Joshua 2
Hear God’s word with me. Joshua
chapter two, the whole thing in its entirety. It begins this
way. And Joshua, the son of Nun, sent
two men secretly from Shittim as spies saying, go view the
land, especially Jericho. And they went and came into the
house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. And it was told to the king of
Jericho, behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search
out the land. And the king of Jericho sent
to Rahab singing, bring out the men who have come to you, who
entered your house, for they have come to search out all the
land. But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them.
And she said, true, the men came to me, but I did not know where
they were from. And when the gate was about to
be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the
men went. Pursue them quickly, for you
will overtake them. But she had brought them up on
the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax. that she had
laid an order on the roof. So the men pursued after them
on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was
shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out. Before the men
lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men,
I know that the Lord has given you the land and that the fear
of you has fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the
land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord
dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came
out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites
who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, who you devoted
to destruction. As soon as we heard it, our hearts
melted. And there was no spirit left
in any man because of you for the Lord, your God, he is God
in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Now then please
swear to me by the Lord that as I have dealt kindly with you,
you also will deal kindly with my father’s house and give me
a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my
brothers and sisters and all who belong to them and deliver
our lives from death. And the men said to her, our
life for yours, even to death. If you do not tell this business
of ours, then when the Lord gives us this land, we will deal kindly
and faithfully with you. Then she let them down by a rope
through the window for her house was built into the city wall.
So that she lived in the wall, she said to them, go into the
hills or the pursuers will encounter you. Hide there three days until
the pursuers have returned. Then afterward, you may go your
way. The men said to her, we will be guiltless with respect
to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. Behold, when
we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the
window through which you let us down. And you shall gather
in your house, your father and your mother and your brothers
and all your father’s household. Then if anyone goes out on the
doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on
his own head and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid
on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be
on our head. But if you tell this business
of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that
you have made us swear. And she said, according to your
words, so be it. And she sent them away and they
departed and she tied the scarlet cord in the window. They departed
and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers
returned and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing.
Then two men returned, they came down from the hills, passed over
and came to Joshua, the son of Nun, and they told him all that
had happened to them. And they said to Joshua, truly,
the Lord has given all the land into our hands, and also all
the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us. Amen. The word of the living
God, may he write its eternal truths on all our hearts and
in our minds also. Well, the people of God are getting
closer to their entrance into the promised land. I remember
last time, um, start to sound like a TV episode, don’t we?
Uh, last time, uh, they were told make preparations for a
three days journey. So they were boiling their eggs,
washing their socks and all those kinds of things. And then remember
also the covenant made with the East of the Jordan people. Your valiant men, your fighting
men must cross over and help us take possession. And then
they can return and settle in their part of the promised land.
So Israel is getting closer to receiving their inheritance,
to making their entrance into the promised land. There’s also
something very interesting here that we must remember. In Genesis
chapter 15, God made some promises to Abraham, some reminders to
Abraham. Some of you Wednesday night Bible
study folks remember that God told Abraham, your people will
be in Egypt about 400 years and then I will send a deliverer
and they’ll be brought into the promised land. But the reason
for those 400 years was the sins of the Amorites. must be fulfilled. It must reach the full level
