Joshua 5:13-15; 613And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 14And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13‑15)
THE children of Israel had placed their tents all round the city of Jericho, but they waited till God told them what to do. They could not get through the strong gates, unless God helped them.
Joshua was the captain of the Israelites: He was a very brave man. He trusted in God to help him, and that made him brave.
I will now tell you 'a very wonderful thing that happened to Joshua while he was on the outside of Jericho.
One day he looked up, and he saw a man standing before him a little way off. The man looked as if he were a soldier, and he held a sword in his hand. Joshua knew that this man was not one of the Israelites; but he could not tell who he was.
Joshua went up to the man, and said, "Are you come to help us to fight? or are you come to help the people of Jericho?”
Then the man answered, "I am come as captain of the army of the Lord.”
Now, Joshua knew who this man was. Can you tell who he was?
He was greater than a man, greater than an angel. He was the Lord from heaven, even Jesus Christ.
Jesus did not become a little baby for a long while afterward; but He always lived in heaven with His Father, and sometimes looked like a man, and came down upon the earth.
Was it not very kind of the Lord Jesus to come down from heaven, and speak to Joshua?
When Joshua knew who the man was, he fell down with his face upon the ground, and worshipped Him, saying, "What will my Lord say to His servant?”
Joshua called himself God's servant.
Then the great captain of God's army said, "Take your shoe off your foot; because this is holy ground.”
Then Joshua took it off, and waited to know what the Lord would say to him.
Why was the ground holy? Because God was there. You know the priests wore no shoes when they walked in God's house.
The Lord told Joshua how he was to fight against Jericho.
Such a way of fighting was never known before. You shall soon hear what the Lord told Joshua to do.
When the Lord was gone back to heaven, Joshua called the priests, and all the people of Israel, and showed them what they must do. Joshua told some of the priests to take up the ark.
Then he called seven more priests, and said, "Each of you must take a ram's horn, and blow with it, like a trumpet, and walk before the ark." You know that a ram is a sheep, and that it has crooked horns.
Then Joshua called all the soldiers, and told them to go before the priests, and he told the rest of the people that had not swords or spears (that is, the women and children) to walk behind the priests.
Where were they all to walk? Joshua desired them to walk round the city of Jericho. The soldiers with their swords and spears went first; next came seven priests dressed in their white clothes, blowing with the rams' horns. Then came the priests carrying the ark, and behind them all the people that had no swords or spears.
You never saw such a great number of people walking along.
Before they set out, Joshua told them not to make any shouting’s, but to wait till he said "Shout.”
What is shouting? Calling out loud. Soldiers shout when they have conquered. The Israelites were not to shout till Joshua told them.
They all walked once round Jericho.
The people of Jericho heard the trumpets blowing, and they saw the men with swords and spears.
I daresay they thought the Israelites were going to shoot their arrows over the walls, and try to heat down the walls. How much frightened they must have been! Rahab took care to keep in her house, with all her dear friends. The Israelites walked once round, and then Joshua brought them back to their tents.
Are you not surprised to, hear this? What was the use of walking round? You will hear what happened in the end.
On the next day, Joshua made the people and the priests walk round once more, and then brought them home.
Then, on the next day after, they went round again and the next day, and the next day. Six days, one after the other, they walked round Jericho, and came home to their tents again, without having fought.
The Israelites behaved well in doing as Joshua told them, instead of asking why they must walk round without fighting.
Do you not think that the people of Jericho began to laugh at the Israelites, and to think that they would never get into the city?
At last, after six days, Joshua told the Israelites to get up very early in the morning, as soon as it was light. He told them to walk all round as before.; but when they had walked round, he did not tell them to go back to their tents, but to walk round again. That day they walked round seven times; they spent the whole day in walking round and round the city of Jericho.
When they had just finished walking round the seventh time, Joshua said to the people, Now, when the priests blow again with the trumpets, you may shout; for God has given you the city. You will soon get it; you must kill all the people, except Rahab and her friends that are in her house. You will find many beautiful things in Jericho, but you must not keep anything for yourselves. You must bring the cups of gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, to the Lord; and you must not keep anything for yourselves. Bring all you find to the house of the Lord; for God has cursed Jericho, and everything in it.”
When Joshua had done speaking, the priests blew again with the trumpets, and the people gave a great shout. At the same moment, the walls of Jericho fell down. How horrible was the crash of those great walls! Now the men of Jericho saw that the day was come when they must die.
The two spies ran quickly to Rahab's house, and brought her out, and her father, and mother, and brothers, and sisters, and led them to a safe place near the tents of the Israelites. Rahab and her friends brought all their things with them out of the house; so they could make tents, and live together. O happy Rahab! Now she could learn more about the true God; she could see God's priests offering sacrifices on the altar, and could hear how her sins might be forgiven by the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, Who would come into the world.
But what happened to the people of Jericho? They were all killed; the men, the women, and the children—even the sheep, and cows, and all the beasts, were killed; not one was left alive. The Israelites killed them with their swords. Then they set fire to the houses, and burnt them all up; but the cups and basins, made of gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, they brought to the priests for God's house. What would the priests do with the basins? They would put in them the blood of the sheep and goats that they sacrificed on the altar.
All the other people in Canaan heard about Jericho, and they were more frightened than before. They said, "What a great captain Joshua is!”
But you know who was the captain that fought for Joshua. Who was it threw down the walls? Was it not the man whom Joshua had seen? He was a captain over thousands of angels, that filled the air, and obeyed all he said. The angels are stronger than man; and Jesus is their captain, and He is God Himself. He can break down walls, and He can build them up; He can kill, and He can make alive; He can shut us up in hell, and He can lift us up to heaven.
Which do you wish Him to do for you, my dear children? Let us pray to Him to save us when the world is burnt up; as He saved Rahab when Jericho was burnt up.
Hymn 35
The trumpets Seem to sound in vain;
For Still the walls upright remain.
Can those within,
Who hear the din,
Once apprehend
How all will end?
The Seventh time the priests walk round;
The walls no more resist the sound.
They totter now,
They crack, they bow:
Their sudden fall
All hearts appall.
Some take to arms, some flee away;
God is more swift and 'strong than they;
And vain is might,
And vain is flight;
For God pursues,
And all Subdues.
Child
A trump Shall sound ('twill be the last),
And loud Shall be that trumpet's blast;
The dead shall wake,
The mountains quake,
The sea shall roar,
The fire devour.
God yet prolongs the day of grace,
That all may turn and see His face.
Still parents teach;
Still pastors preach;
And Still I may
For mercy pray.
But Should I this sweet Season lose;
And God's repeated calls refuse,
I fear to think
Where I should sink,
When that loud blast
Should sound at last.