021 The Battle of Jericho - A Bible Story for Children

Joshua 1-6

After Moses died, God said to Joshua, "My servant Joshua, you must now lead the children of Israel into the land I promised them, I stood with Moses, and I will also stand by you. Be strong, have courage, and follow all my laws, and I will always be with you."

"Get ready," Joshua told the Israelites, "for in three days you will cross the Jordan River into the land that God has promised you."

Now Joshua knew that if the Israelites were to settle in the land of Canaan, they would have to fight the Canaanites who already lived. there. To find out whether the Canaanites were getting ready to fight, Joshua sent two spies to Jericho. The spies crossed the Jordan and entered the walled city. There they stayed with a woman named Rahab. But some Canaanites saw the two strangers and told the king of Jericho. "Go to the house of Rahab and find those men," the king told his soldiers.

When the soldiers came to her house, Rahab told them, "Two men were here, but I had no idea who they were. At nightfall, they left. If you hurry to the city gate, perhaps you can catch up with them."

The soldiers rushed away. Meanwhile, the two spies were safe where Rahab had hidden them on the roof of her house.

"I know that the Lord has given you this land," she told the Israelite spies. "Everyone here is very frightened of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea for you and defeated the Egyptians. When we heard you people were coming, our hearts were filled with fear. All I ask," she continued, "is that when you destroy Jericho, you save my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, as I have saved you."

"We promise," answered the men. Then Rahab let a red rope down from her window, which looked out over the city wall. The two spies climbed through the window and escaped from Jericho.

"Truly the Lord has given us this land," the spies told Joshua when they returned to camp. "Everyone in Jericho is afraid of us."

On hearing this news, Joshua ordered the Israelites to move their camp closer to the Jordan. "Tomorrow," Joshua said, "the Lord will work wonders."

The people were told to follow the priests, who would carry the Ark of the Covenant, the great gold-covered chest in which the Ten Commandments were kept. This was the Ark the Lord had commanded the Israelites to build at Mount Sinai.

The moment the first priest carrying the Ark set foot in the Jordan River, the waters stopped flowing, and the people crossed safely. Not until all the israelites stood on the opposite bank did the waters of the river start to flow again. When Joshua came near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing with a sword in his hand. "Are you with us or against us?" Joshua asked.

"I am a captain in the armies of the Lord," the soldier answered. Then God came to that holy place and told Joshua how Jericho would be destroyed.

After Joshua explained God's plan to the people, the Israelites marched once around the heavily guarded city. First came the soldiers, in full battle dress, and next came seven priests carrying the Ten Commandments and trumpets made of rams' horns. On the second day they did the same thing, and then for four more days. But on the seventh day the army and the priests circled the city seven times. Then the priests blew a long blast on their horns.

"Shout! Shout as loud as you can!" Joshua called to the Israelites. "The Lord has given you the city!"

So the people shouted, and when the sound of the horns and the mighty shout went thundering through the city, the great walls of Jericho trembled and came crashing down. The Israelites rushed into the city and destroyed it, saving only Rahab and her family. All the gold and silver the Israelites found in the city they offered to God, who had given them this great victory. Then they burned Jericho to the ground.

Category: Children's Bible Stories