in order that they receive the judgment of God. And part of
that judgment has already been meted out. You heard Rahab speak
of it, the defeat of Og, the king of Bashan and Sihon. These were Amorite kings who
were defeated. And this is the stuff of war
that Rahab and her city had heard. And so, It’s not only getting
closer to time to cross the Jordan because they’re there and the
preparations are being made, it’s also that the sins of the
Amorites are reaching the point where God’s judgment through
Joshua and the army of Israel will come due on their heads. So as they’re getting closer,
it’s time also to search out the land. Now it’s been, I think,
38 years since Joshua and Caleb and 10 others 10 wimps, if you’ll
remember, went and spied out the land. Joshua and Caleb were
the only two that came back and said, we can do this. The others,
remember, said the people there are big and scary and mean and
hairy and we can’t do this. Well, instead of sending 12 men
on a 40-day journey like last time, he sends two men on a three-day
journey, which as we know, gets extended a couple of days because
they have to go hide in the hills because the King of Jericho’s
men are looking for them. But they’re searching out the
land. And in particular, I think they’re searching out Jericho. As they’re on the opposite side
of the Jordan River, they know that when they cross the land,
that formidable city. with its high walls, its thick
walls, with its mighty army is there staring at them. And that
will be their first test, their first strategic war or battle
in the conquest of the promised land. And so these two spies,
they go to Rahab’s house. Now, I don’t know about you,
but when I read certain passages of the scripture, I get a lot
of mental noise. and I get a lot of emotional
noise. I think of things, and when I read through Hebrews chapter
11, you start thinking about all these people in the by faith
chapter, and you think, why are they in here? Because I know
myself, and I think, I wouldn’t be in there. But Rahab is in
there by faith. Rahab, she received the spies. She gave them lodging. And there’s
a funny little phrase in my Bible, in the ESV, and I don’t want
to take the time to look it up, but every time I read it in Hebrews
chapter 11, I kind of chuckle to myself. She gave them hospitality. Isn’t that kind of ironic? She’s
a prostitute and she gives them hospitality. But then I got to
thinking a little more. I used to watch Walker. Texas Ranger, and somehow my
wife still married me, but my roommate and I in college used
to watch that. And one of the things you notice if you watch
enough Walker, Texas Ranger, about three-fourths of the way
through the show, they have to go to the strip joint to solve
the crime. And you start thinking about
that. That’s rather strategic. That’s where the bad people hang
out. And that’s where the bad people are known. And well, isn’t
it rather strategic of these two to go to Rahab, the prostitute? I mean, who’s gonna argue these
two men going to her house? These are two foreigners. Well,
she’s the prostitute, whatever. We’re used to that open door.
But also, she’s a, She’s kind of the back fence
post, right? She knows all the gossip. She knows what’s going
on in the army. She knows what’s going on in
the police department. She knows what’s going on in city council.
She knows what’s going on in the king’s house. She knows all
the goings on because, well, her profession is a, well, a
rather interesting one. People probably say things. And
so you have this ethical dilemma here. What are people? who claim
the name of Yahweh going into lodge at a prostitute’s house.
Well, we have to remember all is fair in love and war. And this is a very strategic
move as these men go to spy out the promised land. They go to
search out the land. That’s a phrase that pops up
in chapter two several times. They go to search out the land
to see what it will take for them to wage warfare And when? Well, as we’re getting closer
to Israel crossing over, as they send spies to search out the
land, we have to understand things are rather tense in Jericho.
A couple of nights ago, we had somebody knock on our door about
10.30. It was kind of a loud, you know,
serving a warrant type knock. It wasn’t, you know, a ding dong.
We got Girl Scout cookies knock. So that scared us. And then it
happened again another night about midnight, about 1230, I
think. And so both times we called the
police. But it was spring break, kids, you know, on and on it
went. But we kind of left the spotlights
on that couple nights. I wasn’t allowed to have a gun
because I’ve been taking pain meds from surgery, so that was
locked up, so don’t worry. I knew where my baseball bat
was, but Patrick was on watch. He was peeking out at night,
kept his flashlight by his bed. Our new dog is no good. He didn’t
bark a bit. But you can imagine what’s going
on in Jericho. It’s tense. They’re leaving the
porch lights on. They’re sleeping with a baseball
bat under one arm. There are night watchmen. And
just think about it. Jericho is a big bustling city.
