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In the campaign against Jericho the children of Israel appear at their best. Never before or afterwards did they act with greater unanimity or singleness of heart. There were noble individual souls such as Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, Samuel, David, and the prophets' whom the writer of the book of the Hebrews could single out as worthy of mention; but there were only two events in which the nation as a whole participated which were specified in that splendid summary; namely, the crossing of the Red Sea as on dry land and the marching around Jericho seven days. Had Israel gone forward as they began, their course in history would have been like that of some mighty river, rising in the mountains and carrying a crystalline current far onward towards the sea, its waters unsullied by continuous flowing but sweet and clear to the very end. What makes the fall of Jericho for ever interesting is the fact that it resulted from the faith and obedience of the many. In this contest Joshua was hardly more conspicuous than the humblest soldier in his army. The striking thing about the campaign is the sharp contrast between the protracted preparation and the suddenness of the catastrophe. This is often the case. The end comes quickly and easily because of the long and careful preparation for it, the means being adjusted to the end. Only one thing then is needed, namely, to trust in God and go forward. That is what Israel did and kept on doing until the time came to shout. Then, because the people had done their part, God did His part. The faith they showed was simple and implicit. It did not confuse the two spheres of action, theirs and His. They did the walking and shouting, He overturned the walls. He was the effective agent, they the instrumental agent.

(S. E. Bushnell.)

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KJV: And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.

WEB: Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of Yahweh.