Key Text: They city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent (Joshua 6:17).
Joshua’s action of sending spies into Jericho was a secret intelligence-gathering mission. It seems Rahab was an innkeeper, and her establishment no doubt was a cafe as well as an inn; she was clearly a harlot as well. Such an establishment would have been the most likely place to hear the common talk of the town and the least likely place where those who were obviously strangers would be recognized, a tactical move on the part of the spies. Unfortunately, the two men were quickly recognized; and the king of Jericho was apprised of their presence. Soldiers were quickly dispatched to Rahab’s house to inquire as to the presence of the Israelite spies. Stirring in the heart of Rahab were seeds of faith in the God of Israel, which she could not ignore. She took the spies to the roof of her home, a place commonly used for drying corn and other grains. There she hid them among stalks of fax (a plant from which the fibers of the bark were drawn, twisted, and bleached to make linen). When the Jericho soldiers arrived, they questioned Rahab about the whereabouts of the two spies. Rahab replied that the men were already gone in the opposite direction where the soldiers were searching. Even though the clever deception served to spare the lives of the two spies, theologians tend to justify this lie by saying that she did what was right in that situation, a situational ethic to justify the end for means. Was Rahab aware that telling this lie was a sin? There is not a single note of condemnation in the narrative of Rahab, the spies, or Jericho, and we can only assume that the situation would have been different if Rahab’s confession of faith in God was present before the incident with the spies occurred. More importantly, her lying past had not been condoned by God, it was simply forgiven by Him as has our past. Rahab had heard the news of God’s conquests through Israel and she admitted “our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you.” She also reasoned that Canaan, her city of Jericho, would be next to fall in the way of Israel. Having exercised belief in God, Rahab’s first concern was for her family. She asked the spies to show kindness to the house of her father, “to save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters.” The spies agreed, covenanting “Our life for yours.” So they gave Rahab a scarlet thread to hang in the window of her home. So that when the armies of Israel attacked the city, they would be on the lookout for this telltale and spare her home. There were two walls around the city of Jericho with a gap between them, some 12 – 15 feet. Planks were laid on top, covering the gap so that the spies could escape to the hills in the northwest. ‘
God told Joshua what he must do, and Joshua obeyed in every detail. For six days, the Israelite forces marched around the city once and returned to Gilgal without incident. No doubt, the silence of their march was deafening to the ears of the people in Jericho. The daily march continued unabated; however, the human heart takes great delight in ridiculing the people of God. On the seventh day they marched around seven times. Then the priests blew their trumpets while the people of Israel let out a terrifying war cry. At this dread sound, the walls of Jericho crumbled in several places. Then Joshua and the soldiers went in and captured the city. As one of the three women mentioned by name in the genealogy of Christ, Rahab takes her rightful place as one who had faith in God and was treated as if she were righteous. AMEN!
Leave a Reply