The Fall of Jericho is the first military victory of Israel in the Promised Land, and it was no ordinary battle. The Lord Himself designed the strategy, and it was designed not to showcase Israel's might but to demonstrate that the victory belonged entirely to God. Jericho was the first great fortified city the Israelites faced after crossing the Jordan. Its walls were formidable. Archaeology has shown the inner and outer walls were connected by houses built between them (like Rahab's, whose window on the outer wall allowed the spies to escape). God's instructions to Joshua were strange: for six days, march around the city once each day, in silence, with the priests carrying the ark and blowing trumpets. On the seventh day, march around seven times, and then the priests give a long blast and all the people shout. "Then the wall of the city will fall down flat" (Joshua 6:5). No battering rams, no siege engines, no scaling ladders — just a procession, a trumpet, and a shout. Joshua obeyed. The people marched. On the seventh day, at the seventh circuit, the people shouted as commanded, and "the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city" (Joshua 6:20). Rahab and her family were spared according to the spies' oath. The city and its spoils were devoted to destruction (cherem), except for silver, gold, bronze, and iron, which went into the treasury of the LORD. Hebrews names Jericho in the hall of faith: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days" (Hebrews 11:30). The Fall of Jericho teaches Israel — and every subsequent reader — that some battles are the Lord's. Our part is to obey in the strange specifics He commands; the walls fall according to His timing, not our effort.