The Battle of Jericho – God’s Evangelistic Series

When Jesus delivered the Children of Israel from Egypt it had a profound effect upon the people of the world. We know that there were many people in Egypt that “feared the Word of the Lord” and obeyed the counsel of Moses to get their servants and cattle out of the fields and those who did not fear the Word of the Lord lost out. (Exodus 9:20-21). We are told from the Word of God that the deliverance of Israel from Egypt was the catalyst in which many Egyptians chose to leave Egypt and join the experiences of the Children of Israel. (Exodus 12:38 – Patriarchs and Prophets pages 279,281). In the Song of Moses, Moses prophecies’ that the people of Philistia will hear and that the Canaanites will melt away when they hear of the power of God for His people. (Exodus 15:14-16). Rahab confirms this prophecy in her confession of her faith in Jesus in Joshua 2:9-11. The Philistines also confirm this prophecy in I Samuel 6:1-6. We know that Jesus has been working with His people for a long time trying to get them to stay focused on Him so that He could use them as a nation of priests to evangelize the world. (Exodus 19:6; Deuteronomy 4:5-8, Patriarchs and Prophets 492 “They were not only to be inheritors of the true religion, but to disseminate its principles throughout the world.”). In the Battle of Jericho we see one manifestation of how God wanted to communicate His evangelistic efforts, and His evangelistic successes.

When Jesus, the Intercessor of God’s people, led Israel to Canaan He warned them not to get into relationships with the people of Canaan lest they teach Israel how to rebel against Him, for Israel was a holy people. (Deuteronomy 7:1-6). God did not want Israel to get too familiar with the Canaanites lest they teach them things that would change their worship of God. (Deuteronomy 12:1-6). Many people feel that God did not want them to save anyone in the land of Canaan. But this is not in harmony with the character of God for He is always love and always willing to save, for He died to save every sinner in the world, through out the time of the world for God does not change. (Hebrews 13:8). In fact God told Israel to offer peace to each and every city they came to in Canaan and if they were willing to make peace those people were to become tributary cities and serve Israel. But if they did not make peace they were to be destroyed lest they contaminate Israel’s worship of the true God. (Deuteronomy 20:10-18).

Another interesting part in God’s evangelistic process was to warn each group of people and alert them to the process of salvation. Then if they did not surrender to God they would be destroyed. This process took place over and over in the wilderness wanderings and in fact had started with Egypt when God sent the plagues to deliver Abraham from Pharaoh in Genesis 12:10-20. We know that this warning process also affected Canaan in the coming of the evangelist Abraham for through his efforts God had revealed His saving grace by delivering Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 14. Then when the nations of Canaan saw what God did to Egypt in the time of Moses their hearts melted. (Exodus 15:14-16; Joshua 2:8-11) Then they saw all of the different conflicts with nations that interacted with Israel in the 40 years of the wilderness wandering they were thoroughly warned. Ellen White describes this in the following statement:

The inhabitants of Canaan had been granted ample opportunity for repentance. Forty years before, the opening of the Red Sea and the judgments upon Egypt had testified to the supreme power of the God of Israel. And now the overthrow of the kings of Midian, of Gilead and Bashan, had further shown that Jehovah was above all gods. The holiness of His character and His abhorrence of impurity had been evinced in the judgments visited upon Israel for their participation in the abominable rites of Baalpeor. All these events were known to the inhabitants of Jericho, and there were many who shared Rahab's conviction, though they refused to obey it, that Jehovah, the God of Israel, "is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath." Like the men before the Flood, the Canaanites lived only to blaspheme Heaven and defile the earth. And both love and justice demanded the prompt execution of these rebels against God and foes to man.” Patriarchs and Prophets 492

So, as in all cases when God interacts with the people He created, He seeks every way possible to warn and alert of His love and grace, and eventually His power to discipline, and even destroy. All of these things are done with the intent to save.

In the case of Canaan, God led His people to the borders of Canaan and then revealed His power again to the whole world by opening a way through the Jordan River at flood time. (Joshua 3-4). All who saw this display should have been moved in such a way as to surrender to the mighty Jehovah (the name given to Jesus – the I Am in the Old Testament – John 8:58; Exodus 3:1-14; Joshua 5:13-15). Yet Jericho, one of the chief centers of the worship of Ashtaroth ( Patriarchs and Prophets (PP) page 487), was not willing to surrender to Israel for they had locked their gates and prepared for war.

None the less God wanted to display His power to save as many people as possible from this city devoted to pagan worship and rebellion against God. God’s people approached this city in the most unique manner ever associated with the conquest of a city. Joshua himself had had a personal interaction with Jesus, the Captain of the Lord’s host (Joshua 5:13-15) and had received specific instructions from Jesus as to how to conquer this city. Instead of assaulting it directly Jesus wanted His people to approach this city in a special way. Jesus instructed Joshua to have the people march around this city one time each day for 6 days. They were to march around it, saying nothing, but 7 priests, would blow 7 trumpets, while arching in front of the Ark of the Covenant, and then go back to the camp. This was to be done for 6 days but then on the 7th day, the Sabbath of the Lord God, then Israel would march around the city 7 times. At the end of the 7th circumference of Jericho then the people were to stop and turn and face Jericho and then at the command of Joshua communicated through the trumpets sounding then they were to join in and shout with a great shout and then God would overthrow the walls, and then the people were to march straight forward and kill every man, woman, child, and animal. This judgment sounds harsh to us but when commanded by the loving Jesus it accomplished His purposes.

