Jos. 6: Jericho Falls

Joshua 6:20 "When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city."

This is Joshua's famous "Battle" of Jericho. The way chapter 6 reads, it was basically a massacre. And it opens with a rather unorthodox way of taking a city.

For six days, the armed men, the priests and the ark are supposed to march once around the city. That's it. On the seventh day, with a trumpet blast and a shout, the wall will collapse, and then the Israelites can storm the city.

So they do this. Except the priests blow the trumpets during the first six days...and while there was no specific instruction not to do this, I would have thought they weren't supposed to. I thought it was supposed to be silent. But maybe it was only supposed to be the people being silent, not giving their war cry.

Then on the seventh day, they march around the city seven times as commanded, then the trumpet blast and the shout, and sure enough, God brings down the walls. I say God brings down the walls, because...well, I'm no scientist, but to crumble a stone wall...how loud would that shout have to be?

Joshua gives specific instructions before the slaughter not to steal any of the "devoted things." Since this city was the first to be conquered, it was like it was the firstfruits. The plunder went to the LORD.

Of course Rahab was spared, since she helped out the spies.

Then the destroyed city was burned.

Then cursed.

Joshua pronounced this curse on Jericho.

"Cursed before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho:
'At the cost of his firstborn son
will he lay its foundations;
at the cost of his youngest
will he set up its gates.'"

So, I wonder if historical record will bare that out. Jericho is up and running today. I'm no historian, so whether the current Jericho was made out of the ancient Jericho, or if Israel destroyed a certain section of Jericho...or if there was a territory of Jericho...who knows. But that is a curiosity.