The story of Joshua and the Walls of Jericho is a famous event in the Bible where faith and obedience led to a miraculous victory. This story is found in Joshua 6:1-27.
Jericho’s Fortified Walls
Bible Verse: Joshua 6:1
“Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.”
Jericho was a city with very strong walls. The people of Jericho closed their gates and guarded them because they were afraid of the Israelites.
God’s Plan for Jericho
Bible Verse: Joshua 6:2-5
“Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days… On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.'”
God gave Joshua a special plan. For six days, the Israelites were to march around Jericho once each day. On the seventh day, they were to march around seven times. Then, the priests would blow trumpets made from ram’s horns.
The March Around Jericho
Bible Verse: Joshua 6:10
“But Joshua had commanded the army, ‘Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!'”
Joshua told his army to be very quiet as they marched around Jericho. They did this every day for six days, just walking and saying nothing.
The Walls Come Tumbling Down
Bible Verse: Joshua 6:20
“When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.”
On the seventh day, after marching around Jericho seven times, the priests blew their trumpets, and the soldiers shouted loudly. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho fell down, and the Israelites were able to go into the city.
The Fall of Jericho
Bible Verse: Joshua 6:24
“Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house.”
After the walls fell, the Israelites took over the city of Jericho as God had commanded. They destroyed the city but saved the valuable things for God’s treasury.