Slices
Prepare
God wants to use you to help bring in his kingdom. How do you feel about this?
Bible passage
Rahab and the spies
2 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.
2 The king of Jericho was told, ‘Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.’ 3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: ‘Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.’
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, ‘Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.’ 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, ‘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 sank and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
12 ‘Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them – and that you will save us from death.’
14 ‘Our lives for your lives!’ the men assured her. ‘If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.’
15 So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. 16 She said to them, ‘Go to the hills so that the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there for three days until they return, and then go on your way.’
Explore
Joshua’s excellent leadership is demonstrated by his careful reconnaissance before leading the people across the river (v 1). His spies obeyed orders and went to Jericho where they stayed with Rahab, a local prostitute. Her house was probably a hostelry on the main way in and out of Jericho.
When Jericho’s king heard about this, he ordered Rahab to surrender them (v 3). Rahab lied, saying that the spies had left before the city gate was locked for the night. The king’s men believed Rahab and chased after the spies (v 7). Why Rahab lied becomes clear in verses 9–11. How would you summarise her reasons? Having declared her faith and trust in the Lord (v 11), she asked the spies to guarantee her family’s safety when the invasion happened (v 13). The spies made this guarantee (v 14). Rahab then did two more things to ensure the spies’ escape (vs 15,16).
God was at work in Rahab’s life. He used her to save the two spies. As a prostitute she was not an obvious choice, yet she played an important role in the history of the Jewish people. She is even included in Jesus’ genealogy (Matthew 1:5). How does this encourage you in your walk with God?
Respond
Thank the Lord for saving and rescuing you. Ask him to show you how he wants to use you to help save and rescue others.
Deeper Bible study
Jesus said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’1
Joshua must have looked back some forty years to spying with Caleb2 as he sent out his own spies. Joshua is not being speculative here but is planning for the possession of the given land (v 14). Clearly, God has gone before them. The citizens of Jericho have heard the stories of God, and the vast encampment across the river has had a devastating effect on them. Rahab attests to an almighty God, who uses her: a most unlikely character. Perhaps this troubles our perception of God – or perhaps it enables us to hope! For here is Rahab who in so many ways did not fit the ideal. A Canaanite, a woman (culturally outcast), a liar and a prostitute: in so many ways she was unclean and unacceptable, but we see the hand of the Lord upon her situation. She knows the battle is won, that the Israelites will take the land, and she decides that this is the side she must take.
As one who has experienced grace for my own deprived past, I rejoice in the eternal hope that God can make the most unacceptable person acceptable and that his ways are not our ways. From King David to the disciples, we consistently see God’s hand upon those we probably would not have chosen. In Rahab we see God’s provision for her and her family, but we can also look forward to the ongoing blessing in and through her changed life. She is one of just four women mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy,3 commended for faith and good works4 and mother to Boaz. Questioning God’s methods or his anointing is to elevate our own position, something Jesus constantly warned about,5 for the lowest will inherit the kingdom.6
‘My chains fell off, my heart was free, / I rose, went forth, and followed thee.’7 Thank God for his salvation, which saves and uses us, despite our rebellion.
1 Mark 8:34 2 Num 13 3 Matt 1:5 4 Heb 11:31; James 2:25 5 Matt 19:30; 20:16 6 James 2:5 7 Charles Wesley, ‘And can it be’, 1738
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Exodus 23,24; Acts 26
Pray for Scripture Union
SU in Finland are publishing a new website that will contain a wide variety of materials for use in youth work. Please pray for a warm welcome and wide uptake of this free tool, so that God’s Word will become better known among young people in Finland.
