Pastor Nate continues our study through the Bible in the book of Joshua.
[00:00:00] You are listening to the Through the Bible Studio Series with Pastor Nate Holdridge.
[00:00:13] Join us as we continue our study through the Old Testament book of Joshua.
[00:00:18] Here's Nate.
[00:00:22] Well, after Joshua had received the commissioning from God at the beginning of the Book of Joshua,
[00:00:30] God's exhortations and encouragements to Joshua in Joshua chapter 1 telling him that he
[00:00:37] would be with Joshua, that Joshua need not fear but that he must instead be strong and
[00:00:43] courageous.
[00:00:45] We also saw in chapter 1 that then Joshua began to lead the military commanders and not
[00:00:52] only lead the commanders, but he began to instruct the Transjordanian tribes telling
[00:00:59] them that they needed to send their troops into the Promised Land to go beyond the
[00:01:04] Jordan River and fight and battle with the people of Israel.
[00:01:10] Now before they would actually cross the Jordan River, they would actually spy out the land
[00:01:16] and specifically the city of Jericho.
[00:01:21] Here's what we have in Joshua chapter 2 verse 1.
[00:01:25] In Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shateem as spies saying, Go view the
[00:01:33] land, especially Jericho.
[00:01:36] And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged
[00:01:43] there.
[00:01:44] So Joshua here takes two men and sends them out as spies to go into Jericho.
[00:01:53] Here we have the mention of the secrecy of this mission.
[00:01:58] So Joshua takes these two men secretly from the rest of the congregation.
[00:02:03] Obviously this would be a secret to Jericho but this was also a secret to the nation
[00:02:09] of Israel it appears.
[00:02:11] Perhaps what Joshua was concerned about was what had happened 40 years earlier in
[00:02:18] Numbers 13 and 14, a negative report going out that demoralized the people when he
[00:02:24] was one of the 12 spies.
[00:02:26] So here Joshua is saying, Look God is going to give us the land.
[00:02:33] I believe he's going to give us the land but I need a little bit of intelligence here
[00:02:37] about this first city that we are going to come against and so he secretly from the
[00:02:43] nation of Israel sends out these two spies.
[00:02:47] Now of course with Joshua just contextually it seems obvious this was not an act of
[00:02:53] unbelief.
[00:02:54] This man believed the Lord.
[00:02:56] He trusted the Lord.
[00:02:57] He was one of the two spies who said the Lord has given us this land.
[00:03:01] We will surely succeed.
[00:03:04] However that in the mind of Joshua did not negate the fact that there is such a thing
[00:03:10] as human responsibility.
[00:03:12] He believed in God's divine aid for the nation of Israel but he also believed
[00:03:18] that it was mere prudence to go and see what was happening there in Jericho in order
[00:03:23] to eventually formulate a battle plan.
[00:03:27] And so they left a little city called Chateaume seven miles east of the Jordan
[00:03:34] River and probably went north and swam across the flooded Jordan River at that
[00:03:40] time it would be a flooded river and then turned south and approached Jericho
[00:03:46] from the west and pretty soon we're just moving along the streets mingling
[00:03:51] with the people.
[00:03:53] And we have the shocking line there in verse one that they came into the house
[00:03:57] of a prostitute.
[00:04:00] This was definitely a divine appointment.
[00:04:03] Now it was told in verse two to the king of Jericho, behold men of Israel have
[00:04:08] come here tonight to search out the land.
[00:04:12] Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab saying bring out the men who
[00:04:16] have come to you who entered your house for they have come to
[00:04:20] search out all the land.
[00:04:23] Now what we're going to learn in a moment is that everyone in Jericho was on
[00:04:28] high alert.
[00:04:29] Rahab is going to tell that to the spies.
[00:04:32] So even though they came in secretly and even though they had a cover,
[00:04:36] there were those who saw them and observed them and they had seen
[00:04:41] where they'd gone.
[00:04:42] So the king goes to Rahab, sends to her and says bring them out to you.
