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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 6:6

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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.

6 21. Capture and Destruction of Jericho

6. And Joshua ] In obedience to the commands thus received Joshua implicitly carries out the instructions given him and issues the needful orders to the host.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Jos 6:6-11

Ye shall not shout.

., until the day I bid you shout.

Joshua taking Jericho

I. One of the essential attributes of a great leader–the power to repress the passions of a nation of warriors: Ye shall not shout, &c. This was the command of a young ruler. The temptation of the young and inexperienced is impatience. We but gradually learn the lesson, He that believeth shall not make haste. Joshua, however, had learnt this. It is easy to arouse a nation when new scenes suggest new possibilities, but it is difficult to suppress emotions at such a time, and to insist upon silence until. This is one of the tests of ruler-ship. Every general should be equal to this task. Joshua was.

II. One of the characteristics of a great people–willing obedience to the command to repress their emotions at such a time as this. Joshua does not seem to have told them all that the Lord had told him. Their ignorance of the final issue made obedience to the command to go round Jericho for six days without giving vent to their feelings in one single shout the more difficult, and on that account imparted to it a grander meaning. At the outset the nation of conquerors had to conquer their own spirit. There must be a reserve of force. Only those who can be silent can shout to good purpose. So has it ever been with Gods servants. They have had their seasons of delay. Moses in Midian; Christs disciples tarrying in Jerusalem until, &c.; Paul in Arabia; so here the people who could persist in their apparently meaningless rounds until they were bidden to shout, had the making of conquerors in them. The shout would have all the momentum of the delay in it.

III. The divine method of accomplishing triumphs: Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit. The triumph thus gained is often the consummation of patient waiting and implicit obedience on our part. The world misunderstands the meaning of the apparent monotonous routine of Providence, and asks sneeringly, Where is the promise of His coming? All the while we know that the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, and that every apparent delay hastens the final consummation. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. (D. Davies.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

6, 7. Joshua . . . called thepriestsThe pious leader, whatever military preparations he hadmade, surrendered all his own views, at once and unreservedly, to thedeclared will of God.

Jos6:8-19. THE CITYCOMPASSED SIXDAYS.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests,…. Not the Levites and Kohathites, whose business it was in common to bear the ark, but upon this occasion the priests; not all of them, but as many as were sufficient for the purpose:

and said unto them, take up the ark of the covenant; by putting the staves into the rings of it, and so carry it, Ex 25:14; see Nu 7:9;

and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord: [See comments on Jos 6:4].

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Taking of Jericho. – In the account of this we have first of all a brief statement of the announcement of the divine message by Joshua to the priests and the people (Jos 6:6, Jos 6:7); then the execution of the divine command (Jos 6:8-20); and lastly the burning of Jericho and deliverance of Rahab (Jos 6:21-27).

Jos 6:6-7

In communicating the divine command with reference to the arrangements for taking Jericho, Joshua mentions in the first place merely the principal thing to be observed. The plural (“they said”), in Jos 6:7, must not be altered, but is to be explained on the ground that Joshua did not make the proclamation to the people himself, but through the medium oft he shoterim, who were appointed to issue his commands (see Jos 1:10-11; Jos 3:2-3). In this proclamation the more minute instructions concerning the order of march, which had been omitted in Jos 6:3-5, are given; namely, that was to march in front of the ark. By , “the equipped (or armed) man,” we are not to understand all the fighting men, as Knobel supposes; for in the description of the march which follows, the whole of the fighting men (“all the men of war,” Jos 6:3) are divided into and ( Eng. Ver. “the armed men” and “the rereward,” Jos 6:9 and Jos 6:13), so that the former can only have formed one division of the army. It is very natural therefore to suppose, as Kimchi and Rashi do, that the former were the fighting men of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh ( , Jos 4:13), and the latter the fighting men of the rest of the tribes. On the meaning of , see at Num 10:25. If we turn to the account of the facts themselves, we shall see at once, that in the report of the angel’s message, in Jos 6:3-5, several other points have been passed over for the purpose of avoiding too many repetitions, and have therefore to be gathered from the description of what actually occurred. First of all, in Jos 6:8-10, we have the appointment of the order of marching, namely, that the ark, with the priests in front carrying the trumpets of jubilee, was to form the centre of the procession, and that one portion of the fighting men was to go in front of it, and the rest to follow after; that the priests were to blow the trumpets every time they marched round during the seven days (Jos 6:8, Jos 6:9, Jos 6:13); and lastly, that it was not till the seventh time of going round, on the seventh day, that the people were to raise the war-cry at the command of Joshua, and then the walls of the town were to fall (Jos 6:10, Jos 6:16). There can be no doubt that we are right in assuming that Joshua had received from the angel the command which he issued to the people in Jos 6:17., that the whole town, with all its inhabitants and everything in it, was to be given up as a ban to the Lord, at the time when the first announcement concerning the fall of the town was made.

Jos 6:8-10

Execution of the divine Command. – Jos 6:8-11. The march round on the first day; and the instructions as to the war-cry to be raised by the people, which are appended as a supplement in Jos 6:10. “Before Jehovah,” instead of “before the ark of Jehovah,” as the signification of the ark was derived entirely from the fact, that it was the medium through which Jehovah communicated His gracious presence to the people. In Jos 6:9, is in the perfect tense, and we must supply the relative , which is sometimes omitted, not only in poetry, but also in prose, after a definite noun in the accusative (e.g., Exo 18:20; see Ewald, 332, a.). There is not sufficient ground for altering the form of the word into , according to the Keri, as is construed in other cases with the accusative , instead of with , and that not only in poetry, but also in prose (e.g., Jdg 7:22, as compared with Jdg 7:18-20). , “trumpeting continually” (Eng. Ver. “going on and blowing”). is used adverbially, as in Gen 8:3, etc.

Jos 6:11

“So the ark of the Lord compassed the city,” not “Joshua caused the ark to compass the city.” The Hiphil has only an active, not a causative, meaning here, as in 2Sa 5:23, etc.

Jos 6:12-14

The march on each of the next five days resembled that on the first. “So they did six days.” In Jos 6:13, does not stand for , but corresponds to in Jos 6:8; and the participle is used interchangeably with the inf. abs. , as in Gen 26:13; Jdg 4:24, etc., so that the Keri is an unnecessary emendation.

Jos 6:15-20

On the seventh day the marching round the town commenced very early, at the dawning of the day, that they might go round seven times. , in the manner prescribed and carried out on the previous days, which had become a right through precept and practice. On the seventh circuit, when the priests had blown the trumpet, Joshua commanded the fighting men to raise a war-cry, announcing to them at the same time that the town, with all that was in it, was to be a ban to the Lord, with the exception of Rahab and the persons in her house, and warning them not to take of that which was laid under the ban, that they might not bring a ban upon the camp of Israel. The construction in v. 16, “it came to pass at the seventh time the priests had blown the trumpets, then Joshua said, … ” is more spirited than if the conjunction had been used before , or had been used. Because the Lord had given Jericho into the hands of the Israelites, they were to consecrate it to Him as a ban ( cherem ), i.e., as a holy thing belonging to Jehovah, which was not to be touched by man, as being the first-fruits of the land of Canaan. (On cherem , see the remarks at Lev 27:28-29.) Rahab alone was excepted from this ban, along with all that belonged to her, because she had hidden the spies. The inhabitants of an idolatrous town laid under the ban were to be put to death, together with their cattle, and all the property in the town to be burned, as Moses himself had enjoined on the basis of the law in Lev 27:29. The only exceptions were metals, gold, silver, and the vessels of brass and iron; these were to be brought into the treasury of the Lord, i.e., the treasury of the tabernacle, as being holy to the Lord (Jos 6:19; vid., Num 31:54). Whoever took to himself anything that had been laid under the ban, exposed himself to the ban, not only because he had brought an abomination into his house, as Moses observes in Deu 7:25, in relation to the gold and silver of idols, but because he had wickedly invaded the rights of the Lord, by appropriating that which had been laid under the ban, and had wantonly violated the ban itself. The words, “beware of the ban, that ye do not ban and take of the ban” (Jos 6:18), point to this. As Lud. de Dieu observes, “the two things were altogether incompatible, to devote everything to God, and yet to apply a portion to their own private use; either the thing should not have been devoted, or having been devoted, it was their duty to abstain from it.” Any such appropriation of what had been laid under the ban would make the camp of Israel itself a ban, and trouble it, i.e., bring it into trouble ( conturbare , cf. Gen 34:30). In consequence of the trumpet-blast and the war-cry raised by the people, the walls of the town fell together, and the Israelites rushed into the town and took it, as had been foretold in Jos 6:5. The position of is not to be understood as signifying that the people had raised the war-cry before the trumpet-blast, but may be explained on the ground, that in his instructions in Jos 6:16 Joshua had only mentioned the shouting. But any misinterpretation is prevented by the fact, that it is expressly stated immediately afterwards, that the people did not raise the great shout till they heard the trumpet-blast.

