Session 4
Joshua 6:12-25
Memory Verse: Joshua 6:20
Successful coaches put the right people in the right places to lead teams to victories. Managers increase sales and profits by employing successful plans and processes. But perhaps nowhere is strategy more important than in warfare. Strategy on the battlefield becomes a matter of survival for individuals and
for nations.
What is a strategy? A general definition identifies it as a plan of action designed to achieve a major aim. More specifically, strategy is a plan for military operations or movements during a battle or war. However, the strategy for the Israelites’ conquest of Jericho did not fall into the category of traditional tactics. The ultimate Commander was God Himself, and His ways often differ from our ways.
As you dig into this session, think about times when you and your church family prospered spiritually. What contributed to that spiritual victory? As you prepare to teach, pray for God’s leadership. Ask Him to show you areas where you’re not aligned with His strategy and make the necessary changes. During the session, challenge adults to experience spiritual victory by trusting and obeying God’s plans without reservation.
Parents of toddlers want to teach their children to trust them. Building this trust involves providing for their needs and protecting them. Some parents build trust by encouraging their child to leap into their arms when the jump appears to be a very long, dangerous leap to the child. When the child makes the jump and the parent catches him, both the parent and the child are exuberant. God often calls upon His children to make what appears to be enormous leaps to demonstrate to them that they can always trust in Him as they obey Him. (PSG, p. 37)
Joshua, Moses’s successor, had led the nation of Israel across the flooded Jordan River on dry ground
(3:1-17). The Israelites then erected a memorial of twelve stones at Gilgal as a reminder of God’s power. Each stone represented one of the Israelite tribes. The twelve-stone monument provided a visible reminder of the miraculous crossing. It’s possible that Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan. (4:1-24).
Joshua 5 records the Israelites’ spiritual preparation in renewing their covenant with God. This affirmation included circumcision, the sign of the covenant the Lord had established with Abraham (see Gen. 17:1-14). After that, the Israelites observed the Passover.
The passage concludes with Joshua’s encounter with the commander of the Lord’s army. As Joshua prepared to lead Israel’s army, this experience reminded him that he must always look to God as his Commander. That counsel appropriately appears in the Scriptures immediately prior to the conquest of Jericho, the focus of chapter 6.
Jericho is known as one of the world’s oldest cities and held a strategic location in ancient Canaan. It stood on a major roadway that connected the Jordan Valley to nearby hill country that later would become Judea. Prior to the Israelites’ conquest of the city, the Lord announced that He had handed this strongly fortified city over to His people and gave Joshua a specific strategy for victory.
Joshua and his army were told to march around Jericho’s perimeter once a day for six days. Seven priests carrying rams’ horn trumpets would lead the procession in front of the ark of the covenant. On the seventh day they would march around the city seven times. With a prolonged horn blast, the troops would shout mightily, and the city wall would collapse. The Israelite army would then advance into the city
(Josh. 6:1-11).
No typical leader would have devised such a battle plan. Yet, Joshua knew that the Lord was in charge. The Israelites’ victory would not be the result of human ingenuity. It would be a result of the people’s faith in God alone (Heb. 11:30).
As promised, the army spared Rahab and her family because she had hidden the Israelite spies (Josh. 6:24-25). The Israelites burned Jericho and destroyed the rest of its inhabitants, but they placed the silver, gold, iron, and bronze articles in the Lord’s treasury (6:24).
Under God’s guidelines for this battle, the conquered people and possessions were placed under the ban, which meant objects and people were devoted either to the Lord or to destruction. Joshua imposed a curse on Jericho (6:26). The validity of this curse was demonstrated in the judgment on Hiel, who lost two sons while rebuilding the city centuries later (1 Kings 16:34).
As you read Joshua 6:12-25, pay attention to how Israel’s victory was tied to their faith and obedience. (PSG, p. 38)
EXPLORE THE TEXT
12 Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests took the ark of the Lord, 13 and the seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns marched in front of the ark of the Lord. While the rams’ horns were blowing, the armed men went in front of them, and the rear guard went behind the ark of the Lord. 14 On the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
God’s plan to capture Jericho was simple, yet unorthodox. The army would march around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day, they would circle Jericho seven times, blow their trumpets made of rams’ horns, scream loudly, and watch God bring down the city’s massive walls (Josh. 6:1-5).
