Karate Men Bruise on the Inside So That They Don’t Show Their Weakness
Eddie Murphy, Trading Places
While Jericho’s walls falling down is a spectacular Book of Joshua moment, the timing of the City’s taking gives rise to a Ten Commandments’ controversy.
The Master of the Universe says to Joshua: “See, I have delivered into your hand Jericho and its king, [and] the mighty warriors. You shall go around the city, all the men of war, encircling the city one time; thus shall you do for a period of six days. And seven Kohanim shall carry seven ram-shofars before the Ark; on the seventh day you shall go around the city seven times, and the Kohanim shall blow with the shofars. It shall be that upon an extended blast with the ram’s horn- when you hear the sound of the shofar-all the people shall cry out with a great cry, and the walls of the city will drop down in place, and the people shall advance, each man straight ahead.” Joshua 6:1-5.
Since this event transpired over seven days, one day must have been the Sabbath. Which day was the Sabbath?
Commentators have addressed this matter indicating “he who commanded that the Sabbath be observed commanded that it now be desecrated. Radak. The Prophets, Rubin Edition. Was this a test for Joshua? Was he supposed to call out the Master on this sabbath matter? Did he pass or fail?
With Sodom and Gemorrah, Abraham challenged the Master over the cities’ destruction based upon whether there were righteous residents. Moses, with the Children of Israel, challenged the Master over his call for their destruction and pled to give them a second chance. In light these leaders’ history of questioning the Master, was Joshua to question the orders which included the Sabbath as part of the siege?
One position is that Sabbath was intended to be violated. Thus, there was need for questioning. There are many reasons to argue for this position. Assuming that Jericho’s conquest was intended to take place for a lesser time; perhaps, six days. With that scenario, what should have happened if the conquest was not completed on the sixth day and had to be extended into the seventh-sabbath-day? What would the Children of Israel do at that point? Would they have ceased their activities? Would those cognizant of the Sabbath simply retreated for the day and refrained from the activities? Arguably, the controversial directions were meant to avert a catastrophe.
If such a scenario occurred – the cessation of the siege as a result of the Sabbath- news of this would have spread across Canaan and would have exposed a weakness that could be exploited. History has proven it is a vulnerability. During the Greek-Jewish Wars, the Book of Maccabees 1, reports on Greek forces taking advantage of the Jews’ Sabbath observance. Last year, October 7, 2023, the Hammas invasion into the modern state of Israel occurred upon the Sabbath. Thus, the decision to desecrate the Sabbath in this circumstance, the Sabbath does have reason. Further, any cessation could have doomed the siege.
While the decision was correct, this does not prevent a query concerning Joshua’s actions.
Leaders in the Torah possess special attributes. The Master of the Universe tasked certain individuals because of their special qualities. Noah was both a great listener and boat builder. Abraham, among other qualities, was a man of righteousness. Moses was a leader, teacher, and person who took responsibility for others.
Joshua represented a new type of leader. While he shares the qualities of past leaders, he is one who takes direction from the past. His stand-out quality was his commitment to the Torah and its commandments. He directs the Children of Israel to the laws of Moses. Despite this dedication, however, there admittedly was a missed opportunity to query the Master’s enigmatic directions concerning Jericho. Thus, Joshua created an issue for eternal speculation.
Be well!!
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