"The Fall of Jericho"
by: Robert Bridges
Joshua stood before the people of Israel.
"Israel," he cried, "Our Lord has given me instruction on how we will conquer Jericho!" The crowd waited with baited breath. "We will march around the city once everyday for the next six days, and on the seventh day we will march around the city seven times and then blow our horns as loud as we can."
Immediately the crowd began to murmur and grow restless. Benjamin stood only yards from Joshua, but he could see the frustration on his face from where he stood. He had seen this situation many times before, and every time it turned out the same: Joshua got his way through persuasion. Benjamin doubted it would be any different this time. He left to rest in his tent until the crowds were settled.
The next morning, he and the rest of the armed men set out to march around the city. There was little he needed to know from yesterday's events. When he woke he was informed that Joshua had continued to speak to the crowd until nightfall, when everyone left to their tents. By the time Benjamin awoke there was already a group leaving for Jericho.
At mid-afternoon, they saw Jericho. Surrounded by high walls guarded by trained soldiers, it appeared to be impenetrable. As they grew closer the walls loomed before them and they turned so that they marched parallel to the walls.
As they marched, Benjamin reached out an brushed the wall with his fingers. The rough stone dragged on his finger, but it was a mall delight to feel something solid after sleeping, living, and walking on loose sand his entire life. He looed up to see guards peaking down at them, but they did not retaliated. Perhaps they were confident enough in their defenses that they saw no harm frm the marching men. After returning to where they started, the men turned back towards the Isrealite camp.
The next day went the same, and so did the day after that, and after that, and so on.
The seventh day came quickly, and before they knew it the seventh march had come. The last hundred steps of the march were the most silent Benjamin had ever heard in his life. You could have heard a stray leaf blowing on the ground. Then they stopped walking. Complete silence.
The noise that erupted for the priests's horns and the cries of the people of Isreal shook the ground around the city. Benjamin could feel his diaphragm vibrating and his bones quaking. The noise was unlike anything he had heard or experienced before. Then the walls began to fall. The stones began to fall inward towards the center of the city, and the cries of the alarmed people inside could be heard. And before they knew it, they could see buildings. People were standing in the streets frozen in horror at the occurring miracle. And with a mighty cry the people of Isreal rushed into the city to claim the land that was theirs.
by: Robert Bridges
Joshua stood before the people of Israel.
"Israel," he cried, "Our Lord has given me instruction on how we will conquer Jericho!" The crowd waited with baited breath. "We will march around the city once everyday for the next six days, and on the seventh day we will march around the city seven times and then blow our horns as loud as we can."
Immediately the crowd began to murmur and grow restless. Benjamin stood only yards from Joshua, but he could see the frustration on his face from where he stood. He had seen this situation many times before, and every time it turned out the same: Joshua got his way through persuasion. Benjamin doubted it would be any different this time. He left to rest in his tent until the crowds were settled.
The next morning, he and the rest of the armed men set out to march around the city. There was little he needed to know from yesterday's events. When he woke he was informed that Joshua had continued to speak to the crowd until nightfall, when everyone left to their tents. By the time Benjamin awoke there was already a group leaving for Jericho.
At mid-afternoon, they saw Jericho. Surrounded by high walls guarded by trained soldiers, it appeared to be impenetrable. As they grew closer the walls loomed before them and they turned so that they marched parallel to the walls.
As they marched, Benjamin reached out an brushed the wall with his fingers. The rough stone dragged on his finger, but it was a mall delight to feel something solid after sleeping, living, and walking on loose sand his entire life. He looed up to see guards peaking down at them, but they did not retaliated. Perhaps they were confident enough in their defenses that they saw no harm frm the marching men. After returning to where they started, the men turned back towards the Isrealite camp.
The next day went the same, and so did the day after that, and after that, and so on.
The seventh day came quickly, and before they knew it the seventh march had come. The last hundred steps of the march were the most silent Benjamin had ever heard in his life. You could have heard a stray leaf blowing on the ground. Then they stopped walking. Complete silence.
The noise that erupted for the priests's horns and the cries of the people of Isreal shook the ground around the city. Benjamin could feel his diaphragm vibrating and his bones quaking. The noise was unlike anything he had heard or experienced before. Then the walls began to fall. The stones began to fall inward towards the center of the city, and the cries of the alarmed people inside could be heard. And before they knew it, they could see buildings. People were standing in the streets frozen in horror at the occurring miracle. And with a mighty cry the people of Isreal rushed into the city to claim the land that was theirs.