As far as the event itself is concerned, the difference attempts which have been made to explain the miraculous overthrow of the walls of Jericho as a natural occurrence, whether by an earthquake, or by mining, or by sudden storming, for which the inhabitants, who had been thrown into a false security by the marvellous procession repeated day after day for several days, were quite unprepared (as Ewald has tried to explain the miracle away), really deserve no serious refutation, being all of them arbitrarily forced upon the text. It is only from the naturalistic stand-point that the miracle could ever be denied; for it not only follows most appropriately upon the miraculous guidance of Israel through the Jordan, but is in perfect harmony with the purpose and spirit of the divine plan of salvation. “It is impossible,” says Hess, “to imagine a more striking way, in which it could have been shown to the Israelites that Jehovah had given them the town. Now the river must retire to give them an entrance into the land, and now again the wall of the town must fall to make an opening into a fortified place. Two such decisive proofs of the co-operation of Jehovah so shortly after Moses’ death, must have furnished a pledge, even to the most sensual, that the same God was with them who had led their fathers so mightily and so miraculously through the Read Sea.” That this was in part the intention of the miracle, we learn from the close of the narrative (Jos 6:27). But this does not explain the true object of the miracle, or the reason why God gave up this town to the Israelites without any fighting on their part, through the miraculous overthrow of their walls. The reason for this we have to look for in the fact that Jericho was not only the first, but the strongest town of Canaan, and as such was the key to the conquest of the whole land, the possession of which would open the way to the whole, and give the whole, as it were, into their hands. The Lord would give His people the first and strongest town of Canaan, as the first-fruits of the land, without any effort on their part, as a sign that He was about to give them the whole land for a possession, according to His promise; in order that they might not regard the conquest of it as their own work, or the fruit of their own exertions, and look upon the land as a well-merited possession which they could do as they pleased with, but that they might ever use it as a gracious gift from the Lord, which he had merely conferred upon them as a trust, and which He could take away again, whenever they might fall from Him, and render themselves unworthy of His grace. This design on the part of God would of necessity become very obvious in the case of so strongly fortified a town as Jericho, whose walls would appear impregnable to a people that had grown up in the desert and was so utterly without experience in the art of besieging or storming fortified places, and in fact would necessarily remain impregnable, at all events for a long time, without the interposition of God. But if this was the reason why the Lord gave up Jericho to the Israelites by a miracle, it does not explain either the connection between the blast of trumpets or the war-cry of the people and the falling of the walls, or the reason for the divine instructions that the town was to be marched round every day for seven days, and seven times on the seventh day. Yet as this was an appointment of divine wisdom, it must have had some meaning.

The significance of this repeated marching round the town culminates unquestionably in the ark of the covenant and the trumpet-blast of the priests who went before the ark. In the account before us the ark is constantly called the ark of the Lord, to show that the Lord, who was enthroned upon the cherubim of the ark, was going round the hostile town in the midst of His people; whilst in Jos 6:8 Jehovah himself is mentioned in the place of the ark of Jehovah. Seven priests went before the ark, bearing jubilee trumpets and blowing during the march. The first time that we read of a trumpet-blast is at Sinai, where the Lord announced His descent upon the mount to the people assembled at the foot to receive Him, not only by other fearful phenomena, but also by a loud and long-continued trumpet-blast (Exo 19:16, Exo 19:19; Exo 20:14-18). After this we find the blowing of trumpets prescribed as part of the Israelitish worship in connection with the observance of the seventh new moon’s day (Lev 23:24), and at the proclamation of the great year of jubilee (Lev 25:9). Just as the trumpet-blast heard by the people when the covenant was made at Sinai was as it were a herald’s call, announcing to the tribes of Israel the arrival of the Lord their God to complete His covenant and establish His kingdom upon earth; so the blowing of trumpets in connection with the round of feasts was intended partly to bring the people into remembrance before the Lord year by year at the commencement of the sabbatical month, that He might come to them and grant them the Sabbath rest of His kingdom, and partly at the end of every seven times seven years to announce on the great day of atonement the coming of the great year of grace and freedom, which was to bring to the people of God deliverance from bondage, return to their own possessions, and deliverance from the bitter labours of this earth, and to give them a foretaste of the blessed and glorious liberty to which the children of God would attain at the return of the Lord to perfect His kingdom (vid., Pentateuch, pp. 631f.). But when the Lord comes to found, to build up, and to perfect His kingdom upon earth, He also comes to overthrow and destroy the worldly power which opposes His kingdom. The revelation of the grace and mercy of God to His children, goes ever side by side with the revelation of justice and judgment towards the ungodly who are His foes. If therefore the blast of trumpets was the signal to the congregation of Israel of the gracious arrival of the Lord its God to enter into fellowship with it, no less did it proclaim the advent of judgment to an ungodly world. This shows clearly enough the meaning of the trumpet-blast at Jericho. The priests, who went before the ark of the covenant (the visible throne of the invisible God who dwelt among His people) and in the midst of the hosts of Israel, were to announce through the blast of trumpets both to the Israelites and Canaanites the appearance of the Lord of the whole earth for judgment upon Jericho, the strong bulwark of the Canaanitish power and rule, and to foretel to them through the falling of the walls of this fortification, which followed the blast of trumpets and the wary-cry of the soldiers of God, the overthrow of all the strong bulwarks of an ungodly world through the omnipotence of the Lord of heaven and earth. Thus the fall of Jericho became the symbol and type of the overthrow of every worldly power before the Lord, when He should come to lead His people into Canaan and establish His kingdom upon earth. On the ground of this event, the blowing of trumpets is frequently introduced in the writings of the prophets, as the signal and symbolical omen of the manifestations of the Lord in great judgments, through which He destroys one worldly power after another, and thus maintains and extends His kingdom upon earth, and leads it on towards that completion to which it will eventually attain when He descends from heaven in His glory at the time of the last trump, with a great shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, to raise the dead and change the living, to judge the world, cast the devil, death, and hell into the lake of fire, create a new heaven and new earth, and in the new Jerusalem erect the tabernacle of God among men for all eternity (1Co 15:51.; 1Th 4:16-17; Rev 20:1; 21).

The appointment of the march round Jericho, which was to be continued for seven days, and to be repeated seven times on the seventh day, was equally significant. The number seven is a symbol in the Scriptures of the work of God and of the perfection already produced or to be eventually secured by Him; a symbol founded upon the creation of the world in six days, and the completion of the works of creation by the resting of God upon the seventh day. Through this arrangement, that the walls of Jericho were not to fall till after they had been marched round for seven days, and not till after this had been repeated seven times on the seventh day, and then amidst the blast of the jubilee trumpets and the war-cry of the soldiers of the people of God, the destruction of this town, the key to Canaan, was intended by God to become a type of the final destruction at the last day of the power of this world, which exalts itself against the kingdom of God. In this way He not only showed to His congregation that it would not be all at once, but only after long-continued conflict, and at the end of the world, that the worldly power by which it was opposed would be overthrown, but also proved to the enemies of His kingdom, that however long their power might sustain itself in opposition to the kingdom of God, it would at last be destroyed in a moment.

Jos 6:21-23

After the taking of Jericho, man and beast were banned, i.e., put to death without quarter (Jos 6:21; cf. Jos 6:17); Rahab and her relations being the only exceptions. Joshua had directed the two spies to fetch them out of her house, and in the first instance had them taken to a place of safety outside the camp of Israel (Jos 6:22, Jos 6:23). “Her brethren,” i.e., her brothers and sisters, as in Jos 2:13, not her brothers only. “All that she had” does not mean all her possessions, but all the persons belonging to her house; and “all her kindred ” are all her relations by birth or marriage, with their dependants (cf. Jos 2:13). Clericus is correct in observing, that as Rahab’s house was built against the town-wall, and rested partly upon it (Jos 2:15), when the wall fell down, that portion against or upon which the house stood cannot have fallen along with the rest, “otherwise when the wall fell no one would have dared to remain in the house.” But we must not draw the further inference, that when the town was burned Rahab’s house was spared.

