Jericho

Ancient Canaan wasn’t a unified country but was made up of many autonomous city-states. Each city-state, which included a fortified city and the surrounding farmland and villages, had its own independent leader and army and was sometimes a vassal state of the Egyptian pharaohs. Jericho was a heavily fortified city that controlled the vital route from the east side of the Jordan River into central Palestine. It was also situated between the two routes that ran from the north end of the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and from Galilee to Jerusalem. Given its strategic importance, any enemy invading Palestine from the east would not dare to bypass Jericho. They would have to first conquer the city or risk being constantly ambushed by guerrilla forces from within. When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, his first task was to eliminate this potential threat in the battle of Jericho.

Jericho is one of the oldest known cities in the world, with a history that can be traced back to 8,000 BCE. The city had many unique features, one of which was a rare double wall. The inner and outer walls were 15 feet apart. The outer wall was six feet thick and made of stone, while the inner wall was twelve feet thick and made of bricks. However, the walls restricted the city’s size. As the population grew, people built bridges between the two walls and constructed houses on them to gain a little more space, making it a very crowded city. Houses were built on the six-foot-thick outer wall, between the two walls, and on the twelve-foot-thick inner wall, which were all 30 feet high. The city was already built on top of the ruins of older cities, so after all those extra houses were built, the walls were naturally not very stable.

The collapse of the city of Jericho is a well-known story in the Western world. The “King of Jericho” was the city’s leader. He and his people knew the Israelites were coming, so they were on high alert. The Israelites arrived at the city’s gates. Despite numbering in the millions, they were a disorganized group with no skill or technology to lay siege to a city. According to the Bible, the method the Israelites used to attack the city was unprecedented. The Lord told Joshua: “March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of ram’s horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse.” [Joshua 6:2-5]. There was no more unusual method of attack than carrying the Ark of the Covenant around the city for seven days. God not only allowed the Israelites to make a triumphal procession around the city for these seven days, but also wanted them to patiently wait for Him during that time. God then shook the walls down, allowing the Israelite army to easily enter and successfully conquer the city of Jericho. God wanted His people to understand that the spiritual battle was not theirs, but His. If people are faithful, obedient, and work with God, He Himself will take care of doing great things.