Joshua 2 Hidden Faith

Intro:

Read Josh 2:1-7

I. Spies in Jericho vs. 1-7

The orders to pick up camp and cross the Jordan have been given

Now Joshua is focusing on the tasks ahead

Like the good general he is in process of becoming, he does as Moses did and sends out spies (not twelve but two) on a reconnaissance mission of the land, “especially Jericho,” which is challenge number one.

This is wisdom rather than faithlessness, of which some accuse Joshua.

Joshua is aware that across the Jordan the Canaanite city of Jericho stands, walled and defended, like a sentinel to bar Israel’s progress into the land.

As yet, though, he has no strategy for its conquest. He has divine assurance that God will most certainly give them “every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon … just as I promised to Moses” (Joshua 1:3) but no instructions as to how to defeat Jericho.

Their position will be extremely vulnerable—an enemy in front of them and a river in full flood behind them.

In the absence of any direct divine instruction, Joshua is doing the responsible thing in sending out his scouts.

The spies go into the land and enter the house of Rahab the harlot, or prostitute

Some translations use the word innkeeper on the Rabbi’s insistence she be held in reverence

The Hebrew word translated “harlot” can also mean “one who keeps an inn.”

If all we had was the Old Testament text, we could absolve Rahab of immorality and call her the “proprietress of an inn.”

But there is no escape, for in James 2:25 and Hebrews 11:31, the writers use the Greek word that definitely means “a prostitute.”

This is one of the great salvation stories of the Old Testament.

A pagan woman caught up in one of the oldest sins turning her life over to God

It also shows that God can use anyone

1 Cor 1:27-29 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

vs. 2-5 The King heard that Rahab was holding spies and ordered her to bring them out

Rahab does something that has raised an ethical firestorm

She lies about the spies to protect them

She had hidden the spies, and then tells the king she didn’t know where they were from or where they went

Some scholars insist that any type of lying is wrong

Some defend her as still being pagan and prone to the behaviors of a pagan

Others say that lying is necessary when it is done to protect the lives of innocent people

I tend to fall into the last category

She had to lie and it was okay

vs. 6-7 She brought them up to the roof and hid them among the stalks of flax

Meanwhile the men of Jericho pursued them on the way to Jordan

You see the hand of God all over this

II. Rahab’s Confession of Faith vs. 8-14

Before the spies lay down to sleep on the roof Rahab opens her heart

vs. 9 I know that the Lord has given you the land

Everybody’s heart is melting because they have heard how God dried up the Red Sea and that you defeated two kings of the Amorites

Deut 2:25 This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

This is essentially a confession of faith by Rahab

Vs. 11 for the Lord your God, He is God in the Heavens

Sometimes people hear the Gospel and repent

Other times people see God’s power and recognize His diety

Heb 11:31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

vs. 12 Please swear to me that as I have dealt kindly with you, deal kindly with my father’s house

She is now asking for a favor in kind

I’ve saved your lives, now save my family

Notice she doesn’t ask for herself?

Some may consider that common language or even assumed language

I think she didn’t know what was going to happen to her since she was a prostitute and had lied to the king

She wanted to make sure her parents and family were taken care of

vs. 14 Our life for yours even to death!

The spies were quick to assure her of their safety as long as she didn’t tell anyone their business

Notice the confidence in the spies

They could assure her safety because they were trusted soldiers of Joshua

We will deal kindly and faithfully with you

vs. 14b “When the Lord gives us the land”

Marked difference from the first spies

III. The Scarlet Cord vs. 15-24

Now we get to a section rich in symbolism, the scarlet cord

She let them down through a widow because her house was built into the wall

She told them to go into the hills and hide for 3 days and then return

Before they left the told her to hang a scarlet cord in her window and have all of her family in her house and they would be saved

This scarlet rope would identify the “house of safety” to the army of Israel when they came to take the city.

The color of the rope is significant for it reminds us of blood.

Just as the blood on the doorposts in Egypt marked a house that the angel of death was to pass over (Ex. 12:1–13), so the scarlet rope marked a house on the Jericho wall whose occupants the Jewish soldiers were to protect.

This scarlet cord was a covenant between them

Rahab let the men down from the window with that rope and kept it in the window from that hour.

This was the “sure sign” of the covenant that she had asked for

A covenant is simply an agreement, a contract between two or more parties, with certain conditions laid down for all parties to obey.

You find a number of divine covenants recorded in Scripture: God’s covenant with our first parents in Eden (Gen. 2:16); God’s covenants with Noah (Gen. 9), Abraham (12:1–3; 15:1–20), and Israel (Ex. 19–20); the covenant concerning the land of Palestine, as explained in Deuteronomy; the messianic covenant with David (2 Sam. 7); and the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ (Jer. 31:31; Matt. 26:28; Heb. 12:24).

You also find human covenants, such as the agreement between David and Jonathan (1 Sam. 18:3; 20:16) and between David and the people of Israel (2 Sam. 5:1–5)

Before the two spies left Rahab’s house, they reaffirmed their covenant with her.

Since the men didn’t know God’s plan for taking the city, they couldn’t give Rahab any detailed instructions.

It’s important to note that Rahab and her family were saved by faith in the God of Israel and not by faith in the rope hanging out the window.

The fact that she hung the rope from the window was proof that she had faith, just as the blood of the slain lamb put on the doorposts in Egypt proved that the Jews believed God’s Word.

Faith in the living God means salvation, and faith in His covenant gives assurance; but faith in the token of the covenant is religious superstition and can give neither salvation nor assurance.

Many people today depend for their salvation on their baptism or their participation in the Lord’s Table (the Eucharist, Communion); but this kind of faith is vain.

Rahab was a woman of great courage.

She had to tell all her relatives about the coming judgment and the promise of salvation, and this was a dangerous thing to do.

Suppose one of those relatives told the king what was going on.

She also had to give a reason for the scarlet line hanging out her window.