It’s really a military outpost. And they noticed two strange
men. Sneaking in? That’s how tense Jericho is. That’s how bad things are when
they realize the people of God are just across the river and
just about someday to make their move. This is a snake pit. This is a bunch of slithering,
coiled up snakes piled in on top of each other. And thank
the Lord for Rahab. She sends them on a wild goose
chase. And her answer to the king’s
men when they come, where are the two that came to you? Well,
I don’t know. It brings up another ethical
situation. The first one was what are men of God doing in
a house of ill repute? But here, is it ever okay to
lie? The ninth commandment, you shall
not bear false witness. Is it ever okay to lie? And you
read in the commentaries on Joshua, you get out your books on ethics
and you read within Christian, within a realm of Christian writers,
all kinds of things. If you want a really good book
on Christian ethics, get John Murray’s book, Can you remember
what it’s called? I’ve got it on my shelf and can
show it to you. But John Murray is one of the best. He says a
lie is a lie, and a lie is never not a lie, so don’t lie. Okay,
we can agree with that, can’t we? Don’t lie. But then you come
to other thinkers like Charles Hodge, one of the Presbyterians
from the 1800s. And Charles Hodge says it’s not
a lie if your intent is not to or if you’re not being charged
to tell the truth. So take Charles Hodge here for
just a moment. Hodge would say, well, does Rahab owe the truth
to the king’s men? And what’s the answer? No. And
especially not in a wartime where her allegiance is with Yahweh
and Joshua and the children of Israel. Do you, ever see two
coaches before a football game say, here’s my game plan. Oh,
here’s mine. Let’s swap. No, they want to kill each other,
right? They want to beat each other.
They want to win. And so there is an appropriate
time and place where you don’t reveal your strategy or all that,
you know, or how about the classic example during the Holocaust
period, a knock on the door or any Jews hiding here or think
back to the Hebrew midwives during the time of Pharaoh. You must
kill all males that are born to the Hebrew women. Well, we
couldn’t get there fast enough, they said. These Israelite women,
they’re just strong. They don’t need epidurals. They
don’t need coaching. They just give birth. And so
we can’t even get to the birthing place to kill these Hebrew boys. And so this ethics dilemma, ethical
dilemma pops up. And I think with John Murray,
we have to agree that a lie is a lie is a lie is a lie. But how do we, how do we think
through this? Because Rahab makes it into the
Hebrews 11 hall of faith. How do we reconcile with this?
The book of James says, you show me your faith. I’ll show you
my faith by showing you my works. Rahab, it says in chapter two
of James, was justified by her works or her act of hiding the
spies showed her faith in Yahweh and proved she was a justified
sinner. Are our lies ever justified? And the answer I think is no,
because like our friend, our theologian, John Murray says,
a lie is a lie is a lie, but God in his providence works through
the righteous and unrighteous deeds of men. And it just may
be that God in His providence works through the evil of men
like Joseph’s brothers. What they meant for evil, God
meant for good. Now that doesn’t mean you can
tell a big fat one and say, well, what I meant for evil, God means
for good. No, God will hold you accountable for your lying tongue
and your deceitful spirit. But nevertheless, we must tell
the truth. But sometimes I think in the
case of war, we don’t give up our strategy. You tell me your
strategy or you’re lying to me, or is it better to obey God than
men? It’s better to obey God. And
so we have a higher allegiance at times. We promote and protect
life. So there’s an ethical dilemma
here. There’s something else going
on in this passage, which I think is worth noting because I think
it’s how Rahab gets saved. How does faith come? Faith comes
through hearing. And when people hear about God
and his reputation, they hear about his hatred of evil, his
rejection of sinners, but his everlasting love where through
faith and his son lifted up on the cross, we can receive new
life. And so, Here you have these two
spies, they come rolling up into Rahab’s house. She realizes who
they are, what they represent. And this is a woman who has heard
the word. She’s heard the reputation about
God. Now, go back to her profession for a moment. She’s a hub of
information. And you get it, she has all kinds
of customers from all kinds of places. and they hear all kinds
of things. And she hears all these things.
She’s a clearing house. And don’t you know, she’s heard
about Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites across the river.
