The Walls of Jericho Fall

I think it is interesting, that as Joshua's first act of leadership, he takes them across the Jordan River on dry land. Moses had been a part of a similar miracle, and it seems as though God was assuring the Israelites that He had His hand on Joshua exactly as He had Moses. By repeating the same miracle at the outset of this major undertaking, God was signifying that His presence would go with them and that Joshua was His chosen leader. God was authenticating both Himself and his servant Joshua.

The story of the walls of Jericho is one of those fantastic stories from the Bible that seem almost too good to be true. Could people really scream loud enough to bring down walls fifteen feet thick? Though we can trust the Bible at face value, there is definitely a part of me that is very gratified by proof! And here it is... archaeologists have uncovered the remains of Jericho and dated the destruction of the city to either 1400 BC or 1550 BC (two opposing views based on dating of some pottery pieces found there). The 1440 BC date places the conquest of Jericho at precisely the right time. At any rate, carbon-dating is not an exact science and dating based on the styles of pottery used cannot be exact either. How could anyone know whether a piece of pottery found was something handed down from a grandmother or something brand new to the owner? So, the fact that we have scientists, believers and non, agreeing on this general time frame, seems to corroborate the Biblical record. They found the walls of the city, some small segments of which are still partially intact . There is also evidence to support the Jericho account in that many large jars of grain were found, suggesting that the siege was sudden and quick, leaving no time for people to move their valuable storehouses out of the city nor having need to deplete them while being hunkered down in a prolonged attack. And remember that God told the Israelites not to take anything from the city, which would also explain the presence of such costly goods left behind. The attack was said to have occurred at harvest time, which is also corroborated by the large stockpiles of grain. Finally, there was an extensive collection unearthed of scarabs, (Egyptian amulets shaped like a scarab beetle, each inscribed with the name of a particular Pharoah). These represented the line of Pharoahs right up until the Pharoah who died in 1349 BC., who would have likely risen to power prior to the 1400 BC siege.

As for the manner in which the walls fell, that could have been the result of a divinely appointed earthquake (I read that some evidence exists for a quake measuring 8.0 on the richter scale occurring in that area at that time... how can anyone know these things????) or it could have been an isolated rumble designed only to topple those walls. Clearly this was a supernatural occurrence on some level, as evidenced by the instruction of the angel who spoke to Joshua. The city sat up on an incline with two layers of walls (an inner and outer rim , 18 and 12 feet tall, respectively) surrounding it. Evidence has been found to prove that houses were constructed into the walls, as Rahab's was depicted. Such homes would have been the poorer sections of town as the property values in the least secure areas of the city would have been low. As an unsavory element of society, this is consistent with where Rahab would have lived. The Bible tells us that she and her household were safe when the walls fell, and archaeologists have confirmed that a small section of wall on the north side did not rumble as the rest. This must have been where Rahab lived. Archaeologists also found piles of red bricks consistent with the sudden dismantling of the walls as opposed to a slow erosion over time. Due to the positioning of these walls on an incline in to the city, they would have fallen on each other in a manner that would have created a ramp, enabling the Israelites to scramble in. The Bible tells us that the destruction of Jericho was completed by setting fire to the city, which has also been confirmed by the archaeological record. A 3 foot layer of burned ash and debris was found on the site.

This was an essential victory on many levels. It demonstrated to the Israelites that God was with them, Joshua could effectively lead them, and that they could accomplish the task set before them. It could not have been easy to destroy everyone in the city, but as we have reviewed, these were not innocent people, and when immorality gets out of hand, God has been known to resort to complete annihilation ( the flood and Sodom and Gomorrah are good examples). It is analogous to radical, painful, and disfiguring surgery to excise cancer or gangrene, which left unchecked would ultimately destroy the entire body. The Israelites could not have assimilated the population of Jericho without dire consequences to themselves.

Tomorrow's reading: Joshua 7-9