The Walls of Jericho

The Israelites approached Jericho. Joshua looked up and he saw a man standing in front of him. The man told Joshua, “I have come as the commander of the Lord’s army.” When Joshua heard this, he fell with his face to the ground. He asked the man, “What message does my Lord have for me?” The commander of the Lord’s army told Joshua, “Take off your sandals. The place you are standing on is holy ground.” Joshua obeyed and took off his sandals. The gates of Jericho were tightly shut. The soldiers guarded the gates closely, and no one went in or came out.

When the Israelites were ready for battle, the Lord told Joshua what to do. Joshua and his army marched to the city. In the middle of the fighting men were seven priests who blew on trumpets. There were other priests who carried the ark of the covenant. The fighting men didn’t make a sound as they all marched once around the city. Then they went back to their camp.

This went on for six days. Jericho’s fighting men watched from the walls. What were the Israelites doing? On the seventh day, the Israelites marched seven times around the city. The priests blew the trumpets. The soldiers were quiet. The seventh time around, the priests blew a long blast on the trumpets, and Joshua told his men, “Shout! The Lord has given you the city!” The army gave a loud shout and suddenly Jericho’s walls tumbled down. The Israelites charged into the city and began fighting. Because they were fighting for the Lord, they didn’t take anything for themselves. They took the gold, silver, bronze and iron they found in Jericho to the tabernacle, the Lord’s house. It belonged to the Lord. They burned the city. They killed all the animals and people, except for one family. Rahab and her family were in her house. The house didn’t fall when the rest of the wall fell. The Israelites left them alone when they saw the red rope in the window. After the fighting, the spies brought Rahab and her family to the Israelites’ camp. From that day, they lived with the Israelites.

Joshua 5 and 6