1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. 2 And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. 7 So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.
8 Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign 13 that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 14 And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”
15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. 16 And she said to them, “Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.” 17 The men said to her, “We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. 19 Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. 20 But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear.” 21 And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
22 They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing. 23 Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them. 24 And they said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Joshua secretly sent two spies over the Jordan to scout out the land and focus on the city of Jericho. In Jericho they somehow ended up staying with Rahab the prostitute. While we are not told how they ended up staying with Rahab, it is clear that God was behind the meeting both to protect the spies and save Rahab from the coming destruction of Jericho. The king found out that men of Israel were in the city and they had been seen with Rahab. He sent men to arrest the spies but Rahab lied that while the Israelite spies had come to her, she did not know where they were from and that they had left via the city gate at dark in an unknown direction. Meanwhile, she had hidden the spies on the roof of her house among the flax that was drying there. The men of Jericho accepted Rahab’s story and chased after the Israelites towards the Jordan river and the city gates were closed behind them.
Was Rahab right to lie? The spies would probably have died at the hand of the king of Jericho and her lie saved them. We would be presumptuous to say with certainty that Rahab’s lie was the only way the spies could have been saved. God could have protected the spies some other way. Because God used a sinner still caught up in her sinful acts doesn’t mean that God condones the sin. God in His providence chooses to use sinners committing sinful acts to fulfil His purpose but that never excuses them of their sin. Rahab was commended for her faith shown in good works (Heb 11:31) but she was not commended for lying.
Rahab told the spies all they needed to know. She knew that the city was doomed as did everyone living there. They had heard how God had led them through the parted Red Sea and how they had destroyed Sihon and Og (who had been devoted to destruction for the Lord). The people of Jericho were petrified and had no fight in them because they knew they were as good as defeated already. Rahab expressed faith in the God of Israel as the true God of the heavens and of earth. She then asked that the spies would deal with her kindly as she had shown them kindness and that they would spare her and her family when they came to destroy the city. The men agreed with some conditions. If she did not divulge their plans and if she hung a scarlet cord in her window to identify her house and if she kept her family within her house then they would be spared. If any of them left the house then their deaths would be on their heads, but if they kept the conditions then the spies agreed to protect them. Then Rahab let the spies down the wall through her window and they escaped to the hills where they hid for three days until it was safe to return to Joshua. When they got back they relayed the news that God had surely given them victory and they could continue in confidence.
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Through the Red Sea: Exodus 14
Rahab knew about the God of the Israelites having heard of His splitting the Red Sea and His destruction of two Amorite kings. Knowing that the God of the Israelites was the true God, caused her to put faith in Him. This encourages me to have a life which testifies to others that the God I serve is the true God and is worth following.
God will put us into times where we can find and even prove our faith to him. The way Rahab found out about God and the many miracles he was responsible for is how many people should realize that God is our saviour.
God will give us situations where in remaining faithful we can get opportunities to witness and show the testimony of God to others.
I loved that she knew what she was talking about when she spoke to them, like she already had the plan and stuff. And I love her courage to be able to help them