Joshua 6: 2

“Then God said to Joshua “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands along with its king and its fighting men.”

Joshua 6: 2

The victory is God’s, He has completed it before the Israelites begin marching.

I’m also drawn to the word “Then”, it tells me that there is something before this. Going back to Joshua 5: 12 and reading up to 6: 2 we see that Joshua is before Jericho, but more importantly he is before the Lord. Much like Moses, Joshua stands, sandals off, on holy ground and receives the next step, the next instruction from God in how and where to lead God’s people. All of this reminds us, and Joshua, that God is the true leader of the people. We need to remember this too.

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“Then God said to Joshua “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands along with its king and its fighting men.”

Joshua 6: 2

We know, from historians, and from the Bible itself, that Jericho is a walled town. It probably held 3,000 - 5,000 people. The walls were up to 12 ft tall, and thickest at the base. We also know, from Joshua 3: 15 that the wall housed people, for Rahab lived in a house that was part of the wall. Joshua 3 also shows us that typically the city was opened by day and closed by night. Yet there is fear from the king of Jericho, and the city is now fully closed up. He is afraid of losing his city. Rahab sees God as the one true God and in her fear brings awe and reverence to God and is saved.

As we come to this verse in Joshua 6 the city is closed up and the people are locked in. It may seem impenetrable but God says He is giving Joshua and the Israelites the victory. God explicitly names the two areas of civic life that confirm this - the king and the army. In other words the rulers and the defenders. With this assured Joshua is confident in God and takes action as God describes.

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“Then God said to Joshua “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands along with its king and its fighting men.”

Joshua 6: 2

The king and the fighting men would be the strong points of the city's population. We see through history when leaders fall, or armies are overrun, victory is pretty much assured. God is saying to Joshua this victory is complete! No ruler or army from Jericho will rise up against you after you obey me.

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“Then God said to Joshua “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands along with its king and its fighting men.”

Joshua 6: 2

It is a convincing victory in the face of what may look like certain defeat. It is nomads against a city, and the nomads win. The city looks like it has everything it needs for a long drawn out siege, which surely it would win. God calls us to view our own “cities” with His eyes, just as He invites Joshua - “See, I have delivered…”. This is the call to view our own situations and circumstances as God does.

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“Then God said to Joshua “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands along with its king and its fighting men.”

Joshua 6: 2

“See I have delivered…”, God invites Joshua to view the world the way He sees it. We know from earlier in the Israelites story that Joshua believes God for the victory. When he, along with Caleb and ten others, are sent to spy out the land of Canaan. It is Joshua and Caleb who declare that God will give them victory. Here God is inviting Joshua to see that again, another opportunity to trust God. This time Joshua is not just a spy, he is the leader of God’s people, and he is ready to trust God.

When we read verse 1 we see that Jericho is closed, we also learn that it is a walled town. If we imagine ourselves in front of Jericho with the Israelites we would surely ask “why is this town so closed off, why are they shut up like this?” From chapter 2 we know that there is a great fear in Jericho (Joshua 2: 8-10), but the people maybe don’t know this. They are there with a mixture of feelings, from Jericho is defended we cannot take it; through to Jericho is afraid, it is ours to take. Joshua sees what God sees, what God shows him; the victory is God’s and it is assured. Joshua’s obedience to the strange military tactics show he has his trust in God.