Joshua Chapters 2 and 6
This study of Rahab is taken
from the book of Joshua, Chapters 2 and 6.
Rahab was a woman who demonstrated great faith, to the salvation of
herself and her family. In Joshua 2:1-2,
we have Joshua sending two spies into the walled city of Jericho, "to spy
secretly..to view the land, even Jericho" and they "came into an
harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there".
Someone must have
seen the men come into the city and enter Rahab's house, and they knew they
were of the "children of Israel"
and that they had come to search out all the country. V2 "and it
was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold there came men in hither tonight out of the children of Israel
to search out the country." We are not told whether or not the spies knew
Rahab was a harlot, but it was surely the divine intervention of God that they
came upon the house of a harlot, where it would not be unusual for men to
go. Nevertheless, the king of Jericho
sends word to Rahab V3 "bring forth
the men that are come to thee which are entered into thine house: for they be
come to search out all the country" But V4 "Rahab took the two men, and hid
them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they
were" and she further told them V5 "when it was dark that the men went
out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall
overtake them." But V6 Rahab
"had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the
stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof." And the king's men V7 "pursued after them
the way to Jordan...."
Before the spies had laid down V8 "she
came up unto them upon the roof"
and in Vs 9-11 Rahab gives the reasons for her actions. "I know that the
LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that
all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the
water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto
the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon an Og,
whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon
as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any
more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in
heaven above, and in earth beneath". Rahab knew and believed that the LORD
had given them the land, that the inhabitants were terribly afraid, and that
they had heard about the parting of the Red Sea, and what had befallen the
Amorites. Then she makes the great confession
of faith; "for the LORD your God,
he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath". Rahab, who is a Gentile, believes in God and
exhibits saving faith. As Galatians 3:28
says "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free,
there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus".
In return for hiding the spies Rahab asks V12-13 "therefore I pray you, swear unto
me by the LORD since I have shown you kindness, that ye will also show kindness
unto my father's house, and give me a true token: and that ye will save alive
my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they
have, and deliver our lives from death.".
This they promise, V14 "if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us
the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee." and then a most
marvelous thing: Joshua 2:15-19 She lets
them down by a cord and tells them to hide for three days. And this is a scarlet cord. V18 "Behold
when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the
window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and
thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto
thee". V19 "And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors
of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and
whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if
any hand be upon him." Is this not a type of the precious blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ? In the same way as the blood of the lamb on the side posts
and upper door post of the houses protected those inside when the LORD passed
through the land of Egypt and smote all the first born (Exodus 12: 12-13) The
spies tell Rahab to bind that same scarlet cord in the window so that when
Jericho falls, Rahab and her house will be saved, but only those who remained
in the house. In the same way, it is the precious shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
that redeems us from our sins. 1 Peter 1:18-19 "Forasmuch as ye know that
ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your
vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:"
And so Rahab agrees
V21 "according unto your words, so be it.
And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line
in the window." I wonder what the
people of the city thought when they saw the scarlet cord in Rahab's
window? For now Rahab and her family are
separated from the city, as believers, who have received the Lord Jesus Christ as our
Saviour, are separated from the world. 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 "Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye
shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty".
We next hear of Rahab
in Joshua 6 - after the miraculous fall of the walls of Jericho. What terror that must have struck in the
hearts of the people of that city. (Joshua 6:1-20). Before the city is utterly destroyed, Joshua
sends the two spies, whom Rahab had protected, to go to her house and bring out
Rahab, her father, mother, brethren, and all that she had, and they brought
them out. Joshua 6:22-23 "..Joshua had said unto the two men that had
spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the
woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and
brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all
that she had;......" And the last we read of Rahab in the book of Joshua
is V25 "And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's
household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day;
because she hid the messengers which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.".
But the greater truth
is that God saved Rahab because she believed in the God of heaven and
earth. Is this not a lesson?
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved...".Acts
16:31.
In the story of
Rahab, she is referred to as a harlot a number of times. Now why does the Lord bring out that
fact? Numbers 32:23 says "......be
sure your sin will find you out".
In God's eyes, being a harlot is a sin, and even though Rahab was
greatly blessed by God, she is first known as Rahab the harlot. How will we be
remembered?. What name will we be known
as? The mercy of God is shown in the fact that any sinner, no matter their
sin, who only believes the gospel, and receives the Lord Jesus Christ as their
Saviour, will be saved. 1 Corinthians 6:
9-11 "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of
God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous,
nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of
God. And such were some of you: but ye
are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
Rahab was greatly blessed in that she is named in the genealogy of the
Lord Jesus Christ, (Matthew 1:5) and
there she is know simply as Rachab, the mother of Boaz who married Ruth. And a lesson for us. What blessings will the Lord bestow upon us when
we will only believe and obey?
vcg/July 2015
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