Commentary - Joshua 6:12-14

Bird's-eye view

In these verses, we see the patient, methodical, and frankly bizarre military strategy that God commanded Israel to follow. This is not a strategy you would learn at West Point. It is a liturgical procession, a worship service conducted around a fortified city. The central point of the whole affair is the Ark of the Covenant, which is the portable throne of Yahweh. God Himself is leading this parade. The priests are blowing trumpets, the armed men are marching, and the people are silent. This is a picture of how God's people are to conduct their warfare. It is not by carnal might, but by faithful, obedient worship. The repetition for six days underscores the necessity of patient endurance in the life of faith. Victory does not always come on the first lap.

This whole scene is a beautiful type of the gospel. The great fortress of Jericho represents the kingdom of darkness, the stronghold of sin and death. It appears impregnable to human effort. But God provides a way. The people are to march around it, led by the presence of God in the Ark, which is a forerunner of Christ. The trumpet blasts are a proclamation of God's coming judgment and victory. And after a period of patient obedience, the walls come down. This is how God conquers sin in our lives and in the world, not through our clever strategies, but through the faithful proclamation of the gospel and obedient trust in His appointed means.

Outline

Context In Joshua

Having crossed the Jordan on dry ground, a miracle that echoed the Red Sea crossing, Israel is now in the promised land. The first obstacle is the formidable city of Jericho. The previous chapter detailed the spiritual preparation for this conquest: the circumcision of the new generation and the celebration of the Passover. This was to remind them that they were God's covenant people, and their victory would depend on their covenant faithfulness, not their military prowess. The appearance of the commander of the Lord's army to Joshua (Josh. 5:13-15) established definitively that this was God's war, and Joshua was merely a subordinate officer. The strategy for Jericho, therefore, flows directly from this reality. It is a divine strategy, meant to display God's power and to teach Israel that the land was a gift to be received by faith, not a prize to be won by strength.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

12 Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests carried the ark of Yahweh.

Joshua's rising early is a recurring mark of his diligence and readiness to obey. He is not a slothful commander. He received his orders from the true Commander, and he is eager to carry them out. The first action of the day is centered on the priests and the Ark. This is crucial. Before the soldiers, before the strategy sessions, the first order of business is the presence of God. The priests, the ministers of worship, are the ones who bear the Ark. This tells us that the entire operation is fundamentally an act of worship. The Ark of Yahweh was the visible sign of God's covenant presence with His people. It was, in effect, His mobile throne room. So when the priests carry the Ark, it is God Himself who is on the move, leading His people into battle. This is not Israel's war with God as their ally; this is God's war, and Israel is privileged to be His instrument.

13 And the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of Yahweh went on continually and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went before them, and the rear guard came after the ark of Yahweh, and they continued to blow the trumpets.

Here we see the order of the procession. It is a divine liturgy. First, the armed men, a vanguard to clear the way. Then, the priests with the trumpets. Their number, seven, is the number of perfection and completion in Scripture. They are blowing the trumpets continually. This is not a military charge; it is a persistent, ongoing proclamation. The sound of the shofar was a call to assembly, a warning, and a declaration of the year of Jubilee. Here, it is all of those things. It is a summons to the people of Jericho to pay attention, a warning of impending judgment, and a declaration that God is about to liberate this land for His people. Then comes the Ark, the center of it all, God's throne. Following the Ark is the rear guard. The entire assembly of Israel is arrayed around the presence of their God. This is worship as warfare. They are not shouting, they are not strategizing, they are not shooting arrows. They are walking, and the priests are blowing. The power is in the obedient performance of the ritual God commanded, centered on His presence.

14 Thus the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did so for six days.

And then they do it again. And again. For six days. This is where the rubber of faith meets the road of patience. Imagine being an Israelite soldier on day three. Or day five. Nothing is happening. The walls are still standing. The people of Jericho are likely jeering from the ramparts. This must have seemed foolish, repetitive, and ineffective. This is a test of obedience when there are no visible results. God is teaching them to trust His process, not their own perceptions of progress. He is building into them a rhythm of faithfulness. Many of our spiritual battles are like this. We are called to a long obedience in the same direction, to keep marching, keep praying, keep worshiping, even when the walls we want to see fall remain stubbornly upright. God's timing is not our timing. The victory was already assured by His promise, but the process of walking it out was designed to shape the character of His people. They had to learn that victory comes from God's hand, in God's way, and on God's schedule. This patient repetition was forging a nation that would depend on Yahweh alone.

Application

The central lesson here is that our warfare is liturgical. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4). What are those weapons? As we see here, they are centered on the presence of God, proclaimed by the ministers of His word (the trumpets), and carried out with patient, steadfast obedience. When we gather for worship on the Lord's Day, we are not taking a break from the battle. We are engaging in the central act of the war. We are marching around Jericho.

The Ark of the Covenant was a shadow of the substance that we have in Christ. He is Immanuel, God with us. Our worship, our lives, must be centered on Him. The trumpets are the preaching of the gospel, the bold proclamation of Christ's victory over sin and death. We are called to sound that trumpet continually, without growing weary. And we are called to patience. There are Jerichos in our own lives, in our families, in our culture, that do not fall on the first day. God calls us to march for six days, to keep walking in obedience, trusting that on the seventh day, at His appointed time, He will give the shout and the walls will come down. Do not despise the day of small things. Do not grow weary in the steady, repetitive acts of faithful obedience. Rise early, center your day on the presence of Christ, and march where He tells you to march. The victory belongs to the Lord.