This is emphasized in several ways.
The clear instructions regarding what will happen (Joshua 6:2)
Along with the presence of the Divine Warrior, Joshua is also told exactly what is going to happen. The destruction of Jericho is presented as a done deal in verse 2. The certainty of this truth is also repeated by Joshua in Joshua 6:16. The Divine Warrior has come to fight the battle of Jericho and therefore there is to be no doubt about the coming destruction. The Lord has come to destroy his enemies and no one will stop him.
The peculiar instructions for marching around the city (Joshua 6:3–21)
The very specific and slightly peculiar marching instructions confirm that it is the mighty Lord who has come to fight. To the people of Israel, the city appears to be impenetrable. The walls are high, the drawbridge has been raised and archers are patrolling the walls. With no ladders and no siege equipment, how on earth are they going to capture the city? What battle plans and military tactics will they use? Joshua basically says,
Sheathe your swords, pick up the ark, and bring your trumpets. God says we must march around this city in silence.
Now those are certainly very strange battle tactics, they’re not what you expect to hear from a general, but they are given in order to emphasize that it is the Lord who has come to destroy his enemies. With the ark of the covenant in the middle of the procession, the people of Israel are reminded of God’s presence among them. He is the one fighting this battle; the Lord has come to destroy his enemies.The seven days of marching also emphasizes that the city has been consecrated to the Lord. During his work of creation, God created everything from nothing in the space of six days and then he rested on the seventh day, blessed it, and made it holy. The seventh day was set aside as a day consecrated to the Lord. Here we have the Israelites likewise circling the city for seven days to show that it belongs to the Lord. It is consecrated to him.
Finally, the command to devote the city to the Lord shows that Jericho belongs to him. The Hebrew word translated as
devote
in Joshua 6:17–21 concerns dedicating something or someone to the Lord. It can be used positively to refer to an article in the temple, or negatively, to indicate complete destruction. The key idea is simply that the destruction of the city was God’s idea. The mighty Lord was destroying his enemies.
The miraculous fall of the city (Joshua 6:20)
The city of Jericho was not captured as a result of clever battle tactics or the might of Israel. The city was captured because the walls fell down. This was a miracle done by the Lord. If all Jericho’s combatants were standing on the walls waiting for the attack, the vast majority of them would have died as the walls collapsed meaning there was hardly anyone left for the people of Israel to fight when they went into the city itself.
The Lord was the planner, the Lord was present and the city was devoted to him. The mighty Lord came to destroy his enemies and give the Promised Land to his people.
2 And the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.