Israel's first victory in the land
Jericho was the first city Israel faced after entering the land God had promised them. It was strongly defended, yet God gave Joshua a plan that made clear the victory would not come through ordinary military power. For seven days, Israel was to march around the city, with priests carrying trumpets before the ark (Joshua 6:4).
On the final day, at the sound of the trumpet and the people's shout, Jericho's wall fell (Joshua 6:20). The event showed Israel that the land was God's gift. They were called to trust and obey him, even when his way seemed strange.
Jericho does not promise that every obstacle will disappear quickly. Still, it invites readers to remember that God is not restricted by the barriers that seem strongest to us.
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.
Rahab showed that mercy was possible
Before the battle, Joshua sent two spies to Jericho, and Rahab hid them in her home (Joshua 2:1). She recognised that the God of Israel was at work and asked for safety for herself and her family (Joshua 2:9-13).
When the city fell, Joshua's men brought Rahab and her relatives out safely. She then lived among Israel (Joshua 6:25). Her rescue is one of the most moving parts of the story. Rahab came from Jericho, a city facing judgement, yet she acted on what she had come to believe about God.
The New Testament remembers her as a woman of faith whose trust was seen in what she did (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25). Jericho is not only a story about a city falling. It is also a story about God receiving someone who turns to him for mercy.
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.
A warning about resisting God
After Jericho's defeat, Joshua spoke a solemn curse concerning anyone who rebuilt the city (Joshua 6:26). This marked Jericho as a place where God had carried out judgement, not simply a prize for Israel to claim.
Many years later, during Ahab's reign, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. The account records the death of his sons in connection with Joshua's earlier warning (1 Kings 16:34). It is a sobering reminder that God's words are not empty.
Yet the warning sits alongside Rahab's rescue. The Bible does not treat evil lightly, but neither does it close the door on a person who seeks God's mercy.
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.
Jesus brought grace to Jericho
Jericho was a living city again in Jesus' day. As Jesus passed through it, he met Zacchaeus, who is described as a chief tax collector and a rich man (Luke 19:1-2). Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see Jesus, and Jesus called him down and chose to stay at his house (Luke 19:4-5).
Zacchaeus responded by promising generosity to the poor and repayment to people he had wronged (Luke 19:8). Jesus announced that salvation had come to his house and explained that his mission was to seek and save those who were lost (Luke 19:9-10).
That makes Jericho a powerful thread through Scripture. At its walls, God showed his power. In Rahab's home, he showed mercy. In Zacchaeus' house, Jesus showed that no one is beyond his invitation to a changed life.