The City and People Accursed - Joshua 6:17

In the book of Joshua, we learned how the people of Israel were marching around the city of Jericho seven times on the seventh day, “and it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD has given you the city”, and in chapter six and verse seventeen of the book of Joshua, Joshua told the people,“the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein” where we read,

And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: 

only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

The verse reads, “And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD:” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and the city” which means “and the dwelling place or town of Jericho” “shall be accursed”  or “will exist as exterminated and utterly destroyed”, “even it” which means “also and indeed it, the town of Jericho”, “and all that are therein” or “and each, every, the whole and everyone who is within the town of Jericho”, “to the LORD” which means “to Jehovah who is the existing One and is the proper name for the One True God”. Joshua declared that the “city of Jericho” and everyone within it would be utterly destroyed and as a curse to Jehovah God. 

 

The verse continues “only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.” Joshua added the words, “only Rahab the harlot” or “solely and with the exception of Rahab whose name means wide and was a harlot of Jericho who aided the two spies of Israel to escape, was saved from the destruction of Jericho, married Salmon, was an ancestor of David and of Christ and was commended for her faith in the book of James” “shall live” which means “will remain alive”, “she and all that are with her” or “she, Rahab, and each, every, the whole and everyone who gathered, are together and were” “in the house” which means “within the abode, habitation and dwelling place”, “because she hid the messengers” or “since and on account that she, Rahab, concealed and held secret the two spies from Israel” “that we sent” which means “that we, Joshua and the people of Israel, let go, dispatched and impelled”. Joshua declared that solely “Rahab” and those gathered with her in her home would remain alive because “Rahab” secretly concealed the “two spies” sent out in advance to the “city of Jericho”. (See Joshua 2:1, 4-6, 22; 6:22-23)

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover how Joshua declared that the “city of Jericho” and everyone within it was as a curse unto Jehovah God, and the only people who were to be saved alive was “Rahab the harlot”, her family and those gathered within her house. “Rahab” concealed the “two spies” sent in advance by the people of Israel to the “city of Jericho”, and because she helped them escape, her life and those with her were preserved. God too is in the saving business, and when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way for everyone who will put their faith and trust in Him as their “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of their sins, granted everlasting life and provided with His Holy Spirit who will guide them into all truth and preserve them throughout all eternity because they have “gathered in God’s house” of redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ. 

Next time Joshua tells the people, “keep yourselves from the accursed thing”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".