God Uses Crooked Sticks To Draw Straight Lines

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2:1-24 Rahab and the Spies

:1 Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.

:1 two men

The last time that the Israelites sent out “spies” was when they were at Kadesh Barnea, almost forty years earlier.

On that occasion, Moses had sent twelve spies into the land to find out what the land of Canaan was like.

When they came back, ten of the spies gave the “evil” report, scaring the people with the report of giants in the land.

Two of the spies came back (Joshua and Caleb) and said that even though there were giants, they were confident that God would help them conquer the land.

The people paid attention to the group of ten spies and as a result, the nation ended up wandering for forty years in the wilderness.

I wonder if there is a connection with the fact that Joshua was one of the two faithful spies, and here he only sends two spies into the city. Just curious…

:1 Jericho – Y@riychoh – “its moon”

A city 5 miles west of the Jordan and 7 miles north of the Dead Sea.

It’s in one of the best locations in the world, near a river, great weather, a jewel of a location. Called the “city of palms”

:1 harlot – zanah – to be a harlot, commit fornication; to commit adultery

Yes, it looks like she really was a prostitute

Why hide at a brothel?

It might be a good way to get information and find out what the men of the city were thinking.

It will also be a wonderful display of grace on God’s part. It will be this prostitute who along with her family are the only survivors of Jericho.

Lesson

God uses “unworthy” people

She was a sinner. She was an outcast. Sure she was popular with the men in the middle of the night, but the rest of her life was one of shame and rejection.

You may not feel like you’re anybody that God could use.

This is not to say that if there’s a particular sin in your life that you’re struggling with, that God doesn’t want you free from that sin.

Illustration:

:1 Rahab – Rachab – “wide”

Matthew records that Rahab would marry a fellow named Salmon, and they would have a descendant named Boaz, who would eventually marry Ruth, and they would have a great grandson named David, who would lead to Jesus.

One tradition has it that Salmon was one of the two spies sent to Jericho.

:2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.”

:2 men have come here tonight

Apparently Joshua’s secret agents were not masters of disguise . They had been spotted and recognized as spies.

:3 So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.”

:4 Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.

:5 And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.”

:6 (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.)

:6 stalks of flax

After flax stalks were pulled up at harvest time, they were soaked in water for three or four weeks to separate the fibers. Then, after drying in the sun, the flax was made into linen cloth. Rahab had stalks on her roof they could hide behind.

:5 the men went out

Was it okay for Rahab to lie?

Some criticize Rahab for lying about the spies. They suggest that if she truly trusted God, that God would have protected the spies.

Others say that maybe sometimes it’s appropriate to lie, as it might be during war.

:7 Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.

:8 Now before they 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, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.

:9 “I know that the LORD has given you the land

It sounds as if Rahab believes in what God is going to do.

This is a declaration of her “faith” in God.

:10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.

:11 And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

:11 our hearts melted

This is what God had promised the Israelites:

(Ex 23:27 NKJV) “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.

Lesson

Preparing the way

God has gone ahead of Israel, preparing the way for them.

God prepares our way for us, and when we get there, it's ready for us!

We’ve seen it at work here at Fit 2 Serve.

Don't be afraid of the work God may call you to do. If He's really calling you, you can be sure that He's gone before you, getting things ready for you.

:11 He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath

This sounds like a believer?

She is listed as a believer in the Hebrews 11 hall of fame:

(Heb 11:31 NKJV) By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

How can she be a believer and still be a prostitute and a liar?

:12 Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token,

:13 and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”

:12 kindness – checed – goodness, kindness, faithfulness

This is a word often used in the Old Testament to describe God’s grace and mercy toward us.

She wants an agreement of “kindness” with these men.

:14 So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.”

:14 none of you – I wonder if they are talking to more than just Rahab. Perhaps her whole family is present???

:15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall.

:15 her house was on the city wall

Jericho at this time was surrounded by two walls about 15 feet apart. Planks of wood spanned the gap and then houses were built on this foundation.

:16 And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.”

:16 Get to the mountain

She wants them to head up into the hills to the west of Jericho instead of heading to the river to the east.

Scarcely a half-mile west of Jericho are limestone cliffs about 1,500 feet high, honeycombed with caves.

:17 So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear,

:18 unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home.

:19 So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.

:20 And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.”

:18 scarlet cord

Almost like the picture of the Passover.

Get everyone inside the house before the judgment.

The house is covered by the “scarlet”.

Some scholars like to talk about the “scarlet thread” in the Scriptures.

They hint at Jesus, the one who would die for us, shed His blood, so we could find safety from the penalty of our sins.

:21 Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.

:22 They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them.

:23 So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them.

:24 And they said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us.”

:21 she bound the scarlet cord in the window

Lesson

Belief and Action

She believed and responded to her belief by taking action.

(Jas 2:18–26 NKJV) —18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.