Worship VI Day 10 Do It Again: Digging Deeper

1) What is the significance and correlation between the city walls being fortified and God declaring He had handed over Jericho to Israel? (verses 1-2)
The author of the account (who was likely Joshua himself), recorded that “Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites”. This was the very first conquest opportunity for Israel after crossing the Jordan River. This was the Promised Land! Israel was walking on the very soil of the long-awaited inheritance God had promised to Abraham and his descendants hundreds of generations prior. What’s interesting about this little snippet of information is Jericho’s army was in force precisely because of Israel’s presence. Israel’s promised inheritance, God’s direct leading (and His present word declaring Jericho had been given to Israel), and still an enemy army stood in Israel’s way. Why? Trusting obedience. Like everything else in Israel’s journey from infancy to full-blown self-governing nation. The Lord is not asking for the impossible, only He can do that, He asks for their trusting obedience. Will they have faith that He is the faithful God He has shown Himself to be over and over? Will they believe He will “do it again”? Or will they choose to trust themselves and their own tactics, or even choose to walk away from their inheritance because of fear? Would Israel follow through and make their actions match the truth God already spoken over them or would they cower?

2) What importance do the numbers six and seven carry in this account?
In general, the number six is the number of “mankind” in the Bible. It denotes a “missing of the mark” of perfection, reminding us of our fallen state before God’s flawless holiness because of our sin. The epitome of this number is seen in the number given to Satan, 666. (Revelation 13:18) The number six is even used in connection with angels, who are still lesser than perfect, holy God. (Revelation 21:17) In contrast, the number seven signifies perfection and holiness, completeness, or achievement as seen in the story of creation where there are 6 days of work, but on the 7^th day, marking 1 week, God finished His work and rested. We see this same concept in Joshua’s account of battle against Jericho. For six days they marched, but on the seventh, victory was finally won. The work had been completed. There were seven priests, seven trumpets, and they were to march around the walls seven times. The number itself isn’t a “magical” number, rather it points unequivocally to the completeness of God and His plan. This defeat of Jericho was entirely of the Lord. Clearly, marching and circling and trumpet blowing cannot bring down the fortified walls of a city that were several meters thick, and had a double wall inset. Only the Lord God could do this! What’s more, archaeology digs have discovered that Jericho’s ruined walls had been collapsed from the inside out. They simply “fell down” creating a slope for Israel to run “up and into the city” (verse 20) This battle had nothing to do with Israel’s ability, but had everything to do with their willingness to trust and obey.

3) Why would the Lord set the city apart for destruction and why does His purpose matter? (verses 17-18)
This was the Promised Land God had intended to give to Israel for their inheritance from Him. It was not something they had earned, had the right to own, or was a result of their goodness, it was simply a lavish gift from God. (Deuteronomy 7:7) God had purposed this land to be gifted to His people and to be used for His purposes as they lived out their daily lives, pointing towards God and His glorious goodness. Because He is infinitely wise and good, He also didn’t clear the land for them, but instead had Israel take it over little by little so they wouldn’t become prey for wild animals. (Exodus 23:29) He wanted the gift of land to already be cultivated, civilized, and even have wells dug for His people and vineyards to eat from, further proving His kindness toward Israel. (Deuteronomy 6:10-11, Joshua 24:13) But, the people who inhabited the land before Israel were pagan, believing in multiple false gods and living for themselves. God wanted His people to be set apart, making a stark contrast to the nations around them as they lived for God and God alone. For this reason, God set apart Jericho for destruction. He wanted His people to see that He alone was God and not become wooed away and distracted by the lure of false gods, or by swallowing the lie that they could be their own god and manipulate Him.