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Rahab Saved at the Overthrow of Jericho
v. 15. And it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early about the dawning of the day, when the first indications of the new day were visible in the east, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times; only on that day they compassed the city seven times, the greater part of the day, probably till near sundown, being occupied with this marching.
v. 16. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, or, the priests had sounded the blast on the trumpets, for the description in the Hebrew is more vivid than in the translation, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.
v. 17. And the city shall be accursed, devoted to the Lord as under His curse and condemnation, 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, Jos_2:4.
v. 18. And ye, in any wise, by all means, keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, become polluted with the curse which God had pronounced upon the city and all it contained, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it, since the transgression of a single person would be charged to the entire people. "A devoted thing, Num_21:2-3; Deu_7:2; Deu_20:17, was that which had been doomed to the Lord, which no man might employ for his own use, but which was either put away and destroyed utterly to the honor of God, as the men and beasts in this passage, a propitiation, as it were, to the divine justice, that this might be glorified; or it was consecrated to the special service of God, as here all precious and useful metals. " (Starke. )
v. 19. But all the silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron are consecrated unto the Lord, literally, "holiness are they to the Lord," and therefore not to be taken and used for profane purposes; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.
v. 20. So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets, at the long blast after the seventh trip around the city on this last day. And it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, as commanded by the Lord,
v. 5. that the wall fell down flat, toppled over and crumbled to pieces, so that the people, the attacking soldiers, went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city, by an obvious, almighty interposition of the Lord.
v. 21. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword, for it was the Lord's war of extermination.
v. 22. But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her, Jos_2:14.
v. 23. Arid the young men that were spies, who had performed the work of spies in the instance referred to, went in and brought out Rahab, her house having evidently not fallen, although it was built against the city wall, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, Jos_2:13, and left them without the camp of Israel, until they should have performed all the rites which were necessary to admit them into the congregation of the Lord.
v. 24. And they, the soldiers of Israel, burned the city with fire, and all that was therein; only the silver and the gold and the vessels of brass and of iron they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. Thus was Jericho offered up as a first-fruits of the conquered land, because "this was the first city of Canaan which Jehovah had given into the hands of His people. This city, therefore, Israel should offer to the Lord, and even consecrate to Him as devoted, for a sign or token that they received the whole land from His hand, as a loan of what had fallen to Him, and not what they could obtain for themselves. "
v. 25. And Joshua saved Rahab, the harlot, alive, and her fathers household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day, being alive and considered a member of the people of the Lord at the time when this account was written, Cf Mat_1:5; because she hid the messengers which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. It was a reward of her act of faith.
v. 26. And Joshua adjured them, the soldiers of Israel, at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho; he shall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born, lose his oldest son at that time, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it, he being taken by death at the completion of the building of the city. This threat was literally fulfilled, as the history of Israel shows, 1Ki_16:34.
v. 27. So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country, his military ability as well as his success under the guidance of Jehovah. The overthrow of Jericho showed plainly that Jehovah was battling for His people, for the walls of the city fell by faith, Heb_11:30. This faith is the victory which overcomes the world. But in the fall of Jericho we also see a type of the final overthrow of all the powers of the world, death, and hell. At the end of the world the Lord will come with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, 1Th_4:16, and the whole world will fall down in ruins as He proceeds to carry out His judgment upon His enemies.