What do you learn from the story of the fall of Jericho?

Answer 1

The fall of Jericho (Book of Joshua, chapter six) reinforces recurring themes in the Old Testament, such as the testing of the faith of the Israelites, the mercy of God, and the notion of the Promised Land. There is an exercise on faith when the Israelites are expected to shout to bring down the walls after seven days of the priests "compassing" Jericho. This is a strange way of taking a city, but the Israelites complied showing their faith to God. In return, God is always with the Israelites to defend them. God is constantly appearing to the leaders (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua etc.) to tell them what to do. At the very end of chapter six, we see Joshua's fame spreading: "So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country" (Joshua 6.27).

Answer 2

The Israelites led by Joshua attacked the city of Jericho. God ordered Joshua to march around the city each day for six days with priests carrying rams horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day they were to march around seven times and blow the ram's horns. The people were ordered to shout by Joshua and the walls of the city came down, enabling the Israelites to rush the city. No mercy was given, every man, woman child and animal in it was killed by Joshuaâ??s army at Godâ??s command.

Answer 3

The fall of Jericho was to teach us reliance upon Jehovah God. His people had to follow instructions to a T. This also sets a pattern for us today. In these times of the end as mentioned in 2Tim 3, we have to be more obedient now more than ever. God is giving us instruction through The Bible but we have to be willing to follow it. This means our salvation.

Answer 4

There is no strong theological message in the story of the fall of Jericho. In terms of moral teaching, it even tells us that the only righteous person in Jericho was a prostitute, Rahab, and that after the fall of Jericho the Israelites embarked on a genocidal spree against its inhabitants. It is really a straight-forward tale of conquest, helping the writer's contemporaries learn how their nation was believed to have been formed.

Answer 5

A few of the Biblical lessons from the fall of Jericho are:

God's direct involvement in history

God's help for the early Israelites

God's abhorrence of Canaanite idolatry and immorality (Deuteronomy 9:5)

God's special concern for the holiness of the Holy Land (see Deuteronomy 11:12)

The power of prayer, and not putting trust in mere military might

The fact that the very righteous do not need battering rams

The efficacy of recognizing God and repenting (which Rahab did).

The fact that the Israelites killed the people in Jericho need not bother you. Since secular writers claim that the evidence of the conquest of Jericho comes from the Hebrew records exclusively, they must, logically, accept the Hebrew records in full, which clearly state that this was done at God's command (Joshua ch.6), and give the reason too (Numbers 33:55). Even the Canaanites were impressed (Joshua 9:3-10, and 6:27).

See also:

About Joshua

The reliability of the Hebrew record