Warfare in Joshua's Time

Walls, Weapons and Sieges

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War in Joshua's time was very different from war today. There were no guns or planes. Soldiers fought face to face.

Weapons. Soldiers used swords, spears, bows and arrows, and slings that threw stones. Some wore helmets and carried shields.

Chariots. The richest armies had chariots, fast carts pulled by horses. The Canaanites in the valleys had “chariots of iron” (Joshua 17:16), and Israel had none.

Walled cities. Cities in Canaan built thick walls of stone and mud brick. Their gates were shut and guarded when enemies came near.

Sieges. To take a walled city, an army often camped around it and waited. With no food coming in, the people inside grew hungry. A siege could last months.

Israel's army. Israel had just come out of forty years in the desert. They had no chariots and no siege machines. Most of the soldiers had been born in the desert.

Trumpets in battle. Armies used horns to signal one another. At Jericho the priests' trumpets did not call soldiers to charge. They announced that God was at work (Joshua 6:4-5).

Spies first. Before a battle, armies sent spies to learn about the land, as Joshua did at Jericho (Joshua 2:1). But Israel's victory came from God, not from a clever plan.

The Lord fights. Moses had sung, “The Lord is a man of war; The Lord is His name” (Exodus 15:3). At the Red Sea he said, “The Lord will fight for you” (Exodus 14:14).

The Commander. Near Jericho, Joshua met a Man with a drawn sword, the “Commander of the army of the Lord” (Joshua 5:14). Joshua bowed and worshiped.

Holy ground. The Commander said, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy” (Joshua 5:15). The battle belonged to a holy God.

God's battle plan. At Jericho, Israel did not build ramps or dig tunnels. They marched, blew trumpets and shouted, and God brought the walls down (Joshua 6:1-5, 20).

The battle is the Lord's. Young David told Goliath, “the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's” (1 Samuel 17:47).

What we learn. Israel did not win because it was strong. It won because God fought for His people when they obeyed Him.

What to do. When you face a hard battle, like fear or a sin you keep doing, ask God for help first. He is stronger than anything you face.

Understanding ancient warfare shows how unusual Jericho was. Israel's victory did not follow the military rules of the day.

Arms of the period. Bronze and some iron swords, spears, javelins, composite bows and slings were common. Slingers could hurl stones with deadly force (Judges 20:16).

Chariot power. Chariots were the tanks of the ancient world. Joshua 17:16 notes that the Canaanites of the valleys had “chariots of iron.” Israel fought on foot.

Fortified cities. Canaanite cities sat on hills with thick walls, sloping ramparts and strong gates. The spies of Numbers 13:28 reported cities that were fortified and very large.

How cities fell. Armies besieged them, cut off food and water, built earth ramps or broke gates with rams. Israel had none of these tools and no time for a long siege.

Signals and spies. Horns signaled armies in battle, and spies scouted cities first (Joshua 2:1). At Jericho the shofar announced the Lord's action rather than a charge.

Rahab's report. The spies learned that Jericho's courage had already melted (Joshua 2:11). God had gone ahead of Israel before a single sword was drawn.

God fights for His people. Exodus 15:3 calls the Lord “a man of war.” God fighting for His people is a theme from the Red Sea (Exodus 14:14) through the conquest.

Joshua 5:13-15. The Commander's answer, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come,” shows that God was not Israel's mascot. Israel had to be on the Lord's side.

Zechariah 4:6. “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of hosts. Lord of hosts means Lord of armies, heavenly and earthly.

Jericho as a lesson. The first victory in the land came without a siege, so Israel would remember that the land was God's gift, not their own conquest.

1 Samuel 17:47. “The Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's.” David learned what Jericho taught.

Application. God still works in ways that keep His people humble. When He gives a victory, thank Him for it instead of taking the credit. Pride forgets God; thankfulness remembers Him.

Why Did God Command This War?

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Why would a loving God tell Israel to destroy a whole city? That is a big question, and the Bible gives real answers.

God is the Judge. God made every person, and He is the fair Judge of the whole earth. Judging sin is His right.

Very great evil. The nations of Canaan worshiped idols and did terrible things, even sacrificing their own children to false gods (Deuteronomy 12:31).

A long wait. Hundreds of years earlier, God told Abraham that He would wait, “for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Genesis 15:16). God gave them more than four hundred years to turn.

God takes no joy in it. “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11).

A door of mercy. Jericho had heard about God for forty years (Joshua 2:10). Rahab turned to Him and was saved. The door was open to anyone who would trust the Lord.

Fair to everyone. In the next chapter an Israelite named Achan disobeyed, and he was judged too (Joshua 7:1). God does not take sides by family or nation.

Only for that time. God gave this command to Israel at one special time to judge the sin of Canaan. It is not a command for Christians today.

Jesus' way. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight” (John 18:36).

Put the sword away. When Peter used a sword, Jesus said, “Put your sword in its place” (Matthew 26:52).

Love your enemies. Jesus taught, “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you” (Matthew 5:44).

A different battle. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). Carnal means earthly. Our fight is against sin and lies, not people.

Jesus will set things right. One day Jesus will return and judge the world with perfect fairness. Until then, His people fight with prayer, truth and love.

What we learn. God is holy and fair, and He is also very patient and kind. Jesus took God's judgment for everyone who trusts Him.

What to do. If this part of the Bible is hard for you, talk about it with a parent or pastor. Pray for someone who has been unkind to you this week.

Why did God command Israel to destroy the cities of Canaan? Scripture gives several reasons, and each one matters.

God's right as Judge. The Creator of all life has the right to judge it. Every human death, from Genesis 3 onward, is under His authority.

The sins of Canaan. Leviticus 18:24-25 says the land itself would vomit out its people because of their sexual sins, and Deuteronomy 12:31 says they burned their sons and daughters to their gods. This was judgment on long, terrible evil.

Patience first. Genesis 15:16 says Israel had to wait in Egypt because “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” God delayed judgment for four centuries. The nations heard what He had done in Egypt and at the Jordan, and still they did not turn.

Mercy available. “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked” (Ezekiel 33:11). Rahab and her household were spared, and later the Gibeonites too (Joshua 9). Those who turned to the Lord found mercy.

Not about ethnicity. Achan, from Judah, was judged for his sin (Joshua 7). Rahab the Canaanite joined Israel. God's standard was faith and obedience, not bloodline.

Unique and limited. Herem warfare applied to specific nations at a specific time. Israel was forbidden from attacking Edom, Moab and Ammon (Deuteronomy 2). It was never a license for later wars.

A warning to Israel. God told Israel the same judgment would fall on them if they copied Canaan's sins, and in time Assyria and Babylon carried them into exile.

The new covenant. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), and “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). The church advances by the gospel, never by force.

The real enemy. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).

The cross. At Jericho, judgment fell on a city. At Calvary, judgment fell on Jesus, so that whoever trusts Him is spared, like Rahab. “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

The Judge of all the earth. Abraham trusted that the Judge of all the earth would do right (Genesis 18:25). God answers our hardest questions with His character, and finally with the cross.

Application. It is right to ask hard questions of the Bible and to keep reading for the answers. Bring your questions to God and to wise believers, and trust that the Judge of all the earth does what is right.

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