Saturday 7 September 2024

Psalm 61

Background
The siege and destruction of Jericho is the first of many violent battles recorded in the book of Joshua, and Christian readers today may struggle with the command of God to wipe out the nations whose lands are designated for Israel. It only partially addresses this concern if we recognise the Old Testament perspective that God uses his imperfectly holy people to judge nations who persisted in wickedness and therefore deserved such a fate (eg Deuteronomy 9:4-5).

The passage divides in two. We can regard 5:13-6:5 as a unit in which God reassures Joshua, and the rest concerns Joshua’s subsequent instructions to priests and people and their fulfilment.

The visitor or vision Joshua has in 5:13-15 says he's the “commander of the army of the Lord” and does not wish to take sides in the forthcoming military project. We may understand this as further evidence, following other examples earlier in the book of Joshua, that the fall of Jericho is God’s mission rather than Israel’s. Joshua responds (5:15) to a request similar to that made to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5) by a sign of submission to the Lord. This encounter will have bolstered Joshua’s spirits, as will the clear instructions for the campaign in 6:2-5.

In the rather strange procedure for laying siege to the city, it is the Ark of the Covenant (6:6, 8, 11,12) that takes centre stage as it did in the crossing of the Jordan in chapter 3. This first battle to take the land is one where the people’s role is limited to marching and making a noise so there can be no doubt that it is God alone who makes the walls fall. This may be one reason why in the mopping-up operation that follows Israel is commanded (v. 18) to keep no plunder but rather to destroy it as an offering to the one who has given them victory.

To Ponder:

• Given the point raised in the first paragraph of the notes above, do you think we are able to learn anything of value from a story of warfare such as the fall of Jericho?
• In wars today is God ever on one side?
• Most of God’s work on earth is accomplished by humans acting in ways that mirror God’s love and justice. Why would you say does God sometimes, as in this story, choose to act in ways that bypass the usual human approaches to getting things done?

Prayer
Lord, I think about whatever I have in my own life that seems as impossible to conquer as the city of Jericho. Use this story to reassure me that as I trust you, you will conquer for me. Amen.

Bible notes author: The Revd Dr Stephen Mosedale
Stephen is a retired Methodist minister living near Exeter. He served in West Africa and Scotland and was a New Testament tutor at Cliff College.