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Rahab Helps
1 Joshua chose two men as spies and sent them from their camp at Acacia with these instructions: “Go across the river and find out as much as you can about the whole region, especially about the town of Jericho.”
The two spies left the Israelite camp at Acacia and went to Jericho, where they decided to spend the night at the house of a prostitute named Rahab.
2But someone found out about them and told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelite men came here tonight, and they are spies.” 3-7So the king sent soldiers to Rahab's house to arrest the spies.
Meanwhile, Rahab had taken the men up to the flat roof of her house and had hidden them under some piles of flax plants that she had put there to dry.
The soldiers came to her door and demanded, “Let us have the men who are staying at your house. They are spies.”
She answered, “Some men did come to my house, but I didn't know where they had come from. They left about sunset, just before it was time to close the town gate. I don't know where they were going, but if you hurry, maybe you can catch them.”
The guards at the town gate let the soldiers leave Jericho, but they closed the gate again as soon as the soldiers went through. Then the soldiers headed toward the Jordan River to look for the spies at the place where people cross the river.
8Rahab went back up to her roof. The spies were still awake, so she told them:
9I know that the Lord has given Israel this land. Everyone shakes with fear because of you. 10 We heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea so you could leave Egypt. And we heard how you destroyed Sihon and Og, those two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River. 11We know that the Lord your God rules heaven and earth, and we've lost our courage and our will to fight.
12Please promise me in the Lord's name that you will be as kind to my family as I have been to you. Do something to show 13that you won't let your people kill my father and mother and my brothers and sisters and their families.
14“Rahab,” the spies answered, “if you keep quiet about what we're doing, we promise to be kind to you when the Lord gives us this land. We pray that the Lord will kill us if we don't keep our promise!”
15Rahab's house was built into the town wall, and one of the windows in her house faced outside the wall. She gave the spies a rope, showed them the window, and said, “Use this rope to let yourselves down to the ground outside the wall. 16Then hide in the hills. The men who are looking for you won't be able to find you there. They'll give up and come back after a few days, and you can be on your way.”
Reflect
As the story proceeds, the children of Israel are encamped on the eastern side of the Jordan River, and they look to enter the land by moving west. Across the river is the heavily fortified city of Jericho, the gateway, we might say, to the promised land. Joshua’s first act is to find out what he is facing, that is, how strong are the fortifications, what kind of resistance might be expected, what is the state of morale. So he sends in spies.
It seems obvious at first why the spies would stop at the house of Rahab the prostitute; they were trying to act like many strange men would act in the city thinking that in so doing they would not attract notice. What is not obvious is why they came to the house of the only person in the city who had faith. They were simply trying to be good spies, but God had another plan. Rahab had decided to believe in the one true God, for she had heard of his works, and she understood that these works showed the truth about God. “We have heard . . . for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” (2:10)
This is a remarkable confession of faith on the part of this woman. She did not have the Bible, she had not heard a prophet, all she had was news, but the news of God’s actions was enough for her to realize that she had misplaced her trust in the local gods, for even though it was the job of the local tribal deities to protect their people, it was obvious that they could not. Therefore she believed that they were false and that the God of Israel was the one true God, God over all, the God of heaven and earth. Rahab believed and put her belief into action and was saved. This same God has acted for your salvation in Jesus Christ.
Respond
Father in Heaven, I would look to you alone with my faith, place my trust in you alone, for you alone are God in heaven above and the earth below.
Franklin Pyles
Franklin Pyles was a pastor of churches that served inner city neighborhoods, taught theology at Canadian Theological Seminary, and then was a pastor in a medium sized Ontario city. He then served his denomination, The Christian & Missionary Alliance as President for the full time allotted. He has written on C.S. Lewis and on a variety of ministry and church concerns. He continues a preaching and teaching ministry, currently at McMaster Divinity College. Publications: Most electronic and in house for the Alliance.