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Miraculous Fall of Jericho
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army of Israel followed. This was the procession that circled the
doomed city.
No sound was heard except for the footsteps of that mighty host
and the solemn blast of the trumpets, echoing among the hills and
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resounding through the streets of Jericho.
Amazed and alarmed, the watchmen of the city reported to those
in authority. When they saw that mighty assembly marching around
their city once each day, with the sacred ark and the attendant priests,
the mystery of the scene struck terror to the hearts of priest and peo-
ple. They inspected their strong defenses again, feeling certain they
could successfully resist the most powerful attack. Many laughed at
the thought that any harm would come to them through these strange
demonstrations. Others were awed as they watched the procession
each day. They remembered that the Red Sea had once parted before
the Israelites and that a way had just been opened for them through
the Jordan river.
God’s Simple Method of Conquering Jericho
Israel circled around the city for six days. The seventh day came,
and with the first dawn of light, Joshua gathered together the armies
of the Lord. Now they were to march seven times around Jericho,
and at a mighty blast from the trumpets they were to shout with a
loud voice, for God had given them the city.
The vast army marched solemnly around the walls. Everything
was silent, except the steady tread of many feet. The watchers on
the walls looked on with rising fear as the first circuit ended, and
there followed a second, then a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth. What
could be the purpose of these mysterious movements?
They did not have long to wait. As the seventh circuit was
completed, the long procession stopped. The trumpets, which had
been silent for a while, now opened up with a blast that shook the
very earth. The walls of solid stone, with their massive towers and
defenses, tottered and heaved from their foundations, and fell to the
earth with a crash. The people living in Jericho were paralyzed with
terror, and the armies of Israel marched in and took the city.
The Israelites had not gained the victory by their own power;
and as firstfruits of the land, the city and all it contained were to be