Joshua 6

Breaking the walls

Joshua 6

Purpose of History

We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.

Shaw, G.B., (use)

We spend a great deal of time studying history, which, let’s face it, is mostly the history of stupidity.

Hawking, S., 2016. Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence Launched. (use)

Habakkuk 1:5

Then the LORD said to his people, "Keep watching the nations round you, and you will be astonished at what you see. I am going to do something that you will not believe when you hear about it. (use)

Esther 6:1

That same night the king could not get to sleep, so he ordered the official records of the empire to be brought and read to him. (use)

Luke 24:27

And Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the Scriptures, beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of all the prophets. (use)

The Bible speaks with one voice. It sets forth one plan of salvation, makes one diagnosis of the problem of the human condition, presents one history of redemption, and offers one Savior.

Lawson, S., 2018. The Moment of Truth: Its Reality. (use)

Joshua 6:2

The LORD said to Joshua, "I am putting into your hands Jericho, with its king and all its brave soldiers. (use)

It’s hard to imagine a time in recent Western history when Christian and non-Christian worldviews have been so separate. We stand on two different mountaintops and have two completely different ways of viewing the same reality. So how can we bridge these worldviews? How can a Christian utter a word in public without being branded a monster?

Chan, S., 2018. Jesus for a Post-Truth World. (use)

God (Old Testament Massacres)

Joshua 7:26

They put a huge pile of stones over him, which is there to this day. That is why that place is still called Trouble Valley. Then the LORD was no longer furious. (use)

Isaiah 37:26

Have you never heard that I planned all this long ago? And now I have carried it out. I gave you the power to turn fortified cities into piles of rubble. (use)

Joshua 6:17

The city and everything in it must be totally destroyed as an offering to the LORD . Only the prostitute Rahab and her household will be spared, because she hid our spies. (use)

Joshua 11:20

The LORD had made them determined to fight the Israelites, so that they would be condemned to total destruction and all be killed without mercy. This was what the LORD had commanded Moses. (use)

Is God Absent?

Joshua 5:14-15

"Neither," the man answered. "I am here as the commander of the LORD 's army." Joshua threw himself on the ground in worship and said, "I am your servant, sir. What do you want me to do?" And the commander of the LORD 's army told him, "Take your sandals off; you are standing on holy ground." And Joshua did as he was told. (use)

Psalm 106:34

They did not kill the heathen, as the LORD had commanded them to do (use)

Joshua 7:1

The LORD 's command to Israel not to take from Jericho anything that was to be destroyed was not obeyed. A man named Achan disobeyed that order, and so the LORD was furious with the Israelites. (Achan was the son of Carmi and grandson of Zabdi, and belonged to the clan of Zerah, a part of the tribe of Judah.) (use)

Deuteronomy 7:6

Do this because you belong to the LORD your God. From all the peoples on earth he chose you to be his own special people. (use)

Romans 9:22

And the same is true of what God has done. He wanted to show his anger and to make his power known. But he was very patient in enduring those who were the objects of his anger, who were doomed to destruction. (use)

So that thus it is, that natural Men are held in the Hand of God over the Pit of Hell; they have deserved the fiery Pit, and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked, his Anger is as great towards them as to those that are actually suffering the Executions of the fierceness of his Wrath in Hell, and they have done nothing in the least to appease or abate that Anger, neither is God in the least bound by any Promise to hold 'em up one moment; the Devil is waiting for them, Hell is gaping for them, the Flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them, and swallow them up; the Fire pent up in their own Hearts is struggling to break out; and they have no interest in any Mediator, there are no Means within Reach that can be any Security to them.

Edwards, J., Enfield, July 8th 1741. (use)

Luke 9:54-55

When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them. (use)

Joshua 6:27

So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread through the whole country. (use)

Joshua 3:7

The LORD said to Joshua, "What I do today will make all the people of Israel begin to honour you as a great man, and they will realize that I am with you as I was with Moses. (use)

Hebrews 4:8

If Joshua had given the people the rest that God had promised, God would not have spoken later about another day. (use)

By giving the land, the Lord shows us the kind of salvation he brings. By keeping his covenant promises through Joshua, the Lord shows us the kind of savior he provides. By saving Gentiles by faith, the Lord shows us the kind of people he saves.

Hunter, T., 2016. Why Study the Book of Joshua? (use)

Hebrews 10:31

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God! (use)

Joshua 6:17

The city and everything in it must be totally destroyed as an offering to the LORD . Only the prostitute Rahab and her household will be spared, because she hid our spies. (use)

Joshua 2:9

and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given you this land. Everyone in the country is terrified of you. (use)

James 2:25

It was the same with the prostitute Rahab. She was put right with God through her actions, by welcoming the Israelite spies and helping them to escape by a different road. (use)

Hebrews 11:30-31

It was faith that made the walls of Jericho fall down after the Israelites had marched round them for seven days. It was faith that kept the prostitute Rahab from being killed with those who disobeyed God, for she gave the Israelite spies a friendly welcome. (use)

Habakkuk 3:18

I will still be joyful and glad, because the LORD God is my saviour. (use)

In Bethlehem

Ruth 4:17-22

The women of the neighbourhood named the boy Obed. They told everyone, "A son has been born to Naomi!" Obed became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David. This is the family line from Perez to David: Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David. (use)

Luke 2:11

This very day in David's town your Saviour was born — Christ the Lord! (use)

Matthew 1:2-6,12-16

From Abraham to King David, the following ancestors are listed: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and his brothers; then Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Obed (his mother was Ruth), Jesse, and King David. ... ...Jacob, and Joseph, who married Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was called the Messiah. (use)