Day 96 – Joshua & Jericho

• Today we read the first of many battles as the conquest of Canaan began in earnest. Jericho was a large city – one of the oldest in the world – with strong walls all around it. Your study bible may have an image of it. If you don’t have one, try Googling an image. It would have been an imposing target.
• Joshua is told how to defeat the city by God in the first few verses. This may have been a continuation of the discussion he had with the Commander that we read about in our last readings. What were the directions God gave? Notice that even before the walls fall, God tells Joshua that He has given Jericho into his hands.
• Joshua 6:1 talks about the city being shut up, with the inhabitants terrified of the approaching army. Much of the world has spent their time recently shut in, also scared about an enemy outside in the form of an unseen virus. What do you think the mood might have been like?
• What do you think when you read about what Joshua had to do to defeat Jericho? It might seem odd to you. Why would God require these detailed and repetitive orders? What other times in the bible have you noticed God being particularly detailed in His commands?
• What sounds would have been heard as there as the people walked around? Consider the people inside the city, as well as those outside.
• Consider what the Israelites might have thought about when it came to the fifth or sixth day of walking. Do you think they got impatient to attack? What do you think the people inside the city thought about the Israelites walking round and round? Can you imagine the conversations that must have been happening?
• Think about the scenes that unfold. In future battles and in other stories in the Old Testament, God’s common grace and mercy saves many people, but in this case the Israelites were called to leave absolutely nothing alive. Why? Does this concern you?
• Which lady, along with her household, got saved?
• What knocked down the walls? Joshua, the army, the trumpets, the shouting, their good deeds… or their faith in God? Make no mistake – the Israelites won this battle through faith. Sometimes God will ask you to do things which you don’t understand – the equivalent of walking round and round the city! Do you trust God as much as the Israelites did?
• The passage in 2 Corinthians reminds us that our battles aren’t against walls and cities. But we have a spiritual battle too. What do you think this means?

Don’t mistake the link between God’s role in the defeat of Jericho and the defeat of sin. It was only through the Israelite’s faith that God broke down the walls, and the glory went to God alone. In our sin, we too are unable to win any battles ourselves, but through Jesus’ death, He has done for us to do what we could never do for ourselves. The Israelites couldn’t boast about defeating Jericho, and we can’t boast in any victory over sin. We can simply give God the glory.