Next: The Unexpected

Introduction

God works through unexpected people in expected ways with God-glorifying results. In the Star Wars movie, the Empire Strikes Back, the Rebel Alliance flees from the Galactic Empire after they destroyed the powerful Death Star at the tail end of the previous movie. As he flees, Luke Skywalker flies to the planet, Dagobah, trains to become a Jedi Knight. Luke then abandons his training to save his friends from Vader. As he races to save his friends, he ends up in battle with Vader. In a classic fight scene between the two, Vader says, “Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father." Luke says, "He told me enough! He told me you killed him!" And then the famous line of Darth Vader, "No, I am your father." Most of us know it today, but in 1980, it was a twist few people saw coming. Surprise endings and plot twists are a great part of every movie. It’s even better when God is the one behind the surprise. Such as in the Old Testament book of Jonah, everything seems to have a twist on what we expect. The people who should be the good guys turn out to be the whiners. Meanwhile the bad guys turn out to be the ones who believe in God.

Today is part three in our series in the book of Joshua. The book of Joshua is a book of triumph. It’s a book of moving forward as God’s People look to what is next for them. They just spent the last 40 years wandering in the Wilderness, and then sitting just outside of the Promised Land. Joshua is a story of transition. A geographical transition from the Wilderness into the Promised Land. A leadership transition as Moses has died and now God has appointed their new leader, Joshua. There’s a transition from being a wandering people to a people with a land of their own, at least, for a while. As we look at what God has next for the Israelites and for Joshua, we look at what God has next for us. What he has next for us both individually and corporately. Similarly, in this passage of Joshua, God works in ways unexpected through people we wouldn’t expect, all for God’s glory and for the good of those who trust in God.

Chapter 1 was all about the transition from Moses to Joshua. We saw the constant refrain of, be strong and courageous. Then as we move into chapter 2, Joshua decides to try something that has been tried before. When the Israelites were originally at the edge of the Promised Land, they had sent twelve spies into the land, and it ended poorly for all but two of them. Now, many years later, Joshua tries it again. And as he does, the hero of the story becomes someone we’d never expect. As God works in a way that we’d never suspect. How do we see God’s hand? We see God’s hand through two plot twists and one great ending.

God supports his People in unexpected ways.

In the interest of keeping the scripture relatively manageable, we only read Rahab's monologue to the spies. But there’s a lot more going on here. Verse 1 says, “And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.” So Joshua is sending in spies to scout out the city. Instead of going to the city center, which might broadcast that they were there, they go to a place that’s easier to hide or simply blend in with the other people who are trying to keep a low profile. In other words, they go to the red light district. Their attempts to hide out as they spy causes them to encounter Rahab. She quickly hides them on the roof of her house stalks of flax. The king of Jericho though learns that the spies are in the city, so he sends men to catch the spies. When they confront Rahab in verses 4-5, she says, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” In other words, “they went that-a way,” as they were hiding up on her roof. And off the men go, “chasing” after the spies. After the pursuers leave, verses 15-16 tell us that “she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. And she said to them, ‘Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.” We hear the final result of all this in verse 22 where the narrator tells us, “They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing.” God protected and supported these two in a most unexpected way, using a prostitute, a seed plant, and a home that “just happened” to be in the wall of the city.

It’s similar to a story from the Autobiography of George Mueller. Mueller operated an orphanage that at one time had 1,000 orphans. One morning there was no food to eat, but he called all the children and staff together and prayed thanking God for the provision of food, even though no food was on the table. A few moments later a baker knocked on the door. He told Mr. Muller that God had led him to bake bread the night before and give it to the orphanage. Before the bread was given to the children, a milkman knocked on the door. He said that his milk truck had broken down and he wanted to give the milk to the orphanage. Plot twist.

God works in ways we do not expect and may not understand. And yet, in Mark 10:51, Jesus walks up to the blind man, Bartimaeus, and asks “what do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” Jesus asked him, even though he could probably guess that the thing he wanted was, sight. God provides for his children, but does not do it unwisely or simply because we ask. In Joshua 2, God works for the protection and success of the spies because they were a part of a work that he had started several books earlier, back in the book of Exodus. This was God liberating his people from slavery and delivering them to the Promised Land. The provision of God did parallels the mission of God. God’s hand moves in unexpected ways for an divine purposes. The first plot twist is that God protects the spies in the most unlikely way.

