In Exodus 20:1-17 God gave Israel the Ten Commandments. The first four commands focus on the relationship between Israel and the living God who delivered Israel from Egypt. The next six focus on how Israelites are to treat and relate to other Israelites.
To people of a Christian religious background, the Ten Commandments may not seem profound. To the Israelites who spent generations in slavery under the influence of Egyptian idolatry that worshipped many gods, these commandments were profound. These commandments instructed Israelites to conduct themselves in ways that were not typical of other societies in their age and world.
"Because I am the God who delivered you from Egyptian slavery, (1) you will not recognize or honor anything else as God. (2) You will not make, worship, or serve idols. (3) One way you will show Me respect is by honoring My name. (4) Another way you will show me respect is this: You will keep Saturday holy.
In regard to the fourth commandment, Israel was instructed to keep the Sabbath (Saturday) holy. The seventh day of each week was to be kept holy by Israelites not working. The other six days they worked, but on Saturday Israelites were not to work. Not only did the Israelites not work, but neither were they to allow their children, their servants, their visitors, nor their livestock to work.
The precedent was no less than the God of creation Himself. When God created the heavens and the earth, He rested from His creative tasks on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1-3). In six days the creation was complete. On the seventh God did nothing in His creation work.
Consider when these commandments were given to Israel. Before these commandments were given to the Israelites, (1) they were delivered from Egyptian slavery by God. (2) They were separated permanently from Egypt by God allowing them to cross the Red Sea on dry ground (Exodus 14:16). (3) They were preserved in the wilderness by God meeting their physical needs as they spent about three months traveling to Sinai (Exodus 19:1). After these commandments were given to the Israelites, (1) they received additional laws. (2) They built, furnished, and put into service the tabernacle. (3) They put the priesthood into service. (4) They began the sacrificial system of worship. (5) They completed their journey to the border of Canaan the first time (Numbers 13, 14).
This single point is called to your attention: the invasion of Canaan and the fall of Jericho occurred almost 40 years after God gave Israel the law of the Sabbath day in Exodus 20:8-11 (see also Numbers 14:34 and Joshua 5:2-12).
First, God gave Israel the law of the Sabbath in Exodus 20:8-11. Second, about 40 years later, Jericho falls to Israel as the Israelites following God's commandments invade Canaan. These were the instructions from God regarding the battle against Jericho (see Joshua 6:1-5, 15-21). (1) The walled city was to be circled silently once each day for 6 days. (2) In this parade around Jericho, seven priests with trumpets were to lead the ark and the march as Israel silently circled the city once for six days. (3) The seventh day, in the same order, they were silently to circle the city seven times. At the completion of the seventh circle, the priests blew the trumpets, the army shouted, the walls fell, and the Israelite army captured the city. (4) Everything in the city was to be killed except Rahab and those in her house. (5) No goods were to be taken by any Israelite soldier. (6) The city was to be burned. (7) The silver, gold, bronze, and iron were to be placed in God's treasury.
Since this was to take place seven consecutive days, the period had to include a Sabbath. The conflict between the commandments in Exodus 20:8-11 and Joshua 6 should be obvious.
The following is an opinion, and is declared to be such. The student is certainly at liberty to accept or reject it.
The creation account declared God rested on the "seventh day." Exodus 20:8-11 connects the Sabbath with the "seventh day." The attack on Jericho occurred on the "seventh day."
In the opinion of the writer, the Israelite priests and army marched once around Jericho Sunday through Friday. On the Sabbath, Saturday, they marched around Jericho seven times. By an act of God the city was made vulnerable to them for capture. The invasion of Canaan started with an act of God--just like the escape from Egypt. God was at the core of all that happened. Israelites did not profit from the beginning invasion. Only the metal captured was to be saved and devoted to God.
The point is not to stress the contradictory nature of Exodus 20:8-11 and the events of Joshua 6. The point is to stress God's sovereignty. God has the right to give humans commandments. Humans have the responsibility to obey God when God gives them instructions. We cannot say to God, "You cannot instruct us to do that because You said . . ."
There is a distinct difference in faith in the God who instructs and faith in our own behavior. There definitely are times when we yield to the temptation to place our faith in our acts rather than in our God.
We do not bind God by our concept of obedience. God binds us by being sovereign over us.
For Thought and Discussion
Link to Teacher's Guide
Lesson 8