The sixth chapter of Joshua covers the battle of Jericho.
The city of Jericho was enclosed by an earthen rampart with a 12-15’ high retaining wall at its base, a 6’thick, 26’ high mud-brick wall at the bottom of the rampart, and a 6’ thick, 45’ high mud-brick wall at the top. As the Israelites marched around this wall once a day for six days, God was showing them it was humanly impossible for them to overcome that massive wall by any military method.
In Joshua 5:13-15, Joshua said he encountered a strange soldier who identified Himself as “The Commander of the army of the Lord.” Since angels are not to be worshipped, and Joshua fell on his face before this soldier, we conclude this was a Christophany – a human manifestation of the Preincarnate Christ, who had come to lead the invasion of Jericho.
The procession began with the “armed guard,” followed by “seven priests carrying trumpets,” followed by the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant, and then the “rear guard.” They marched around the wall once a day for six days, but on the seventh day, they marched around the wall seven times, and on the seventh round, they stopped, the seven priests blew their trumpets, the Israelites shouted, and the walls of Jericho imploded; they fell down flat.
According to Joshua 6:2, God had given the city of Jericho to the Israelites before they marched around its walls. Hebrews 11:30 – “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people marched around them for seven days” – i.e., the walls of Jericho fell, not because the Israelites marched, or because they shouted, but because they obeyed the Lord. While the city of Jericho was totally destroyed, Rahab and her family were saved from God’s wrath.