God works through unexpected people.

We should take a timeout quickly though. A quick pause to look closer at the people involved. Who are the two from Israel in this story? Well, the two spies. Meanwhile, who is the hero of the story? Rahab. Did you notice the difference here? Rahab is a Canaanite. Aka, the enemy. Rahab was also a prostitute. This isn’t exactly the resume of someone we’d look to as a hero. Yet God did. Her name is remember while the names of the two spies are left out. Rahab declares faith in God when she says, starting in verse 9, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” Rahab is declaring her faith, despite her marginalized status. Or, could it be because of it? Matthew 1 gives us the genealogy of Christ. Verses 5-6 tell us, “Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.” Rahab was King David’s great-great grandmother. Extend it further, and Rahab, the Canaanite, the Prostitute, the surprising hero of the story is in the lineage of Jesus Christ.

In the film based on a true story, Schindler’s List, German businessman Oskar Schindler decided to use Jews in his machine factory during World War II. Jews were cheap labor for Schindler and would gain him a better profit. However, since these Jews were used for labor they would not be sent off to the concentration camps to die. Over the course of the film, Schindler develops a relationship with these Jews and uses his wealth and influence to save their lives. A shrewd, wealthy, and powerful German businessman, who was also a member of the Nazi party, saved the lives of hundreds of Jews. The least likely person was used to change the course of history. It’s often not the people that you would expect. The second plot twist is that God cares for and protects the spies through a person we’d never expect. The question for us is, who is someone in our life that we overlook or fail to value?

God’s blessing to us glorifies him.

The last time that Israel tried to send in spies, the important part turned out to be not so much the mission itself, but the report of the spies afterward. When we get to the report here, once again we see… Verse 24 says, “and they said to Joshua, ‘Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.” When we hear this, it feels like deja vu. As though we had heard it before, because we had. Rahab starts out in verse 9, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.” What Rahab says to the spies becomes their report to Joshua. And then, God works through Joshua and the Israelites in a most unusual way for victory over Jericho. But that’s a story for the future. The point is, Rahab and the spies coordinated to fulfill the plans of God. In so doing, they assisted in the Israelites entering the Promised Land. The land that was set aside for them. The fulfillment of God’s promise for a land of their own is in front of them, and he is glorified, he is honored when his people do his work for his mission.

The famous preacher of the Second Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards writes, “God in seeking his glory seeks the good of his creatures, because the emanation of his glory ... implies the ... happiness of his creatures. And in communicating his fullness for them, he does it for himself, because their good, which he seeks, is so much in union and communion with himself. God is their good. Their excellency and happiness is nothing but the emanation and expression of God's glory. God, in seeking their glory and happiness, seeks himself, and in seeking himself... he seeks their glory and happiness. Thus it is easy to conceive how God should seek the good of the creature ... even his happiness, from a supreme regard to himself; as his happiness arises from ... the creature's exercising a supreme regard to God ... in beholding God's glory, in esteeming and loving it, and rejoicing in it. God's respect to the creature's good, and his respect to himself, is not a divided respect; but both are united in one, as the happiness of the creature aimed at is happiness in union with himself.”

The Lord had given the land to the Israelites. Meanwhile, the Israelites were following God’s direction to enter that land. Thus, Gods provided a land and blessing for his people, and his people glorified him by following him. It’s a plot twist for our own lives in the sense that when we live for God, we benefit.

Conclusion

*Show picture* A month ago, the majority of us didn’t know this man in the center. Today, any one who has watched the slightest bit of news knows who he is. Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine. It has been fascinating to watch him the past few days as he leads his people through this crisis, even as Russia wants to hunt him down as they try to eliminate the Ukrainian government. As I watched him, I prayed for him and Ukraine, of course. And then, I asked myself, what is there to learn here?

Zelensky has stayed in Kyiv knowing that he is target #1 on the hit list of Russia. Last night, Zelensky posted a video with his closest advisors saying that he is in Kyiv. He has become the face of their fight against Russia. He has set aside his own personal protection and put his life in danger for the good of his country. Christ calls us to set aside living for ourselves to live for him. And as we do this, he works in ways and through people that we never would expect. And as we do this, we experience the life that he offers to us. Therefore, as look toward what next, let us believe in him as Rahab did, let us embrace the mysterious ways that God is at work, and let us embrace those who are different than us, such as Rahab.