AM Bible Study Group; September 4, 2013
Joshua 2:1-24
Theme: This chapter highlights the faith that the harlot Rahab had in God’s promise to the people of Israel.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
In Chapter 2 of this book we begin to see how the people of Israel rose up to take possession of the land that God was giving them. But at the very beginning, we also see God’s grace exhibited to those who feared Him from outside the congregation of Israel. That grace was first shown to a woman who was a sinner—and yet, who has come to be known to us as one of the Bible’s greatest heroines of faith.
Her example illustrates what Peter affirmed in Acts 10:34-35; “In truth I perceive that God shows now partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”
I. THE HIDING OF THE SPIES (vv. 1-7).
A. The story begins on the east side of the Jordan, from where Joshua sent two men to “spy secretly”. This was not the same kind of situation as in Numbers 13. Back then, the Lord commanded the twelve spies to go and “see what the land is like” (Numbers 13:18). At this point of the story, they know what the land is like; but these two spies are most likely being sent to search out the best way to enter in—particularly with respect to the first city on the other side of the Jordan which was Jericho. As it turns out, they came back with confirmation that the Lord had—indeed—given the land to them (see v. 24). These two spies came to “the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there” (v. 1). Rahab’s “house” was probably something like an inn—but because she was a harlot, it was probably not the kind of inn that two godly men would ordinarily go to. There was nothing questionable, however, with respect to their going to her place. It was, in fact, probably a strategic move. No one would have thought it strange that two travelers from out of town would have gone there. It would have been a great place to gather information.
B. Rahab’s inn was probably, ordinarily, a place where a lot of people minded their own business. But somehow, these two men came to be identified as Israelites. The news reached the king of Jericho that “men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country” (v. 2). The reason this would have been a concern to the king was because he already knew how God had blessed Israel and had dried up the Red Sea for them forty years earlier. He would have also heard of how the people of Israel had utterly destroyed the two kings on the east side of the Jordan. God was clearly at work keeping His promises to Israel. The king of Jericho would have known the stories of God’s work through Israel. But his heart was apparently hard and unrepentant toward God. He knew the spies had gone to Rahab’s place; and he wanted them brought out to him in order to stop the people of Israel from receiving the land God was giving them..
C. Rahab had a different heart toward the purposes of God, though. She had hidden the two spies on the roof of the house with some stalks of flax. When questioned, she didn’t deny that the men had come to her; but she said, “I did not know where they were from. 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” (vv. 4-5). There’s no way around the fact that she lied. Some argue that she had no obligation to tell the truth to the wicked; but this isn’t really a very satisfying solution. It helps, though, to note that she is not commended in the Scriptures for having lied. She was commended for having a faith that demonstrated itself in the fact that she “received the spies with peace” (Hebrews 11:31), and having “sent them out another way” (James 2:25).
II. THE HARLOT’S APPEAL OF FAITH (vv. 8-14).
A. Before the men went to sleep, she came and told them what she knew—and, in fact, what her own people knew—about God’s mighty work through Israel. Notice in her words that she had a reverence toward God and is not rebellious toward Him (as her own people were): “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. 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. 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” (vv. 9-11; compare these words with those of Exodus 15:14-16). And notice also that she responds to God in the way that her people should have responded: “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, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death” (vv. 12-13).
B. Many people are critical of the story of God’s severe judgment on the peoples of Canaan. But the fact is that they had every opportunity to respond as Rahab did and appeal for mercy. They saw the evidences of God’s work. She was spared because she trusted in God’s mercy. “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'” (v. 14).
III. THE SIGN OF THE SCARLET CORD (vv. 15-21).
A. When Rahab let the men down from the window in secret, and urged them to wait in the mountains for three days until the search for them ended, the scarlet cord she used became a symbol of a covenant between them. City walls in ancient times were very large and thick; and she and her family dwelt in the city wall. The men told her, “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, 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. 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. And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear” (vv. 17-20).
B. She agreed to this plan. We always have to be careful about applying meaning to things in Scripture too hastily; but it’s significant that the Bible goes out of its way to tell us the color of this cord—scarlet. Would the people of Israel remembered the red of the blood that was painted on the door posts of their houses in Egypt—and how they were safe so long as they remained in those houses as the judgment of God came upon the Egyptians? This scarlet cord reminds us of the blood of Jesus—under which, if we remain, we are safe from the judgment of God. Rahab and her family were safe so long as they all remained in that place that was identified by the scarlet cord.
IV. THE CONFIDENCE OF GOD’S PEOPLE (vv. 22-24).
A. The men returned to report all that had happened to Joshua. And with the report, they said, “Truly the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us” (v. 24). This reminds us of the confidence God gave to Gideon with respect to the Midianites in Judges 7:9-15. What a contrast the report of these two spies was to the report of the twelve spies forty years earlier!
B. And note too that God continued to bless the faith of Rahab. Joshua 6:22-25 tells how the people of Israel kept their promise to her and her family. But her story doesn’t end there. She married one of the leading men of Israel; and became the mother of Boaz—the great-grandfather of King David (Ruth 4:21). More than that, her name is forever recorded as a part of the lineage of our Lord (Matthew 1:5). She is hailed in the New Testament as an example of saving faith (Hebrews 11:21). In fact, she is held up as an example (along with Abraham!) of faith that demonstrates itself in works (James 2:25).