Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 2.djvu/38

34 this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. 27. So the was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.

The people had religiously observed the orders given them concerning the besieging of Jericho, and now at length Joshua had told them, v. 16, "The Lord hath given you the city, enter and take possession." Accordingly, in these verses we have,

I. The rules they were to observe in taking possession; God gives it them, and therefore may direct it to what uses and intents, and clog it with what provisos and limitations he thinks fit. It is given to them to be devoted to God, as the first, and perhaps the worst, of all the cities of Canaan.

1. The city must be burnt, and all the lives in it sacrificed without mercy to the justice of God. All this they knew was included in those words, v. 17. The city shall be a cherem, a devoted thing, it and all therein, to the Lord; no life in it might be ransomed upon any terms, they must all be surely put to death, Lev. 27. 29. So He appoints, from whom as creatures they had received their lives, and to whom as sinners they had forfeited them; and who may dispute his sentence? Is God unrighteous, who thus taketh vengeance? God forbid we should entertain such a thought! There was more of God seen in the taking of Jericho, than of any other of the cities of Canaan, and therefore that must be more than any other devoted to him. And the severe usage of this city would strike a terror upon all the rest and melt their hearts yet more before Israel. Only when this severity is ordered, Rahab and her family are excepted; she shall live and all that are with her. She had distinguished herself from her neighbours by the kindness she showed to Israel, and therefore shall be distinguished from them by the speedy return of that kindness.

2. All the treasure of it, the money and plate and valuable goods, must be consecrated to the service of the tabernacle, and brought into the stock of dedicated things: The Jews say, because the city was taken on the sabbath-day. Thus God would be honoured by the beautifying and enriching of his tabernacle; thus preparation was made for the extraordinary expenses of his service: and thus the Israelites were taught not to set their hearts upon worldly wealth, nor to aim at heaping up abundance of it for themselves. God had promised them a land flowing with milk and honey, not a land abounding with silver and gold, for he would have them live comfortably in it, that they might serve him cheerfully, but not covet either to trade with distant countries, or to hoard for aftertimes. He would likewise have them reckon themselves enriched in the enriching of the tabernacle; and to think that which was laid up in God's house as truly their honour and wealth as if it had been laid up in their own.

A particular caution is given them to take heed of meddling with the forbidden spoils for what was devoted to God, if they offered to appropriate it to their own use, would prove accursed to them; therefore, v. 18, "In any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing; you will find yourselves inclined to reach towards it, but check yourselves, frighten yourselves from having any thing to do with it." He speaks as if he foresaw the sin of Achan, which we have an account of in the next chapter, when he gives that reason for the caution, lest ye make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it, as it proved that Achan did.

II. The entrance that was opened to them into the city by the sudden fall of the walls, or at least that part of the wall over-against which they then were when they gave the shout, v. 20, The wall fell down flat, and, probably, killed abundance of people; the guards that stood sentinel upon it, or others that crowded upon it, to look at the Israelites that were walking around. We read of thousands killed by the fall of a wall, 1 Kings 20. 30. That which they trusted to for defence, proved their destruction. The sudden fall of the wall, no doubt, put the inhabitants into such a consternation, that they had no strength nor spirit to make any resistance, but they became an easy prey to the sword of Israel, and saw to how little purpose it was to shut their gates against a people that had the Lord on the head of them, Mic. 2. 13. Note, The God of heaven easily can, and certainly will, break down all the opposing power of his and his church's enemies. Gates of brass and bars of iron are, before him, but as straw and rotten wood, Isa. 45. 1, 2. ''Who will bring me into the strong city? Wilt not thou, O God?'' Ps. 60. 9, 10. Thus shall Satan's kingdom fall, nor shall any prosper, that hardened themselves against God.

III. The execution of the orders given concerning this devoted city. All1. All (per 1758 Edinburgh edition) [sic] that breathed, were put to the sword; not only the men that were found in arms, but the women and children and old people. Though they cried for quarter, and begged ever so earnestly for their lives, there was no room for compassion, pity must be forgotten, they utterly destroyed all, v. 21. If they had not had a divine warrant, under the seal of miracles for this execution, it could not have been justified, nor can it justify the like now, when we are sure no such warrant can be produced. But being appointed by the righteous Judge of heaven and earth to do it, who is not unrighteous in taking vengeance, they are to be applauded in doing it, as the faithful ministers of his justice. Work for God was then bloody work; and cursed was he that did it deceitfully, keeping back his sword from blood, Jer. 48. 10. But the spirit of the gospel is very different, for Christ came not to destroy men's lives but to save them, Luke 9. 56. Christ's victories were of another nature. The cattle were put to death with the owners, as additional sacrifices to the divine justice. The cattle of the Israelites, when slain at the altar, were accepted as sacrifices for them, but the cattle of those Canaanites were required to be slain as sacrifices with them, for their iniquity was not to be purged with sacrifice and offering: both were for the glory of God. 2. The city was burnt with fire, and all that was in it, v. 24. The Israelites, perhaps, when they had taken Jericho, a large and well-built city, hoped they should have that for their head-quarters; but God will have them yet to dwell in tents, and therefore fires this nest, lest they should nestle in it. 3. All the silver and gold, and all those vessels which were capable of being purified by fire, were brought into the treasury of the house of the Lord; not that he needed it, but he would be honoured by it, as the Lord of hosts, of their hosts in particular, the God that gave the victory, and therefore might demand the spoil; eitherthe whole, as here, or, as sometimes, a tenth, Heb. 7. 4.

IV. The preservation of Rahab the harlot, or inn-keeper, who perished not with them that believed not, Heb. 11. 31. The public faith was engaged for her safety, by the two spies, who acted therein as public persons; and therefore though the hurry they were in at the taking of the town, no doubt, was very great, yet Joshua took effectual care for her preservation. The same persons that she had secured, were employed to secure her, v. 22, 23. They were best able to do it, who knew her and her house, and they were fittest to do it, that it might appear it was for the sake of her kindness to them, that she