(Note: The statements made by travellers in the middle ages, to the effect that they had seen Rahab’s house ( Rob. Pal. ii. pp. 295-6), belong to the delusions of pious superstition.)

(Jos 6:23; cf. Gen 19:16), “they let them rest,” i.e., placed them in safety, “outside the camp of Israel,” sc., till they had done all that was requisite for a formal reception into the congregation of the Lord, viz., by giving up idolatry and heathen superstition, and turning to the God of Israel as the only true God (to which circumcision had to be added in the case of the men), and by whatever lustrations and purifications were customary at the time in connection with reception into the covenant with Jehovah, of which we have no further information.

Jos 6:24-25

After man and beast had been put to death, and Rahab and her relatives had been placed in security, the Israelites set the town on fire with everything in it, excepting the metals, which were taken to the treasury of the tabernacle, as had been commanded in Jos 6:19. On the conquest of the other towns of Canaan the inhabitants only were put to death, whilst the cattle and the rest of the booty fell to the conquerors, just as in the case of the conquest of the land and towns of Sihon and Og (compare Jos 8:26-27; Jos 10:28, with Deu 2:34-35, and Deu 3:6-7), as it was only the inhabitants of Canaan that the Lord had commanded to be put under the ban (Deu 7:2; Deu 20:16-17). In the case of Jericho, on the contrary, men, cattle, and booty were all put under the ban, and the town itself was to be laid in ashes. This was because Jericho was the first town of Canaan which the Lord had given up to His people. Israel was therefore to sacrifice it to the Lord as the first-fruits of the land, and to sanctify it to Him as a thing placed under the ban, for a sign that they had received the whole land as a fief from his hand, and had no wish to grasp as a prey that which belonged to the Lord.

Jos 6:25

But Rahab and all that belonged to her Joshua suffered to live, so that she dwelt in Israel “unto this day.” It is very evident from this remark, that the account was written not very long after the event.

(Note: Rahab is no doubt the same person as the Rachab mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, who married Salmon the tribe prince of Judah, to whom she bore Boaz, an ancestor of David (Mat 1:5). The doubts which Theophylact expressed as to the identity of the two, and which J. Outhou has since sought to confirm, rest for the most part upon the same doctrinal scruples as those which induced the author of the Chaldee version to make Rahab an innkeeper, namely, the offence taken at her dishonourable calling. Jerome’s view, on the other hand, is a very satisfactory one. “In the genealogy of the Saviour,” he says, “none of the holy women are included, but only those whom the Scriptures blame, that He who came on behalf of sinners, being himself born of sinners, might destroy the sins of all.” The different ways in which the name is written, viz., hee Rhacha’b in Matthew, andChaab in the Sept. version of Joshua, and in Heb 11:31 and Jam 2:25, is not enough to throw any doubt upon the identity of the two, as Josephus always calls the harlot Rahab hee Rhacha’bee. The chronological difficulty, that Salmon and Rahab lived much too soon to have been the parents of Boaz, which is adduced by Knobel as an argument against the identity of the mother of Boaz and the harlot Rahab, has no force unless it can be proved that every link is given in the genealogy of David (in Rth 4:21-22; 1Ch 2:11; Mat 1:5), and that Boaz was really the great-grandfather of David; whereas the very opposite, viz., the omission from the genealogies of persons of no celebrity, is placed beyond all doubt by many cases that might be cited. Nothing more is known of Rahab. The accounts of the later Rabbins, such as that she was married to Joshua, or that she was the mother of eight prophets, and others of the same kind, are fables without the slightest historical foundation (see Lightfoot, hor. hebr. et talm. in Mat 1:5).)

Jos 6:26-27

But in order to complete the ban pronounced upon Jericho in perfect accordance with the command of God in Deu 13:17, and to make the destruction of it a memorial to posterity of the justice of God sanctifying itself upon the ungodly, Joshua completed the ban with an oath: “Cursed be the man before the Lord that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho; he shall lay the foundation thereof at the price of his first-born, and set up its gates at the price of his youngest son” ( denoting the price of a thing). The rhythmical parallelism is unmistakeable in this curse. The two last clauses express the thought that the builder of the town would pay for its restoration by the loss of all his sons, from the first-born to the very youngest. The word “buildeth,” however, does not refer to the erection of houses upon the site of the town that had been burnt to ashes, but to the restoration of the town as a fortification, the word being frequently used to denote the fortification of a town (e.g., 1Ki 15:17; 2Ch 11:6; 2Ch 14:5-6). This is evident in general from the fact that a town is not founded by the erection of a number of houses upon one spot, but by the joining of these houses together into an enclosed whole by means of a surrounding wall, but more particularly from the last words of the verse, in which is explained as (lay the foundation thereof) and (set up the gates of it). Setting up the gates of a town is not setting up doors to the houses, but erecting town-gates, which can only be done when a town-wall has been built. But if setting up the gates would be a sign of the completion of the wall, and therefore of the restoration of the town as a fortification, the “founding” (laying the foundation) mentioned in the parallel clause can only be understood as referring to the foundation of the town-wall. This view of the curse, which is well supported both by the language and the facts, is also confirmed by the subsequent history. Joshua himself allotted Jericho to the Benjamites along with certain other towns (Jos 18:21), which proves that he intended them to inhabit it; and accordingly we find the city of palms, i.e., Jericho, mentioned afterwards as an inhabited place (Jdg 3:13; 2Sa 10:5), and yet it was not till the time of Ahab that Joshua’s curse was fulfilled, when Hiel the Bethelite undertook to make it into a fortified town (1Ki 16:34).

(Note: Knobel’s opinion, that the Jericho mentioned between the times of Joshua and Ahab in all probability did not stand upon the old site which Hiel was the first to build upon again, is at variance with 1Ki 16:34, as it is not stated there that he rebuilt the old site of Jericho, but that he began to build the town of Jericho, which existed, according to 2Sa 10:5 and Jdg 3:13, in the time of David, and even of the judges, i.e., to restore it as a fortified town; and it is not raised into a truth by any appeal to the statements of Strabo, Appian, and others, to the effect that Greeks and Romans did not choose places for building upon which any curse rested.)

Jos 6:27

Thus the Lord was with Joshua, fulfilling His promise to him (Jos 1:5.), so that his fame spread through all the land.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

6 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. 7 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. 8 And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. 9 And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. 10 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. 11 So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. 12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. 13 And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. 14 And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. 15 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. 16 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.

We have here an account of the cavalcade which Israel made about Jericho, the orders Joshua gave concerning it, as he had received them from the Lord and their punctual observance of these orders. We do not find that he gave the people the express assurances God had given him that he would deliver the city into their hands; but he tried whether they would obey orders with a general confidence that it would end well, and we find them very observant both of God and Joshua.

I. Wherever the ark went the people attended it, v. 9. The armed men went before it to clear the way, not thinking it any disparagement to them, though they were men of war, to be pioneers to the ark of God. If any obstacle should be found in crossing the roads that led to the city (which they must do in walking round it) they would remove it; if any opposition should be made by the enemy, they would encounter it, that the priests’ march with the ark might be easy and safe. It is an honour to the greatest men to do any good office to the ark and to serve the interests of religion in their country. The rereward, either another body of armed men, or Dan’s squadron, which marched last through the wilderness, or, as some think, the multitude of the people who were not armed or disciplined for war (as many of them as would) followed the ark, to testify their respect to it, to grace the solemnity, and to be witnesses of what was done. Every faithful zealous Israelite would be willing to undergo the same fatigues and run the same hazard with the priests that bore the ark.

II. Seven priests went immediately before the ark, having trumpets in their hands, with which they were continually sounding, Jos 6:4; Jos 6:5; Jos 6:9; Jos 6:13. The priests were God’s ministers, and thus in his name, 1. They proclaimed war with the Canaanites, and so stuck a terror upon them; for by terrors upon their spirits they were to be conquered and subdued. Thus God’s ministers, by the solemn declarations of his wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, must blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in the holy mountain, that the sinners in Zion may be afraid. They are God’s heralds to denounce war against all those that go on still in their trespasses, but say, “We shall have peace, though we go on.” 2. They proclaimed God’s gracious presence with Israel, and so put life and courage into them. It was appointed that when they went to war the priests should encourage them with the assurance of God’s presence with them, Deut. xx. 2-4. And particularly their blowing with trumpets was to be a sign to the people that they should be remembered before the Lord Their God in the day of battle, Num. x. 9. It encouraged Abijah, 2 Chron. xiii. 12. Thus God’s ministers, by sounding the Jubilee trumpet of the everlasting gospel, which proclaims liberty and victory, must encourage the good soldiers of Jesus Christ in their spiritual warfare.

