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Joshua and the Walls of Jericho

Reference: Joshua 5:13–6:27

Big Idea: God's plans might seem strange, but when we obey Him, He fights our battles for us.

Teacher Quick Reference

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Lesson: Joshua and the Walls of Jericho
Scripture: Joshua 5:13–6:27
Big Idea: God's plans might seem strange, but when we obey Him, He fights our battles for us.
Three Main Points:
  1. Joshua met the Commander of the LORD's army before the battle.
  2. Jericho was shut tightly; no one could go in or out.
  3. God told the Israelites to march around the city silently for six days.
  4. On the seventh day, they marched seven times, blew trumpets, and shouted.
  5. The walls miraculously fell flat, but Rahab and her family were saved.
Activity: The Silent March (Self-Control Game)
Memory Verse: Joshua 6:16
Take-Home Truth:
"When I obey God, He fights my battles for me."

Teacher Preparation

Before class:

  • Read Joshua 5:13 through chapter 6 (BSB).
  • Note the fascinating encounter in Joshua 5:13-15 where Joshua asks the Commander of the Lord’s army, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” and the Commander answers, “Neither.” It is a powerful reminder that God doesn’t join our side; we must join His!
  • Gather the boxes or chairs for The Silent March activity.
  • Write the memory verse on the board.
  • Decide which age adaptation will work best for your classroom.

Opening Activity: The Impossible Wall

Ask the children: “If you were a general in an army, and you had to break into a castle with giant stone walls, what kind of weapons would you invent to get inside?”

Allow the children to share creative answers (e.g., catapults, battering rams, giant ladders).

Explain: “Those are great ideas! If you are going to knock down a wall, you need some heavy tools. Today we are going to learn about a battle where God’s army didn’t use a single weapon to knock down a massive wall. In fact, God gave them the strangest battle plan in history!”

The Bible Story

1. The Commander

Moses had passed away, and Joshua was the new leader of the Israelites. They had finally crossed into the Promised Land, but right in front of them was the city of Jericho. It had massive, thick stone walls. The gates were locked tight because the people inside were terrified of the Israelites.

Before the battle, Joshua was looking at the city when he saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword! Joshua bravely walked up and asked: “Are you for us, or for our enemies?”

The man replied:

“Neither… I have now come as Commander of the LORD’s army.” (Joshua 5:14, BSB)

Joshua instantly fell facedown in worship. This wasn’t just an angel; many scholars believe this was Jesus appearing before He was born as a human! The Commander told Joshua to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. The battle didn’t belong to Joshua; it belonged to the Lord.

2. The Strange Strategy

God gave Joshua the battle plan for capturing Jericho, and it made absolutely no sense. There were no catapults, no ladders, and no battering rams.

God told them:

  • Have the soldiers march around the city once a day for six days.
  • Have seven priests carry trumpets made of ram’s horns in front of the Ark of the Covenant.
  • Do not say a single word. March in total silence.
  • On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, blow the trumpets, and shout!

3. The Silent March

Imagine how strange this must have looked. The soldiers of Jericho were probably standing on the walls, holding their spears, ready to fight. But the Israelites just walked out, walked a giant circle around the city in total silence, and went back to their tents.

They did this on day one, day two, day three… all the way to day six. The people on the wall were probably laughing at them. The Israelites had to practice incredible self-control to obey God and stay completely quiet.

4. The Walls Fall Down

Then came the seventh day. They woke up at sunrise and marched around the city not just once, but seven times!

On the seventh time, the priests blew a long blast on the ram’s horns. Joshua yelled to the people:

“Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!” (Joshua 6:16, BSB)

The people let out a massive, thundering shout. And then, a miracle happened. The massive stone walls of Jericho didn’t just crack; they collapsed flat into the ground! The Israelites charged straight in and captured the city exactly as God had promised.

5. Rahab is Rescued

There was only one part of the wall that did not fall down. Earlier in the story, a woman in Jericho named Rahab had hidden two Israelite spies and protected them. She believed in the true God. The spies promised to save her family if she tied a scarlet (red) cord in her window.

When the walls fell, God miraculously protected Rahab’s house. Joshua’s men went in and brought Rahab and her entire family out safely. Because she trusted God, she was saved, and she actually became the great-great-grandmother of King David!

The Deeper Meaning

The battle of Jericho teaches us a very important lesson about salvation. The Israelites didn’t knock the walls down. They couldn’t! If they had marched around the city and shouted without God’s help, they just would have gotten sore throats. God is the one who brought the walls down; the Israelites just had to trust Him and obey.