She’s heard about the Red Sea being parted. She’s heard about
water from a rock. She’s heard that Moses, their
leader, died on Mount Nebo and was not able to enter the promised
land. She’s heard about the mighty war cry of the camp of Israel. She’s heard about the pillar
of cloud that led the people by day, the pillar of fire that
led them by night. She’s heard about the manna and
the quail. She’s heard about all these acts
of Yahweh, and I bet, though it was some 38 plus years ago,
40 years ago, she has heard of the plagues, all 10 of them,
including the firstborn all dying. And maybe she’s heard of the,
the doorpost and the blood. And that’s why she’s so eager
to put this scarlet cord. Did you catch before the men
were even touching the dirt below that scarlet cord was hanging
there waiting for the day when they returned in judgment and
her household would be spared. She has heard Yahweh’s rejection
or his reputation. She has rejected the gods of
the Canaanites, the gods of the Amorites. And just, this is kind
of a gory sermon. This is the dirty characters
of the Bible. We’re talking about a prostitute
here, but the Amorites, they sacrificed their babies. When
you hear of the atrocities of the Canaanites, especially the
Amorites, it’s a nasty people. And she is holed up in this city
with them. And she’s had one of the nastiest
professions on the face of the earth, but she hears about Yahweh. And I wonder if she’s heard,
maybe not Psalm 2 as it’s not been written yet, but she’s heard
at least of the content of Psalm 2, that nations of the earth
plot. And she knows her own king, her
own generals, her own countrymen are plotting against Yahweh and
his people. They won’t get in our thick walls.
We’ll raise our drawbridge. We’ll put our archers on top
of the wall. We’ll win this thing. We’ll outlive them. We have enough
food and provisions and whatnot to make it several weeks. We’ll
outlast, outlive, and outfox these folks. But she’s heard
at least the content of Psalm 2, the nations, plot in vain
against the Lord and his anointed, against Joshua, how about that?
And that God sits in the heavens and laughs and he comes and his
judgment falls on people. She believes what she has heard
about Yahweh. And so as these men are making
their escape, she says, hold up a minute, let’s make a covenant.
I’ll take care of you if you’ll take care of me. Her faith, must
have led her to believe that these men could protect her and
her household. And so the sign of the covenant,
the scarlet cord, this is a pretty remarkable sign. conversion story,
I think, because it’s really been a while since we’ve seen
a conversion. I mean, we’ve had Abraham and Isaac and we’ve had
Jacob and we’ve had, um, we’ve had, uh, Jacob and Esau and Joseph. And, uh, you, you get through,
you get through all the patriarchs and, uh, the book of Genesis,
you get through Exodus and all those events and Leviticus, the
law and numbers and Deuteronomy and now Joshua, the, the, entrance
into the promised land. And there’s really not been a pagan conversion since Abraham. Abraham left Ur of the Chaldeans.
He left paganism. He left his family. He left his
home. He left his comforts. He left
his Starbucks. He left his bank. He left his
school system. I didn’t have a kid though. But
you get the idea. He turned his back and burned
the bridges on Ur of the Chaldeans. And nobody has really done that
until now with Rahab. But the Bible is an interesting
story, and this scarlet thread that she hangs from her window
has often been used to say that there is a scarlet thread of
the blood of Christ running through the Bible. And you get Abraham
being rescued from Ur of the Chaldeans, you have his offspring
following the Lord, well, most of them, but then you pick up
along the way people like Rahab, an Amorite, a prostitute, You get Rahab,
and then a little bit later in the story of the Bible, you get
Ruth, a Moabite. We don’t like the Moabites in
the Bible stories, do we? Oh, but we like Ruth, a descendant,
a descendant, who would be the grandmother of David. And so
all of a sudden you begin to see this explosion of joy. Who
is the ancestor of King David, ultimately King Jesus? Well,
it’s Rahab. And God in his mercy saves sinners. through his covenant, those who
put their faith and hope in the sign of the covenant, for her,
a scarlet cord, for us, a cross on which the Son of Man was lifted
up. I hope this is a great encouragement
to us. Let’s pray together. Our Father,
we pray that you would bless these things, these themes we
have thought of tonight. To our minds and hearts, to our
daily living, may our faith be strengthened that we might trust
Yahweh just like Rahab did. Against all odds, against the
world, against the hatred of the evil people of the day, she
put herself up against them for faithfulness and fidelity to
Yahweh. Lord, how much easier we have
it. And we pray that you would give
us strength to walk in his ways. And we pray it in the name of
Christ. Amen.