III. The trumpets they used were not those silver trumpets which were appointed to be made for their ordinary service, but trumpets of rams’ horns, bored hollow for the purpose, as some think. These trumpets were of the basest matter, dullest sound, and least show, that the excellency of the power might be of God. Thus by the foolishness of preaching, fitly compared to the sounding of these rams’ horns, the devil’s kingdom is thrown down; and the weapons of our warfare, though they are not carnal nor seem to a carnal eye likely to bring any thing to pass, are yet mighty through God to the pulling down of strong-holds,2Co 10:4; 2Co 10:5. The word here is trumpets of Jobel, that is, such trumpets as they used to blow withal in the year of jubilee; so many interpreters understand it, as signifying the complete liberty to which Israel was now brought, and the bringing of the land of Canaan into the hands of its just and rightful owners.

IV. All the people were commanded to be silent, not to speak a word, nor make any noise (v. 10), that they might the more carefully attend to the sound of the sacred trumpets, which they were now to look upon as the voice of God among them; and it does not become us to speak when God is speaking. It likewise intimates their reverent expectation of the event. Zech. ii. 13, Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord. Exod. xiv. 14, God shall fight, and you shall hold your peace.

V. They were to do this once a day for six days together and seven times the seventh day, and they did so, Jos 6:14; Jos 6:15. God could have caused the walls of Jericho to fall upon the first surrounding of them, but they must go round them thirteen times before they fall, that they might be kept waiting patiently for the Lord. Though they had lately come into Canaan, and their time was very precious (for they had a great deal of work before them), yet they must linger so many days about Jericho, seeming to do nothing, nor to make any progress in their business. As promised deliverances must be expected in God’s way, so they must be expected in his time. He that believes does not make haste, not more haste than God would have him make. Go yet seven times, before any thing hopeful appears, 1 Kings xviii. 43.

VI. One of these days must needs be a sabbath day, and the Jews say that it was the last, but this is not certain; however, if he that appointed them to rest on the other sabbath days appointed them to walk on this, that was sufficient to justify them in it; he never intended to bind himself by his own laws, but that when he pleased he might dispense with them. The impotent man went upon this principle when he argued (John v. 11), He that made me whole (and therefore has a divine power) said unto me, Take up thy bed. And, in this case here, it was an honour to the sabbath day, by which our time is divided into weeks, that just seven days were to be spent in this work, and seven priests were employed to sound seven trumpets, this number being, on this occasion, as well as many others, made remarkable, in remembrance of the six day’s work of creation and the seventh day’s rest from it. And, besides, the law of the sabbath forbids our own work, which is servile and secular, but this which they did was a religious act. It is certainly no breach of the sabbath rest to do the sabbath work, for the sake of which the rest was instituted; and what is the sabbath work but to attend the ark in all its motions?

VII. They continued to do this during the time appointed, and seven times the seventh day, though they saw not any effect of it, believing that at the end the vision would speak and not lie, Hab. ii. 3. If we persevere in the way of duty, we shall lose nothing by it in the long run. It is probable they walked at such a distance from the walls as to be out of the reach of the enemies’ arrows and out of the hearing of their scoffs. We may suppose the oddness of the thing did at first amuse the besieged, but by the seventh day they had grown secure, feeling no harm from that which perhaps they looked upon as an enchantment. Probably they bantered the besiegers, as those mentioned in Neh. iv. 2, “What do these feeble Jews? Is this the people we thought so formidable? Are these their methods of attack?” Thus they cried peace and safety, that the destruction might be the more terrible when it came. Wicked men (says bishop Hall) think God in jest when he is preparing for their judgment; but they will be convinced of their mistake when it is too late.

VIII. At last they were to give a shout, and did so, and immediately the walls fell, v. 16. This was a shout for mastery, a triumphant shout; the shout of a king is among them, Num. xxiii. 21. This was a shout of faith; they believed that the walls of Jericho would fall, and by this faith the walls were thrown down. It was a shot of prayer, an echo to the sound of the trumpets which proclaimed the promise that God would remember them; with one accord, as one man, they cry to heaven for help, and help comes in. Some allude to this to show that we must never expect a complete victory over our own corruptions till the very evening of our last day, and then we shall shout in triumph over them, when we come to the number and measure of our perfection, as bishop Hall expresses it. A good heart (says he) groans under the sense of his infirmities, fain would be rid of them, and strives and prays, but, when all is done, until the end of the seventh day it cannot be; then judgment shall be brought forth unto victory. And at the end of time, when our Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout, and the sound of a trumpet, Satan’s kingdom shall be completely ruined, and not till then, when all opposing rule, principality, and power, shall be effectually and eternally put down.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Six Days Marching Around, vs. 6-11

These verses explain how Joshua gave the Lord’s command to the priests and the people, and how they willingly complied with it.

In the vanguard were the armed soldiers, followed by the seven priests blowing the trumpets, leading the ark, which was the representation of the Lord among them.

Finally came the rearward, or the rear-guard. The only noise to be heard was to be the mournful notes of the rams’ horns. Not a sound was to be uttered by the people, not even any conversation.

Thus it was to be until the day they were commanded by Joshua to shout, and then they could shout their loudest. These people belonged to the Lord and this orderliness and discipline would well become them as His people.

They seem to have obeyed the command completely, for the success of the plan depended on their faithfulness, (Joh 2:4).

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

CRITICAL NOTES.

Jos. 6:8. Before the Lord] The Ark is now taken as the symbol of the Divine presence, just as the Pillar of Cloud had been formerly.

Jos. 6:9. The armed men went before] These are thought to have been the chosen men of the two and a half tribes. The chalutz, or selected troops, went before the Ark, and the measseph, or massed troops, followed the Ark. [Crosby.]

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Jos. 6:6-16; Jos. 6:20

THE FALL OF JERICHO

In looking at the general features of this attack on Jericho, and of the overthrow of the city, there are three things specially prominent:

I. The significance of the typical formul. Certain forms were very minutely and emphatically commanded by God for the direction of Joshua and the people. These are defined with so much care and precision, and urged in detail so particularly, that they cannot be passed by as insignificant. What were they meant to teach? What would God impress upon the Israelites by these unusual and conspicuous methods of attack?

1. Here is a repeated and very marked introduction of the number seven. There are seven priests, seven trumpets, seven days for the continuance of the siege, one journey round the city each day, making seven daily circuits, and then seven circuits on the last day. The long blast of the trumpets, the great shout of the people, and the sudden falling of the walls, were to immediately succeed this seventh circuit thus made on the seventh day. When we remember that God was avowedly teaching His people by outward signs, it is impossible to regard all this as empty repetition. We should endeavour to ascertain the meaning and force of this use of the number to these Israelites; then, striking off any differences between their outward circumstances and our own, the principles which remain will be the Divine teaching to us. Kitto, Keil, Bhr, and Hengstenberg all agree that this use of the number seven had reference to the covenant between Jehovah and Israel. Dr. Kitto points out very fully that this number has ever had remarkable prominence in many nations besides that of the Jews, and thinks that the one great fact in which all this originated is the work of creation in seven days. Several of the following illustrations are from Kittos remarks on the subject. Grimm says, Even at the present day the number seven is curiously regarded in Germany in matters of evidence. In England we have seven years parliaments. Leases of farms and houses are drawn for seven, fourteen, or twenty-one years. Persons come of age at thrice seven years. The transportation of criminals, the indentures of apprenticeship, and other similar matters, have had reference to the number seven. These cases have each to do with legal covenants and transactions. Among the gifts with which Agamemnon proposed to seal a covenant of peace with Achilles, Homer speaks of

