The Fall of Jericho

Each week I get an assignment in my Intro to the Old Testament course that challenges me to think critically about a part of the Old Testament we are reading that week. This week's assignment dealt with chapter 6 of Joshua. This chapter tells of the Israelites conquest of the city of Jericho. The archeological evidence overwhelmingly suggests that before the time of the emergence of the Israelites, the walls were gone and the population was sparse. So the question becomes, what does this story do for us? The following is an excerpt from my answer to that question.

The liturgical elements of this story are present in the dilemma of how best to breach Jericho’s impregnable wall. God instructs the priests to walk around the wall once every day for seven days, and on the seventh day, seven times. While they are marching around the walls, seven priests will blow trumpets while carrying the ark. The Israelites believe that God is present with the ark, the ark is God’s literal throne in the world. This ritual shows how intimately God is involved in the conquest of the Canaanite lands as God is carried into battle and God singlehandedly topples the wall. God is clearly favoring the Israelites in this narrative.

This text is important for the liturgical life of the Israelites, especially for the Deuteronomistic Historians, because it elaborates on the significance of the ark. The importance of the ark would be diminished if there wasn’t some sort of example of God working through it. The destruction of Jericho, whether factually based or not, is an example of God working in the world and God’s intimate connection to the Israelites. To them, belief that God is literally on the ark means that God must have some action while the ark is in the Israelites possession. If the story of the destruction of Jericho was what we have archeological evidence for, then what is there to say about God blessing this people and being with them as they enter into the promised land? Today this text still carries theological significance for us because it is still a story about God literally moving in this world. Without these stories we would be missing out on a significant theological claim; that God can bring down the walls of our world for the betterment of God’s people.