To carry out the Lord’s instructions regarding Jericho’s conquest, Joshua got up early the next morning. The verb translated got up early appears frequently in the Old Testament in connection with important tasks God assigns His people. For example, Abraham rose early to obey God’s instructions to sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22:3). Jacob got up early to set up a stone to mark his encounter with God at Bethel (28:18-19). And the Lord commanded Moses to approach Pharaoh early in the morning with a demand to let His people go (Ex. 8:20).
The verb is closely related to a Hebrew word meaning “shoulder.” The picture of this verb is that of shouldering daily burdens or responsibilities.
The ark of the Lord held a prominent position as the group circled the city of Jericho. The ark, also known as the ark of the covenant, symbolized the Lord’s presence with the Israelites. The ark contained the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, a jar of manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded.
After the conquest, the ark was moved around, depending on where Israel set up its center for worship. For a time, it was placed in Gilgal, followed by stops in Shechem and Bethel. It found a more permanent home when the tabernacle was built at Shiloh.
Seven priests accompanied the ark in the march around Jericho’s walls. Perhaps the most significant symbolic number in the Scriptures, seven became a symbol for perfection and completeness. The seven-day week reflected the Lord’s first creative activity, a work that was both complete and perfect.
Additionally, a major Hebrew term for making an oath is closely related to the word rendered seven. An original meaning of “to swear an oath” in Hebrew may have been “to declare seven times.” In this context, though, the focus is not on an oath. Rather, the seven priests blowing seven rams’ horns on the seventh day emphasizes that the Lord’s judgment on Jericho would be complete.
A similar concept appears in the book of Revelation where John used seven trumpets to describe future events. Incredible disasters take place each time one of the first six trumpets is blown. The sounding of the final trumpet meant the war was over (Rev. 8:7-10,12; 9:1,13-15; 11:15).
The letters in the Hebrew word for ram’s horn can be transliterated as shophar. The Israelites used this instrument as a trumpet of war as they campaigned against their enemies. It also was blown to call the people to assemble (Ex. 19:16). Blowing the shophar on the Day of Atonement in the Year of Jubilee signaled the release of slaves and the cancellation of debts (see Lev. 25).
The latter part of Joshua 6:13 further details the order of the Israelite procession around Jericho. The armed men moved out first, followed by the priests with the ark. The rear guard protected the ark
from behind.
Joshua and his army carefully obeyed the Lord’s instructions, strange as those instructions might have seemed. The Israelites’ faithfulness to obey this unusual strategy reminds us that we need to obey God’s directions even when they don’t make sense to us.
On the second day, the Israelites marched around the city once before heading back to their camp in Gilgal. They repeated this process for a total of six days (see Josh. 6:3). The army was silent as the priests blew rams’ horns and carried the ark of the covenant.
EXPLORE THE TEXT
15 Early on the seventh day, they started at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same way. That was the only day they marched around the city seven times. 16 After the seventh time, the priests blew the rams’ horns, and Joshua said to the troops, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. 17 But the city and everything in it are set apart to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone with her in the house will live, because she hid the messengers we sent. 18 But keep yourselves from the things set apart, or you will be set apart for destruction. If you take any of those things, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and make trouble for it. 19 For all the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, are dedicated to the Lord and must go into the Lord’s treasury.”
On the seventh day, God changed the battle plan, and the Israelites circled Jericho seven times. Again, seven signifies completeness.
Jericho was the first city the Israelites faced after crossing the Jordan River. Although not the largest city in Canaan, it was strongly fortified. Its walls may have been twenty feet thick and more than twenty-five feet high. The city also held a strategic position in the central region of Canaan. An oasis on a hot plain, Jericho was known as “the City of Palms” (Deut. 34:3).
Israel’s attack on Jericho occurred during the spring. And, although the city appeared unconquerable, it was no match for the Lord’s power.
In another shift, the Israelites were allowed to break their silence. In obedience to the Lord’s directives, Joshua commanded the troops to shout when the priests blew the rams’ horns (see
Josh. 6:4-5). He also announced to his people the already accomplished fact: The Lord has given you the city (see v. 2). The obedience of Joshua and his army reflected an active faith that the Lord would keep
His word.