[00:04:48] Now this was actually in keeping with Eastern manners at the time,
[00:04:52] which would not permit a man to enter into a woman's house without
[00:04:56] permission.
[00:04:57] And so he goes to this prostitute in their town and says, hey, I know that
[00:05:01] the men came in to you there in the home.
[00:05:05] Please deliver them to me.
[00:05:07] Do your patriotic duty and turn these spies in.
[00:05:12] But the woman, here's where we have a turn in the story in verse four.
[00:05:18] The woman had taken the two men and hidden them.
[00:05:21] And she said, true, the men came to me, but I do not know where they are from.
[00:05:27] And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out.
[00:05:32] I do not know where the men went.
[00:05:35] Pursue them quickly for you will overtake them.
[00:05:39] But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the
[00:05:42] stocks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.
[00:05:46] So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the
[00:05:50] Fords and the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.
[00:05:58] Here we see God interacting and moving upon Rahab, the prostitute.
[00:06:06] And she becomes a woman of great faith at this particular moment in her life.
[00:06:13] This is really God's grace in a powerful way.
[00:06:16] There are plenty of people who try to take the term for Rahab.
[00:06:20] She's called a prostitute.
[00:06:22] Some try to translate it as innkeeper to sort of clean it up a little bit.
[00:06:26] But the New Testament refers to her as a prostitute as well.
[00:06:30] It's very clear what her profession was.
[00:06:32] This woman had a shameful position, a shameful role.
[00:06:37] But here in this act of hiding the spies, covering for the spies,
[00:06:42] deceiving the leadership in Jericho, she through this act of faith
[00:06:48] enters into the covenant promises of Israel.
[00:06:52] She becomes one of God's people.
[00:06:55] She would eventually marry a man named Salmon, who was the son of a great prince in Judah.
[00:07:01] She'd have a son named Boaz and Boaz would marry Ruth.
[00:07:06] And they would have Boaz and Ruth.
[00:07:07] Obed and Obed would be the father of Jesse, who fathered David,
[00:07:12] from whom of course Jesus Christ had come.
[00:07:15] And so this woman, Rahab, is actually going to enter into the lineage of Jesus Christ.
[00:07:24] It's just beautiful here to see the great faith of this woman,
[00:07:28] but the grace of God first in seeing him selecting and dealing with
[00:07:33] and extending his mercy in his grace to this woman who was stuck in prostitution.
[00:07:40] So just absolute grace from God.
[00:07:43] Jesus said to the religious leaders,
[00:07:46] those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
[00:07:51] I came not to call the righteous, but I came to call the sinners.
[00:07:57] So this is just simply the incredible grace of God in working in Rahab's life.
[00:08:04] Now we learned that it was great faith that Rahab demonstrated at this moment.
[00:08:09] It tells us in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 31 that by faith,
[00:08:13] Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient
[00:08:18] because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
[00:08:23] So just a beautiful thing here, Rahab as she covers for these men.
[00:08:28] Now obviously she's being deceptive.
[00:08:31] This is an important strategy in warfare.
[00:08:35] And here she's siding with Israel instead of her own people.
[00:08:39] There are some who try to build a case that it was Rahab's faith that was commended,
[00:08:44] but that her lie was only recorded but not approved.
[00:08:47] I have a hard time with that kind of concept or that kind of idea.
[00:08:51] I think that God in this moment of war, of judging this nation,
[00:08:57] I believe that what she did in hiding them and lying to cover for them
[00:09:01] was more than acceptable in the sight of God.
[00:09:05] So after the gate was shut, there they are in a predicament.
[00:09:09] They're stuck inside the city for the night.
[00:09:13] So it says in verse eight,
[00:09:15] Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men,
[00:09:20] I know that the Lord has given you the land,
[00:09:23] and that the fear of you has fallen upon us,
[00:09:25] and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
[00:09:29] For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you
[00:09:33] when you came out of Egypt,
[00:09:35] and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan
[00:09:39] to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.
[00:09:44] And as soon as we heard it our hearts melted
[00:09:46] and there was no spirit left in any man because of you,
[00:09:49] for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.
