“By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.” (Hebrews 11:30)
Joshua defeated Jericho when he was obedient to the strange commands given him by the LORD.
We need to learn obedience to him and trust in him, too, even when to do so seems to go against the logic of a purely earthly based perspective. Joshua and Israel did that and they were victorious. We need to do the same.
Will we look for God at work in our lives and the lives of those around us? Will we prioritise obeying God, even when it feels odd to do so? Will we live as those on the LORD’s side?
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Israel’s Victory (Joshua 5:13-6:27)
Fear can be good
A right fear is good.
This week, in the news we have heard of two things that we should have a natural fear for: the sea and fire.
Both are good things. I love living by the sea and swimming in the sea. Similarly, a bonfire in the autumn can be great fun to gather around. But, both need to be treated with a certain amount of fear.
If you do not have a right fear of the sea, you can find yourself washed away by rip tides or caught up in rough waves. Sadly, people drown as a result. Similarly, fire when it is out of control is lethal, so it is no wonder that with wild fires raging around Europe we see people being evacuated in Spain, France and even Scotland. Having a right fear can save your life.
The Uniqueness of Jericho
Today, we are looking at the story of Jericho. I want to show, that it is all about teaching us a right fear of God.
The story is one of the most famous and memorable stories in the Bible, but it is also one of the more difficult ones to look at because God commands the complete slaughter of all the citizens and animals of Jericho.
So, how are we to approach this story? If we believe the whole of Scripture is God’s word, how do we marry Jesus’ command to love our enemies, with the command to Joshua to slaughter all the inhabitants of Jericho?
The most important thing to notice, is the uniqueness and exceptional nature of the story of Jericho. This was an important moment in Israel’s entry to the Promised Land. It was the first battle they were fighting. If they failed at this first attempt, then the nation might well have been destroyed. This was the equivalent of D-Day in World War II, if the Allied Forces had failed to form a bridgehead in the first few days, then the prospects of freeing Europe from Nazi rule would have faced a massive setback.
But, even given this context, the story has many unique features.
- Divine General
Firstly, there is the Divine general. Joshua was the expected leader of the people, but as he walks around near Jericho he is confronted by ‘the commander of the army of the LORD.’ It is this commander that gives the instructions as to how to fight the battle of Jericho. He is the one that acts as the general not Joshua. This in itself, is unique in the story of the whole Bible.
- A Religious Carnival
Secondly, there is the way the battle is to be fought. The instructions sound more like the instructions for a carnival than a battle. Marching around Jericho once a day for six days, trumpets blazing and carrying the ark with them. Then doing this seven times on the last day, before raising a final shout so that all the walls fall down. This is a bizarre battle plan in the extreme and not one that is duplicated in any of the other many battles recorded in the Bible. This is a unique tactic.
These two points show us that this whole battle was not just sanctioned by God, but directed by him in a unique way. God was clearly judging the people of Jericho.
- Extreme Violence
Then, thirdly, the extreme violence is itself unique to this battle.
In Deuteronomy 20, Moses had given instructions on war and in particular on laying siege to a city. Moses commands the Israelites to always offer peace to the people of the city before attacking it and even when they refuse peace, only the fighting men of the city are to be killed, the women, children and livestock are to be spared.
The chapter, however, does make an exception for the inhabitants of the land that God was giving Israel. Here it says to completely destroy them, so that Israel do not become lured into following their evil practices, which included child sacrifice. Indeed, the rest of the Old Testament is clear, that the people of the land are only being driven out because of God’s judgement on them for their evil practices, and in Genesis God makes it clear to Abraham that his descendants would have to wait until this evil reached its full measure.
So, the violence in the invasion of the Promised land was exceptional and formed part of God’s judgement on exceptionally evil cultures at a specific time in a specific place. The same approach cannot be taken today and certainly is no justification for what Israel has done in Gaza in recent years. If a modern parallel is to be drawn, perhaps it is to the events of World War II, where the allies fought until the Nazi power in Germany was utterly destroyed and millions of Germans were killed in the process.
But Jericho was exceptional, even compared with the invasion of the Promised Land as a whole. Israel did not destroy all the peoples in the land during the invasion, they did not take the same approach to killing everything in the other cities of the land. But perhaps, by being so brutal in this first battle, the aim was to warn the other cities in the land not to resist the Israelites. It acted as a warning against resistance. Even today, we as a country invest Billions of pounds in weapons that have the capacity to kill far more people than were killed in Jericho, not because we want to kill people, but because we want to create a right fear of our military might, so that no-one attacks us.
