Joshua 6:19-27
Jos 6:19
But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and
iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of
the LORD.
Then God gives the command concerning all the valuable
objects. The silver, gold, vessels
of brass and iron were to be taken back with them and placed in the treasury of
the tabernacle after they were consecrated or dedicated to the LORD.
All items except the gold and silver which were upon the idols, these
were to be burned.
The graven images of their gods shall ye
burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold
that is on them, nor take
it unto thee, lest thou be
snared therein: for it is an
abomination to the LORD thy God. (Deuteronomy 7:25)
Jos 6:20
So the people shouted when the priests blew with
the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the
trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down
flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him,
and they took the city.
Now after they received their instructions, they were
ready for the battle. The people
completed their seventh pass around the city and then shouted while the priests
blew the trumpets. As they did this, the walls had fallen outward flat which
meant Jericho had no more defenses because the walls were the protection which
surrounded the city and gave the people a sense of security.
Now with the walls down, the people became easy prey for the Israelites
as they poured into the city and took it.
Jos 6:21
And they utterly destroyed all that was in the
city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the
edge of the sword.
The destruction was complete as they destroyed all the
buildings and other edifices which were in the city.
Then they destroyed all the men and women which included the older folks
and the young children. Some may think that was cruel to have the children
killed but if they grew up, they would still be idolaters and would remain
Israel’s enemy. Then they destroyed
all the livestock in the city with the sword.
Nothing was to be left alive to be used against them.
Jos 6:22
But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out
the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all
that she hath, as ye sware unto her.
When the walls fell, the part of the wall which did not
fall was the part where Rahab’s home was attached to.
Joshua now summoned the two men he sent in for spies to go and fetch
Rahab along with her belongings and her family as they had made an agreement
with her.
Jos 6:23
And the young men that were spies went in, and brought
out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she
had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of
Israel.
The two spies would have known Rahab because of their
dealings with her. They had gone
into her home and brought her entire family and brought them to a safe place
outside the camp of Israel which would have been at Gilgal.
Since they were Gentiles, they could not join the Israelites inside the
camp unless they embraced the worship of the true God since they just came out
of a place steeped in idolatry and false religion.
Rahab knowing what she did about the true God would no doubt had
instructed her family in the true “religion” and it would not have been a
difficult journey for them to go from idolatry to the worship of the true God
according to the law.
Jos 6:24
And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was
therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron,
they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.
Then came the great conflagration whereby they burnt the
city completely except for the vessels of iron and brass and all the gold and
silver which were not attached to any idols.
They were to be purified and then taken to the Tabernacle which was the
Lord’s house. Jericho being burned
is a picture of the earth and its Babylonian system which will be burnt on the
last day before the LORD remakes the New Earth.
Therefore shall her plagues come
in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned
with fire: for strong is the
Lord God who judgeth her. (Revelation 18:8)
Just like the global Babylon, Jericho was burned and suffered
irreversible judgment at the hand of the LORD.
If you notice that the gold and silver was placed into the house of the
LORD.
But in a great house there are not only
vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to
honour, and some to dishonour. (2 Timothy 2:20)
The true Christian is likened to gold and silver in the church as we read
in 2 Timothy 2:20. In every church
there are the true believers which are to honor and the unbeliever which is to
dishonor.
Jos 6:25
And Joshua 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.
By faith the
harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the
spies with peace. (Hebrews 11:31)
Joshua kept the covenant the two spies had made with her.
Because she had believed, her and her entire household was saved from the
destruction of Jericho. As Hebrews
11:31 puts it, she did not perish with them that believe not and it will be like
that on Judgment day that the Christian will not perish with them that do not
believe.
And he shall set the sheep on his right
hand, but the goats on the left. (Matthew 25:33)
Jos 6:26
And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying,
Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city
Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his
youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.
Then after Jericho was destroyed, Joshua then charges the
people and states that any man who attempts to rebuild Jericho after the LORD’s
judgment upon it shall suffer the fate of losing his firstborn and if he
continues to rebuild, then his youngest son will become a victim of the judgment
of God if the walls are rebuilt to the point they hang the gates.
About 500 years later a man had decided that he would rebuild Jericho and
his rebellion cost the life of his firstborn and his youngest.
In his days did Hiel the
Beth-elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his
firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest
son Segub, according to the
word of the LORD, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun. (1 Kings 16:34)
“In his days” would have been in the time of King Ahab who reigned from
918-898 B.C.
Jos 6:27
So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised
throughout all the country.