[00:09:56] Now there are a few powerful things happening in Rahab's speech to these men.
[00:10:02] First of all, she gives a report that is absolutely remarkable.
[00:10:08] She tells them, look we know or I know that the Lord has given you the land.
[00:10:13] The fear of you has fallen on us.
[00:10:17] And she recounts to them Israel's history and God's plans for Israel's future.
[00:10:23] She talked about the takeover of the land as if it were an accomplished fact.
[00:10:29] So she hears, she's telling them we've heard of what God did for you
[00:10:35] across the Jordan River before you came here to us,
[00:10:38] how you defeated Sihon and Og and the kings of the Amorites.
[00:10:44] God has been faithful to you.
[00:10:46] It's remarkable that she gives this report.
[00:10:50] She's very conscious of what has happened in Israel.
[00:10:53] She's very conscious of the victories that God has given to the people of Israel,
[00:10:59] the drying up of the water of the Red Sea, the Sihon and Og.
[00:11:04] They've heard now of the victories that God has given.
[00:11:08] So what we're seeing here is a people who are resistant
[00:11:12] to the clear and obvious plan of God.
[00:11:15] There could have been a surrender, there could have been a joining,
[00:11:19] there could have been a repenting of their sin.
[00:11:22] But still there's this turning from the clear revelation that God has given.
[00:11:29] And she announces to them also in addition that the fear of you has fallen upon us.
[00:11:36] And in verse 11 she says, and our hearts melted.
[00:11:41] Now this is interesting because God had promised this very thing.
[00:11:45] In Exodus 15 verse 16 he told Moses that the terror and dread
[00:11:51] would fall upon the people of Israel, would fall upon the people in the land of Canaan
[00:11:58] because of the greatness of God's work through the people of Israel.
[00:12:03] He said they would be as still as stone till your people, O Lord, pass by,
[00:12:08] till the people pass by whom you have purchased.
[00:12:11] So again, the promise of God working powerfully in the lives of the people of Israel.
[00:12:17] Basically you're seeing that morale has been crushed among the Canaanites
[00:12:21] because of Israel's previous victories.
[00:12:25] And of course as believers we are running in a previous victory
[00:12:28] that Christ has given to us.
[00:12:30] And that victory should dismay Satan and the world.
[00:12:33] And those victories should or that victory should encourage us
[00:12:38] to remember all that the Lord has done for us, His great faithfulness in our lives.
[00:12:42] The way He's been effective towards us and blessed us and watched over us.
[00:12:48] But the Lord here going before the nation of Israel is a powerful thing.
[00:12:53] And this would have been a confirming word that the two spies heard.
[00:12:57] We know that this has been, she said, devoted to destruction.
[00:13:03] You are coming, the fear of God is now upon us.
[00:13:09] Now in verse 10 when she says that they had devoted Sihon and Og to destruction.
[00:13:16] The word there apparently has a little bit of a religious motive attached to it.
[00:13:21] Rather than just a regular war,
[00:13:24] there seems to be a religious and spiritual side to that.
[00:13:29] To be devoted to destruction.
[00:13:32] It speaks of devoting them to a God, devoting them in ancient practices to a deity.
[00:13:40] But here of course they had devoted them to destruction for their God, the God of Israel,
[00:13:46] the God of the universe.
[00:13:48] And so Rahab is giving them an insight into the mood and the feeling
[00:13:53] and the attitude of the nation, the Canaanite people and the city there in Jericho.
[00:14:00] Now then she says in verse 12,
[00:14:02] Please swear to me by the Lord that as I have dealt kindly with you,
[00:14:08] you also will deal kindly with my father's house and give me a sure sign
[00:14:14] that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters
[00:14:18] and all who belong to them and deliver our lives from death.
[00:14:22] So she seeks to make a deal with the spies.
[00:14:25] As she says to them, I've dealt very kindly with you.
[00:14:29] This is a very significant Old Testament word.
[00:14:32] It's a kind of love that speaks of a loyal love, a devotion or affection
[00:14:38] that is steadfast, an agreement, a promise, a covenant.
