They were told to go and investigate the land, the land that
they had heard about for so many years, one in which they had talked about and
maybe even dreamed about for 40 years. Now these two young men were asked to go
and spy on this land, what a privilege!
I am talking about the children of Israel, and although we
are not told the name of these two spies we are told of the experience that
they went through, one in which I am going to take you through.
The land that they were going to spy out was called Jericho . They had
probably heard the story of Joshua, when he went in to spy out the land 40
years ago.
They reached the city and probably had a good look around.
They then went to the house of a harlot, a woman by the name of Rahab. Perhaps
they thought that it would be inconspicuous to stay at her place, people would
less likely suspect them if they stayed with a harlot.
Nevertheless, someone, somehow, found out about them and
went and told the king what was going on. The people and the king had heard a
lot about these Israelites and wanted nothing to do with them. So the king sent
soldiers to Rahab’s house and when Rahab saw that that there were soldiers
coming, she quickly hid the two men up on her roof underneath her wheat (back
in those days they most likely dried out their own wheat).
The soldiers pounded on her door, she answered and asked
them what they wanted. The soldiers told her that they heard that there were
two men that had come to her and that they found out that these two men were
spies to search out the land.
Rahab must have felt a little bit scared and worried knowing
that the two men the soldiers were talking of were at that moment on her roof!
She quickly told the soldiers there had indeed been two men that had come to her
house, but, she said that she had no idea who they were and they had gone away
before the gates had closed that night.
The soldiers quickly thanked her for her time and went out
of the city in search of these two men. Rahab on the other hand went upstairs
and told these two men that they had better go, but she told them not to go
immediately back into their camp, “And she said unto
them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves
there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your
way. Joshua 2:16
Then she proceeded to tell these two men that all of the
land of Canaan had heard about them and their hearts were melting in fear. She
also said that since she had helped them and had spared their lives if the same
could be given to her, to spare her life and that of her family. She said that
she knew they were going to conquer this land and this city in particular and
she wanted the assurance that not only her but her whole family would be safe.
These two men promised her that her and her family would be
safe, on one condition. The red cord she was using to help the two men escape
with was to be tied out the window of her house, to gather her family inside
the house and to not to step foot outside the house until they would tell her
it was safe to do so.
But they said that if she repeated any of the things that
they were doing or went outside of the house while they were seizing it, their
promise would be null and void. Rahab readily agreed and they made a promise
right then and there between them and the Lord.
She then let the two men down the wall of Jericho by the red cord and two men went into
the mountains just like Rahab had told them to do. In the meantime I am almost
sure that Rahab was telling her family to come and stay inside her house, and I
am almost positive that the first thing she did was to tie the red cord out her
window.
After staying in the mountains for three days and three
nights, the two men, went back to camp and told Joshua all that had happened.
Well we don’t have time to go into the story about how the
Lord destroyed Jericho using the Israelites, but I will make it short so you
can at least get an idea, and then if you would like me to expound on that in
another blog, just leave a comment below letting me know.
The Israelites went every day for 6 days and they marched
around the city once and on the seventh day they marched around the city 7
times. According to the word of the Lord spoken to Joshua, when they had
marched around the city the 7th time, they stopped and the trumpets
were blown and all of the people shouted with a loud voice.
All of a sudden the walls of the city started fall down and
it all became as rubble. The Israelites did not have to raise so much as a
finger to invade that city; the only thing that they raised was their voices.
If you were given spiritual eyesight you would have seen angels around that
city destroying it.
The only thing remaining of
the city was Rahab’s house, and you could see the cord hanging out the window.
Rahab was blessed of God because of what she had done for the 2 Israelite
spies. She ended up marrying one of them and having a son named Boaz, Boaz in
turn had Obed, Obed had Jesse, and Jesse then had a son named David, who became
the well-known King David.
When we are faithful to God and heed His calling, He will
bless us like He did the Israelites and like He did Rahab. All we have to do is
to step out in faith, and sometimes that means
hanging a cord out the window.
I want to have that kind of faith and trust in God, don’t
you?
