wayfor the attack on Jerricho. In a vision, Joshua saw the leader of the Lord’s army. Thepurpose of this seems to have been to assure Joshua of divine leadership in the days ahead(5:13-15).The numbers here are significant other than for their numerical value. Seven symbolizedcompletion, ten perfection, and 12 completeness (6:12-16). Joshua was given orders tocarry the arc of the covenant up to Jericho with seven priests carrying seven ram’s horns.Armed troops were to march ahead of the priests blowing horns also. However no one wasto give the battle cry until Joshua gave the signal. They marched around the walls of Jerichoonce in this fashion, and then retired to camp. This was done six days in a row, and then onthe seventh day they marched around the walls seven times before Joshua gave the signal,and the people yelled a battle cry. The walls crumbled, and the soldiers flooded into thecity. Everything was to be destroyed as an act of dedication to God. Only the prostitueRahab, who had helped the spies, was to be spared (6:17-25). Finally, when the city wasconquered, a curses was pronounced upon it to prevent its rebuilding (6:26-27). As harsh as the requirements of the holy war might seem, an incident involving anIsraelite named Achan would make it seem even more harsh. Strict regulations governedthe disposal of the goods that were captured in the holy war. A violation on the ban oftaking any spoils of war for personal use was punishable by death. In the battle for Ai, theIsraelites were driven back. Unknown to Joshua, Achan had taken certain banned items atJericho (7:1). Undoubtedly, word passed that Achan had taken the goods. Such knowledgewould have had a divisive effect on the army if it were known, since others probably hadbeen tempted to take the spoils of war but had resisted temptation. In any case, when thebattle for Ai was begun, Israel suffered a stinging defeat (7:2-5). Joshua was perplex...
