Background
Joshua is about to lead the Israelites to a conquest of the promised land. He intends to start with Jericho. He sends out two spies secretly to gather some intelligence. We do not know why Joshua decides to send spies. We can however remember that Joshua was himself part of the original twelve spies sent out by Moses. The outcome of that mission was a great rebellion that saw a large number of the Israelites lose their lives including ten of the twelve spies. Probably, Joshua wanted to be certain of some things!
The mission however turns out to be a rescue mission not for the spies but for their rescuer; Rahab. From Rahab, we see the journey to true salvation. This unlikely candidate becomes the object of the mission.
1.Faithless and Filthy
- She was a prostitute. Her profession reeked of sin and undesirability.
- She lived on the fringes of the city wall. Probably significant to her low status in life and that she was an outlaw.
- She entertained strangers. That her house was frequented by strangers was the reason the spies chose it as a hiding place.
- She was a liar. She lied to her own people to protect strangers from another tribe coming to invade her land.
2. Faithful Action
- Rahab begins to show that she is a different kind of woman by her decision to shelter the spies.
- She puts her own life at risk, not to mention her family, by accepting to hide the spies.
2. Faithful Confession
- Rahab confesses that she knows that God has delivered the land to the Israelites. The spies probably didn’t have as much faith in that statement as she had. She inspired faith in the spies.
- She asks that WHEN the land is delivered to the Israelites she and her family be remembered.
- She only begs for her life to be spared. Notice the word WHEN not IF. Her confession is an expression of her firm faith in the Lord.
Rahab moves from being faithless and filthy, she performs a Faithful act that leads her to a Faithful Confession. Rahab is a very good picture of ourselves. By God’s Grace, we can move from the faithless and filthy to the Faithful witnesses God is seeking.