Seven tripods, unsullied yet with fire,

and further on, of seven female captives, skilled in domestic arts, the latter especially intended as an atonement-offering to the wrathful hero. It is said that among the ancient Arabians, when men pledged their faith to each other by oath, blood, drawn from an incision near the mid-finger of the contracting parties, was sprinkled upon seven stones, placed between them, and while this was done, they called upon their gods. In the Hebrew language, as in the Sanscrit, the words for an oath and for seven are the same. In the former language, Sheba has that twofold meaning; hence the question whether the name Beer-sheba, where Abraham and Abimelech confirmed their covenant by a solemn oath, means the well of the oath, or the well of seven, or seven wells. If, in this remarkable instance, we dispense with the allusion in the name to the number seven, that number is still present; for before the oath was uttered, Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs in so marked a manner as to attract the inquiries of the king, to whom the patriarch answered, These seven ewe lambs shalt thou take at my hand, that they may be a witness unto me that I have digged this well. So Balak builds for Balaam seven altars in order to secure a covenant with their gods for a curse on Israel. Asa and Hezekiah, in after years, each brings his offerings in sevens, to renew the national covenant before the Lord. Naaman dips seven times in Jordan. This prominence given to this particular number is seen running not less conspicuously through the Jewish rites and sacrifices. The altar itself, at its original establishment, was to be consecrated for seven days to render it most holy. A young animal was not held fit for sacrifice until it had remained seven days with its dam; and so likewise the male child, among the Hebrews, was, after seven days, that is, on the eighth day, consecrated to the Lord by circumcision. By referring to a concordance, these instances will be seen to be only a few among many which go to illustrate the sacredness attached to this number by the Jews both before and after this siege of Jericho.

While fanciful meanings are to be deprecated, there can be no possible doubt that, in this attack on Jericho, God designed to call the attention of the Jews to His covenant. They were to go up to this battle, and to all of which this was meant to be a pattern, remembering the oath of the Lord to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So, in all our conflicts, we are to fight in sight of the promises, most of all remembering the blood of the everlasting covenant, by which alone we can be victorious, (a) Do we work for the salvation of our fellows in view of Gods unfailing word? Is the work of parents for their children, of teachers for their classes, of ministers for their congregations, sufficiently carried on in the light of covenanted blessing? Do we not often go in our own strength to battles in which we can only hope to succeed as we go in the strength of the Lord? In vulgar phrase, it is number one, and not number seven, that we emblazon on our banners; it is about our poor weak personality that we hang our expectations, instead of resting on the sure word of Jehovah. How some of the old prophets were wont to cry, For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it! No matter what was to be done, if they could only say that: it might be the captivity of a whole nation at Babylon, or a return from such a captivity; it might be a cradle at Bethlehem, a cross on Calvary, and a Redeemer for the whole world; if they could only say, The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it, their utterance was ever given in the energy of faith and in the unhesitating tones of triumph. If we only went to our work and conflicts with all our hopes, like this army of Israelites, gathering about a covenant centre, we should not so often be talking about our own weakness, or about the hopeless wickedness of those whom we seek to win for the Saviour. The very fact that we are so disheartened at our own feebleness, or at the difficulty of the work which we are seeking to compass, says, as plainly as it well could be said, that we have scarcely so much as given the covenant a thought, much less our trust. (b) Are we bearing our sufferings through faith in Divine words? Is number one, or is number seven, the more conspicuous here? (c) Are we seeking to subdue personal sin, having all our hopes of victory gathering about what the mouth of the Lord hath spoken? Thoughts like these are surely thoughts which God meant us to reflect on, as He had these ancient words written for our admonition.

2. Here is the prominent position given to the Ark. This has already been adverted to under the previous verses. We not only need the promises, but their Divine Author.

3. Here is the impressive silence of the people (Jos. 6:10). Not only did it need that the Lord should be there, but men were to be as though they were not there. They were to keep silence before Him whose presence was necessary, and not so much as to pretend that they had any real part in getting the victory.

4. Here is the equally impressive shout which immediately preceded the overthrow of the walls (Jos. 6:16-20). The Lord would have His enemies to see that He and His people are in close union. The men of Jericho must have seen that the God of Israel was doing all; the shout which just anticipated the fall of the walls would shew that God had means of making His time known to the Israelites, and that they in turn fully believed in Him. This is a shout of faith, and a shout of anticipating praise.

II. The severity of the spiritual discipline.

1. God tries His servants by commanding things which apparently have little adaptation to the end sought. How absurd this marching would seem to the critical Israelitish mind; and how the patience of the intelligent part of the host would be tried. If the dividing of the Jordan had not been so fresh in mind, we feel as though there might have been yet another rebellion. But this process of besieging the city, which looks so unnatural to us, was exactly adapted to accomplish the purpose of Jehovah. God was not waiting all this time to collect His energy for the everthrow of a few walls. He was not waiting to gather up His power for the destruction of the Canaanites. He could have spoken and destroyed the city and the idolaters at a word. The Lord had a more exalted war. His battle was with human hearts. He was seeking to overcome these Israelites rather than those Canaanites. He would subdue them to Himself with faith, and bind them fast with wonder and thankfulness and love. And whatever intelligent men might think of fancied absurdities in this conflict, surely there never was such a display of military genius before. These tactics of human silence and the quiet walking of so vast an host around Jericho for six days were adapted with infinite wisdom to overawe the Canaanites. We can fancy the fear which kept growing up for those six days within the city, which took on new alarms at the unusual succession of these silent marches on the seventh day, and which made the hearts of the idolaters to melt and become as water indeed when that great shout of faith rent the air and seemed to crumble the very walls to dust. If the Israelites had only fought a little more humanly, the Canaanites might have hoped; what hope dared they encourage before these men who brought with them a superhuman history, and then gave the history vivid realism by these superhuman methods? The very air through the whole week must have felt increasingly awful in the noiseless and tremulous suspense which, as the stillness preceding a tropical storm, silently heralded the coming God. And the strategy which was so divinely wise to conquer the Canaanites through fear, was not less adapted to subdue the Israelites through wonder and joy and love. Gods way with the idolaters was wise; but His real war was with the Israelites, and that was not less wise. No one can think of lack of adaptation, much less entertain the idea of absurdity, who pauses sufficiently to understand where the real brunt of the battle lay. The world still goes on with its intelligent criticisms, passed now on the Gospel and the Church; and it not seldom misses its way altogether through failing to understand what God is about, and where His conflict is meant to bear. Men approach Calvary from a mental and scientific standpoint, and take their observations in the light of systematic theology; the strategy of the cross is directed to the conscience, and while it has enough of sweet reasonableness to make a feint upon the mind, its heavier and real movements are ever made upon the heart. Men discuss the foolishness of preaching, and make merry over what they call the truth of the apostolic description; they do not heed that the larger half of Gods battle may be with the proud hearts which have to cry, Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel, and with the discontented spirits who have to hear. They do not know that mere intellectualism may be but a proud parade in mental uniform, and that, to some natures, it needs as much humility and grace to preach a good sermon as it might have needed, under the pretence of military genius, to march for six days around Jericho. These are but indications; but everywhere men are misreading Gods plan of battle, and forgetting that half of His war is to take captive, through severe discipline and surprising successes, the men who are named His people, but whom He is wishing to see more entirely His own. He could overawe the world with a word, if that were all; instead of that, He is designing that men should choose Him and love Him for what He is, and, humbling themselves everywhere to prefer His will to their own, glorify Him for what He does.

2. God would have His servants feel that they need as much trial to bear victory as they could possibly realize even in defeat. In heaven we may be able to bear triumphs without preparation; on earth we need go to victory so as to provoke the scorn of our foes, lest our victory should be even worse than defeat. In our defeats, Gods plan is to lead us through defeat straight to victory, lest we be discouraged; in our victories, His way is to lead us to success through paths of shame and weariness, lest victory be the most utter defeat of all. Thus does He contrive everywhere to make His people more than conquerors.

III. The splendour of Divine triumphs.

1. Gods victories are openly won before the eyes of men, but no eye sees the process. Of old, and not less now, he saps the walls silently, and undermines them secretly. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

2. Gods victories are preceded by an unaccountable feeling of expectation. Jericho held its breath in awe; Israel marched on in outward silence, but inwardly was full of the joy of anticipated triumph. On both sides, human consciousness was acknowledging the approach of its Maker. So has it been in many of the revivals of the Church. 3. When God begins to fight, His triumphs admit of no question. Human fortifications simply serve to shew Divine prowess.

