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06/12/2024 – Day 010 – Joshua – Chapters 6 – 10/ Commentary: The Conquest of Jericho – Chapter 6.


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Categories : Semikkah7 One Year

FYI – Previous cycle posts for this scripture reading was on : 06/12/2020 and 03/09/22. You can quickly call these up by filtering “Semikkah7 plan” and entering “Day 010” in the search field.

The Conquest of Jericho – Chapter 6:

I would like to share these footnotes in my Apologetics Study Bible that I found very helpful:

6: 2-15 The Lord’s instruction to Joshua and the Israelites had more to do with worship and ceremony than military strategy. The Israelites marched around the city of Jericho once a day for six days. On the seventh day they marched around the city seven times. In the Bible, the number ‘seven’ usually has ceremonially significance, as indicative of the covenant. The Sabbath, or seventh day, was a sign of the covenant, and the Hebrew vert ‘to swear’ (i.e., take an oath of fidelity to a covenant), ‘nishba’, is based on the word for ‘seven’.”

6: 16-19 On the seventh time around Jericho the priests sounded their trumpets. Joshua’s order may be summarized as follows: (1) ‘Shout’. For the LORD has given you the city.’ (2). Everything and everyone is to be devoted to the Lord for destruction. (3). Only Rahab and her family members with her are to be spared. (4). Do not take for yourself anything that is devoted to the Lord for destruction. (5). All silver, sold, bronze and iron must go into the Lord’s treasury.”

6: 6:17 The words ‘set apart’ translate the Hebrew cherem, which refers to ‘devoted things’ belonging exclusively to the Lord (often called the ‘ban’). Jericho was the first city the Israelites took in the conquest of Canaan. As such, it and all its inhabitants were cherem to the Lord. Everyone except Rahab and her family were to be slain, and everything in the city was to be destroyed except the gold, silver, and articles of bronze and iron.

The concept of cherem can be difficult to understand today. How can the destruction of a city and the killing of all its inhabitants be justified, and how can one believe it was the Lord who specifically ordered these things? Part of the answer lies in recognizing the holiness of God and the sinfulness of the Canaanites. God is holy, and He created Israel to be a people totally consecrated to Him (Exodus 20:3; Leviticus 18: 1-5; 19: 1-2). The persistent sins of the Canaanites, which were an affront to the holiness of God, finally demanded that His judgment be executed through their complete removal from the land (Leviticus 18: 24-28; 20: 22-24). God would bless those who loved Him and kept his commands but He would punish those who hated Him (Deuteronomy 7: 9-10).

The sins of the Canaanites are catalogued in Leviticus 18:1 through 20:27 and Deuteronomy 9: 1-6 gives the theological rationale for the extermination. The Canaanites were arrogant and proud because of their strength, and the Lord had determined to bring about their destruction, driving them out ahead of Israel (Deuteronomy 9: 2-5). The concept of cherem demonstrates the utter seriousness of sin and its consequences — and points to the ultimate need for a Savior to rescue the human race.”

6: 20-21 “When the people followed Joshua’s instructions the Lord caused the wall of Jericho to collapse, leaving the city vulnerable to invasion. The city fell through ‘spiritual warfare’ — ceremonial marching, trumpet blasts and the victory shout that was a feature of Israel’s celebration of Yahweh’s dominion (cp. Psalm 47:5) — and not through traditional military maneuvers. The archaeological evidence for Jericho’s being inhabited during this period has been difficult to interpret, and some scholars have questioned the veracity of the biblical account of its fall to the Israelites. Archaeologists who have no previous bias against the biblical record, however, have not found sufficient reason to question this account.”

6: 22-25. “Rahab and her family were spared from the cherem in keeping with the promise Joshua’s spies made to her. Her faith saved her and her family from certain death. The statement of the end of verse 25, ‘and she lives in Israel to this day’ refers to the continuation of her family line. Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute, is included in the genealogy of the Savior, Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5), thereby participating in the Lord’s ultimate triumph of grace.”

6: 26-27 “Joshua pronounced a curse upon anyone who would undertake to rebuild the city of Jericho. Jericho was cherem to the Lord and would be rebuilt at great cost to the builder. (see Kings 16:34 for the fulfillment of this prophecy). News of the defeat and destruction of Jericho spread throughout the Near East, and Joshua became famous.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

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