An Unlikely Heroine
Text Joshua 2 Time 24 05 20 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)
We come this week to Joshua 2. Now the Bible is always surprising us. And it does not fail here. Joshua 1 is about Joshua. He is Moses' successor. He is the one who is going to lead the people into the Promised Land. But when we come to Chapter 2 where is the focus? Well, there are only three or four main people in Joshua 2 and none of them is Joshua. Joshua is there but he is not at all prominent. No, the person who dominates Chapter 2 is not Joshua. It is not even a man, it is a woman. And she is not even Jewish. She is pagan. She is a Canaanite. More than that, she is a prostitute. That is how she earned her money. What a bolt!
Of course, that's not the whole story. This woman has come to believe in the true God, the LORD. More than that, she marries a Jew and becomes part of the covenant community. The Jewish rabbis taught that she actually married Joshua but it was a man called Salmon and the interesting thing about Salmon is that he was the father of Boaz and, as you know, he is the great grandfather of David and from David comes Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Her faith is commended in the New Testament - in Hebrews and in James (11:31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. 2:25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?). What an interesting woman then and what an interesting story it is here.
The story begins and ends with Joshua and the spies. 1 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. No immorality here just a wise choice of venue.
23, 24 Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, "The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us."
As a young man, Joshua himself had been a spy in the Promised Land. He was one of twelve but only two of them, he and Caleb, had been any good. We are subtly being reminded of this when he sends only two spies in as they come to the actual entrance into Canaan.
We too live in a pagan world and I think this chapter gives us some insight into that. Three things
1. When among pagans - expect opposition but expect some to be sympathetic too
These men were spies spying out a foreign land, one they wanted to conquer. They were not wanted. When we rub shoulders with pagans, unbelievers, we will not be wanted and we can expect trouble.
1. Expect opposition
Here we read (2) The king of Jericho was told, "Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land." 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." You can guess what the King intended to do with these men who had been spotted spying in his land. We will often meet with that sort of antagonism among pagans today. Not all will want us killed but many will want to cry us down or mock us or mistreat us in various ways.
In this case we read (7) how the men of Jericho set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, ... as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. As it turns out they were on a wild goose chase but they wanted to chase these men down as they want to chase us down very often too. Expect it.
As I say, it was a wild goose chase, a fool's errand. Why? Because someone had taken pity on them and helped them. And so we say also
2. Expect sympathy from some
In verses 4-6 we read But the woman Rahab but unnamed as yet 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. 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." (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax [used for making linen] she had laid out on the roof.) These spies were literally under cover (!).
There is some debate about what she did. All are agreed that it was good for her to hide and protect the spies but not all are sure she was right to mislead the King and his men by lying. It seems to me that the whole thing runs together. Either she hides them and lies or refuses to help them. They themselves were acting deceitfully by coming into Jericho in the first place. The command is that we are not to bear false witness against our neighbour. Israel was under command to kill the Canaanites not to be good neighbours to them and so certain things were legitimate in these extraordinary circumstances that would not be in normal circumstances.
So if you are playing rugby or something and want to dummy your opponent do so; if it is war time and someone asks if you are hiding Jews, say no. It's okay.
Not everyone will be against us. Some will be sympathetic. Either they will be fellow travellers as the Communists in Russia termed those who did not oppose them or those who are coming to faith. A fellow traveller at the moment is the writer Tom Holland. I don't think he's been converted but he is saying things that are quite positive about the gospel. Others, of course, like Rahab, become real believers.
2. When among pagans - expect some to put their faith in the true God and to plead for mercy
At the heart of the chapter, in verses 8-13, we hear Rahab herself speaking. It is remarkable what she says and should encourage us in our witness. 8, 9a Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them,
9b-11 "I know that the LORD has given you this land 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. 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. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
Rahab knew about the crossing of the Red Sea, the defeat of Og and Sihon, Like all the other Canaanites she was in great fear because she knew they were next. However, she had worked out that the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below and so resistance was pointless. And so she says (12, 13) 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 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. She saw that these men were her only hope, the only hope fir her and her family. If they would show mercy then there was hope.