4. The victories of God are each preliminary to triumph which is final, and to conquest which is universal. This first victory at Jericho contemplated nothing less than the possession of all Canaan. Thus it is also in the kingdom of Christ; the cross contemplates a last enemy, pronounces that that enemy shall be destroyed, and says of the greater JOSHUA, He shall reign for ever and ever.

OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES

Jos. 6:6-9.THE SPIRIT OF THE TRUE SERVANT.

In the opening verses of this chapter we have the record of the Divine commands which were given to Joshua concerning the siege of Jericho. In these verses which follow, we see the impression made on Joshuas mind by the vision with which he was favoured, and by the words which he heard.

I. The true servant gives reverent attention to that which his Lord says. Joshua seems not to have lost a word, or to have forgotten anything which he was commanded. He was not so absorbed in the glory of the Divine Presence as to forget the importance of the Divine message. Joshua did not lack reverence; he bowed low before the majesty of God, and fell on his face to the earth. Joshua could not but feel the greatness of the honour done to himself in this visit so graciously made to him by his Lord. He at once accepted the subordinate position, and said to his Divine Commander, What said my Lord unto His servant? Joshuas profound reverence did not distract his attention, and his sense of the honour conferred upon him by God did not take shape in conduct which would prave him unworthy of such honour. There is not a word in the chapter to show that Joshua proclaimed to the people the fact that he had been favoured with this vision; he may have communicated it to the officers, but even of that nothing is said. Certainly no parade of this distinctive honour appears to have been made.

1. He serves well who accepts his Lords distinctive favours as a stimulus to work, rather than as giving an occasion for display. Gods honours cannot but delight His people, but the man who receives honour to parade it assuredly does not use it as God would have him. Whatever of truth there may be in those lines of one of Dr. Wattss noblest hymns, in which he says,

But favourites of the Heavenly King

May speak their joys abroad;

many have felt this exultant note of joy in favouritism was not written in that higher and nobler mood which best becomes those who love the Lord. Given that the doctrine represents nothing but the truth, the spirit of that single note jars painfully through the otherwise exalted harmony of the whole hymn. Our distinctive favours are to help us in service rather than in song; they are rather for meditation than for exhibition; they are not so much for others as for ourselves.

2. He worships well who so adores the Divine glory as to endeavour to magnify it yet more. We are not to be so absorbed in our visions, and so taken up with our more ecstatio moments of fellowship with God, as to let them end only in communion. The glory of the Lord must never take away our attention from His commandments. Even Saul of Tarsus, ere he became a servant indeed, cried out under the bright light which revealed to him the presence and majesty of the Son of God, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? So Joshua, the obedient man of many years, asks at once from his prostrate position of adoration, What saith my Lord unto His servant? It is not enough to exult in Gods glory as seen in nature, as seen in His attributes and word, or as seen in the character of Jesus Christ; the best reverence we can pay to Him is, while we worship, to hide His words in our hearts. That is the first step in the way to victory.

II. The true servant faithfully makes known the words of the Lord to his fellows. The verses in which Joshua speaks to the people are so very like the verses in which the Lord speaks to Joshua, that they sound like a mere recapitulation. This is as it should be.

1. Our human imaginings are not to be put instead of Divine words. What we think is not even to be added to what God says, with any view of perfecting His plan or supplying His omissions. Joshua had been the general of this army for forty years, and out of his large experience he could readily have made suggestions for the attack, which would have commended themselves to the people; he merely tells them what God has said. He alters nothing, and he does but amplify in order to explain and enforce that which he has heard. Such is the spirit of all true preaching.

2. Our human apologies or excuses are never needed for Divine words, and are always out of place. If ever an apologetic tone in reiterating Gods words were allowable, surely it would have been here. This military order was so strange. The people had seen something of war, and had some experience in war; and this command to march round a fortified city in silence for six days, and to shout at the close of the seventh circuit on the seventh day, must certainly have had a peculiar sound. Joshua does not explain the command; he does not even add a word to remind them that God had lately so revealed Himself in the dividing of the Jordan, that however strange might be His precepts, He had a right to unquestioning obedience. Joshua simply tells what he has heard, and bids the people do it. That is all that this faithful servant has to say on the matter. This was very beautiful in Joshua the soldier. It was like saying, Obey orders, and ask no questions. It was accepting the orders of his own Commander implicitly; and it was the right method to adopt, if he would have his soldiers obey their commander. This spirit was even more admirable in Joshua the servant; it was as though he should say to himself, Who am I to suggest aught of excuse for the Lord? This spirit, also, is a pre-requisite for victory. Our preaching must have no additions to the Gospel, and no apologies for the strange ways of Divine mercy and love. Pardon without penance may sound peculiar, atonement through blood may appear both awful and strange, victory through faith may not seem the fittest way of triumph to us; perhaps he will honour God best, and lead most of his fellows to salvation, who simply tells out the story as it is. The philosophy of the cross is not the secret of its triumph, and preaching about the Gospel may be ever so different from preaching the Gospel itself. It is well that some should explain the way of the Lord, no doubt; yet the exposition of Divine truth should ever be given in the spirit of its enforcement. The tone of apology, however; must always be as offensive to God as it is injurious to men. The way to victory is not that way.

III. The true servant not only hears attentively, and reiterates faithfully; he also obeys promptly. Sometimes, in our prayers, we plead before God as David didDo as Thou hast said. If we would have God do as He has said, we must do as He has said also. Joshua looks forward in faith to victory, but only through promptly obeying the Divine word. When we can lose our way and will in the way and will of God as Joshua did here, we shall not be far removed from triumphs similar to his. As we become perfect in the spirit of serving the Lord, so shall we become more than conquerors over the world.

Jos. 6:10.THE SILENT AND DILIGENT SERVICE OF MEN PRELIMINARY TO THE MANIFEST WORKING OF GOD.

I. The silence of obedience. There are places where we are commanded to stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. Where speech might have been murmuring, and thus rebellion, Aaron held his peace.

II. The silence of humility. When the Lord fights for us, it best becomes us to let all men see that the battle is not ours, but His. As Mackintosh has said, No one would think of bringing a lighted candle to add brightness to the sun at mid-day; and yet the man who would do so might well be accounted wise, in comparison with him who attempts to assist God by his bustling officiousness. The only possible effect of human efforts is to raise a dust which obscures the view of Gods salvation.

God doth not need

Either mans work, or His own gifts: who best
Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed,
And post oer land and ocean without rest;

They also serve, who only stand and wait.

Miltons Sonnets.

The Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him.

III. The silence of patience. They who serve God can well afford to wait. The walls which fall not on the sixth day, will yet give way on the seventh. He who can only work when success is manifest, is but a poor servant; and he who can only fight in the hour of evident victory, is not worthy of the name of soldier. How the Saviour waited during those thirty long years ere He began His work! Speaking of Him in that period, F. W. Robertson said, A mere mana weak, emotional man of spasmodic feelinga hot enthusiastwould have spoken out at once, and at once been crushed. The Everlasting Word Incarnate bided His own time,Mine hour is not yet come; matured His energies, condensed them by repression; and then He went forth to speak and do and suffer. His hour was come. This is strengththe power of a Divine silence, the strong will to keep force till it is wanted, the power to wait Gods time. Not less patiently did Christ wait after His work commenced. He knew how to pass through the midst of wrathful men, who sought to cast Him from the brow of the hill at Nazareth on the very day when He began His ministry, and yet not to be discouraged. He could endure to say, The Son of man hath not where to lay His head, and not only to say that, but to feel the bitterness of such rejection as none but He could feel it, and yet to continue His silent and holy service. He could bear to know that neither did His brethren believe on Him, and still work. He could see one apostle waiting in weakness to deny Him, and another in malice already on the way to betray Him, and then, glancing back over His apparently fruitless ministry, say to the eleven, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. He could enter into the agony of Gethsemane, expire amid the hootings of a nation who crowned their rejection of Him on Golgotha, pass into the darkness of the tomb, and emerging thence say even to the disciples who had all forsaken Him and fled, Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. Though despised and rejected of men, He commanded them to wait for the promise of the Father in the very place where men would have said failure was most apparent; and when that promise of the Father came, they were to arise and preach the Gospel among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. There is nothing that preaches to us, Be silent to the Lord, and wait patiently for Him (Psa. 37:7, Marg.), as does the Lords own life. In its beginnings, throughout its duration, and in its earthly end, that Life seems to spend itself in telling out with Divine force the word of the ancient prophetIt is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

IV. The silence of faith. Silence is a time of power, not of weakness. T. T. Lynch has told us that

In silence, mighty things are wrought;

and, similarly, another,

How grand is silence! In her tranquil deeps
What mighty things are born!

and FaberWhen God spake all things into being, the everlasting silence remained unbroken. No stir was seen, no commotion felt. The starting into life of ten thousand times ten thousand millions of angels from the deep abyss of eternity, created no noise. The creation of millions upon millions of worlds, by the fiat of His matchless power, was done in noiselessness and peace. Man may need commotion and disturbance to assure him that work is being done, silence is sufficient for God; and sometimes, as here around Jericho, God asks His children to believe, although there is nothing but Himself on which their faith can rest. When His children do thus rest in faith, they are content to walk on in the same silence out of which God so loves to evolve His mightiest works.

