Daughter of Deliverance (15 page)

And Joshua had stood on a high rock and cried out loudly, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you, and that He will certainly drive out before you the inhabitants of the land. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you.”

Then Joshua commanded that twelve men be chosen, one from each tribe of Israel, and that as the priests bore the ark into the water, the Jordan would be cut off. “As He dried up the Red Sea, so will He dry up the Jordan.”

And so it was on that day. As the people prepared to pass over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant moved forward. As their feet touched the water of the Jordan, the waters that ran from upstream began to pile up. It was as though a huge dam had been built and the waters could go no farther. The people grew silent, and Caleb, who stood beside Joshua, said, “It reminds me of when God made a path through the Red Sea.”

“That was a miracle in its day, but this is a miracle for us now.”

And so the people watched until the bed of the Jordan was dry and they were all able to pass over. It took a long time for all of them to cross with their flocks and herds. About forty thousand men armed for battle also crossed over to the plains of Jericho. Finally, when everyone was on the far side, Joshua said to the twelve men he had selected from each tribe, “Go into the Jordan where the priests are standing and each take up a stone.”

He waited until the twelve men had brought out their stones, and he commanded them to take them to where they set up their camp, piling them up for a memorial to what God had done for them this day at the Jordan River. Then he stood and cried out with a ringing voice, “In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

When Joshua stopped speaking, a mighty cry of victory went up from Israel. Othniel was standing beside his friend Achan. “If God can dry up the waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan River, then He can do something about the walls of Jericho too, I expect.”

Ardon stood beside his father, Caleb, and found that he was thinking not of the massive wall of Jericho but of the woman who had saved his life. He tried to put her out of his mind, and now with an effort, he shook his head, determined to concentrate on what lay before them. Still, he could think of little besides the woman with the violet eyes whose name was Rahab.

King Jokab of Jericho stroked the silken skin of the woman who lay close to him. She was a sloe-eyed woman with black hair and a wide, sensuous mouth. There was a lewdness about her that pleased King Jokab well.

Suddenly voices rose outside the door, and the king sat up, not releasing his hold on the woman. When he saw the commander of his army enter, he scowled. “What do you mean bursting in like this, Zanoah? I could have your head for this.”

Zanoah was a stocky man with bulging muscles and a scar pulling the right side of his face down. He was a fighter not a diplomat, and even though he knew it might be at the cost of his own life, he ignored the king's angry shouts. “Sire,” he said, “I have evil tidings.”

King Jokab glared at his commander. “We'll talk about it at the council meeting.”

“I think it's something you should know now, Your Majesty.”

Roughly Jokab shoved the woman aside and got out of bed. He put on a silken robe and then turned to face the stocky commander. “Well, what is it, then?”

“It's the Hebrews, sire. We have bad news.”

“Are they coming to attack?”

“Yes, sire.”

“I'm sure they are, but we have some time. Out with it, man, what have they done?”

Zanoah swallowed hard and was obviously trying to think of some way to put the news in a more palatable form. “It's the River Jordan,” he said. “They…they dried it up.”

“Have you lost your mind, Zanoah! What do you mean they dried up the river? It's still there, isn't it?”

“It's still there, but our spies reported what happened. We've been keeping track of them. The whole nation gathered on the far side of the Jordan, and then their priests headed for the river. It was a flood tide. It's the time of year, sire.”

“I know what time of year it is! What happened?”

“As their priests' feet came to the water, the river…well, it backed up. It was like an invisible dam was built upstream, and it held the waters back until all the people were across. Then, I suppose, their magicians took the spell off so the waters came rushing back into the river's channel.”

“The spies were drunk!”

“No, they were reliable, King Jokab. They all agreed on what happened. Sire, these are mighty men, and more than that, they have a powerful god. I'm not a diplomat, but let me counsel you. Make peace with these people.”

“Peace with them! You know what they'd do? They would take my crown, they'd cut off your head, they would take over the city of Jericho.”

“They may do that anyway, sire.”

“Get out—get out—get out!” King Jokab screamed. “You're the commander in chief of my armies. I want every man given a sword. Every man or boy who can walk. We have the strongest city in the world. No army can breach our walls. Now, do your job, Zanoah, or I'll have your head for it.”

Zanoah stared at the king, then nodded and started to speak, but seeing the insane rage on King Jokab's face, he shrugged his burly shoulders, turned, and walked out of the door.

King Jokab turned back to the woman who was watching him carefully. She smiled and held out her arms seductively. “Come back to bed, my love. Don't worry yourself about those desert rats.”

King Jokab was a rather stupid man. He was able to put problems out of his mind instantly, and with a smile he walked across the room toward the dark-skinned woman.

****

“We would have been in poor shape if any enemy attacked us, Joshua.”

Joshua looked over at Caleb, who had come into his tent and now sat on the floor across from him. Caleb's face was drawn tight, and Joshua at once asked, “What's the matter?”

“I think you know.”

“You mean the matter of circumcising all the males?”

“I know you thought it was the right thing to do, but if anybody would've attacked us, we'd have been annihilated.” The expression on Caleb's face was gloomy, but it brightened as he said, “I know the Lord told you to do it.”