In the same way, we cannot save ourselves from our sins. No matter how hard we try, we aren’t strong enough. But Jesus came to fight the battle for us. He defeated sin and death on the cross. We don’t save ourselves by fighting; we are saved by trusting and obeying what Jesus has already done for us.

Three Things to Remember

1. Whose Side Are You On?

Joshua asked the Commander, “Are you on my side or their side?” The Commander basically said, “I’m on God’s side.” We shouldn’t ask God to join our plans; we need to join God’s plans. Teacher Question: How can we make sure we are joining God’s plans instead of just asking Him to do what we want?

2. Obedience Means Trusting God’s Way

Marching silently around a wall sounded silly. But God’s ways are higher than our ways. When we obey God, even when it feels weird, we get to see Him do amazing things. Teacher Question: What is something God asks us to do that the rest of the world thinks is silly? (e.g., loving our enemies, giving away our money).

3. God Fights Our Battles

The Israelites didn’t have to break the walls; God did it for them. When you are facing a massive problem, you don’t have to fix it all by yourself in your own strength. Teacher Question: What is a “wall” or a big problem you are facing right now where you need God to fight for you?

Age Adaptations

Preschool (Ages 3-5)

Younger Children

For younger children (ages 5–7), focus on the self-control of the march and the loud excitement of the miracle.

Simplified concepts:

  • Jericho was a city with huge, tall walls.
  • God gave Joshua a very strange plan to win the battle.
  • The people had to walk around the city without making a single sound. (Have the kids practice putting a finger over their lips).
  • On the 7th day, they blew horns and SHOUTED!
  • God made the walls fall down flat. God is stronger than any wall!

Developmentally appropriate questions:

  • Did the Israelites use hammers to knock the wall down? (No, they just shouted and God knocked it down).
  • Was it easy or hard for them to stay quiet for six days? (Hard!).
  • Who fought the battle? (God).
Upper Elementary (Grades 4-6)

Older Children

For older children (ages 8–11), focus on the encounter with the Commander of the Lord’s army and what it means to surrender our plans.

Deeper discussion: Pre-teens often view God as a “genie” who exists to help them accomplish their own goals. The Commander’s response (“Neither”) shatters this idea.

Discussion Scenarios:

  • Scenario 1: You are studying for a huge test and you pray, “God, help me get an A.” Is God a vending machine for good grades? What does it mean to say, “God, whatever happens, I want to be on Your side”?
  • Concept: Rahab was a foreigner and a sinner, but she was saved because she believed God’s promises and put the red cord in her window. The red cord reminds us of Jesus’ blood. No matter what you’ve done, if you trust in Jesus, God will save you just like He saved Rahab.

Discussion Questions

Understanding

  1. What was blocking the Israelites from going into the Promised Land?
  2. Who did Joshua meet before the battle?
  3. How many times did they march around the city on the very first day?
  4. What were they supposed to do on the seventh day?
  5. Whose family was saved from the city because of a red cord?

Thinking

  1. Why do you think God made the Israelites march silently for six days instead of knocking the wall down immediately?
  2. How do you think the people inside Jericho felt when they watched the silent marching?
  3. Why did the Commander of the Lord’s army tell Joshua to take off his sandals?

Personal Application

  1. Is it hard to obey God when His instructions don’t make sense to you?
  2. Think of a “wall” (a big problem) in your life. How can you trust God to bring it down instead of trying to fix it all by yourself?
  3. How can you practice self-control (like the silent marching) this week when you are tempted to say something mean?

Activity Time

Activity Resource: The Silent March View Standalone →

Type: Active Listening & Self-Control Game
Time: 10 minutes
Group Size: Any
Materials:

  • Something to act as the “walls” in the center of the room (e.g., a stack of cardboard boxes, a few chairs, or a small table).

Purpose

To help children practice self-control and experience the tension the Israelites felt marching silently, finishing with a fun, loud release.

Setup

Place the “walls” (boxes or chairs) in the center of the room. Clear a safe path for the children to walk in a circle around the center.

Exact Instructions

  1. Explain the rules: “We are going to march around the city of Jericho. But there is one very strict rule: NO TALKING. NO GIGGLING. NO WHISPERING. You must be completely silent. If you make a sound, you have to go sit down at the side of the room.”
  2. Have the children line up. The teacher leads the line.
  3. Begin marching around the “city” in a circle. Make sure the children are practicing extreme self-control to stay quiet.
  4. Count the laps out loud (e.g., “That’s lap one… keep marching… that’s lap two…”).
  5. On the seventh lap, tell the children to stop and face the walls.
  6. Tell the children: “When I say go, I want you to shout as loud as you possibly can, and we are going to knock down the walls!”
  7. Say: “One, two, three… SHOUT!”
  8. Let the children shout, and (if using boxes) let them knock the boxes over.