V. The silence of expectation and awe. We feel as if this very shout must have had, almost within it, a silence intense, profound, and absolutely awful. In his Battle of the Baltic, when the fleets of England and Denmark had met, and were about to engage, Campbell sells us,

There was silence deep as death;
And the boldest held his breath,
For a time:

When each gun

From its adamantine lips
Spread a death-shade round the ships,
Like the hurricane eclipse
Of the sun.

So intense and terrible do we feel the silence must have been which preceded, and which again immediately succeeded this fear-filling shout from six hundred thousand believing men. When they had thus given Jehovahs chosen sign for His own working to commence, what would God do?the God who had made a path through the sea, and divided the Jordan; how would He begin His war on Jericho? Joshua knew how; but had he told the people? It seems not; and yet all Israel must have felt that this was the crisis. How would Omnipotence declare itself? We can almost feel, even now, the bated breath that made silence painful ere that shout was given, and the yet more awful stillness, coupled as it would be with intense gazing and terrible expectation, which abruptly followedso abruptly, perhaps, that all straggling sounds of single lingering voices were choked back in the solemn hush that fell like a spell upon the host. What would God do now? And then, almost as they ask that silent question, the walls fall in upon themselves, a cloud of dust arises right round the city, another solemn stillness succeeds the murmur of awe among the Israelites which the sight had involuntarily provoked; the cloud clears away, fear and pain have taken hold upon the fleeing idolaters; then the trumpets of the priests suddenly sound forth in the midst of the hosts of Israel, and the army of the Lord charges on the devoted city on all sides at once, and proceeds to execute the terrible ban of cherem in slaughter and burning.

If such be the temporal punishment of sin, what must be its final judgment? If such be the awe gathering around the overthrow of one guilty city, what of those moments when the hosts of the wicked of all time stand before the judgment seat of Christ? The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. In that day it shall again be said, Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.

Jos. 6:11.

I. The first day of obedient service on the part of the Lords people. No murmurings are recorded as having been uttered against doing a meaningless task. In days like these, no desertions occur from the army of the Lord to the side of the Lords enemies. Contempt and scorn would hardly be felt by those who had seen the mercy of Jehovah in the dividing of the river. Rest must have been sweet on the night succeeding this days toil; it was the rest of obedience overshadowed by mercies which were hardly past, and made refreshing by promises almost fulfilled.

II. The first day of more direct and solemn warning to the Lords enemies. The general warnings of Providence and Scripture will have a day in which they will begin to assume definite shape to every man who has not repented of sin (cf. Mat. 24:32-34). AS with the inhabitants of Jericho and Jerusalem, so must it be to all who fear not God. The day will come in which dispersed threatenings will be seen concentrating themselves for judgment.

The warnings of one day are very like those of another; even when they are most solemn, it is possible to become almost comfortably familiar with them. On the morning of the seventh day the men of Jericho had perhaps learned to say to each other almost pleasantly, All things continue they were from the beginning.
It is significant, however, that we have no single word of record to guide us as to the feeling which prevailed in Jericho from this first day of compassing the city to the day when it fell. Not so much as a sound of either scorn or fear reaches us to tell us what these men felt. All seems purposely shut off in the darkness of oblivion. What a picture of many other deaths, and how like the speechless stillness which follows them! As yet, eternity gives no sign.

Jos. 6:12-20. JERICHO TAKEN.

I. The city which was to be taken. Jericho was a city of great antiquity and importance. It was inclosed by walls so considerable that houses were built upon them (chap. Jos. 2:15), while the spoil that was found in it is an evidence of its opulence. When the tribes made their encampment in Gilgal, the inhabitants caused the city to be straitly shut up, so that none went out and none came in. But they could not shut out God. There are no gates and bars that can stand against Him. How vainly they reckon who leave God out of their calculations! When He is with us, no opposing host can harm us; but when He is against us, no earthly walls can protect us.

II. The means by which it was taken. These were very peculiar.

1. There was no natural fitness in the means to produce the end designed.
2. The means employed were such as would provoke the ridicule of the besieged.
3. The means employed produced no effect whatever for six days, nor even on the seventh, until the shout was raised at the last.

III. The disposition that was to be made of the city. It was to be accursed, or devoted, to God. The Israelites in destroying the inhabitants of Jericho and the Canaanites generally, were but the instruments in Gods hand of carrying out His sentence.

LESSONS:

1. Retribution though long delayed comes at last. Gods judgments have leaden feet, and so they come slowly; but they have iron hands, and so they strike deadly when they come.
2. Faith does what God says, and asks no questions.
3. At the sound of the trumpets of the priests, the walls of Jericho fell down. By the preaching of the Gospel the strongholds of sin and Satan are to be overthrown.
4. Let us not be impatient of results when we are doing Gods commands.
5. Success in our working for God is His doing, not ours, and so the whole glory of it should be given to Him. [William Taylor, D.D.]

Jos. 6:20.

I. God gives His servants success when they are prepared for it, and as they are able to bear it. A London minister, whose work for the past nine years has been marked by great prosperity, recently made the following statement at a public meeting: With the first church over which I was called to preside, I spent four years in what seemed an almost fruitless ministry. I think I preached as fervently then as I preach now, and I prayed for Gods blessing with all my heart. I looked for success, and week by week announced times at which I would meet enquirers, but none came. I prayed till prayer became an agony within me; still there were no converts. On one Sunday evening I made a special effort to win souls to Christ. All through the preceding week I pleaded, as though I were pouring out my very soul, for a blessing on that service. I prepared, as far as I knew how, simply with a view to conversion. On the evening before the service in question, I went into a field at the back of the chapel, and again, with tears, I besought God to save some. I gave out that I would meet enquirers at the close of the service; not one came either then or afterwards as the fruit of that appeal. Eight years ago, said the speaker, I preached the same sermon in what was then my new sphere of labour, and ninety-seven persons joined the Church, who traced their conversion to that one discourse. The minister concluded by saying, I think that in my four years of fruitless labour the Lord was enabling me to bear present success, and getting me in a fit mind to endure the large measure of prosperity with which I have been cheered for the past nine years.

II. When God gives His servants success, He ever gives it to their faith alone, and yet never bestows it without their work. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, but they did not fall till after they had been compassed about seven days. Works are of no use, as is most manifest in this siege, yet God will give no blessing without the works. Some might say, That is the precise point in dispute between Paul and James; Paul tells us that we must have faith, and James that we must have works. True, they do say that; but there is no dispute between Paul and James. Paul says that we are justified by faith, meaning, of course, a good faith; and James does but assure us that that only is a good and real faith which has works. Perhaps the late F. W. Robertsons illustration gives one of the best definitions of the difference and agreement between the two apostles: Suppose I say, A tree cannot be struck without thunder: that is true, for there is never destructive lightning without thunder. But, again, if I say, The tree was struck by lightning without thunder: that is true too, if I mean that the lightning alone struck it, without the thunder striking it. Yet read the two assertions, and they seem contradictory. So in the same way, St. Paul says, Faith justifies without works; that is, faith alone is that which justifies us, not works. But St. James says, Not a faith which is without works. There will be works with faith, as there is thunder with lightning, but just as it is not the thunder, but the lightning (the lightning without the thunder), that strikes the tree, so it is not the works which justify. Put it in one sentence,faith alone justifies, but not the faith which is alone. Lightning alone strikes, but not the lightning which is alone, without thunder; for that is only summer lightning, and harmless. The works of the Israelites before Jericho stood in the same relation to the fall of the walls. The works accomplished absolutely nothing; by faith the walls fell down: it is equally true that the faith would have been as powerless as the works, had it not been accompanied by the works. Our faith alone is effectual to command the help of God; but if our faith is alone, as having no works, it is not a faith which God will accept.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

THE CONQUEST OF JERICHO, Jos 6:6-21.

