It was still dark the following morning when Mum and Dad called the children. ‘ Reuben, Deborah, time to get up.’
In Dan and Anna’s tent the same thing was happening. ‘No more time for sleep, up you get, children.’
At first there were sleepy grumbles, then they remembered - Yes! walking round the walls of Jericho and looking at the people staring down at them, what fun!
They ate a hasty breakfast, then the four children set out together.
There was such a noise when they reached the wall. Everyone was talking about the strange happenings and couldn’t wait for the Seventh Day to see the walls fall!
It was Reuben who summed up all their feelings.
‘Those Walls Wont Last’ he said with a great deal of satisfaction. ‘They may be thick and strong, but if God says they’ll fall - they’ll fall!’
All those who were near and overheard Reuben’s remark smiled, and his words became the “Motto” of the Camp as they were passed from one to the other.
‘That’s right, boy’ said one man. ‘You keep a firm faith in God.’
Then silence was called for, and the second walk around the walls began.
The third day passed, then the fourth. By this time the people on the wall were openly jeering at them.
‘Do you think you are going to shake the foundations by walking round, Ha ha.’
‘Don’t you know how thick these walls are?’
‘Oh! I’m terrified’ scoffed one boy. ‘I can feel the walls shaking.’
Dan pointed to a stone and mimed picking it up and throwing it at the boy, but his parents shook their heads vigorously. ‘Don’t you dare’ they mouthed.
Dan and Reuben were angry and disappointed. They were good shots and could have got him easily!
By the time the Seventh Day arrived the children felt as though they had walked round the walls a hundred times. They were still angry at all the taunts and jeers they had suffered for six days and, Oh! those stones were so tempting!
‘There will be plenty stones and bricks flying around on the Seventh Day’ their parents told them. ‘There is no need for you to add to them.’
‘And God is going to fight for us. He doesn’t need your help’ added Anna rather smugly.
Dan scowled at her. ‘What would you know about fighting!’ he said angrily.
‘I don’t think the man with the sword would like to hear us, do you?’ Deborah whispered.
She was right! And mentioning their ‘mystery man’ started them thinking.
‘Where is he?’
‘Has anyone seen him?’
‘I suppose he is at the front, by the Ark’ Anna suggested.
‘No! He will be leading the Army’ Reuben was certain.
‘Of course he will’ Dan agreed. ‘He will be waving his sword fearlessly - frightened of no-one’ and he waved an imaginary sword as he added ‘I wish I was with him.’
‘Whatever are you doing, Dan?’ asked his Mum as she caught side of him.
‘Oh! Er! Nothing. Just playing’ and they all giggled.
As they all lined up on this, the Seventh and most important day, there was such a feeling of excitement in the air that the children felt they could almost touch it.
‘Seven times today’ one of their friends reminded them.
‘And seven times past that lot!’ growled Dan as he pointed to a group on the wall who were laughing almost hysterically.
‘I know, they’ve been the worst’ Miriam said. ‘I felt like crying yesterday they were so horrid.’
‘Oh, we don’t feel like crying, we.....’ but Reuben didn’t finish his sentence as the order for silence was given for the final time.
Once round. Twice round. Three times round. The people on the wall thought this was the funniest thing they had ever seen.
They were laughing, and dancing, and shouting, and some were even having a party! How annoying it was.
On the fourth time they began throwing things down on to the marchers. An old shoe hit Deborah, followed by a shower of stones. Reuben picked one up. He was so angry his sister had been hurt. This time he WAS going to retaliate, but Dad saw the stone and gently, but firmly, took it out of his hand.
Reuben was angrier than he had ever been. He looked at Dan and the expression on his friend’s face showed exactly how he felt too.
But there! Who was that a little way ahead? The man turned, smiled and shook his head.
The boys gasped! ‘The man with the sword’ mimed Reuben.
‘Yes!’ nodded Dan.
They knew what the man meant. ‘All right, we understand’ they nodded. But, again, there was no-one there!
After that, the nasty remarks and jeering didn’t bother them. Why should it? They knew Who was in charge.
At last they heard the long, loud blast on the rams horns and the children shouted as loudly as anyone:-

Elizabeth Aynsley ©

Joshua Ch. 5 vs. 13 - 15 and Joshua Ch. 6 vs. 1 - 20.