Be Strong and Courageous:
The Lord Has Surely Given
Sunday, we will continue our sermon series entitled Be Strong and Courageous. Last week we discussed the leadership transition between Moses and his protégé, Joshua. Joshua had reason for anxiety because he was required to finish the task begun by Moses. However, Yahweh encouraged him to focus on the task ahead, prepare himself and Israel, trust God’s promises, and obey everything the Lord had said.
Sunday, we will consider two of these themes. Joshua’s preparation led him to send two spies into the city of Jericho. Their report reinforced Israel’s trust in the promises of God. All of this occurred by means of a very unlikely source – a Canaanite prostitute.
Joshua 2:1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
As Moses’ aide, Joshua was a trained general. He knew that reconnaissance was the first step before planning any battle. However, the victory against Jericho was not to be a human victory brought about by human plans. Consequently, the report of the spies brought no helpful information for the battle itself. Rather, it served to further encourage and embolden the people of God that even the enemy knew Yahweh was fighting for Israel and the inhabitants of the land trembled in fear.
All of this occurred because of Rahab, who the Bible calls a harlot. The word, harlot, could refer to a cultic prostitute, who served in the ritual fertility rights of Canaanite religion. However, it appears that Rahab used her home in her business. One might even envision close proximity to a bar. In my imagination, I see her as a “Miss Kitty” type character as depicted in the old western, Gunsmoke.
The spies, when in Jericho, first go to her establishment. With men coming and going (especially if there was a bar involved), this would seem to be a good starting place to collect information. It would also be a great way to hide in plain sight.
While there, Rahab tells them how terrified the inhabitants are. She also makes a confession of faith in Yahweh. She is considered the first Canaanite “convert.”
Joshua 2:9-11 “I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 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 Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
The narrative of Rahab and the spies is told in vivid Hebrew story-telling fashion. It makes for a very intriguing story. The king learns of their presence (no doubt by some of the men frequenting her establishment). He sends a message for her to produce the men, but she lies and sends the king’s men on a “wild goose chase.” Anticipating a search, she hides the men under stalks of flax on her roof. When the “coast is clear,” she lets them down the wall on a rope through a window in her home. Though some scholars think otherwise, it appears she even negotiates her and her family’s safety as the men are dangling on a rope outside her window!
The story of Rahab and the spies functions in the text of Joshua as an encouragement for Israel that they can trust God’s promises. It is an encouragement for us as well.
Joshua 2:24 They said to Joshua, “The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.”
Be Strong and Courageous! Joey
Leave A Comment