6. And Joshua called the priests The promptness of his unquestioning obedience to a command so unexpected, and so little in accordance with human reason, attests Joshua’s unfaltering faith in his great Captain, with whom he had just been in counsel. It is the province of reason to ask who speaks; but when reason acknowledges it is the voice of God, it is her highest function not to sit in judgment upon the message, but to obey.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘ And Joshua, the son of Nun, called the priests and said to them, “Take up the Ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Ark of YHWH.”

YHWH had given his instructions to Joshua, possibly through a dream, or possibly within the Tabernacle where Joshua, like Moses, was prone to go (Exo 33:11) as the chosen of YHWH. Joshua now passed them on to the priests. Note the switch from ‘the Ark of the Covenant’ to ‘the Ark of YHWH’. Now that it was going into battle the emphasis was on YHWH, the God of battle.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Every verse, and every circumstance contained in a verse, relating to the reduction and overthrow of Jericho, is important and worthy to be attended to, if we view the whole as undoubtedly it ought to be viewed, with a typical reference to our spiritual conquests, through Jesus, over all the enemies of our salvation. Observe how the campaign opens. It is with the movement of the ark. Yes; if Jesus moves forward all his people are to follow: so the church in the wilderness. Exo 13:21 . So the church now, in following the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. Rev 14:4 . Observe also, how the priests are to precede the ark with their trumpets. God’s ministers, in all ages of the church, are his heralds, to proclaim the year of the Lord. The jubilee trumpet was certainly a type of the glorious gospel. And do not the servants of Jesus now, sound an alarm in his holy mountain, when they hold up Jesus to the view of the poor sinner, and denounce, as to the men of Jericho, vengeance to the haters of the Lord: but pardon, mercy, and peace, to the lovers of Jesus? Isa 27:13 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Jos 6:6 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.

Ver. 6. And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests. ] He yielded prompt and present obedience, ready and speedy, without shucking or hucking, without delays and consults; leaving us herein an excellent precedent.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): Jos 6:6-11

6So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD. 7Then he said to the people, Go forward, and march around the city, and let the armed men go on before the ark of the LORD. 8And it was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the LORD went forward and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. 9The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while they continued to blow the trumpets. 10But Joshua commanded the people, saying, You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout! 11So he had the ark of the LORD taken around the city, circling it once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

Jos 6:6-11 This paragraph contains several IMPERATIVES. As YHWH commands Joshua, he passes them on.

1. take up the ark, Jos 6:6, BDB 669, KB 724, Qal IMPERATIVE

2. go forward, Jos 6:7, BDB 716, KB 778, Qal IMPERATIVE

3. march around, Jos 6:7, BDB 685, KB 738, Qal IMPERATIVE

4. shout, Jos 6:10, BDB 929, KB 1206, Hiphil IMPERATIVE

Jos 6:6 the ark of the covenant After the crossing of the Jordan, the Cloud which had represented YHWH’s presence with the people was removed. Now the ark was the visible symbol of His presence. See Special Topic: Ark of the Covenant .

Jos 6:7 Then he said to the people The Masoretic text has they, which may refer to the officers mentioned in Jos 1:10; Jos 3:2.

Jos 6:9 and the armed men went before the priests Two Jewish commentators of the Middle Ages, Kimchi and Rashi, say that this refers to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh mentioned in Jos 4:12-13. This would not have been the normal marching order of the camp.

The term armed men (BDB 323, KB 321, Qal PASSIVE PARTICIPLE) means fully equipped for battle (cf. Jos 6:7; Jos 6:9; Jos 6:13; Jos 4:13; 2Ch 20:21; 2Ch 28:14).

Jos 6:10 you shall not shout nor let your voice be heard, nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’ This same truth must be related to Jos 4:8; Jos 4:13. Some people say that this shows that there are two composite accounts, but really what we have are the priests who could blow the horn every day or at will, and the fighting men who could not speak until the seventh day!

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

Take up the ark: Jos 6:8, Jos 6:13, Jos 3:3, Jos 3:6, Exo 25:14, Deu 20:2-4, Act 9:1

Reciprocal: Jos 3:14 – bearing the ark Jos 6:12 – the priests Jos 8:33 – priests 2Sa 15:24 – bearing 1Ki 8:3 – the priests took up 1Ch 13:10 – he put 1Ch 15:2 – None ought to 2Ch 5:4 – the Levites 2Ch 5:12 – an hundred

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Jos 6:6. Of rams horns Of the basest matter and the dullest sound, that the excellence of the power might be of God. The original words, however, here and Jos 6:4, , shoperoth jobelim, may be properly rendered, trumpets of jubilee; that is, such trumpets as were to be blown in the year of jubilee. And many prefer this translation, alleging that, as the horns of rams are not hollow, trumpets cannot be made of them, even when bored, capable of giving any thing of a strong sound. They would, therefore, understand the words here as signifying trumpets made in the shape of rams horns. But others have urged that there is no difficulty in making such an instrument of a rams horn as may give a pretty strong sound: it being certain that the inside of these horns is no ways hard, and may easily be taken out, excepting a space at the point of about four or five inches, part of which is sawed off, in order to proportionate the aperture to the mouth; after which, the rest is easily pierced. And we can assure our readers, say the authors of the Universal History, that we have seen some of these trumpets, thus made, used by the shepherds in the southern parts of Germany.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

The terms "Lord" and "ark" occur interchangeably here (Jos 6:8). The Lord was over the ark, and the ark represented the Lord’s presence.

Evidently the whole Israelite nation did not march around the walls of Jericho. Only warriors and priests circled the city (Jos 6:3-4; Jos 6:6; Jos 6:9, et al.). The "people" referred to in the context (Jos 6:7; Jos 6:16, et al.) were these people, not all the Israelites. Probably representatives of the tribes participated in this march rather than all the soldiers of Israel. The line of march was as follows: soldiers, priests, the ark, and more soldiers (Jos 6:6-9; Jos 6:13).

Jericho was not a large city. Archaeological excavations have revealed that its walls enclosed only about eight and one-half acres.

The trumpets the priests blew (Jos 6:4; Jos 6:9, et al.) were not the long silver trumpets but rams horns (shophars). The blowing of trumpets in Israel reminded the people of God’s activity for them. The priests used them to call the people to follow God who was going before them in the wilderness. Both functions were applicable on this occasion. The trumpet blasts signaled judgment to the Canaanites but victory to the Israelites (cf. 1Co 15:51-52; 1Th 4:13-17).

"The first time that we read of a trumpet-blast is at Sinai, where the Lord announced His descent upon the mount to the people assembled at the foot to receive Him, not only by other fearful phenomena, but also by a loud and long-continued trumpet-blast (Ex. xix. 16, 19, xx. 14 (18). After this we find the blowing of trumpets prescribed as part of the Israelitish worship in connection with the observance of the seventh new moon’s day (Lev. xxiii. 24), and at the proclamation of the great year of jubilee (Lev. xxv. 9). Just as the trumpet-blast heard by the people when the covenant was made at Sinai was as it were a herald’s call, announcing to the tribes of Israel the arrival of the Lord their God to complete His covenant and establish His kingdom upon earth; so the blowing of trumpets in connection with the round of feasts was intended partly to bring the people into remembrance before the Lord year by year at the commencement of the sabbatical month, that He might come to them and grant them the Sabbath rest of His kingdom, and partly at the end of every seven times seven years to announce on the great day of atonement the coming of the great year of grace and freedom, which was to bring to the people of God deliverance from bondage, return to their own possessions, and deliverance from the bitter labours of this earth, and to give them a foretaste of the blessed and glorious liberty to which the children of God would attain at the return of the Lord to perfect His kingdom (vid. Pentateuch, vol. ii, p. 466-7). But when the Lord comes to found, to build up, and to perfect His kingdom upon earth, He also comes to overthrow and destroy the worldly power which opposes His kingdom. The revelation of the grace and mercy of God to His children, goes ever side by side with the revelation of justice and judgment towards the ungodly who are His foes. If therefore the blast of trumpets was the signal to the congregation of Israel of the gracious arrival of the Lord its God to enter into fellowship with it, no less did it proclaim the advent of judgment to an ungodly world." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, pp. 69-70.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

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