The Bible

 

Joshua 6 : The Battle of Jericho

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1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.

2 And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

6 And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD.

7 And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed Pass on before the ark of the LORD.

8 And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.

9 And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.

10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.

11 So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.

12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.

13 And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.

14 And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days.

15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.

16 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 hath given you the city.

17 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.

18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.

19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.

20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

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.

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.

23 And the young men that were spies went in, and brought Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.

24 And they burnt 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.

25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

26 And Joshua adjured them 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 firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.

27 So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.

Commentary

 

A Batalha de Jericó

By New Christian Bible Study Staff (machine translated into Português)

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The Seven Trumpets of Jericho, c. 1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (French, 1836-1902) or follower, gouache on board, 7 5/16 x 12 1/16 in. (18.7 x 30.7 cm), at the Jewish Museum, New York

A Batalha de Jericó é uma ótima história ... e horrível. Por que Deus quer que os filhos sejam massacrados? A resposta é que Ele não, mas tinha lições espirituais para nos ensinar.

Primeiro, é importante lembrar que todos os lugares na terra de Canaã significam coisas celestiais e espirituais sobre a igreja. Essas significações estavam presentes desde os tempos mais antigos.

Os filhos de Israel deveriam representar a igreja. A Palavra - o Antigo Testamento - foi escrita e preservada por eles. Nele, os lugares mencionados significam coisas sobre o céu e a igreja

Logo antes de virem a Jericó, os Filhos de Israel atravessaram o rio Jordão - atravessando em terra seca enquanto as águas se dividiam por eles. O Jordão simboliza nossa introdução na igreja.

A cidade de Jericó, perto do rio, significa instrução nos conhecimentos do bem e da verdade. Esse tipo de instrução introduz as pessoas na igreja. Estendendo isso, "Jericó" também representou o bem da vida, porque deve haver algum bem inicial - alguns desejando aprender - antes que alguém possa ser instruído.

No entanto, na época, nações idólatras viviam na terra de Canaã, o que muda o significado dos lugares e cidades naquela terra para o oposto, ou seja, com Jericó, então, significando a profanação da verdade e do bem.

Os Escritos nos dizem que a "cidade" significava a doutrina da falsidade e do mal, que pervertia e profanava as verdades e os bens da igreja, e seu "muro" significava falsidades do mal que defendiam essa doutrina. Na história, os "habitantes" representam aqueles que são profanos.

O que significa profano neste contexto? Palavrões é o que acontece quando - após um reconhecimento inicial da verdade e do bem, o mal de uma pessoa ama corromper esse bem e a verdade. Na história, Jericó foi queimado com fogo, seu muro caiu e seu povo foi amaldiçoado. ("Fogo" aqui significa amor infernal, "amaldiçoa" um apagamento total e "a queda do muro" se expõe a todo mal e falsidade.)

Os Filhos de Israel marcharam pela cidade uma vez por dia durante 6 dias, e no sétimo dia marcharam em torno dela 7 vezes. Por ordem do Senhor, eles tocaram suas trombetas e gritaram, e os muros caíram.

Compassar a cidade, carregando a Arca da Aliança, significou um levantamento da falsidade e do mal e sua dispersão pelo influxo da verdade Divina por parte do Senhor.

O toque das trombetas pelos sacerdotes significava a proclamação da verdade divina do bem divino. Os gritos do povo significaram consentimento e confirmação da verdade.

O número sete significa santidade. Havia 7 sacerdotes, 7 trombetas, 7 dias e 7 circuitos da cidade. Eles significam a proclamação da verdade divina.

O ouro, a prata e os vasos de latão e ferro foram colocados no tesouro da casa de Jeová. O "ouro e a prata" representam os conhecimentos da verdade e do bem espirituais, e os "vasos de bronze e ferro" os conhecimentos da verdade e do bem naturais.

Nas mãos profanas dos idólatras de Jericó, os conhecimentos foram profanados, tornando-se ferramentas para servir falsidades e males terríveis. Na casa de Jeová, eles poderiam ser conhecimentos úteis, aplicados a bons fins - daí serem salvos.