Everything related to Jericho was set apart to the Lord for destruction. The Hebrew word translated set apart is cherem, sometimes rendered “accursed.” In the Old Testament, the term can have either a positive or negative connotation. Positively, it can mean sanctifying something as holy and sacred (Lev. 27:21). Negatively, though, it refers to something condemned to destruction (Deut. 7:26). The Lord ordered the destruction of that which was banned to discourage Israel from following in the idolatrous footsteps of the pagan Canaanites.
The latter part of verse 17 refers to the one exception to the ban. The Israelites were to spare Rahab the prostitute and her household because she protected the Israelite spies. The key difference between Rahab and the other inhabitants of Jericho was the faith she had demonstrated in both words and actions (Heb. 11:31).
Verse 18 includes a strong warning. If individuals failed to avoid what was devoted to destruction, they would be set apart for destruction. Their rebellion also would endanger the entire camp of Israel. Because God alone fought the battle and overthrew the city, He alone deserved the rewards. This verse also reminds us of a repeated Old Testament theme: sin always comes with consequences.
Fire does not destroy metals. Thus, silver and gold as well as bronze and iron were devoted to the Lord’s treasury. We do not know the precise nature and location of this treasury. Some scholars contend it was associated with a particular place of worship at Gilgal. Others believe it simply means that these objects were identified for use in worship.
Regardless, the Lord warned the Israelites not to claim any spoil from Jericho. Their full obedience would ensure their safety and security. As believers today, we also experience victory in life when we obey the Lord completely.
EXPLORE THE TEXT
20 So the troops shouted, and the rams’ horns sounded. When they heard the blast of the ram’s horn, the troops gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. The troops advanced into the city, each man straight ahead, and they captured the city. 21 They completely destroyed everything in the city with the sword-every man and woman, both young and old, and every ox, sheep, and donkey.
God made sure the “battle” ended quickly and decisively. The Israelites’ primary roles involved priests blowing the rams’ horns (see v. 16) while the troops shouted. God did the rest.
Israel precisely carried out the Lord’s commands (see v. 5). The Hebrew verb translated shouted basically relates to making noise. This could be through one’s voice or through an instrument, like a trumpet. It also can convey raising a war cry, sounding a signal for war, or raising one’s voice in victory.
The verb translated sounded can mean “to blow, strike, or clap.” Clapping the hands, as well as blowing the horns, could signal triumph or rejoicing. As a result of Israel’s absolute obedience, Jericho’s wall collapsed. Throughout the Old Testament, the Hebrew term for collapsed designates damage, destruction, or death. A related noun, rendered “carcass,” identifies the remains of a fallen beast
(Judg. 14:8).
The inspired writer only briefly recorded the great miracle of the falling walls of Jericho at the end of verse 20. However, this short description coincides with the tone of the book of Joshua. In short, God would fight Israel’s battles and bring victory through His unmatched power. In response, His people were called to total obedience, marked by an unwavering trust in Him.
After the walls fell, the Israelites advanced into the city and captured Jericho. The Hebrew verb for captured usually deals with humans seizing towns, individuals, and spoils of war. However, it also can serve as a figure of divine judgment.
The human author of Joshua again emphasized the power of total obedience. God’s people completely destroyed everything in the city. This included every person (except Rahab and her family) and every animal. The verb translated completely destroyed means that the Israelites set apart the inhabitants and their possessions either for sacred use or for annihilation (see v. 17). The word pairs-every man and woman, both young and old-along with the listing of specific animals-every ox, sheep, and donkey-reinforces the full and absolute destruction of God’s enemies.
Some have questioned God’s goodness in light of His command to destroy the residents of Jericho. The answer lies in balancing the Lord’s love with His righteousness. The Old Testament reveals that balance in the Lord’s revelation of His character to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7.
For generations, God had been patient with the inhabitants of Canaan (Gen. 15:13-16). He had shown patience by withholding destruction for so long. However, the time had come for judgment.
In addition, the Lord understood the corrupting influence Canaanite religion could have on His people, including its prostitution and infant sacrifice. If these influences were allowed to remain, the Israelites would struggle to obey and worship the Lord. To be pure, they needed to completely separate from these pagans and their practices. So, God commanded the complete destruction of the land’s inhabitants.
