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Joshua 6: The Walls Fall Down

At God's strange command Israel marches around Jericho, and when the people shout the walls fall flat, while Rahab and her household are saved.

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Joshua 6 (WEB)

1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the children of Israel. No one went out, and no one came in.

2 Yahweh said to Joshua, “Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty men of valor.

3 All your men of war shall march around the city, going around the city once. You shall do this six days.

4 Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.

5 It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him.”

6 Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before Yahweh’s ark.”

7 They said to the people, “Advance! March around the city, and let the armed men pass on before Yahweh’s ark.”

8 It was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before Yahweh advanced, and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh followed them.

9 The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the ark went after them. The trumpets sounded as they went.

10 Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout, nor let your voice be heard, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.”

11 So he caused Yahweh’s ark to go around the city, going about it once. Then they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.

12 Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up Yahweh’s ark.

13 The seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before Yahweh’s ark went on continually, and blew the trumpets: and the armed men went before them. The rear guard came after Yahweh’s ark. The trumpets sounded as they went.

14 The second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. They did this six days.

15 On the seventh day, they rose early at the dawning of the day, and marched around the city in the same way seven times. Only on this day they marched around the city seven times.

16 At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for Yahweh has given you the city!

17 The city shall be devoted, even it and all that is in it, to Yahweh. Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

18 But as for you, only keep yourselves from the devoted thing, lest when you have devoted it, you take of the devoted thing; so would you make the camp of Israel accursed, and trouble it.

19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are holy to Yahweh. They shall come into Yahweh’s treasury.”

20 So the people shouted, and the priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

21 They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, and sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring out from there the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.”

23 The young men who were spies went in, and brought out Rahab with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. They also brought out all her relatives, and they set them outside of the camp of Israel.

24 They burnt the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only they put the silver, the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron into the treasury of Yahweh’s house.

25 But Rahab the prostitute, her father’s household, and all that she had, Joshua saved alive. She lived in the midst of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers, whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

26 Joshua commanded them with an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed is the man before Yahweh, who rises up and builds this city Jericho. With the loss of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.”

27 So Yahweh was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land.

Summary

Jericho is shut up tight against Israel, but the Lord tells Joshua, "I have given Jericho into your hand," and gives a strange battle plan. For six days the armed men, seven priests with rams' horn trumpets, and the ark are to march once around the city in silence. On the seventh day they are to march around seven times, and at a long trumpet blast the people are to shout, and the wall will fall down flat. Joshua relays the command and warns the people to stay silent until the moment to shout, and to keep away from the devoted things, which belong to the Lord. They march as commanded for six days. On the seventh, after the seventh circuit, Joshua cries, "Shout, for Yahweh has given you the city!" He sets the whole city apart for destruction but commands that Rahab the prostitute and all in her house be spared, because she hid the messengers. When the trumpets sound and the people shout, the wall falls down flat, and Israel charges straight in and takes the city. They devote it to destruction but bring Rahab and her family safely out, and she lives in the midst of Israel from that day on. So the Lord is with Joshua, and his fame spreads through all the land. The victory belongs entirely to God; Israel's part is simply faith-filled obedience.

Main Characters

  • Joshua — Israel's leader, who obeys God's unusual battle plan, leads the march around Jericho, and honors the oath to spare Rahab's household.
  • The priests and the ark — Seven priests with rams' horn trumpets bearing the ark of the covenant, who lead the procession and signal the moment of the great shout.
  • Rahab and her household — The faithful Canaanite woman and her family, spared from Jericho's destruction because she hid the spies, and brought to live among Israel.
  • Yahweh (the LORD) — The God who gives Jericho into Israel's hand, brings down the walls at the appointed shout, and proves the victory is his alone.

Key Verse

Joshua 6:16 (WEB)

At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for Yahweh has given you the city!

Lessons Learned

  • Victory comes through obedience to God's word, even when his methods seem strange to us.
  • God's strength, not human strategy, brings down what stands against his people.
  • Faith waits patiently for God's appointed time before acting.
  • God remembers and keeps his promises to spare those who trust in him, like Rahab.
  • The victory is God's gift. Before a single march, God says, “I have given Jericho into your hand” (Joshua 6:2, WEB). Israel receives a victory already won by the Lord.
  • Obedience trusts God's methods. Marching silently around a city for seven days makes no military sense, yet Israel obeys (Joshua 6:3-14, WEB). Faith follows God's word even when the plan seems strange.
  • Faith waits for God's timing. The people keep silent until “the day I tell you to shout” (Joshua 6:10, WEB). Patience under God's command is part of trusting him.
  • God keeps his promise to the believing. “Only Rahab the prostitute shall live… because she hid the messengers” (Joshua 6:17, WEB). The faithful outsider is rescued just as she was promised.
  1. Why do you think God chose such an unusual way to bring down Jericho rather than a conventional attack?
  2. What does it require of Israel to march in silence for six days and wait for the command to shout?
  3. How is it emphasized throughout the chapter that the victory belongs to the Lord?
  4. Why is Rahab's rescue highlighted in the midst of Jericho's destruction?
  5. Where is God asking you to trust and obey his way of doing something, even when it makes little sense to you?
  1. God's plan removes any possibility that Israel could boast in its own military skill (6:2-5). The strange method makes plain that the walls fall by God's power alone. Help the group see how God often works in ways that magnify his glory rather than ours.
  2. Silent marching for days demands discipline, patience, and trust, with no visible progress until the end (6:10-14). It trains Israel to obey God's word and wait for his timing rather than rushing ahead. Invite the group to reflect on the difficulty of faithful waiting.
  3. From "I have given Jericho into your hand" (6:2) to "Yahweh has given you the city" (6:16), the language insists the conquest is God's doing. Israel's role is obedience; the power is the Lord's. This protects the people from pride.
  4. Amid total destruction, Rahab's faith secures rescue for her whole household (6:17, 22-25). Her salvation shines as a beacon of grace in the middle of judgment and shows that faith, not nationality, marks the people of God. She will be named in the line of Christ.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Encourage members to name an area where God's way seems counterintuitive and to consider a step of trusting obedience. As leader, keep the focus on God's trustworthiness rather than on the strangeness of the path.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.