In short, the battle of Jericho, was extremely violent, but it was a unique situation and not one the Bible encourages us to mimic. Neither does it glorify in the violence.
But it does remind us that God is a God of justice, who will not allow evil cultures to flourish and continue forever. Jesus, does not command Christians to engage in military campaigns or to commit acts of violence. Our battles are fought through proclamation of God’s word, prayer and demonstrations of love. Nonetheless Jesus, does emphasise that one day God’s judgement will come on all evil. In the light of that he encourages a right fear of God:
“But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” (Luke 12:5)
So, the story of Jericho, teaches us to rightly fear God, but it also gives us two examples of people fearing God in the right way.
Joshua’s fear => Doing things God’s Way
The first person is Joshua, as he hangs around near Jericho, he sees a man with a drawn sword. His initial reaction is to ask whose side he is on, but then the man reveals himself as the Commander of the Army of God. Joshua’s response is to fall face down in front of him, itself an acknowledgement of respect and right fear before God himself.
Then the angel gives the commands as to how the battle is to be played out. Although, the commands seem completely ridiculous as a battle plan, Joshua does exactly what he is told by God. More than that the rest of the Israelites do what Joshua commands them, even though the whole thing must have seemed ridiculous. Because Joshua had a right fear of God, he was willing to obey God, even when he couldn’t see how what God was commanding would work out. A right fear of God, leads to a right obedience of God.
- This is a reminder to us, that the Christian life is meant to be one of obedience to God. The Bible often explains why God commands what he does. We should work to understand the Bible’s teaching and the rationale behind its commands. Yet, there will be occasions when we do not fully understand why God is commanding us to do what he does. The rules may seem strange or odd. Nonetheless, when they are clearly from God, then we should have a right fear of God and so we should obey them anyway, trusting that God knows best.
Rahab’s fear => Joining not Fighting God
The second person is Rahab. For a story about Israel’s destruction of Jericho, it is important to notice how much space is given to the rescue of Rahab from the destruction.
We already saw two weeks ago that Rahab had chosen to liaise with God and his people, because of fear of him. She expresses this fear clearly:
“I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.” (Joshua 2:9)
But rather than being paralysed with fear, Rahab reaches out in hope of mercy from God. She helps the Israelite spies and in return receives a promise that she and her family will be spared from the fate of the rest of Jericho. They are given the promise and told to tie a red chord in the window and make sure everyone is in Rahab’s house.
Now imagine if you were one of Rahab’s family in the week that the Israelites are going around the walls of Jericho. Rahab has told you that if you want to be safe, you need to come to her house. But, you do not know when the Israelites would invade. You may also think it a bit of a risk to hide with Rahab. What if the king of Jericho finds out that she is siding with the enemy, wouldn’t you then be in trouble for being in her house? Who are you ultimately more afraid of, the Israelites outside the walls or the king and his mob inside the walls? And if you go to be with Rahab, can you really be sure that God’s people will keep their promise and spare you?
As the Israelites walk around the walls, blowing their trumpets day by day, you have to make a decision before it is too late. Will you have a right fear of God and trust in his promise of mercy?
We know the end of the story. Rahab and all those with her were saved. Perhaps the reason for marching around the walls, seven times was to give more people a chance to join with Rahab.
All of this is an illustration that even for those people under God’s judgement for the worst of evil, God provides the opportunity to join his side and find salvation.
I mentioned that Jesus warns that there will be an ultimate judgement. But God delays the judgement to give time for us to turn away from the evil of our world and join his people.
It says in 2 Peter:
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:9)
In many ways that picture of the Canaanites in Jericho is a picture of our world. Rahab’s house is the church, the gathering of people waiting for salvation from the coming judgement. Our choice is whether to join God’s people or stay with those who choose to fight against him. When we have a right fear of God, then the choice is obvious.
Conclusion:
Jericho is a unique moment in Israel’s history. We are not called to mimic the violence of the Israelites, but we are called to mimic the right fear of God. A fear illustrated by Joshua in his obedience of God, even when the commands were strange and a fear illustrated by Rahab, who chose to join with God and his people to find salvation from God’s judgement. Do we live with a right fear of God?
St. George's Church Ramsgate 