“But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.”
~ Joshua 6:25
Hi James and Ellen,
Why do you think that it had to be exactly seven Levi tribal clan priests with each priest blowing a ram’s horn trumpet who had to march in front of the ark of the covenant – that was in front of Israel’s people group’s armed guys, as they marched one time for six consecutive days around the city of Jericho and then on the seventh day, they marched seven times around the city of Jericho? Seven has been typed as a sacred number. Your grandpaa can only hypothesize or conjecture as to who told Joshua what to do when God’s specially chosen guys and gals encountered the first city as they began their offensive in the land area that God was giving them to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . Joshua may have gotten his crusade tactics from the commander of the army of the Lord. The commander of the army of the Lord met up with Joshua in the chapter prior to Joshua 6. Joshua had to have learned a lot from Moses’ battle strategies during the times that Moses led and won skirmishes against guys from the different people groups of guys and gals – such as the Amorite and Midianite people groups of guys and gals, who lived in the Transjordan regions. Even though Moses chose Joshua over Caleb as the guy who he opted to mentor, your grandpaa thinks that Caleb was a much better fighter than Joshua and that Caleb was probably instrumental in determining the battle plans that would be used to eradicate the land area that God was giving to His specially chosen guys and gals to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . of every single people group of guys and gals who lived in this land area. The city of Jericho would be the first city to be overpowered – with God’s help, by God’s specially chosen guys and gals. The city of Jericho was the closest city to where God had His specially chosen guys and gals cross across the Jordon River’s dried up riverbed. A deliberate stratagem to first trounce all the cities that were located in the central part of the land area that God was giving to His specially chosen guys and gals to always to have as their very own land to live in if . . . and then to trounce all the cities that were located in the southern part of this land area followed by the trouncing of all the cities that were located in the northern part of this land area just does not seem – to your grandpaa, something that Joshua would think up on his own to do.
Of all the other cities that were in the land area that God was giving to His specially chosen guys and gals to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . ., only the guys and gals who were living in the city of Jericho watched for six days seven Levi tribal clan priests – each priest blowing a ram’s horn trumpet, marching in front of the ark of the covenant that was followed by Israel’s people group’s armed guys marching around their walled city. The guys and gals who were living in the city of Jericho had no clue that on the seventh day and at the end of the seventh time that the seven Levi tribal clan priests followed by the ark of the covenant and Israel’s people groups armed guys marching around their city that on that day that their city walls would crumble down into big piles of rubble just as the seven Levi tribal clan priests blew together a loud blast from their ram’s horn trumpets and just as God’s specially chosen guys and gals shouted out a monster war cry. God had given very specific orders to His specially chosen guys and gals that absolutely no booty was to be taken by anyone from the destroyed city of Jericho and that every single guy, gal and kid who was found still alive in the destroyed city of Jericho – along with every single bull, sheep and donkey, were to be killed by God’s specially chosen guys. Rahab and Rahab’s family where the only residents of the city of Jericho to get passes from God to not be killed. Verse 25 says, “But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.” God rewarded Rahab for being a risk taker.
The city of Jericho can exemplify the lives of God’s specially elected guys and gals. God’s specially elected guys and gals will oftentimes try to hide their life behind a veneer or wall just as the guys and gals who were living in the city of Jericho had thick walls built to protect them from guys from enemy nations or people groups of guys and gals who would try to get inside their walls in order to . . . have you been already trying to build veneers or walls in order to hide your lives? Do you use humor or sarcasm to try to cover up your insecurities? Do you act shy or timid in order to hide your anxieties? Do you talk incessantly or not talk at all in an attempt to conceal your nervousness? God expects His specially elected guys and gals to get rid of their veneers or walls. There is a plant that grows in Bolivia that your grandpaa would use in a devotional as an example of a guy or gal who tries to hide behind a veneer or wall in his or her relationship with other guys and gals. The visible side of the plant’s leaves looks soft and fuzzy while the underside of the plant’s leaves has several long, sharp spikes which discourage animals – such as cattle, from eating the leaves. The outsides of your lives’ veneers or walls today probably look hospitable while the inside of your lives’ veneers or walls may be filled with sharp retorts. For a Christ-follower guy or gal to not to have veneers or walls to hide behind, he or she will need to help other guys and gals by encircling the lives of these guys and gals with prayer resulting in his or her life veneers or walls crumbling. It takes time for lives’ veneers or walls to crumble just as it took time for the city of Jericho’s walls to crumble. Your grandpaa knows that his resting face is not very welcoming. Your grandpaa knows that he has be intentional about communicating caring who he is talking or interacting with. Your grandpaa knows that God expects him to put his neighbor before himself.
Joshua 6 (591)