What is the real reason why the wall of Jericho fell?

The account of the walls of Jericho falling down can be found in Joshua 6:1-27. The Israelites faced a daunting challenge in taking Jericho. It was a fortified city, like most in Canaan. And yet, they would not have to siege the city to win the battle.

All they had to do was be obedient to what the Lord said to do. No matter how preposterous it may sound in the natural to just our human ears, God called them to act in faith and obedience. And when they did, God did an extraordinary thing.

God told Joshua to march around the city once every day for six days. But on the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times. I think it’s important that they had the worshipers go first, those who play instruments and sing, along with the priests.

So praise led the battle cry of the people. At the proper time, everyone shouted in the joy and strength of the Lord, and the walls came tumbling down. There are all types of theories on how the walls came down. Some scholars believe that the walls fell out word well others suggest that the walls went straight down into the ground, as if God stepped on the walls.

Even though we don’t know exactly how the walls came down, we do know that they did come down. Only Rahab and her family survived the spoiling of the city. Everything else was taken as with every other city.

Taking the walls down meant that the Israelites could just walk into the city and sack it. They didn’t have to siege the city but they could take its spoils. Can you imagine what it was like for the people inside the city? They had no idea why the Israelites were walking around the city every day.

Yet it must have been terrifying to hear that battle cry on the seventh day and watch the walls crumble before their very eyes. Everything they placed their security in was now gone. There was nothing stopping the Israelites from taking their city.

The source of the walls falling down was God himself. He won this victory for Israel. Because they obeyed him and did what he told them to do, he came through for them in a big way. Their faith in his ability to fight their battles also won the war.

So it was through faith and obedience that they saw God to a mighty act for them. This is confirmed by the writer of Hebrews. He says that it is by faith that the Israelites saw victory against Jericho (Hebrews 11:30).

When we trust God without question and obey him, doing exactly what he said, having faith that he will do what he said, we will see him do great things in our lives.