“The utter destruction of the people of Jericho was but a fulfillment of the commands previously given through Moses concerning the inhabitants of Canaan: "Thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them." Deuteronomy 7:2. "Of the cities of these people, . . . thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth." Deuteronomy 20:16. To many these commands seem to be contrary to the spirit of love and mercy enjoined in other portions of the Bible, but they were in truth the dictates of infinite wisdom and goodness. God was about to establish Israel in Canaan, to develop among them a nation and government that should be a manifestation of His kingdom upon the earth. They were not only to be inheritors of the true religion, but to disseminate its principles throughout the world. The Canaanites had abandoned themselves to the foulest and most debasing heathenism, and it was necessary that the land should be cleared of what would so surely prevent the fulfillment of God's gracious purposes.” Patriarchs and Prophets 492

Yet even during this process of destruction God was saving souls. We know that in the city of Jericho, during these seven days, was the harlot Rahab, and her family. We are not told how many people were saved but we do know that anyone found inside Rahab’s house, and thus under the mark of the red cord, would be saved. We do not know how many people and we do not know when they got in the house, but we do know that when God promises deliverance it will get done. Jesus promised in Amos 9:9 that “…yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.”  So as with the people during the time of Passover, any person found within the dwelling place of Israel, and with blood covering the door posts, and those found eating the Lamb in harmony with the instructions of Jesus through His prophet Moses, would live, and all who did not would lose their first born child, or first born animal. (Exodus 11-14)

It is this writer’s belief, and faith in Jesus, that there were souls who were as convinced as Rahab of the power of Jesus. Their hearts had melted like Rahab’s heart had and they were wanting to surrender to Jesus as Rahab had. They were moved by the Holy Spirit to surrender and obey the warnings of Jesus. They had opportunity to meditate and pray for those seven days and on that precious Sabbath many souls made their final decisions – some to surrender to Jesus and enter into the sanctuary of safety under the sign of the blood of Jesus in Rahab’s house, and some to defiance and soon death. It is my belief that Jesus is ever revealing His love and grace to all that all souls who desire to be saved can be saved. Ellen White says it in the following manner:

“The inhabitants of Canaan had been granted ample opportunity for repentance. Forty years before, the opening of the Red Sea and the judgments upon Egypt had testified to the supreme power of the God of Israel. And now the overthrow of the kings of Midian, of Gilead and Bashan, had further shown that Jehovah was above all gods. The holiness of His character and His abhorrence of impurity had been evinced in the judgments visited upon Israel for their participation in the abominable rites of Baalpeor. All these events were known to the inhabitants of Jericho, and there were many who shared Rahab's conviction, though they refused to obey it, that Jehovah, the God of Israel, "is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath." Like the men before the Flood, the Canaanites lived only to blaspheme Heaven and defile the earth. And both love and justice demanded the prompt execution of these rebels against God and foes to man.” Patriarchs and Prophets 492

Whatever the number of people saved we know that Joshua was aware of the covenant made by Rahab with the two spies and made provision to spare all, however many that all was, who were in Rahab’s house. We know that Rahab was spared, Rahab’s father, mother, her brethren, and all that she had in the house. Joshua 6:22-23. It is my belief in the saving power of Jesus that there were many people in that house for Jesus gave an extra 7 days of evangelistic calling to move each and every soul to make that final decision.

There was one more evangelistic message started on that fateful day, long ago. We know that Rahab the harlot was granted one other testimony to give to the whole world. Rahab, received the blessing of being one of the four women listed in the lineage of Jesus of Nazareth, the very One who saved her long ago. She was a faithful servant to the Captain of the Lord’s host and she, along with Tamar, Ruth, and Mary, received a special blessing in Matthew chapter 1 and when she is resurrected she will be blest again to know that Jesus remembered her service to Him in being the mother of His earthly great grandfather of Boaz (Ruth 2-4), before it even happened.

This evangelistic story, told so long ago, tells of the saving grace of Jesus, and of His people. But Rahab was not the only one saved in the history of the Old Testament. Jesus saved those members of Rahab’s city. Jesus also saved the Gibeionites, the deceptive tribe of Canaan in Joshua 9-10. Then He saved Ruth the Moabitess. Then He saved the Gittites, 600 families of the Philistines in the time of David. (II Samuel 15:18-22). Jesus saved thousands of people in the Old Testament including the thousands of people in Ninevah, the capital city of Assyria in Jonah 3-4, and the many people of Persia in Esther 8:17. We have no idea of how many people Jesus saved during the time of the Old Testament. We believe that many people in Babylon responded to the gospel calls of Daniel, and his friends (Daniel 2:46-49; 3:27-30; 4:1-3, 36-37), or the calls to Greece, and to Rome. All we know for sure is that Jesus died to save all mankind. (I Timothy 2:4). Jesus loves the world and He loved it enough to die for each and every sinner through out time. Please, my friends, when you go out to tell the gospel story remember that the gospel did not start at Calvary, it was promised long ago in Eden. (Genesis 3:15-21). This gospel was also given to all of God’s people (Galatians 3:8; Hebrews 4:1-2) and has been testified to by many Godly men and women. Now it is our turn to tell this gospel story. So please my friend, when telling this story don’t forget the evangelistic series at the city of Jericho and the many souls won to Jesus. Tell the whole story that is told in the Bible, and be sure to include the wonderful story of the evangelistic efforts of Jesus’ grandmother – Rahab of Jericho.