The History of the Old Testament Methodized, Chapter 4 · Section 98
SECT. XCVIII.
JOſhua now approaching nearer to Jericho, poſſibly to obſerve the Country about it, and to contrive how he might beſt aſſail it, and perhaps retiring a little alone to pray unto the Lord for direction in this matter, on a ſudden he beheld a man ſtanding over againſt him with his Sword drawn in his hand; Joſhua went to him and ſaid, Art thou for us or for our Adverſaries? The man ſaid, Nay but as a Captain of the Hoſt of the Lord am I come unto thee. Then Joſhua fell on his face to the Earth, and worſhipping him, ſaid, What ſaith my Lord to his Servant. And he ſaid, Looſe thy ſhooe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou ſtandeſt his holy; and Joſhua did ſo. This Captain of the Lords Hoſt was not Gabriel, or any other created Angel, but Michael the Arch-Angel, [Jude v. 9.] the great Prince of Gods people, [Dan. 10.21. & 12.1.] the Angel of the Covenant, [Mal. 3.1.] Chriſt, the eternal Son of God, who appeared here and ſundry other times in the ſhape of a man, as a foregoing Preſage and pre-ſignification of his future Incarnation, and this appeareth by Joſhua's adoring him as the Lord Jehovah, [Ch. 6.2.] and his acceptance of it, which a created Angel would have refuſed, [Rev. 19.10.] and by his commanding Joſhua to put off his ſhoes, becauſe the place was holy, [like to that, Exod. 3.5.] not that the place was capable of any inherent holineſs in it ſelf, but hallowed by Gods holy preſence in it, and in relation to that only to be ſo eſteemed, and which ceaſed to be ſo when his appearance was withdrawn from it. This Captain inſtructs Joſhua about the manner of beſieging and conquering Jericho. He commands him for ſix *Thus God loves to try the ſaith and patience of his people, to ſee whither they will wait for the accompliſhment of his Promiſes, when they are not preſently fulfilled.days together to march his Army round about the City, that the Prieſts ſhould carry the Ark about it, and ſeven Prieſts with Trumpets of Rams-horns ſhould blow before it, and on the ſeventh day to do it ſeven ſeveral times; At the laſt of which when the Prieſts blew with a long blaſt, all the people ſhould give a great ſhout, at which the Walls of Jericho ſhould fall down, and ſo the Iſraelites ſhould enter into it, and deſtroy it. Joſhua having received theſe Directions from the Lord, acquaints the people with them, who believed the Lord would work this Miracle for them, (as he had newly divided the waters of Jordan) and therefore the Apoſtle ſays, Heb. 11.30. By Faith the walls of Jericho fell down. Joſhua tells them, That the Lord would give the City into their hands, but it ſhould be accurſed, or devoted, †See Levit. 27.28.(even it, and all that was therein) to the Lord, (except Rahab and her Family who hid the Spies) that is, ſhall be offered to divine Juſtice as a kind of Firſt-fruits, thereby intimating that the whole Land was his, but that he was pleaſed to give it them. He tells them, All the Silver, and Gold, and Veſſels of Braſs and Iron were to be conſecrated to the Lord, and brought into his Treaſury. Therefore (ſays he) keep your ſelves, all of you, from the accurſed thing; Take none of the accurſed, banned things to your own uſe, leſt you bring a Curſe upon your ſelves, and upon the Camp of Iſrael thereby. Joſhua having given the people theſe Inſtructions, he gave order to the Army to march round about the City ſeven days, in the manner that was preſcribed, the Sabbath-day being one of them, and that by Command of him who is Lord of the Sabbath. The armed-men marched before the Ark, and the remainder of the people that were in the Rear (not armed) followed after; and thus they did ſix days; on the ſeventh day they roſe early, and compaſſed the City after the ſame manner ſeven times; and at the ſeventh time when the Prieſts (that blew with the Trumpets) made a long blaſt, Joſhua bad them ſhout, for the Lord had given them the City. The people hereupon gave a great ſhout, and the wall of the City fell down flat, viz. all that part of it, over againſt which the Iſraelites in a long train marched, and ſo all the armed men went up every man right from the place where they were, and entred in at the breach into the City. And they utterly deſtroyed all that was in the City, Men, Women, young and old, and the Oxen, and Aſſes, and Sheep, and what ever they met with, excepting Rahab and her Family, whom Joſhua ſent the two Spies unto (whom ſhe had preſerved) to bring them forth, and to leave them without the Camp, till they were cleanſed from their former pollutions (according to the Law, Numb. 31.19.) and were inſtructed in the Iſraelites Religion, and admitted into the Congregation; and ſo they and their Poſterity continued among the Iſraelites, and Rahab was afterwards married to Salmon, a Prince of the Tribe of Judah, one of Chriſts Progenitors, Matth. 1.5. Luke 3.32. Then they burnt the City with fire, and all that was therein, excepting only the Silver, and Gold, and Iron, and Braſs, which were reſerved to be put into the Treaſury of the Houſe of the Lord, none of them offering to meddle with one jot of the Spoil, ſave only Achan, of whom more preſently. In the judgment of reaſon one would have thought it muſt needs be grievous to the Iſraelites to deſtroy ſo brave a City, and ſo goodly Houſes (wherein they might ſo conveniently have ſetled themſelves) and the Prey and Spoil of ſo fair and rich a City, whereby they might have ſo greatly inriched themſelves. The more remarkable therefore and commendable was their ready Obedience herein to Gods Commands. And Joſhua by a ſpecial Inſpiration of the Holy Ghoſt adjured them not to go about to build that City again, and pronounced a Curſe upon that man that by rebuilding it, ſhould (as it were) endeavour to blot out the memorial of this miraculous Work of God in giving this Idolatrous City, after ſo ſtrange a manner, into their hands. Whoſoever ſhall go about to do it (ſays He) he ſhall lay the Foundation thereof in his Firſt-born, and in his youngeſt Son ſhall he ſet up the Gates thereof; that is, it ſhall coſt him the loſs of his Children; of the firſt when he begins it, of the other as he goeth forward with the work, and of the youngeſt when he finiſheth it, and hangeth up the Gates thereof. This Curſe afterwards fell upon Hiel the Bethelite, who in Ahab's Reign built this City again, 1 Kings 16.34. This man was very ignorant if he knew not of this Curſe, but if he did know of it, he was very audacious, and impudently profane in not regarding it. But though he was in his own particular ſeverely puniſh'd for thus tranſgreſſing Gods Command, and neglecting this Curſe, yet the City being rebuilt, it was afterward allowed for a fit Habitation even for good men to lodge in, as Elijah and Eliſha, 2 Kings 2.4, 18. yea our Saviour himſelf did honour this City with his preſence, and Miracles, Luke 19.1, 5.
Joſh. Ch. 5. from 13. to the end.
Joſh. Ch. 6. whole Chapter.