Wesley Corpus

The rereward - Which being opposed to the armed men, may seem to note the unarmed people, who were desirous to be spectators of this wonderful work. Ye shall not shout - Because shouting before the time appointed, would be ineffectual, and so might give them some discouragement, and their enemies matter of insulting. Shout - To testify your faith in God's promise, and thankfulness for this glorious mercy; to encourage yourselves and brethren, and to strike a terror into your enemies. Given you the city - It is given to them, to be devoted to God, as the first, and perhaps the worst of all the cities of Canaan. Accursed - That is, devoted to utter destruction. This he speaks by direction from God, as is evident from 1Kings 16:34. To the Lord - Partly because the first - fruits were appropriated to God; partly lest the soldiers being glutted with the spoil of the rich city, should grow sluggish in their work; and partly to strike the greater terror into the rest of their enemies. A curse - By provoking God to punish them for your sin, in which they may be one way or other involved; or the whole camp having sins of their own, God might take what occasion he saw fit to inflict this punishment. Vessels of brass and iron - Except that of which images were made, which were to be utterly destroyed. Unto the Lord - Being first made to pass through the fire, Numb 31:22,23. Treasury of the Lord - To be employed wholly for the uses of the tabernacle, not to be applied to the use of any private person or priest. Young and old - Being commanded to do so by the sovereign Lord of every man's life; and being informed by God before that the Canaanites were abominably wicked, and deserved the severest punishments. As for the infants, they were guilty of original sin, and otherwise at the disposal of their creator; but if they had been wholly innocent, it was a great favour to them to take them away in infancy, rather than reserve them to those dreadful calamities which those who survived them were liable to. Harlot's house - Which together with the wall upon which it leaned, was left standing, by a special favour of God to her.