Joshua 6 (3)

So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” So he had the ark of the LORD circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days. Joshua 6.8-14

Reflect.
1.  The only sounds made by this somber processional were of the movement of feet and bodies and the wailing of ram’s horn trumpets. Why?

2.  Each day, as the people returned to their camp at Gilgal, their sense of wonder and anticipation must have been growing. What might they have talked about around the camp fires at night?

Think about it.
The writer is careful to report the explicit obedience of Israel in all its facets – the order of the processional, the people’s refraining from speaking, the blowing of trumpets, and the single circuit around the city of Jericho. Some of this would have made sense to the people, such as, the armed forces leading the way. But other aspects of this would have left many of them wondering. But even though they could not have understood all that was about to ensue, they trusted Joshua and their leaders, and did exactly as they were told.

The use of trumpets here is significant. Trumpets played a variety of roles in ancient cultures, and especially in Hebrew culture. They were used as armies went into battle, as a means of moving troops forward and heightening the terror of conflict (Num. 10.9; Jdgs. 7.18). Trumpets sounded to announce feast days, when the people were assembled to remember and celebrate the mighty works of God (Num. 10.10). And trumpets blew when kings were crowned, to summon the people to acknowledge and submit to their new sovereign (2 Chron. 23.13). The use of trumpets here could be seen as embracing all those various roles.

For the people of Jericho, those six days must have been the most terrifying of their lives. Imagine them, watching and listening from within their tightly-shut walls, as over a million people marched ‘round and ‘round their city for six days, trumpets wailing madly and continuously, and themeslves helpless to do anything but wait. The fear of God and His wrath against unrepentant sinners, though earnestly suppressed, lurks in the soul of every lost person. Sometimes we need to “blow some trumpets” to tap into that fear and get people’s attention for the Lord.

Meditate and discuss.
1.  Those six days must have draped the people of Jericho with a shroud of fear and dread. Does warning about the judgment of God have a place in the work of evangelism? Explain.

2.  God’s power works in ways we cannot always understand. For example, the Gospel brings faith and salvation not because we are so eloquent or persuasive, but because the Word of God, wielded by the Spirit of God, is powerful and life-bringing for those whom God is calling to Himself (Heb. 4.12; Jn. 6.63). What are the implications of this for our work of evangelizing the lost?

3.  Why do you suppose the people were not allowed to speak during those six circuits around the city of Jericho? Does God use things other than our words to prepare the hearts of lost people for the Gospel? Such as?

“[B]efore the soul knows God and accepts the truth of the faith, it veils itself, so to speak, under superstitious works and surrounds itself with something like a wall of perversity, such that it might seem to be able to remain impregnable within the fortifications of its own evildoing. But when the sacred sound thunders, its rashness is overthrown, its thinking is destroyed, and all the defenses of its superstitions break asunder in such a way that, remaining unprotected, as it is written, the Word of God might penetrate even to the division of its spirit and its inmost parts.” Maximus of Turin (d. 423 AD)

Lord, work in the hearts of the lost people I know, to prepare them for Your Word. And use me today to…

Pray Psalm 149.
Pray about how God would have you wield His two-edged Sword of the Spirit today.

Psalm 149 (Toulon: I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art)
Sing to the Lord a glorious song and new!
Praise Him you people, to Whom praise is due!
Let us rejoice, let us be glad in Him
Who has created us and cleansed our sin.

Praise Him with dance, with tambourine and lyre!
To be so praised is God’s one great desire.
Lord, beautify Your holy ones with grace; 
Show us the mercy of Your saving face.

Sing to the Lord, exult with great delight!
Sing on your beds with joy to God by night!
Sing praise and take His Word into your hand;
Publish His grace and wrath in every land!

T. M. Moore

Where does the book of Joshua fit in the ongoing story of God’s covenant? Our workbook, God’s Covenant, can help you discover the place in God’s work of redemption not only of Joshua but of all the books of the Bible. God’s Covenant is a valuable resource to guide you in all your studies in God’s Word. To order your copy, click here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).