Old Testament - Joshua 5 & 6 - May 25, 2022

 5/25/2022 – Joshua 5 & 6

Joshua 5

The Lord’s miraculous help once more helped the Israelites in more ways than one: they were able to enter into their promised land, and when the people of Canaan “heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, … their hearts melted, neither was there spirit in them any more” (v 1). 

But it is not all good news for the Israelites.  One of the study manuals spoke of their miraculous entry into Canaan: The response of the Canaanite and Amorite kings to their crossing of the Jordan “indicates that all of the land of Canaan was laid at the feel of Israel by the Lord. They had only to physically conquer those who were already defeated mentally, but they lost the advantage the Lord gave them when they begin to forsake their covenants with Him.”

In v 2 we see that the Lord immediately worked to help them remember their covenants. During their 40 year journey, they had not continued the practice of circumcision (which was the symbol of their covenant with the Lord). He did so by telling Joshua to “make thee sharp knives and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time” At this point all the circumcised men that had begun this trip through the deserts were now dead. Once every male was circumcised the Lord spoke to Joshua: “This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.” (v 9)

In v 11 we learn that they celebrated the Passover and were eating “of the old corn of the land” and of unleavened cakes, and “the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the corn of the land…and they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” (v 12) There was no more need for manna, but they had lived with manna for 40 years, which would be more than 12,000 days. They lived through that long of a miracle. I wonder if they had deeply thanked the Lord each of those days. That makes me wonder if I thank the Lord enough for His ever present miracles in our lives. I’m thankful for that reminder.

V's 13-15 tell us of Joshua’s seeing and meeting “the captain of the Lord’s host”. His experience there had to ease his concerns about the Israelites abilities to take over the land that the Lord had returned to them.

Joshua 6

This is the story of how the Israelites were able to take the great city of Jericho, which was now locked up and heavily defended. But the Lord promised that they would conquer the city and the king, and all their “mighty men of valour” (v2), and He then gave Joshua His plan of attack. He was to start with armed men who marched in front of seven priests, each with a trumpet made from rams horns. After that came another group of priests carrying the ark of the covenant which symbolized the presence of God in the tabernacle’s Holy of Holies. And all the people would follow after the ark of the covenant. They were to march outside of the city wall marching completely around the enclosed town. The only sound would be the 7 priests blowing their rams horns. They were to do that once a day for 6 days. 

The people of Jericho had heard and knew full well of their miraculous defeat of the Egyptians, and of their very recent, and powerful, destruction of the Amorites just east of Jordan. They were worried and frightened and that’s why they had completely shut their city—their gates and the walls around their city should protect them. 

On the seventh day they came very early and this day they marched around the city seven times. Joshua told all that only Rahab the harlot shall live “because she hid the messengers we sent”. The Israelites would plunder the city, but they were to only take silver and gold that would be used in the temple. They were to take nothing for themselves.

So, after their seventh round on the seventh day, they stopped and the priests blew their trumpets and all the people shouted “with a great shout” and the walls of the city fell. Joshua had the 2 spies that had first gone into the temple, return again to Rahab’s house. They “saved 

Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had, and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

The city of Jericho and all its people (who had not been living righteously) was completely destroyed. The other peoples of Canaan now knew that the Lord was with Joshua.

More from the study guide: “Men have argued this question for ages. Did the marching feet, the blaring trumpets, and the final shout weaken the walls in some way so that they tumbled in accordance with natural law? Or was some other principle in operation? Did the Lord simply, at a convenient point in time, level the walls by His power? Elder James E. Talmage discussed this question in these words: “May we not believe that when Israel encompassed Jericho, the captain of the Lord’s host and his heavenly train were there, and that before their super-mortal agency, sustained by the faith and obedience of the human army, the walls were leveled?”