[00:14:43] So she's looking for a covenant.
[00:14:45] I'm making a covenant with you.
[00:14:47] I've dealt kindly with you.
[00:14:48] I've made an agreement with you.
[00:14:51] Will you also make a covenant with me is what she's saying.
[00:14:56] And what she's asking for is that her and her family, her father,
[00:15:01] her mother, her brothers and sisters, all who belong to them,
[00:15:05] their children, that they would be kept safe,
[00:15:08] that they would have their lives delivered from death.
[00:15:11] And the men, verse 14 said to her,
[00:15:13] Our life for yours even to death.
[00:15:17] If you do not tell this business of ours,
[00:15:21] then when the Lord gives us the land,
[00:15:23] we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.
[00:15:28] So they have an agreement, and the agreement is very simple.
[00:15:33] Yes, we will spare your life and the life of your family,
[00:15:38] your close ones to you.
[00:15:40] If none of you tell this business of ours,
[00:15:44] in other words, you have to all keep quiet about this.
[00:15:47] And if so, then we will deal kindly.
[00:15:50] We will make a covenant with, we will be faithful to you.
[00:15:54] Then verse 15, after making this deal with them,
[00:15:57] she let them down by a rope through the window,
[00:16:00] for her house was built into the city wall,
[00:16:03] so that she lived in the wall.
[00:16:06] And she said to them, go into the hills
[00:16:08] or the pursuers will encounter you
[00:16:11] and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned.
[00:16:15] Then afterward you may go your way.
[00:16:20] Probably what was happening here is that Rahab's home
[00:16:25] was actually built on top of the city wall.
[00:16:29] It may have been that there were two walls in Jericho
[00:16:33] about 15 feet apart and that planks of wood
[00:16:36] would span the gap and then houses
[00:16:38] built upon that foundation.
[00:16:40] You know, it wasn't a very large city,
[00:16:43] so there would be pressure for space.
[00:16:46] So a woman like Rahab would live on the wall
[00:16:51] and so she lets them down by a rope through a window
[00:16:54] and as she lets them down, they're able to be
[00:16:56] on the outside of the outer city wall.
[00:17:01] And here what we have is Rahab expressing her faith.
[00:17:06] James said in James 2 verse 25,
[00:17:09] he said in the same way was not also Rahab
[00:17:12] a prostitute justified by works
[00:17:15] when she received the messengers
[00:17:16] and sent them out by another way.
[00:17:18] It's interesting because the New Testament writers
[00:17:22] speak of Rahab as both a woman of faith
[00:17:26] but also a woman of work.
[00:17:28] She was justified by her faith
[00:17:31] but she was also justified by her works
[00:17:34] in the sense that her works demonstrated
[00:17:37] that her faith was a real justifying kind of faith.
[00:17:42] Therefore she was justified by her works.
[00:17:45] So Rahab had faith in God
[00:17:48] which meant that Rahab also would work for God.
[00:17:52] She would actually lay down her life
[00:17:54] and in obedience to the Lord.
[00:17:56] She just didn't say, well I believe
[00:17:58] that the city is going to be taken out
[00:18:00] by the Israelites but I'm not willing
[00:18:02] to put myself out there.
[00:18:04] I'm not willing to risk myself.
[00:18:06] No, she risked her own life trusting
[00:18:10] in the kingdom that was to come
[00:18:12] rather than the kingdom that she had existed in
[00:18:15] at the moment.
[00:18:16] And the men said to her in verse 17,
[00:18:18] we will be guiltless with respect
[00:18:20] to this oath of yours that you have made us swear.
[00:18:23] Behold when we come into the land
[00:18:25] you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window
[00:18:29] through which you let us down
[00:18:30] and you shall gather into your house
[00:18:33] your father and mother, your brothers
[00:18:35] and all your father's household.
[00:18:36] Then if anyone goes out of the doors
[00:18:39] of your house into the street
[00:18:41] his blood shall be on his own head
[00:18:43] and we shall be guiltless.
