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The Book of Joshua, Chapter Six <>< <>< ><> ><> 1. Why was Jericho tightly shut up, so that no one went out and no one came in, what did the LORD tell Joshua he had done, how many times did the LORD tell Joshua to march around the city with all the armed men, how many days did the LORD tell Joshua that he and his armed men were to march around the city, what did the LORD tell Joshua the seven priests were to do, how many times did the LORD tell Joshua they were to march around the city on the seventh day with the priests blowing the trumpets, what did the LORD tell Joshua the people were to do when they heard the priests sound a long blast on the trumpets, and what did the LORD tell Joshua would happen when the people did this?
______________________________________________________________________________ The 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. (The Life Application Study Bible - Zondervan) 2. What did Joshua say to the priests when he called them, and what did he order the people to do?
______________________________________________________________________________ Though repetitious, the account is not tedious. The suspense builds until it reaches its climax in verse 20. The orders Joshua passed on to the people are summarized here (cross-reference verses 2-5). Separate orders were given to the priests and to the people. 3. What did the seven priests, who were carrying the seven trumpets before the LORD, do when Joshua had spoken to the people, and what was following the seven priests?
______________________________________________________________________________ The phrase "before the Lord" is a vivid reminder that the ark symbolized God's presence. The parallel statement in verse 4 says that the seven priests were to carry seven horns before the ark. 4. Who marched ahead of the seven priests who blew the trumpets, who followed the ark, what was sounding all this time, what did Joshua say to the people, how many times did Joshua have the ark of the LORD carried around, circling the city, and what did the people do after this?
______________________________________________________________________________ The presence of warriors before and behind the ark indicates that
the Israelites would have to fight. Perhaps the "armed guard" mentioned here
consisted of the two and one-half tribes from Transjordan (cross-reference 4:12-13). Because
of the privileges granted them, they were to lead the others into every battle.
Joshua's instructions here recall the orders he had given earlier (verses 6-7; cross-reference
verse 5). 5. What happened when Joshua got up early the next morning, what did the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets do, what did the armed men do, what did the rear guard do while the trumpets kept sounding, how many times did they march around the city before returning to camp, and how many days did they do this?
______________________________________________________________________________ This repetitious narrative conveys something of the tedium of marching around the city day after day for six days. 6. What did Joshua, the priests, the guards and the people do on the seventh day, how many times did they circle the city on the seventh day, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, what did Joshua command the people to do on the seventh time around, why did Joshua tell them to do this, what did Joshua say the city and all that was in it were to be, whom did Joshua say was the only ones to be spared, why were they to be spared, why were the people to keep away from the devoted things, and what did Joshua say was sacred to the LORD and must go into the LORD's treasury?
______________________________________________________________________________ On the seventh day the Israelites set out "at daybreak" because of all
that needed to be accomplished that day. Considering the size of Jericho and the
number of Israelite troops, it is likely that when "they circled the city seven
times," the column doubled over on itself again and again until the city was
surrounded many columns deep. 7. What happened when the trumpets sounded, what happened when the people gave a loud shout at the sound of the trumpet, what did every man do, and what did they to the city?
______________________________________________________________________________ The narrative, which has been interrupted by the instructions concerning the things devoted to destruction, is now resumed. To emphasize the divine intervention, no secondary causes for the collapse of the wall are mentioned. The destruction of the defenders of the city together with their women and children involved the Israelites in hand-to-hand combat. Their enemies were not able to fight effectively because they were demoralized, outnumbered, and taken by surprise. Everything in the city was devoted to the Lord. 8. What did Joshua say to the two men who had spied out the land, who did the two men bring out of the land, and where did the two men put them?
______________________________________________________________________________ Evidently the part of the wall where Rahab's house was located was miraculously preserved. Rahab and her family were put in "a place outside the camp" as a kind of ritual quarantine. The camp of Israel was holy, and nothing unclean could be allowed to enter (cross-reference Leviticus 13:46; Numbers 5:3; 31:19; Deuteronomy 23:3,14). After the passage of time and the observance of appropriate rituals, they were received into the congregation (see verse 25). 9. What did Joshua and the people do to the whole city and everything in it, but where did they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron, and where did Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, live to this day because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho?
______________________________________________________________________________ The term "the Lord's house" is generally applied only to the temple, though the Bible often applies later terminology to an earlier institution. The statement "she [Rahab] lives among the Israelites to this day" most likely means that Rahab lived on in her posterity, not that this account was written during her lifetime. Thus concludes the two themes of chapter 2: the capture of Jericho and the salvation of Rahab. 10. Whom did Joshua say would be cursed before the LORD, how will this man lay its foundation, how will this man set up its gates, and because the LORD was with Joshua what spread throughout the land?
______________________________________________________________________________ The city of Jericho was to remain an object lesson of God's great
victory in Israel's very first battle. Though the city was soon resettled
(18:21; Judges 3:13-14; 2nd Samuel 10:5), the curse uttered here was not fulfilled until
the time of King Ahab, when Hiel, a resident of Bethel, rebuilt the wall
around Jericho to make it a fortress once again.
<>< <>< ><> ><> 1. Because of the
Israelites...delivered Jericho into his hands, along with its kings and its
fighting men...once...six...carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the
ark...seven...give a loud shout...the wall of the city will collapse and the
people will go up, every man straight in <>< <>< ><> ><> |