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From Eternity Past
priests clad in the dress denoting their sacred office. The army of Israel
followed. Such was the procession that compassed the doomed city.
No sound was heard but the tread of that mighty host and the
solemn peal of the trumpets, echoing among the hills and resounding
through the streets of Jericho.
With wonder and alarm the watchmen of the city reported to those
in authority. When they beheld that mighty host 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 people.
Again they would inspect their strong defenses, feeling certain they
could successfully resist the most powerful attack. Many ridiculed
the thought that any harm would come to them through these singular
demonstrations. Others were awed as they beheld the procession each
day. They remembered that the Red Sea had once parted before this
people and that a passage had just been opened for them through the
river Jordan.
God’s Simple Method of Conquering Jericho
For six days Israel made the circuit of the city. The seventh day
came, and with the first dawn of light, Joshua marshaled the armies of
the Lord. Now they were to march seven times around Jericho, and at
a mighty peal from the trumpets to shout with a loud voice, for God
had given them the city.
The vast army marched solemnly around the walls. All was silent,
save the measured tread of many feet. The watchers on the walls looked
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on with rising fear as, the first circuit ended, there followed a second,
then a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth. What could be the object of these
mysterious movements?
They had not long to wait. As the seventh circuit was completed,
the long procession paused. The trumpets, which for an interval had
been silent, now broke forth in a blast that shook the very earth. The
walls of solid stone, with their massive towers and battlements, tottered
and heaved from their foundations, and with a crash fell to the earth.
The inhabitants of Jericho were paralyzed with terror, and the hosts of
Israel marched in and took possession of the city.
The Israelites had not gained the victory by their own power; and
as the firstfruits of the land, the city, with all that it contained, was