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The Beginning of the End
devoted as a sacrifice to God. The Israelites were not to fight for
themselves in the conquest of Canaan; they were not to be going
after riches or self-exaltation, but for the glory of Jehovah their king.
The command had been given, “Abstain from the accursed things,
lest you become accursed ... and make the camp of Israel a curse,
and trouble it.”
Everyone living in the city, along with every living thing, were
killed. Only faithful Rahab with those in her house was spared,
in fulfillment of the spies’ promise. The city palaces and temples,
its magnificent homes with all their luxurious furnishings, the rich
draperies and the costly garments, were burned. Whatever could not
be destroyed by fire, “the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and
iron,” was to be devoted to the service of the tabernacle. Jericho was
never to be rebuilt as a stronghold; judgments were threatened on
anyone who would dare to restore the walls that God’s power had
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thrown down.
The total destruction of the people of Jericho was a fulfillment of
commands previously given concerning the inhabitants of Canaan:
“You shall conquer them and utterly destroy them.” “Of the cities of
these peoples, ... you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive”
(
Deuteronomy 7:2
;
20:16
).
To many people these commands seem contrary to the spirit of
love and mercy commanded in other parts of the Bible, but they
were actually the instructions of infinite wisdom and goodness. God
was about to establish Israel in Canaan. They were not only to be
inheritors of the true religion, they were to spread its principles
throughout the world. The Canaanites had abandoned themselves
to degrading heathenism, and it was necessary that the country be
cleared of anything that would certainly prevent God’s gracious
purposes from being fulfilled.
The people in Canaan had been given plenty of opportunity to
repent. Forty years earlier, the judgments on Egypt had revealed
the power of the God of Israel. The defeat of Midian, of Gilead and
Bashan, had further shown that He was above all gods. His hatred
of impurity had been demonstrated in the judgments on Israel for
taking part in the horrible rites of Baal Peor. The people of Jericho
knew about all of these events. Though they refused to obey it, many
shared Rahab’s conviction that the God of Israel “is God in heaven