Spend time praying Scripture using Joshua 6:20. Read the verse, then respond to these questions:
Ask God to help you obey Him and to give you a deeper sense of His work in your life. Thank Him for turning your cries for help into cries of victory.
EXPLORE THE TEXT
22 Joshua said to the two men who had scouted the land, “Go to the prostitute’s house and bring the woman out of there, and all who are with her, just as you swore to her.” 23 So the young men who had scouted went in and brought out Rahab and her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and settled them outside the camp of Israel. 24 They burned the city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house.
25 However, Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father’s family, and all who belonged to her, because she hid the messengers Joshua had sent to spy on Jericho, and she still lives in Israel today.
Joshua kept the promise made to Rahab (the woman) in Joshua 2:12-14. The verb translated swore emphasizes the serious nature of this promise. Now that God was delivering Jericho to His people, the Israelites could show their mercy and kindness to her family.
Joshua referred to the prostitute’s house. The Hebrew term for “prostitute” more literally means “woman of harlotry.” Such persons received payment for illicit sexual behavior (Deut. 23:18), had identifying attire (Prov. 7:10), owned their own homes (Jer. 5:7), and were to be avoided (Prov. 23:27-28). Apparently, God had somehow miraculously protected the portion of the wall that included Rahab’s home (see
Josh. 2:15).
The two young men who had spied out the land and made the promise to Rahab obeyed Joshua’s command. They brought her out, along with her immediate relations: her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. No one was excluded. Rahab had saved her whole family.
After being spared, Rahab’s family was relocated outside the camp of Israel. They would have been considered ceremonially unclean, so they could not join the Israelites’ assembly immediately. Joshua 6:25 indicates that once they completed the necessary purity rituals, Rahab’s family members were received into the Israelite congregation (see Josh. 6:25).
By her faith, Rahab experienced the Lord’s mercy. She also became a part of the Lord’s chosen nation and the lineage of Christ. Her story provides a beautiful picture of what God still does for people, rescuing them from destruction and placing them within His family by faith.
The Israelites burned Jericho. The Hebrew verb translated burned always denotes literal burning and often designates the resulting destruction. As commanded (v. 19), Israel placed the silver and gold . . . bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. The conquered people and possessions were placed under the ban, meaning objects and people were given to the Lord, or they were destroyed. Although Lord’s house usually refers to the temple, it refers to the tabernacle in this context since Israel had not yet built a temple.
Joshua honored the promise to spare Rahab and her household because she hid the messengers and kept her promise to not reveal their plans. We also can assume that she kept the red cord hanging from her window as directed (2:17-18).
The statement that Rahab still lives in Israel today suggests that this part of Joshua was written while Rahab was still alive. It also could point to her descendants (similar to how “David” is used in
Hos. 3:5). The writer’s purpose was not to date the book but to show that the spies’ promise to Rahab had lasting effects.
Review these points from Apply the Text on page 45 of the Personal Study Guide:
Call for volunteers to share which statement resonates most deeply with them and why.
Encourage the group to look for ways to express trust in God this week. Distribute copies of Pack Item 12 (Handout: Winning Strategy). Direct them to record at least one situation they are praying about in the first column of the handout. Challenge them to continue praying through that issue during the week and to fill out the other spaces for that issue as God reveals His plans to them. Suggest that they continue using this handout to address other areas where God is moving in their lives.
Guide the group to discuss the second question set on page 45 of the PSG. Ask: How can remembering what God has done in the past encourage you to trust Him now?
Read Joshua 6:20 and encourage the group to keep praying the verse back to God. Urge them to continue following God’s directions faithfully.
Reinforce the session by texting or emailing the group a link to the VeggieTales song, “Keep Walking” from Josh and the Big Wall. Include this reminder: Keep walking and trusting in God-because God gives His people victory when they trust and obey Him. Encourage adults to read and reflect on the first question set from page 45 of the PSG and to include ideas for holding each other accountable in the chat.
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. (See
Deuteronomy 10:14; Psalm 24:1.)
Examine New Testament passages to better understand an Old Testament passage.
The writers of both Hebrews and James referred to Rahab in their letters to first-century believers. Examine Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 to see what these passages say about her. What are some key points each writer draws out? What are they trying to emphasize with their readers? How does that help you understand Rahab better?