[00:18:45] But if a hand is laid on anyone
[00:18:47] who is with you in the house
[00:18:49] his blood shall be on our head.
[00:18:51] But if you tell this business of ours
[00:18:53] then we shall be guiltless with respect
[00:18:56] to your oath that you have made us swear.
[00:18:59] And she said according to your words,
[00:19:01] so be it.
[00:19:02] Then she sent them away and they departed
[00:19:04] and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
[00:19:08] So the men in escaping they make a deal with Rahab.
[00:19:12] They say, okay, you are going to be silent
[00:19:15] and refuse to tell anyone our position
[00:19:19] where we've gone that we've come.
[00:19:21] And when we come to attack this city
[00:19:25] you must bring them into your home
[00:19:29] and tie this scarlet cord in the window.
[00:19:32] From our position we'll be able to identify your house.
[00:19:37] Now probably these men were anticipating
[00:19:40] you know a classic battle, a house to house battle.
[00:19:43] And so they would say to their armies,
[00:19:47] listen, spare the house with the scarlet cord
[00:19:51] that is hanging in it.
[00:19:53] Now of course this scarlet cord was a token
[00:19:56] of the covenant that they had made with Rahab.
[00:20:01] She had said deal kindly with me.
[00:20:03] She said, they said we will deal kindly with you.
[00:20:06] And this was a token of the fact
[00:20:09] that they had dealt kindly with her,
[00:20:11] that they were in a covenant with her.
[00:20:14] Much like God's circumcision for Abraham
[00:20:19] and his offspring or the sprinkling of blood
[00:20:22] that God commanded once under the law
[00:20:24] or the rainbow for Noah or the bread and the cup
[00:20:28] for the new covenant.
[00:20:30] Rahab had this scarlet cord as a symbol of the covenant
[00:20:34] that she had entered into with the people of Israel.
[00:20:38] Now as Christians we love the fact
[00:20:40] that it is a blood colored scarlet cord
[00:20:44] that reminds us of the blood of Jesus.
[00:20:47] Perhaps it would remind them
[00:20:49] of the blood of the Passover lamb.
[00:20:51] What house will be spared?
[00:20:54] The one with the scarlet upon it,
[00:20:57] the one with the blood colored material hanging from it.
[00:21:02] It wasn't that long ago in Israel's history
[00:21:05] that the blood, the scarlet colored blood
[00:21:10] of the Passover lamb being placed upon the door posts
[00:21:13] of the home would spare them from the angel of death.
[00:21:19] So perhaps there's a reminder here
[00:21:21] of the blood of Jesus that protects us, that guards us.
[00:21:26] So her faith saved her, not this cord,
[00:21:29] but she put the cord out because of her faith in the Lord.
[00:21:34] So Rahab is such an incredible study,
[00:21:36] such a beautiful woman
[00:21:39] and really a story of God's grace
[00:21:40] and God's redemption in a person's life.
[00:21:42] You have a woman who at the beginning of the story
[00:21:45] she's a prostitute and as you follow her out
[00:21:48] through the various clues throughout the old
[00:21:50] and new Testament it's clear that she becomes a woman
[00:21:53] who experienced full redemption.
[00:21:56] She had been stuck in prostitution
[00:21:59] but she experienced full redemption
[00:22:01] amongst the people of God.
[00:22:03] She had a marriage, she had offspring,
[00:22:07] she became one of God's children, one of God's people
[00:22:10] and it speaks to us of the grace of God,
[00:22:13] the possibility of redemption in our own lives
[00:22:16] and the way that the Lord can rescue us
[00:22:19] even from the worst practices
[00:22:21] and bring us into a place of health
[00:22:24] and growth and grace and redemption.
[00:22:27] Now after they departed verse 22
[00:22:30] and went into the hills
[00:22:31] and remained there three days until the pursuers returned
[00:22:35] and the pursuers searched all along the way
[00:22:38] and found nothing, then the two men returned.