It seems to be rare these days but it does happen - there was a testimony in ET a little while back. Darren Simpson his name. He grew up on a housing estate in a single parent family with no Christian background. By the time he was 15 he was in prison for the first time. In prison he began to go to church. He was often segregated from other prisoners for bad behaviour. There the only book he was allowed was a Bible. He found Christian teaching interesting but puzzling.
From the age of 15-28 he was in and out of prison. He says "I would do what I wanted and do it my way. If anyone didn’t like it, I would fight them. I was also drinking quite heavily and taking drugs. I was addicted to all manner of things. I never worked; I got whatever I wanted by stealing. I never thought about the many victims of my crimes.
Come 2001 he was pretty much in the situation he's been a long time - drinking heavily, committing all manner of crimes and generally leading an amoral life. But then something changed. He says
"I realised that what I was doing wasn’t right. It was as if the mental block I’d had for all these years had been removed and I knew that I couldn’t carry on this way. These were strange thoughts and it really puzzled me. I was starting to have some sort of conscience ... One night these thoughts had been keeping me awake and I did something totally out of character - I walked into the local police station at about 4.00am and told them I was wanted for a crime and wanted to hand myself in."
They thought he was mad but he was processed and he got four years from the Crown Court for burglary and theft from a jewellers. On to prison he went, intending to carry on as before. But he was confused in his mind, knowing he had to change, but knowing he did not want to. He goes on
"Some months later I heard of a new initiative to teach inmates a skill they could use after their release. ... Much to my surprise I received a letter saying they would like to have me on the team and that I would be moved to another prison where the venture was located. This was great news to me ... I wasn’t used to being treated like this and it was a chance that I very much appreciated. I was transferred to the Wolds prison in E Yorkshire and put on the web design programme."
"I was reading my Bible again, but was often frustrated that there was no one to explain it to me – at least not with the sort of explanation that made sense. ... On this training programme I was allowed to use the internet and was increasingly drawn to a major Christian message-board. It was Christian only in a loose sense and many things I read there were contrary to what I was reading in the Bible. However, I noticed that one person on the message boards spoke the truth as I found it in the Bible. Here was what I had been looking for – someone who wasn’t afraid to declare what the Bible says. I ended up getting in touch with this person by post and we had some very interesting correspondence.
"Around this time I started to attend the prison chapel and was asking earnest questions. Again I got no satisfactory answers but I continued to attend as it was the only form of fellowship available. In my cell at night, however, I often sat reading the Bible with awe and wonder at its message. I knew this precious book had what I wanted and I was hungry for more of the book to be unlocked.
"One night I sat there and thought, ‘Right, I am ready for this. I have looked at everything else and I know that the only place I have found any sort of truth is within this Bible.’ I knew I was a sinner and that within myself there was no power to set me free. There was nothing I could do. I got on my hands and knees and asked the Lord into my life, praying, ‘Lord help me’. ..."
Witnessing is not easy at present but we should be looking out for people like thus, people who really want to no more, who want to be saved, like Rahab did, who know they need to trust in the Loving God.
3. When among pagans be thankful to escape trouble; promise salvation to all who believe
In verse 14 the spies say to Rahab "Our lives for your lives! ... If you don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land."
As you may know, her home was part of the city wall and so, the city gates being shut, she was able to let them down by a rope through the window. She said to them (16) "Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way."
The men say to her (17-20) This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord (whether this was clothing or some device Rahab used to advertise her trade we do not know) in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear." I'm sure they were thinking of Passover. On Passover night everyone who had stayed at home with the door closed and the blood of the lamb on the doorpost was safe - the angel of death passed over. So with Rahab and her household, as long as they remained in her house, clearly marked out by the scarlet cord in the window, then they would all be safe.
21a "Agreed," she replied. "Let it be as you say."
In a similar way, we say to people today. Look you, and anyone else in your family - you need to hide under the blood of Christ. If you trust in him and what he has done, you will be safe. But if you do not, your blood will be on your own head. You will perish, but it will not be my fault - I have told you you need to hide in Christ.
So we read how she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window the sign of her faith. 22 When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them.
It had filled them with great confidence (24) The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.
