel's army was none other than the Lord. And as for how the battle would be fought and the walls opened, the Lord would see to it that His victory was made manifest - and the people of Israel would see to it that it was witnessed.
The Strangest Battle Plan in History
God had a strange plan for Joshua and the army of Israel. Around Jericho, with a company of armed men, the priests were to march. With them, the Ark was to go. Priests carried ram's horn trumpets. All the people of Israel were to follow at a respectable distance. There was one rule: the men of Israel were to be silent at all times as they marched. They made no sound or outcry as they went. Imagine seeing this display from behind the walls of Jericho. Armed men circled your city every day for six days and left. On the seventh day, you awoke to find them circling your city once more.
If you were a man of Jericho, you must have wondered when they would attack. And if, during these strange days, you thought that perhaps the attack had been delayed, you were right. Israel obeyed the orders of the Commander of Israel's armies.
For six days the Israelites circled Jericho without a word, priests blowing rams' horns and the Ark of the Covenant carried at the head of the procession. The city watched and waited.
The Seventh Day
The Israelites stood up early on the seventh day and marched around Jericho as before. Unlike the previous days, however, they did not stop after circling the city once. On the seventh day, they circled Jericho seven times. Then, as on every other day, the priests raised their trumpets and sounded a long, loud blast. Joshua commanded the people of Israel to raise a shout, for the walls of Jericho would come tumbling down.
The people obeyed the command to shout. And the walls of Jericho obeyed the command of the Lord, falling to the ground. Scripture says the wall collapsed completely, allowing Israel to march through at all points. The most formidable obstacle to the conquest of Canaan had been overcome. And it had not been overcome by battering rams or siege towers, but by silence and shouts.
On the seventh day, after seven circuits of the city, the priests blew a sustained blast and the people raised a great shout — and the walls of Jericho fell flat.
The Woman Who Was Saved
There is another important thread to this story. Long before Joshua waged war on Jericho, he sent two spies to the city to observe it. In the city, Rahab the harlot spied on the Israelites and then rescued them from discovery. Later, both the Israelite spies and Rahab would live to see the fulfillment of a promise that had been made during the time of the spying. Rahab told the spies to proclaim that when the walls of Jericho fell, none of her house should be harmed. When Rahab tied a red cord in the window of her home, the promise was made binding upon the people of Israel. When the walls came tumbling down, Rahab and her family were spared. The story of Rahab is unique in Scripture, for Rahab's name appears in a genealogy of Christ. Many years later, the harlot of Jericho would be remembered, not for her life in sin, but for her part in bringing the people of Israel into the land of promise.
The Oldest City in the World
It is worth remembering that Jericho was the prize. The people of Israel had crossed the Jordan and made their stand in the land God had given them. Situated in a fertile valley, Jericho was a crossroads. It controlled the road from the Jordan up the valley to the center of Canaan. It was an ancient city, too, possessing mighty walls - and those walls now kept Israel from advancing.
It is fitting that Jericho should be the first city in the way for Israel to conquer. More importantly, it is fitting that those walls fall.
Devoted to Destruction
Not for nothing does the Scripture speak of the walls of Jericho as being devoted to or banned to destruction. According to the ban of all the Lord's possessions (herem), Israel was to treat Jericho and its possessions differently. The gold, silver, and furnishings in Jericho were not to be claimed by the people of Israel or even by Israel's soldiers. These things were the Lord's possession and should go to Him. The entire city and its contents were thus holy to the Lord. The only exception was Rahab and her household, who were to be spared.
In its devotion to destruction, Jericho reflects the same dual nature as Rahab the harlot. The people of Jericho were to be punished, while Rahab and her household lived because of her belief in the power of the Lord. And Israel was to see both the judgment of God and the mercy of the Lord, for as a nation Israel belonged to the Lord. The ban applied to Jericho was serious business. Achan of the tribe of Judah stole some of Jericho's gold and silver, and Israel was greatly afflicted. The people of Israel had been commanded to treat Jericho as the Lord's possession, and in treating it as their own possession, Israel had suffered greatly.
Faith, Not Firepower
It is little wonder that the fall of Jericho attracted much attention, even long before the advent of modern archaeological excavations. The ancient city of Jericho continues to fascinate people because of the mystery of its destruction. Scholars have spent many hours debating the details and dating of Jericho's fall, as they have the authenticity of various artifacts. What the Bible says about Jericho and its fall, however, is not nearly so interesting as what those passages imply - specifically, the manner in which the walls fell and the reasons for their falling.
Jericho was not taken by Israel's might and power - not by Israel's swords or Israel's spears, not by Israel's battering rams and siege towers, but by silence and shouting. The Israelites obeyed the words of the Lord, and the walls of Jericho simply came tumbling down. It was a demonstration of the power of faith and obedience to the word of the Lord. It was not a battle won by might or power but by faith and belief. And it was a battle that, centuries later, would be long remembered for the walls that fell and the people who sang as the mighty city of Jericho came tumbling down.
