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The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:20
Delusive trust. "The wall fell down fiat." A strong city besieged; yet no trenches opened, no batteries erected against it, no engines of assault employed. Armed men in two divisions, separated by the ark and priests wh…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:20
So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets, and it came to pass. Literally, and the people shouted, and they blew with the trumpets, and it came to pass as soon as the people heard the sound of the tr…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:20
The taking of Jericho. The taking of Jericho is the first great victory of the Israelites over the Canaanites. It is a type of the victory of the people of God over their adversaries. We learn from it the secret and the…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:20
Strongholds. When the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says, "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been compassed about seven days" (Hebrews 11:30), he sets his seal to the supernatural character o…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:21
And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city. For a discussion of the difficulties arising from this fulfilment of a stern decree, see Introduction. HOMILETICS
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:22-27
Salvation: its Cause and Effects 1. The first lesson we learn from this portion of the narrative is salvation by faith. Had Rahab not believed in God, she would not have saved the sides; and had she not saved the spies,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:22
Had said. Here we have an instance of the use of the perfect as a pluperfect. We can hardly suppose, as Keil observes, that Joshua gave these orders in the midst of the turmoil and confusion attendant on the sack of the…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:22-27
EXPOSITION RAHAB'S DELIVERANCE. THE CURSE ON JERICHO.—
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:22-24
A city of destruction. If any city ever was such a "City of Destruction" as Bunyan fancied, it was Jericho. Itself and all within it were devoted to destruction, only Rahab, like another Noah, with her family escaping.…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:23
Brought out. Therefore the medieval legends concerning Rahab's house must be classed among superstitious fables. Rahab and her family and relations were saved, but her house shared the destruction which befel the rest o…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:25
Unto this day. This may either be interpreted of herself, or, according to s common Hebrew idiom, of her family (cf. Joshua 17:14-18; Joshua 24:17). For a fuller discussion of the bearing of this passage on the date of…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:26
And Joshua adjured them. Caused them to swear, i.e; bound them by an oath, as the Hiphil implies here. This was the strict meaning of "adjure" at the time our version was made (cf. Matthew 26:63). But it had also the le…
Matthew Henry on Joshua 7:1-5
Achan took some of the spoil of Jericho. The love of the world is that root of bitterness, which of all others is most hardly rooted up. We should take heed of sin ourselves, lest by it many be defiled or disquieted, He…
The Sin of Achan. (b. c. 1451.)
THE SIN OF ACHAN. (B. C. 1451.) The story of this chapter begins with a but. The Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was noised through all that country, so the foregoing chapter ends, and it left no room to doubt but th…
Matthew Henry on Joshua 7:6-9
Joshua's concern for the honour of God, more than even for the fate of Israel, was the language of the Spirit of adoption. He pleaded with God. He laments their defeat, as he feared it would reflect on God's wisdom and…
Matthew Henry on Joshua 7:6-9
We have here an account of the deep concern Joshua was in upon this sad occasion. He, as a public person, interested himself more than any other in this public loss, and is therein an example to princes and great men, a…
Matthew Henry on Joshua 7:10-15
God awakens Joshua to inquiry, by telling him that when this accursed thing was put away, all would be well. Times of danger and trouble should be times of reformation. We should look at home, into our own hearts, into…
Matthew Henry on Joshua 7:10-15
We have here God's answer to Joshua's address, which, we may suppose, came from the oracle over the ark, before which Joshua had prostrated himself, Joshua 7:6. Those that desire to know the will of God must attend with…
Matthew Henry on Joshua 7:16-26
See the folly of those that promise themselves secrecy in sin. The righteous God has many ways of bringing to light the hidden works of darkness. See also, how much it is our concern, when God is contending with us, to…
Achan's Arraignment; Achan's Confession; The Execution of Achan. (b. c. 1451.)
ACHAN'S ARRAIGNMENT; ACHAN'S CONFESSION; THE EXECUTION OF ACHAN. (B. C. 1451.) We have in these verses, I. The discovery of Achan by the lot, which proved a perfect lot, though it proceeded gradually. Though we may supp…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 7:16
The family of Judah. The expression מִשְׁפַתַת is remarkable. Many commentators would read מִשְׁפְחֹת, not without some MSS. authority. Keil objects that the Chaldee and Syriac have the singular. But the LXX. has κατὰ…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 7:16-26
The detection. Objections have been raised to the morality of the whole narrative. We will deal first with this subject, and then turn to the religious and moral questions involved. I. WHY DID GOD NOT REVEAL THE OFFENDE…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 7:19
My son. This is no mere hypocritical affectation of tenderness. Joshua feels for the criminal, even though he is forced to put him to death. So in cur own day the spectacle is not uncommon of a judge melted to tears as…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 7:19
Sin confessed. A notable scene. The people of Israel assembled in solemn conclave. In silent excitement the national offender has been detected, and waits to hear his doom from the lips of the great commander. Whilst ev…