The destruction of Jericho contains several markers to emphasize that it was the Lord alone who defeated the city and not Joshua. The Lord came to cleanse the land of all sin, just as he destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in the past. The justice of God demands that all sin be punished with an eternal and everlasting punishment, and the destruction of Jericho is a testimony to the fact that the Lord demands a just accounting for moral corruption in society (Psalm 9:1–20; Jeremiah 25:15–16).
1 Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in.