Joshua 6:16, commentary and pictures

On the seventh day, after one silent circuit each day for six days, Israel circled Jericho seven times in perfect order behind the priests and the ark, and at the seventh circuit the priests sounded a long blast and Joshua commanded the whole people to shout together because the Lord had given them the city as the signal for its divinely appointed fall. At that shout and blast the massive stone walls with their towers and battlements tottered and crashed into ruin, leaving the defenders paralyzed with terror so Israel marched straight in and took possession. The overthrow was God's work and not Israel's conquest by its own strength, for Christ as Captain of the Lord's host with His angels cast down the walls and delivered the city into their hands while no human hand touched them. God took the city by deliberately simple means through humble, obedient instruments who marched not to fight with skill but to believe and obey, so that no person would be exalted and the glory would belong to God alone. The victory was vouchsafed to a people walking in obedience and faith to the law in the ark, to demonstrate God's power, rebuke unbelief, and call them to trust His gift of the city rather than military strength.

The Shout at Jericho

The verse belongs to the overthrow of Jericho, undertaken by Israel marching out from Gilgal, its first encampment in the promised land.
For six days Israel made one silent circuit of Jericho each day in solemn, ordered march.
Then on the seventh day the host rose early about dawning to circle seven times in perfect order and dead silence, with chosen armed men first, then seven priests with trumpets, then the ark borne by priests, then the whole army tribe by tribe under its standards with Joshua at its head.
There was no sound but marching feet and trumpets echoing against the shut and guarded city under its frowning stone walls.

At the seventh circuit the priests made a longer and mighty blast than usual, and Joshua commanded all the people to shout together with a loud united voice because the Lord had given them the city.
That shout and trumpet blast marked the divinely appointed moment for Jericho to fall despite its massive walls and defenses, and was the signal of certain victory by God's gift.

The order to shout rested on an advance divine gift of Jericho as the first step in conquering Canaan, for after Joshua withdrew to meditate and pray for God to go before Israel, Christ stood before him as the armed Captain of the Lord's host, assured him that Jericho with its king and mighty men of valor was already given into his hand, and instructed him how to take it.
The shout was followed at once by the tottering and crashing fall of the solid stone walls with their towers and battlements into ruin.
Its inhabitants and men of war were left paralyzed with terror and offered no resistance, so Israel marched in and took possession of the city given to them by the Lord.

Victory Belongs to God

The shout commanded at the seventh circuit marked a victory that was God's work and not Israel's conquest by its own strength, for Christ as Captain of the Lord's host with His angels brought down the walls and opened the way for the people to enter and take possession. Four heavenly angels always accompanied the ark to guard it from danger and to fulfill every mission connected with it, and Christ followed by angels attended its circuit around Jericho until He cast down the massive walls and delivered the city into Israel's hands. No human general devised the plan for taking the city, and no human hand touched the massive walls, for the Captain of the Lord's host gave His orders to the heavenly army and down came the walls.

The Lord Himself directed the battle by joining heavenly and human agencies, while keeping the management of His work in His own hands, instructing His servants, planning in His own way how the work shall be done, and working through whom He will. The mighty General of armies planned the taking of Jericho in such simplicity that no human hand took down the walls, against human desire for too much power and control and for the highest place. God's work depends on Him even while He uses human agents, and victory came through God's power as His people followed His directions.

God took Jericho by deliberately simple means through humble, obedient instruments, for the armed men were placed there not to use skill in warfare but to believe and obey. Success depends on God working with human effort, and humble trust and obedience with faith are safer and essential in spiritual warfare than human wisdom, skill, might, or power. God made even the simple act of blowing trumpets effective in overthrowing the city, so that the victory depended not on the method's apparent strength but on God's power and on carrying out His direction with faith and humility, and He can accomplish a great work and fulfill His purpose through those who obey and trust Him.

The simplicity of the plan ensured that no person was exalted and no human being could take glory to himself for the victory or claim credit for the work he accomplishes. The glory for the victory belongs to God alone, He received the glory because He brought down the walls when the people followed His directions, and He alone is to be magnified. Jericho's overthrow illustrates that God can accomplish His purpose through humble instruments and simple means, not through human might or power, so the victory was God's work and not a reason for people to exalt themselves.

The command belongs to a time when Israel was walking in obedience and faith, with the ark borne by holy men in accordance with His express command and the Captain going before the repository of His law, whose arm brought deliverance for them. The divine presence and the blessings God alone can bestow were vouchsafed to an obedient and believing people, not merely the ark which was but a symbol of that presence. The victory did not come from the physical presence of the ark alone but from obedience to the law contained in the ark, which is representative of God Himself.

The miracle demonstrated God's power to defeat enemies, strengthened Israel's faith in God's power, rebuked their earlier unbelief, and called them to trust God's promise to give the city rather than depend solely on military strength. Their later fear about possessing Canaan repeated their earlier failure to trust the God who had already delivered and guided them.

The overthrow was an exhibition of God's power to be kept fresh in memory and repeated by the Israelites to their children, together with the deliverance from Egypt, the water from the rock, the bread from heaven, and the commandments of God. Israel later remembered that victory and its passage over Jordan while carrying the ark and drew hope and courage from it. Yet they wrongly concluded that having the ark with them was enough by itself to guarantee triumph, when apart from obedience to God's law and covenant the ark could bring no blessing, their strength came from obedience to the law the ark represented, and the law under the mercy seat condemns disobedience to defeat, disaster, and death.