Introduction
In chapter 1 we read that Moses had died and God had appointed Joshua to be the new leader of his people. And God had commanded Joshua to get the people ready to cross over the Jordan River and to enter the land God was giving to them. In response, Joshua ordered the officers to get the people ready. Having wandered through the wilderness for 40 years, it was now time to cross the river and enter the Promised Land.
Verses 1 to 14
However, before they crossed the river, Joshua sent men to spy out the land and especially the city of Jericho. That’s in verse 1. And the author tells us that, arriving in Jericho, they entered the house of a prostitute called Rahab. And it makes sense for them to stay there, because a house such as this one would be open for male visitors and presumably men were calling there all the time and staying over night. And so, it probably seemed a safe place for them to stay the night.
However, verse 3 tells us that someone noticed them and reported their arrival to the king. And the king therefore sent word to Rahab to bring them out.
Verse 4 tells us that Rahab, rather than expose the spies, decided to hide them. And she lied to the king’s men. She said that yes, the men were there; but she didn’t realise who they were; and anyway, they’ve now left her house and gone out of the city. And she suggested that the king’s soldiers should hurry and chase after them.
And that’s exactly what they did. While the spies lie hidden on Rahab’s roof, the soldiers left the city and they dashed down the road to the Jordan to try to find the spies.
The Bible commentators discuss whether or not Rahab was right to lie to the king’s soldiers. Was she right to deceive them? And is it ever right to tell a lie? And it’s possible to have a long debate on what she said and whether she was right to lie to the king’s men under these circumstances and whether there are some circumstances when lying is justified. We could spend a long discussing such things. However, the interesting thing is that the writer of the book doesn’t make any comment on it. He doesn’t say anything about whether she was right or not. And I think he doesn’t say anything about it because he’s far more interested in what she said next.
And what did she say next? In verse 9 she said to the spies that she knows that the Lord has given the land of Canaan to his people. And she also knows that a great fear has fallen on them so that their hearts are melting for fear because of them. And the reason for their fear is because they have heard what the Lord did for them at the Red Sea when he dried up the water for them. And they have also heard what they did to the two kings of the Amorites, whom they completely destroyed. And when they heard these things about the Lord and his people, their hearts sank and everyone’s courage failed because of them and because they also know that the Lord their God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. In other words, they know that the Lord is not like the gods of the nations. The nations had a god for this and a god for that. One god was said to rule over the valleys. Another god was said to rule over the mountains. Another god was said to rule over the sea. But they had come to realise that the Lord God of Israel is God in heaven above and on the earth below. In other words, he rules over all things everywhere.
And so, they’re afraid of him. And they’re afraid that this God is coming to destroy them. And knowing all this, believing all this, Rahab responded by asking for what? She asked for mercy. Do you see that in verse 12? She said: ‘Please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family.’ In other words, she knows that the Lord is coming in wrath and judgment to destroy them. But she’s hoping for mercy.
Since she has been kind to them by not handing them over to the king, she’s hoping that they will be kind to her and her family by sparing their lives when the Israelites come to destroy Jericho. She’s hoping that she and her family will be saved from death.
And according to verse 14, the spies agree. So long as she doesn’t tell anyone what they’re doing, they will treat her kindly and faithfully on the day when God comes to destroy the city by the hand of the Israelites.
Verses 15 to 21
In verses 15 to 21 we read how they made their escape. It turns out that her house was built into the wall of the city and so, they were able to escape through her window and down a rope.
But before they leave, they instructed her to gather her family and to remain in her house. And a red cord will be a sign for the Israelites that no one in that house should be harmed in any way. So long as they remain in that house, with the red cord on display, they will be kept safe. And Rahab agreed to do what they proposed and she tied the cord in her window.
The red cord recalls the blood which the Israelites had to smear on the door of their homes in Egypt on the night when the angel of the Lord went through Egypt. Do you remember how he struck down the first-born son in every home except in the homes where the passover lamb had been slain and its blood was smeared on the door? The angel saw the blood and passed over that house. And now, when the Israelites come to attack Jericho, they will see the red cord and they will pass over that house. Everyone else in the city will be destroyed, but Rahab and her family will be spared.
Verses 22 to 24
And the chapter ends with the spies hiding for three days and then returning to Joshua with the news that the people were melting with fear. The Lord has surely given them the land.
Conclusion
The Lord was coming to destroy the city of Jericho by the hand of the Israelites. And we know that one day God is going to come to judge the living and the dead by his Son Jesus Christ. On that day he will condemn sinners for their sin and rebellion and for breaking his holy law and he will send them away from God’s presence and goodness to be punished for ever and for ever for what they have done. The judgment that was about to fall on Jericho was a foretaste of the judgment that will fall on the whole world for its sin and rebellion.
But there was one person in Jericho who chose the true God. And that person was Rahab. She believed that the Lord was unlike the gods of the nations, because he alone is God of heaven and earth and he is mighty and powerful. And crucially, she also believed that not only is he able to destroy, but he’s also able to save. He saved his people from the Egyptians. And he saved his people from the Amorite kings. And now she’s hoping that he will save her and her family from the judgment that is coming on Jericho.
Where did she get the power to believe? After all, her neighbours had heard the same things that she had heard. They had heard what God did at the Red Sea. They had heard what the Israelites had done to the Amorite kings. They had heard and were afraid. But she heard and believed that salvation was possible.
Where did she get the power to believe? It had to be from the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit of God is the one who creates faith in the hearts of men and women and children. As we listen to the great things that God has done, the Holy Spirit comes to us from heaven and he gives us the new birth so that we’re able to repent and believe and to call out to God for salvation. And all who believe will be saved.
And the wonder of it is that Rahab was a prostitute. She was a sinner living among other sinners. They all deserved to be condemned and punished by God for all that they had wrong. And yet, she was spared, because she chose God over the gods of the nations and she asked for mercy.
And you and I are sinners. We are sinners who sin against the Lord continually. And so, we all deserve to be condemned and punished for all that we have done wrong. Even our best deeds are streaked with the stain of sin and there is nothing we can give to God to make up for a lifetime of disobedience. And yet the wonder of the gospel is that God is willing to pardon all who trust in his Son and to accept us as righteous in his sight. He’s willing to pardon and accept us, because of Christ his Son, who suffered in body and soul the punishment we deserve and who shares with us his own record of perfect obedience.
God the Holy Spirit enabled Rahab to choose God and to ask for mercy. And the same Holy Spirit enables sinners today to choose God and to ask for mercy. And because of his abounding love and goodness to us in Christ Jesus, God is willing to pardon and accept all who turn to him for mercy and forgiveness and eternal life in his presence.
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