A Tale of Two Cities

“Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho,
Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, and the walls came tumbling down!”

Many of us are familiar with this Sunday School song.  But few people realize that in the Bible, it’s not just about Jericho.  It’s really a tale of two cities, mighty Jericho and insignificant Ai (even its name is little).  And there are lessons to learn from these two cities that are just as relevant today as they were when these events took place thousands of years ago.

To fully understand the story, we must go back to the book of Deuteronomy.  Moses is instructing the nation of Israel before they enter the Promised Land:  “When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are to possess and drives out before you many nations– the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you– and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally” (Deuteronomy 7:1-2a).

To our modern minds these instructions seem to be quite brutal and harsh.  Destroy them totally?  Why?

Tough Love

All of these nations were idol worshippers.  They worshipped many false gods, and their religious rituals included blatant sexual immorality and human sacrifice (often children).  They did not acknowledge the one true God and had no intention of changing their ways.  God ordered their complete destruction because He wanted to protect His people.  He warned them, “Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.  Do not intermarry with them.  Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods” (Deuteronomy 7:2b-4a).   God knew that it was important to eliminate these pagans so they would not entice the Israelites.  His command was rooted in His love for His people and His desire to protect them.

So that was the agenda for Israel as they crossed the Jordan River and entered the land of Canaan.  The first city they would come to was Jericho, an imposing and powerful city whose walls seemed impenetrable.  Archaeologists have estimated that Jericho’s walls were 13 feet high and 6 feet thick, and included a 28-foot tall watchtower.  The population of the city was between 2,000 and 3,000 people, quite large at that period.  

The story of Rahab the harlot in Joshua 2 reveals that the people of Jericho had heard of the events at the Red Sea and the defeat of two Amorite kings, Og and Sihon.  They were well aware of the Israelites, and their God.  Rahab said, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you…everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below” (Joshua 2:9, 11).  So the people of Jericho were terrified of the Israelites because of the power of their God.  This was certainly a psychological advantage for the Israelites.

But That Doesn’t Make Sense

Then God gave Joshua a very strange battle strategy.  “Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.  March around the city once with all the armed men.  Do this for six days.  Have seven priest carry trumpets of rams’ horns in from of the ark.  On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.  When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in” (Joshua 6:2-5).

On the seventh day Joshua gave additional instructions: “But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them.  Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.  All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury” (Joshua 6:18-19).  Again, this was unusual because in those days it was common practice for the victors to plunder the enemy after battle.  But Israel is forbidden to do this, and they are even warned that any disobedience would bring trouble on the entire camp.

From a military standpoint God’s battle plan made no sense.  But Joshua and the Israelites obeyed– and as every Sunday School student knows, “the walls came tumbling down.”

But that’s not the end of the story.

Little Things Are A Big Deal

In Joshua 7 we are told that one man disobeyed the prohibition on plunder.  His name was Achan.  He took a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels.  Achan buried these items in the ground beneath his tent, and thought his secret was safe.

It was an insignificant amount of loot compared to the riches that Jericho undoubtedly contained.  But his disobedience had disastrous consequences.

The next place the Israelites came to after the mighty victory at Jericho was the tiny city of Ai.  It, too, was a walled city, but it was much smaller than Jericho and nowhere near as impressive.  In fact, Joshua’s scouts though it was so insignificant that they thought it could easily be taken with only a small fraction of the Israelite army.   So Joshua sent only three thousand men to conquer little Ai, anticipating an easy victory.

But the men of Ai chased the Israelites away, and thirty-six Israelite soldiers were killed in the skirmish.  

Joshua and the elders were stunned by the news.  They mourned the deaths and prayed to the Lord, even complaining about the humiliating defeat.  God revealed that someone had disobeyed Joshua’s instructions, and that the culprit would have to be punished.

Eventually, through a process of elimination, Achan’s guilt was exposed.  He admitted to the theft, and when his tent was searched the plunder was discovered.  “Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.  Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us?  The Lord will bring trouble on you today.”  Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them.  Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day.  Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger.  Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor (meaning “trouble”) ever since” (Joshua 7:24-26).

(You may wonder why Achan’s family was also killed.  The answer is simple:  the family lived together in a tent, so it is probable that they knew about Achan’s theft but kept quiet about it, making them accomplices and therefore equally guilty.)

After this, the Israelites again attacked Ai.  Following God’s directions, this time they had a swift and total victory– and this time, God allowed them to keep the plunder.

The battle of Jericho is a familiar and popular Bible story, but it is incomplete without Ai.  This tale of two cities had several important lessons for the Israelites, and for us as well.

What Can We Learn From This?

The first lesson is this:  God loves His children.  Yes, there is a lot of violence and bloodshed in these events, but the purpose was the protection of God’s people.  God always watches out for His children.

The second lesson is that sin always hurts someone.  Of course it always hurts the sinner, because it blocks his fellowship with God.  And sin also hurts God, because it offends Him.

But often the consequences of sin extends to others, and the third lesson is you have no control over who gets hurt.  In this case, Achan’s sin also hurt 36 Israelite families who lost a loved one in the battle for Ai.  And it hurt Achan’s own family, who also lost their lives.  In fact, his sin hurt the entire community of Israel because they temporarily lost God’s presence.  

It was important for the Israelites to learn the seriousness of sin.  It’s important for us, too.  When God prohibits sin, it’s not because he wants to spoil our fun.  God’s boundaries are there to protect us.  God’s restrictions are always for our benefit.  When God says “No,” there’s always a good reason!

Learn the lessons of Jericho and Ai.  Listen to God– He loves you, and you can always trust Him.

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Related posts:  

“Hiding From God, and Other Lessons“

“Casual Christianity: Is Jesus Your Mascot or Master?“