Prayer: Lord, lead and guide us as we delve into your word this day. Amen.
I love this story of Rahab and the spies in Joshua chapter 2!
There is some bumbling comedy and a most surprising heroine in the story.
God often uses the most unexpected people and ways to bring about his purposes and plans. He even uses us!
In chapter 1 of Joshua, we heard how he was chosen as the new leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses. God spoke to Joshua telling him to be strong and courageous and that he would always be with him as he led the people into the promised land.
Taking the land was not going to be easy as it had been a very long time since Jacob and family had left Canaan and there were going to be lots of obstacles, including the big, fortified city of Jericho not far on the other side of the river.
Firstly, a little note. Some of us get a little concerned reading of war in the Old Testament, and sadly these books have probably spurred on religious wars over the centuries and even still today in Jerusalem and Palestine. However, as one commentator I read suggested, we need to read Joshua as an ancient, not a modern text. Wars were very commonplace in those days. And the Israelites were to fight against those people who did not bow down to God, their creator. The people they fought often lived depraved lives, following Gods like Baal who demanded child sacrifice and the likes.
God had promised Abraham that he would bless the nations through him, and God always accepted people outside of Israel into his family as we see even in this story today of Rahab. In Matthews genealogy we read that she becomes King David’s great grandmother!
So, as we read through Joshua, ask God to help you look beyond the bloodshed to his greater story of redemption for all people obtained through the blood shed by his son Jesus. Those who put their trust in Jesus will safely cross into the eternal promised land.
Now, back to the story of Joshua 2.
Joshua secretly sent out 2 spies to check out the land “especially Jericho”.
I don’t think this is because he wasn’t trusting God, but he was practicing due diligence as a leader to gather strategic information. God said he would be with him, as he is with us in difficult situations, but he expects us to use common sense, planning and using the gifts he has given us.
Joshua had been one of the spies that Moses had sent out 40 years previously, but a lot may have changed since then. Joshua had brought back a favourable report then and trusted that God would have been with them had they ventured forth. But aside from Caleb, the 10 other spies were scared, not courageous and encouraged the people to rebel with them.
So here we are again, 40 years later, and this time Joshua sends out just two spies to scout out the land.
These spies do not seem to be very competent!
Yes, they find their way to Jericho, but it seems they arrive and go straight into the house of a prostitute name Rahab and ‘stayed there’. Why did they do that we might wonder…did they think they’d have a little sex while on the job??!!
Or was it because they had not been successful at keeping their entry into the city a secret, and were spotted clearly to be Israelites, and so they dashed into Rahab’s house for cover! They obviously hadn’t tried very hard to blend into the crowd…
Someone had seen them and reported their presence to the King of Jericho who sent a message to her to bring out the men!
It seems God had his hand fully on this situation as the men didn’t enter her house to search, but trusted Rahab’s word.
Rahab seems to be much more competent and cleverer than the spies. She is quick thinking and has hidden them under flax on her roof.
She makes up a story, admitting they had been with her, perhaps suggesting they had come for sex, which would be plausible, but they had now left her and the city. She sends the Kings men on a wild goose chase outside of Jericho.
Rahab lies for these Israelite spies, and if she was discovered, she would have been put to death for treason.
Now some commentators have taken issue with the fact that she lied, even though it was for a good reason, as it is one of the 10 commandments.
I remember studying ethics as part of my divinity course, and these were some of the things we grappled with. While as a rule we should not lie, there are occasions when we do things for a greater cause.
I’m sure we’d all agree that there have been many cases in the past where hiding people and lying about it that have been more in line with God’s purposes, than exposing the people. Just think of the Dutch and Germans hiding the Jews in the second world war.
But the question is, why did Rahab, a citizen of Jericho choose to put her life on the line for these two Israelite spies?
The answer comes in verse 8 when she tells the spies…
“I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea[a] for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.[b] 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”
It seems the stories of the greatness of God had reached the ears of all in Jericho. But instead of just melting in fear and preparing to go to war against God and the Israelites, Rahab chooses to acknowledge their Lord as the God of heaven and earth. She seeks to bow down and worship and aligns herself with the Israelites. She knows that God is stronger than the army of Jericho.
She places her faith in God, and it is this faith that she is remembered for by the writer of Hebrews, chapter 11. Remarkable for a woman, and a prostitute to be in the list of the great heroes of faith like Abraham, Jacob, and Moses!
Rahab knows she will only be safe if she is on the Israelites side and so asks the spies to show kindness to her family as she has shown kindness to them.
The men recognize that she has saved them from death and are quick to assure her…
“Our lives for your lives!” … “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”
Rahab accepts their word and places her trust in them and their God, whom she chooses for her own God.
She continues to be the hero here as she takes command of the situation, letting them down and out of the city by a rope through the window, as she lived on the city wall. I hope your imagination is at work here, picturing these spies being lowered down and Rahab whispering instructions to them as they go,
“Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.”
She is very astute and knows how to keep them safe.
To keep her and her family safe when the Israelites come to take the city, the men tell her to tie a scarlet cord in her window. That is to be a sign that all in that house will not be harmed. What does this remind us of? The Passover; when God instructed the Israelites to paint the blood of a sacrificed lamb over their doors and that would be a sign for the angel of death to ‘pass over’ them. They were kept safe, ready to be rescued from slavery and led to safety from Egypt the next day. The blood of Jesus is what saves us when we put our trust in him. Rahab made a life changing commitment that day to put her trust in the Lord.
She sent the spies away and tied the scarlet cord. She kept her promise and did not tell the King where the men were. The spies went to the hills, stayed 3 days, and then returned safely to Joshua and told him everything that had happened. They confirm that God has gone ahead of them…
“The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.”
In this story we see how God chooses and uses Rahab the prostitute, hailed as a hero of faith, in the line of David. We see how he ordains the steps of these spies to end up in her house. We see how God draws all sorts of people into his family, how different would it have been if all of Jericho surrendered themselves to the great God they had heard about, rather than remaining an enemy?
God longs for all people to acknowledge him, just like Rahab did. And he wants us to be sharing the stories of how awesome our God is, so that all will hear, that their hearts will be melted in holy fear and receive his grace. Let’s pray…
Lord, thank you for the stories of the Old Testament showing us how your purpose and plans unfold. Thank you for the faith of Rahab, and that by her example we see how you can use the most unexpected people. May we be filled with faith, willing and strong and courageous to share of your greatness and grace to others. In Jesus name.
Amen.