(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Joshua 6:6–16, “And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD. And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD. And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.”
As far as the Lord was concerned, the battle was already won. He knows the end from the beginning and nothing takes Him by surprise (see Is 46:9–10, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”) On the other hand, Joshua couldn’t see the future and he had to trust the Lord, which he did. Joshua took the Lord’s commands and translated them into daily battle orders so that the armies could do exactly what was required. Each day the armies set out, following the priests with the ark and they circumnavigated the city. The only noise that could be heard was the blowing of the trumpets. This must have been a frightening experience for the people in the city. They knew of the miracles that the Lord had already performed and were already afraid so this must have filled them with complete fear. Israel, too, had to be completely obedient to their general’s orders not knowing what the expect except that the Lord specialised in miracles that made the impossible possible. On the seventh day, presumably the Sabbath when no work was to be done, The armies marched around the city seven times and then the trumpets blew and everyone was commanded to shout because the Lord had given them the city. The Lord had previously told them to honour the Sabbath and do no work but on this day the Lord asked them to put aside the Sabbath day regulations and do extra work. The Lord rules the Sabbath and He commanded them to work on this one Sabbath day to allow them such a miraculous victory that they could start their campaign with a real rest from battle in the Lord’s strength.
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