617 - Rahab Protects the Spies

Rahab Protects the Spies


Joshua secretly sent out two spies, from the Israelite camp, at Acacia Grove. 


He instructed them, 


“Scout out the land, on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” 


So, the two men set out …and came to the house of a prostitute, named Rahab …and stayed there that night. 


But, someone told the king of Jericho, 


“Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 


So, the king, of Jericho, sent orders to Rahab: 


“Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.” 


Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, 


“Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know …where they were from. 


They left the town, at dusk, as the gates were about to close. 


I don’t know where they went. 


If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” 


(Actually, she had taken them up to the roof …and hidden them beneath bundles of flax, that she had laid out.) 


So, the king’s men went looking for the spies, along the road leading to the shallow crossings, of the Jordan River. 


And, as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut. 


Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof, to talk with them. 


“I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. 


“We are all afraid of you. 


Everyone, in the land, is living in terror. 


For we have heard, how the Lord made a dry path, for you, through the Red Sea, when you left Egypt. 


And, we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings, east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. 


No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! 


No one has the courage to fight, after hearing such things. 


For the Lord, your God, is the supreme God, of the heavens above …and the earth below. 


“Now swear to me, by the Lord, that you will be kind to me and my family, since I have helped you. 


Give me some guarantee, that when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.” 


“We offer our own lives, as a guarantee, for your safety,” the men agreed. 


“If you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise …and we will be kind to you, when the Lord gives us the land.” 


Joshua 2:1–14 (NLT)


Praise be to God!


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