Joshua 6:10, commentary and pictures

Joshua ordered Israel to march in complete silence with no shout or sound of voice or word from the mouth until the appointed day when he told them to shout, and then they were to shout. They circled Jericho once a day in silence for six days and returned to their tents, then on the seventh day marched around seven times and at the trumpet blast shouted loudly and the walls fell and Israel took the city. Jericho was to be taken without assault by obedience to God's directions rather than by Israel's military strength or skill, with the trumpet blast made effective by God. The plan was arranged in such simplicity that no human hand touched or threw down the walls, so that no person could take glory and God alone would receive it. The victory was wrought by the Lord's power through Christ and the angels and the armies of the Lord's host under the Captain of the Lord's host. The only sure ground of success is the help of God working with human effort, with the Lord directing the battle and human agents doing their assigned part, and the same trust and obedience are as essential to the Christian in spiritual warfare as they were to Israel at Jericho.

The Silent March

Joshua laid upon the people a command of total silence, that they should utter no shout and make no noise with the voice, and that no word should proceed out of the mouth until the day he should bid them shout, and then they should shout. That silence was to govern the whole march around Jericho, with the shout reserved for the appointed time and given only at his signal. The host moved in perfect order, each tribe under its standard, with chosen armed men going first, then seven priests with trumpets of rams' horns, then priests bearing the ark of the covenant, then the rear army coming after the ark. The ark was borne by priests in sacred dress denoting their office, surrounded by divine glory as a halo, as the symbol of God's presence leading the hosts as at the Jordan.

No shout or voice was heard in the circuit, and no sound but the tread of the mighty host and the solemn peal of the trumpets. They compassed the city once each day for six days in that silent mystery, and when the circuit was completed the army returned in silence to their tents and the ark was restored to its place in the tabernacle. Then on the seventh day from first dawn they marched seven times around Jericho, and at the mighty peal of the trumpets they shouted with a loud voice because God had given them the city. At that sounding and shouting the walls tottered and fell in ruin, and Israel took possession.

The silent daily procession filled the watchmen and people of Jericho with wonder, alarm, and terror as they remembered what God had done for Israel. Some ridiculed it, and others trusted in their strong defenses, while others were awed by the memory of God's acts. The march went from Gilgal, Israel's first encampment in the promised land, to the overthrow of Jericho. That overthrow came nearly forty years after Israel's presumptuous attempt to take Canaan after the spies' report, now under divine supervision with the ark containing the law borne before the armies and appointed leaders directing movements. With such guidance no harm could come to them, in contrast to the earlier attack made contrary to command and the prohibition of the leaders, without the ark and without Moses, when the Lord was not among them.

God Wins the Battle

Jericho was to be taken without assault, by obedience to God's directions in marching silently around the city with the ark of God and blowing trumpets, rather than by Israel's own military strength, skill and prowess. Chosen warriors went first, not to conquer by skill and prowess but by obedience, and the trumpet blast was a simple act that God Himself made effective to overthrow His enemies. Success therefore does not come from human methods or strength alone, but from following God's direction with humility, faith and obedience, for God can accomplish great things through weak instruments.

The plan was arranged in such simplicity by the mighty General of armies, the Captain of the Lord's host, that no human hand touched the massive walls or brought them down. The command to march without shouting or noise of voice until bidden to shout was part of that divinely planned battle, in which the people depended on God rather than their own finite power. The Lord directed the battle while human agents carried out their assigned part, using simple means while God brought down the walls, so that no person could take glory or boast and God alone would receive the glory. So today no human being is to take glory for the work accomplished, desire too much power and control, attempt to manage work that should be left in the hands of the great I AM, or attract glory to self, but the Lord God of Israel alone is to be magnified and exalted.

The capture was wrought by the armies of the Lord's host under the Captain of the Lord's host, who gave His orders to the heavenly army, and down came the walls by God's power. Christ and the angels brought down the walls, demonstrating God's power and rebuking Israel's former unbelief, and the victory was accomplished by Christ, not by Joshua or Israel. Israel waited in obedience under their heavenly General and great Captain until bidden to act, and not a human hand touched the city.

The ark borne around the walls by priests in sacred dress, surrounded by a halo of glory, was only a symbol of God's presence among His people leading the hosts, as when Israel crossed the Jordan and entered the promised land. The blessings came from God alone, not from the ark itself, for Israel's strength was not in its mere presence but in obedience to the law kept within it, which represents God Himself. God's way of working at Jericho was widely different from the maxims, customs and warfare of the world, as no heathen general ever conducted battle as Joshua did. The order to remain silent until commanded to shout required implicit obedience irrespective of the world's opinion, with simplicity of faith, humble trust in God and faithful obedience to His will.

Obedient, believing Israel was walking in obedience, with the ark borne by holy men by express command and the Captain going before the repository of His law, and because of this God worked mightily and His arm brought deliverance. This stands in wide contrast to a people following their own plans in opposition to divine counsel and authority, with the ark borne by sons of Belial doomed to destruction. Such a people cannot induce God to fight for them while the law under the mercy-seat condemns them to defeat, disaster and death.

Lessons for God's People

The conquest shows that the only sure ground of success is the help of God working with human effort, with the Lord directing the battle while human agents carry out their assigned part in obedience to His directions, using simple means and waiting for the appointed signal to shout while God does the rest. God's way of working there was widely different from the maxims, customs and warfare of the world, such as no heathen general ever followed, and the order to remain silent until commanded to shout called for implicit obedience irrespective of the world's opinion, simplicity of faith, humble trust in God, and faithful obedience to His will. That same trust and obedience are as essential to the Christian in waging spiritual warfare as they were to Israel at Jericho, for the victory was God's work so that no human agency could claim its glory.

The plan was arranged in such simplicity by the mighty General of armies that no human hand touched the walls or took them down, lest man take to himself the glory of the victory. So today no human being is to take to himself glory for the work he accomplishes, desire too much power and control, attempt to manage the work that should be left in the hands of the great I AM, or attract glory to himself. He in His own way plans how the work shall be done, He is the Instructor of His servants and will work through whom He will, and the Lord God of Israel alone is to be magnified and exalted.

Israel waited in obedience under their heavenly General and great Captain until bidden to act, and the capture was wrought not by human hands but by the armies of the Lord's host. The same heavenly host will do many things for God's people now if men move in accordance with God's will, obey their great Captain, and give God a chance to work in His own way instead of marking out the course others must pursue.

The capture was not devised by any human general, the Captain of the Lord's host gave His orders to the heavenly army, no human hand touched its massive walls, and down they came by God's power. This exhibition of God's power is to be kept fresh in memory and told and retold by parents to their children in the home training school. It is to be taught together with the deliverance from Egypt, the water provided from the rock, the bread sent from heaven, the keeping of His Sabbaths, and the often-repeated commandments of God.