“That's right. He told me that the old generation of men that had been circumcised, the ones who came out of Egypt, were dead. But those born in the wilderness had not been circumcised. The Lord said it was something we had to do. It's the mark, Caleb, that identifies us as Hebrews and the servants of the most high God.”

“Well, there was a lot of complaining about it, but the men are well now. So we can talk about strategy.”

Joshua laughed shortly and shook his head. “Strategy? I don't have any strategy.”

Caleb stared. “You must have, Joshua. We can't just go aimlessly wandering around the country. You know how strong some of the enemies are.”

“I know that well, but I have no idea what we are to do—except that our first target will be Jericho.”

“Well, that's going to be difficult. I haven't seen that wall, but from what my son and nephew report, it is tremendous.”

Joshua moved his shoulders restlessly. He changed the subject by saying, “We've got to do something about food now that the manna has ceased.”

Caleb's eyebrows went up and he shook his head in a gesture of astonishment. “That was a great miracle, the manna. It came from the hand of God when our people needed it, but now that we've crossed the Jordan and we're in the land that God promised our fathers, it has just stopped. The people are wondering about that too.”

“They've taken God for granted,” Joshua said shortly. “Now they'll have to plant seed and harvest grain to make their bread.”

The two men talked for a while, and finally Joshua got up and said, “I'm going out to think. If you can come up with a way to breach the walls of Jericho, I wish you'd let me know.” Without another word he turned and left the tent rapidly. He walked through the camp, ignoring those who spoke to him, for his mind had leaped far ahead to the city of Jericho.

The sun was high in the sky and beat down on Joshua, but he ignored the heat. Finally he was out of sight of the camp and walked aimlessly along the rocky pathway. He had come to a slight rise when suddenly he looked up and there stood a man, a stranger, with his sword drawn.

In a flash Joshua drew his own sword. His first thought was that the man was a spy from Jericho. As he approached, he studied the man's features and saw strength and fearlessness.
If they're all like this,
he thought,
we're in trouble
. Aloud he said, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

The stranger was tall and well built and wore a simple garment with a belt about his waist. His eyes were clear, and Joshua could not make out the color. They seemed gray at times or blue, but they were deep-set and were fixed intensely on Joshua. When he spoke, the voice was quiet and yet struck Joshua with a force almost like the blow from a sword.

“As the commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”

Instantly Joshua knew he was standing in the presence of one of the servants of the most high God, an angel, perhaps, and a high-ranking one at that! Dropping his sword, Joshua fell on his face and struggled to speak, for great fear had come over him. “What message does my Lord have for His servant?”

“Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.”

The man waited until Joshua had taken off his sandals and then began to speak, and Joshua did not raise his head as he listened to the word of the Lord.
“See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in.”

Joshua waited for the man to go on, but there was a silence almost as thick as rock. Fearfully he lifted his eyes and saw no one. “It was the Lord or one of His angels,” Joshua whispered, as he put on his sandals. Scrambling to his feet, he grabbed his sword, shoved it into his sheath, and turned. He headed for the camp at a dead run, and as soon as he was within hearing distance, he began to shout, “Caleb—Caleb! Where are you?”

He found Caleb rushing to meet him, and Joshua's eyes were glowing with excitement. “You asked for strategy for defeating Jericho. Well, I have it!”

“Tell me,” Caleb demanded, his eyes blazing with excitement. He listened as Joshua related what he had heard from the man with the sword.

Finally Caleb said, “Was that all?”

“Was that all? What else could it be?”

“Let me get this straight,” Caleb said. “All we do is march around the city once a day for six days, and on the seventh day we march around the city seven times, and then the priests blow the trumpets, the people shout, and the walls fall down.”

“Yes, isn't it wonderful?”

Caleb reached up and scratched his gray hair. “It doesn't sound like any battle I've ever heard of. You're going to have trouble explaining it to the people.”

“It's the word of the Lord, Caleb, and God has given us the victory. Come, we have plans to make. When those walls fall down, the city must be taken.”

****

“Well, it looks silly to me,” Achan grumbled. He was walking alongside Othniel. The two of them were part of the mass of people who were circling the walls of Jericho. Achan and Othniel had listened as Joshua had given one simple command: “Walk around the walls of Jericho. Do not make a sound.”

Achan glanced up at the walls and shook his head. “Does Joshua think we're going to frighten them?”

“I don't know what he thinks,” Othniel said shortly, trying to keep his voice down. It disturbed him that Joshua had not shared his plan except that they were to walk around the wall. He glanced up at the wall and saw that the walls were lined with archers. The flash of weapons reflecting the light of the sun was brilliant, and he shook his head. “There's a lot of them in there and we're out here. I think we ought to just let them alone and occupy the rest of the land.”

Achan laughed curtly. “You don't think they'd let us do that, do you? The city has to be taken. Even I can see that.”

Othniel looked ahead where the priests bearing the ark were marching in a stately fashion. Behind them Joshua and Caleb walked slowly. There was not a sound of a single voice raised, for Joshua's commands had been strict. “No talking,” he had said. “No whispering. Absolute silence. The man or woman who makes a noise will answer to me.”