Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho

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6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it:...

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For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

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Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

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GOD SAID, Joshua 6:1-25:

1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.

2 And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye 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 ascend up every man straight before him.

6 And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD.

7 And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.

8 And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.

9 And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.

10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.

11 So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.

12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.

13 And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.

14 And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days.

15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.

16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.

17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.

19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.

20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that 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 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.

22 But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her.

23 And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.

24 And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.

25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

MAN SAID:  According to a disgruntled visitor to GodSaidManSaid, “This website is for the small minded Bible-thumpers who think the Bible is something more than a fictional book written by hypocrites. You should be so ashamed. You are the problem with the world.”

Now THE RECORD. The world’s carnal minds align themselves in unbelief in a type of foolish and futile group defense, for they know that if the scriptures are truly the inerrant Word of the living God, they’ll have a lot of answering to do at a place called the Great White Throne Judgment. The end result of the White Throne Judgment for those who have not surrendered their lives unto Christ is an eternity in a place called the Lake of Fire. If these carnal minds were to acknowledge the truth of the scriptures, they would have to endure conviction and possibly even turn from their sins. But, to them, that is simply thinkable. Deny, deny, deny is their only option. Unfortunately for them, the Scriptures are true and righteous altogether.

This is the 378th GodSaidManSaid feature article which proves scholastically and pragmatically that the Word of God is true—entirely true. Every Thursday evening, God willing, we publish a new feature article. This feature is the second article dealing with God’s miraculous destruction of the infamous Canaanite city of Jericho.

The Bible is a supernaturally reliable history book. Secular ancient history, archaeology, and paleontology have proved the veracity of the Bible’s historic record over and over and over again. The walls of Jericho that came tumbling down are just another proof that God is “and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

GodSaidManSaid’s first feature on Jericho is titled, “Walls of Jericho.” In this feature, we cover what Frankfort, Kentucky may have to do with Jericho’s fallen walls. We published the staggering announcement by world famous archaeologist Garstang that he had unearthed Joshua’s city of Jericho and how this announcement had the skeptics in a frenzy.

For nearly twenty years, constant opposition was brought to bear on Garstang’s conclusions until 1952, when skeptics managed to have Jericho reexamined under the direction of Miss Kathleen Kenyon.

During the later course of Miss Kenyon’s excavation, some of the skeptics arrived and wanted to know of her findings. She advised that Professor Garstang and the other archaeological experts were wrong. Immediately, the news was dispatched around the world.

After Garstang’s dating of Jericho was discredited by the skeptics, Miss Kenyon returned to Jericho for further investigation where she then reversed her position and vindicated Garstang’s findings. But, the skeptics didn’t come forth to set the record straight. Miss Kenyon said, “All the canons of historical criticism demand that we accept the main facts of the story of the conquest of Jericho as authentic, for it was obviously an event of great importance in the ultimate dominance of the Israelites in Palestine, and the wealth of detail makes it clear that it was a faithful verbal record handed down for generations until it was incorporated in a written record....” [End of quote]

The account in Joshua 6:24, “And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein,” was proven by Garstang and subsequent digs to be true as recorded. We also noted the findings of Josephus, the famed Jewish historian who wrote his histories shortly after the days of Christ.

Joshua, chapter 2 tells of the Canaanite harlot Rahab, who lived in Jericho. She hid the Israelite spies who were being pursued by the men of the king of Jericho. She was promised protection for her kindness. Joshua 2:12-21:

12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token:

13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death

14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.

15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.

16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.

17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.

18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.

19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.

20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.

21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.

The following paragraphs are from the website Christiananswers.net under the title, “Is the Bible accurate concerning the destruction of the walls of Jericho?”

What caused the strong walls of Jericho to collapse? The most likely explanation is an earthquake. But the nature of the earthquake was unusual. It struck in such a way as to allow a portion of the city wall on the north side of the site to remain standing, while everywhere else the wall fell.

The spies leave Rahab’s Jericho wall house. Rahab's house was evidently located on the north side of the city. She was the Canaanite prostitute who hid the Israelite spies who came to reconnoiter the city. The Bible states that her house was built against the city wall. Before returning to the Israelite camp, the spies told Rahab to bring her family into her house and they would be saved. According to the Bible, Rahab’s house was miraculously spared while the rest of the city wall fell.

This is exactly what archaeologists found. The preserved city wall on the north side of the city had houses built against it.

The timing of the earthquake and the manner in which it selectively took down the city wall suggests something other than a natural calamity. A Divine Force was at work. [End of quote]

The following excerpts refer to the findings of noted archaeologist Dr. Bryant G. Wood, Director of the Associates for Biblical Research:

Then there is the matter of the large grain supply found in the burnt debris of Jericho City IV. In fact, grain was the most abundant item found by professor Kenyon, apart from pottery. “In her limited excavation area, Professor Kenyon recovered six bushels of grain in one season!...unique in the annals of Palestinian archaeology” wrote Dr. Wood.

Successful attackers would normally remove valuable grain after capturing a city. However the Israelites by divine command, were forbidden to take any grain from Jericho (verses 17-18, 21). “This could explain why so much grain was left to burn when City IV met its end,” wrote Dr. Wood. For this amount of grain to have been stored, the city would have to have been destroyed in the spring of the year, shortly “after harvest time, not before,” Dr. Wood emphasizes.

This is precisely when the Bible says the Israelites attacked Jericho (Joshua 5:10). Rahab, for example, had been drying freshly harvested flax on the roof of her house in Jericho at the time (Joshua 2:6). The jars full of grain indicate “that when the city met its end there was ample food supply,” wrote Dr Wood. This meant that Jericho had succumbed quickly, not after a long siege.

This is consistent with the Biblical account that Jericho was destroyed after only seven days (verses 15, 20). Evidence from radio-carbon dating also supports the conclusion that City IV was destroyed around 1400 B.C. One carbon-14 sample taken from a piece of charcoal found in the debris of City IV was dated to 1410 B.C.

Based on such findings, Dr. Wood concludes: “The correlation between the archaeological evidence and the Biblical narrative is substantial.” This interpretation, if it survives critical appraisal, would be important to those who believe the Bible is historically accurate. [End of quote]

GOD SAID, Joshua fit the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down.

MAN SAID:  According to a disgruntled visitor to GodSaidManSaid, “This website is for the small minded Bible thumpers who think the Bible is something more than a fictional book written by hypocrites. You should be so ashamed. You are the problem with the world.”

Now you have THE RECORD.




References:
Authorized King James Version
“A new study confirms Jericho’s walls ‘fell down flat.’ The Bible’s account is correct,”Towards-success.com
“Is the Bible accurate concerning the destruction of the walls of Jericho?”Christiananswers.net
“Walls of Jericho,” GodSaidManSaid, 7/20/2006

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