[00:22:41] They came down from the hills
[00:22:42] and passed over and came to Joshua the son of none
[00:22:46] and they told him all that had happened to him
[00:22:49] and they said to Joshua,
[00:22:50] truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands
[00:22:54] and also all the inhabitants of the land
[00:22:57] melt away because of us.
[00:23:00] So the two spies upon leaving or departing
[00:23:04] from Rahab's house in the darkness
[00:23:07] they actually headed west
[00:23:09] and didn't go straight back to the camp in Israel
[00:23:12] but they hid out for a period of three days
[00:23:16] until the pursuers had actually returned
[00:23:19] of course empty handed
[00:23:21] and then after that under the cover of darkness
[00:23:23] they swim back across the Jordan River
[00:23:26] and they make their way back to camp
[00:23:28] and the important conclusion to this story
[00:23:31] is that they give a beautiful report to Joshua.
[00:23:34] They say, truly the Lord has given all the land
[00:23:40] into our hands
[00:23:41] and also the inhabitants of the land melt away
[00:23:45] because of us.
[00:23:47] This would be an incredible contrast
[00:23:50] to the spies that had returned 40 years earlier
[00:23:55] from their spying out of the promised land.
[00:23:59] You remember there of course that Joshua
[00:24:01] was one of the two that was filled with faith
[00:24:04] but the 10 spies at that time said things
[00:24:07] that filled the hearts of the people of Israel
[00:24:09] with unbelief in Numbers 13 verse 28.
[00:24:13] They said, the people who dwell in the land are strong
[00:24:16] and the cities are fortified and very large.
[00:24:20] In Numbers 13 verse 31 they said,
[00:24:23] they are stronger than we are.
[00:24:27] And in verse 33 they said, we are like grasshoppers
[00:24:31] and that is what we seem to be in their sight.
[00:24:36] So those 10 spies of course lacked faith
[00:24:40] but these two they come back to Joshua.
[00:24:43] Not saying like the spies before them,
[00:24:45] we're small, we're like grasshoppers in their sight.
[00:24:49] Not saying like the 10 spies,
[00:24:51] they are strong and the cities are fortified
[00:24:54] and very large.
[00:24:55] Not saying they are stronger than we are
[00:24:58] but instead they come back with faith.
[00:25:00] Faith very similar to Joshua and Caleb's faith.
[00:25:03] Faith that said truly God has given this to us
[00:25:07] and their hearts melt away because of our presence.
[00:25:13] This must have so beautifully encouraged the heart of Joshua
[00:25:18] for him to believe, for him to see,
[00:25:20] for him to know that God was for him and with him
[00:25:25] and to see the faith of these men,
[00:25:27] the belief of these men, the confidence of these men
[00:25:32] to hear these men not operate from a position of fear
[00:25:37] but to see them operate from a position of faith,
[00:25:40] to see these men willing to place their lives on the line
[00:25:44] and to actually do something for the kingdom of God.
[00:25:47] This must have been a great encouragement
[00:25:50] to the heart of Joshua and would to God
[00:25:53] that we would have more men and women operating
[00:25:56] from a place of faith like these two spies
[00:25:59] to come to a place of saying, you know, God is for us.
[00:26:03] It's so clear that he's gone before us.
[00:26:05] It's so clear that he's given us the victory
[00:26:08] of people who are willing to give the good report
[00:26:11] rather than the negative report.
[00:26:14] The people who are willing to speak the truth faithfully
[00:26:19] and have a confidence in God
[00:26:22] rather than to speak a lie fearfully
[00:26:26] and to lack a trust in God.
[00:26:30] And these two spies, of course,
[00:26:31] came back with full assurance, great conviction,
[00:26:35] great faith and this must have been such a blessing
[00:26:39] to Joshua and of course was a blessing
[00:26:42] to the nation of Israel because they did not come back
[00:26:45] and stumble them due to their fear
[00:26:48] but built them up due to their faith.
[00:26:52] God bless you and amen.
[00:26:58] Thank you for listening.
[00:27:00] For additional resources and teachings or to contact us,
[00:27:04] please visit us at NateHoldridge.com.