Discussion

Ask: “Was it hard to stay perfectly quiet while we were marching?” “Imagine doing that every day for a week while the people in the city were probably laughing at you. Would you feel silly?”

Connection Back to the Bible Story

Explain: “God’s plan for Joshua didn’t make any sense to an army. Soldiers don’t win battles by walking silently! But God was testing their obedience. He wanted them to know that they didn’t knock the walls down with their own strength—God knocked the walls down because they trusted Him.”

Craft Time

Activity Resource: Jericho Trumpet Craft View Standalone →

Materials:

  • Empty paper towel or toilet paper rolls (one per child)
  • Crayons, markers, or stickers
  • Crepe paper streamers or colorful tissue paper
  • Tape or glue

Purpose

To give children a fun, interactive prop they can use to recreate the silent march and the loud shout that brought down the walls of Jericho.

Setup

Finished Jericho Trumpet

  1. Pre-cut the crepe paper streamers into 6-inch lengths.
  2. Have the paper tubes and decorating supplies ready at the tables.

Instructions

  1. The Horn: Give each child a cardboard tube. This will be their “ram’s horn” or trumpet!
  2. Decorate: Let them color and decorate the outside of the tube however they want using markers, crayons, or stickers.
  3. The Tassels: Have the children take 3 or 4 strips of the crepe paper streamers and tape them to the inside of one end of the tube. When they hold the tube up to blow into it, the colorful streamers will hang down!
  4. The March: Have the children line up holding their trumpets. Tell them they have to march around the room one time in absolute silence.
  5. The Shout: When they finish their silent lap, the teacher should yell, “BLOW THE TRUMPETS!” Have all the children blow into their cardboard tubes and give a massive shout!

Discussion While Crafting

  • “Did the Israelites have giant cannons or catapults to break down the walls of Jericho?” (No, they just had trumpets and a promise from God).
  • “Was it hard for the Israelites to march in complete silence?” (Probably! But they had to obey God’s instructions exactly).
  • “Who really knocked the walls down?” (God did, because the people obeyed Him!).

Memory Verse

Joshua 6:16 (BSB)
”…Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!”

Practical Way to Teach:

  • Start at the back of the room.
  • Whisper the verse: “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city…”
  • Take a step forward and say it louder.
  • Keep taking steps and getting louder and louder until you are at the front of the room shouting the verse together.

Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check

Question 1 of 5

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Application

When God asks you to do something hard—like telling the truth when you made a mistake, or being kind to someone who is mean to you—it might feel like a weird battle plan. But when you obey, God will fight for you. This week, choose obedience even when it doesn’t make sense to the rest of the world.

Take-Home Challenge

When you wake up tomorrow morning, march around your bed one time silently. Then pause and ask God to help you obey Him today, no matter what happens.

Closing Thought

The battle of Jericho is a story about who gets the credit. If the Israelites had used catapults and ladders, they would have patted themselves on the back and said, “Look how strong we are!” But because they used silent walking and a loud shout, they knew exactly who won the battle: God did. When we face big problems, we don’t have to rely on our own strength. We just have to rely on our great God.

Closing Prayer

“Heavenly Father, thank You that You are the Commander of the army. Thank You that You fight our battles for us. Forgive us for the times when we try to do everything in our own strength. Give us the self-control to obey Your commands, even when they seem strange to the rest of the world. Bring down the ‘walls’ in our lives and help us to trust You completely. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

One-Minute Teacher Quick Reference

JOSHUA AND THE WALLS OF JERICHO
Joshua 5:13–6:27

Big Idea

God’s plans might seem strange, but when we obey Him, He fights our battles for us.

Memory Verse

”…Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!” — Joshua 6:16 (BSB)

Three Points

  1. Whose Side Are You On?
  2. Obedience Means Trusting God’s Way
  3. God Fights Our Battles

Opening

The Impossible Wall (Discussion about creative ways to break down a wall).

Activity

The Silent March (Active listening/self-control game ending with a shout).

Take-Home Truth

When I obey God, He fights my battles for me.

Closing

Pray for the humility to surrender to God’s plans and the trust to let Him fight our battles.