Ep. 48 - Rahab

The Israelites were still camping just on the other side of the Jordan river.  Moses, the beloved leader of Israel, had just died…and all the Israelites were in mourning.  Moses had lead the Israelites for more than 40 years.  He’d been with them through thick and thin.  And now he was gone.  From the Israelites’  point of view, Moses had died at probably the worst time possible…just as they were getting to the hard part – invading the Promised Land.  Of course, Moses hadn’t left them empty-handed…he’d given them all kinds of extra instructions…and he’d given them Joshua.  But still…it would have felt like everything was up in the air.  Would God be with Joshua like He’d been with Moses?  Would God continue to lead and be with the Israelites like before?  After all the times that they had failed, would they actually be able to conquer the Promised Land?  These were undoubtedly the questions rolling around in their minds (including Joshua’s mind) as the Israelites’ time of mourning came to an end and the time to move forward approached.

But they didn’t have to wait long to find out the answers these questions.  Because as soon as Moses died, God came to Joshua and said, “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.  (3)  Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.  (4)  From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.  (5)  No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. … Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Jos. 1:2-5,9) Alright!  So God still with the Israelites, and He would be with Joshua, and He still wanted to take the Israelites into the Promised Land.  How exactly all that was going to happen…they had no idea!  All they knew for now, is that it was time to get going.

But before they got going, Joshua decided…you know what…while we’re getting ready to cross the river…why not find out a little more about exactly what was waiting for them on the other side.  So, Joshua found two spies and said to them, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” (2:1) And off the two spies went.  They crossed the Jordan river, and of course right away they came to the closest city – a fortress city called Jericho.  And indeed, Jericho was a fortress.  The city was built on top of a hill, with a tall retaining wall all around it (btw a retaining wall where the dirt comes right to the top of the wall on one side…these walls keep the dirt on the one side from washing away).  On top of the retaining wall were huge brick walls.  Now we don’t know exactly how tall these walls were, but they were tall enough that they had passageways and rooms inside that let soldiers move around to any part of the wall that they wanted to go.  They were so big, that some people even lived inside the walls.  It must have been an impressive sight.  And the two spies…well they needed to find out more about the city so they could report back to Joshua.  So…trying to be super sneaky…they carefully entered the city…undoubtedly doing their best to blend in and not to draw any attention.  They were, after all, the invaders.  And after scoping out the city for a little while, they found a place to settle in for the night…the house of a woman named Rahab.  And Rahab’s house seems to have been built right up against one of the walls of Jericho. 

Now, apparently the two spies had done a super terrible job of being sneaky, because that very same night after the city gates had been shut for the night, some soldiers showed up at Rahab’s door.  And guess what they were looking for?  You guessed it… they were looking for the two spies, yelling, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.” (2:3) Rut row!  Well it seems that they hadn’t been sneaky enough.  The two spies probably looked at each other and knew that they were in big trouble.  But just as they had started working on a way out, to their huge surprise, Rahab…who also seemed to know that they were spies (man…did everyone in Jericho know that they were spies?)…Rahab quickly took the two men to her ultra super duper amazing hiding spot…the roof of her house.  Now like many roofs at the time, Rahab’s roof wasn’t made of shingles or metal sheets, but instead was made of stalks of flax.  Stalks of flax kinda look like stalks of wheat or any other grain, and these stalks would be laid side by side on the roof.  And in order to keep out the rain, there had to be a lot of stalks on the roof…and that meant that there was lots of room up there to squeeze a few people.  And after hiding the spies in her roof, Rahab quickly went to the door and said to the soldiers, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.  (5)  And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” (2:4-5) So basically, what Rahab was saying was, “Spies?  I had no idea those men were spies!  Well, they’re not here anymore.  But when the gate of the city was being shut, I saw them sneak out while no one was looking.  And I have no idea where they were going…but hurry up and run after them and maybe you’ll catch them!” (Now of course Rahab is lying here…and we all know that lying is wrong…but let’s just keep in mind that Rahab wasn’t an Israelite and hadn’t heard of the 10 commandments yet and probably didn’t know that lying was wrong.) And the soldiers, completely believing Rahab’s story, ran off as fast as they could to catch the spies…out the gate, down the road, and all the way down to the Jordan River.  But of course…they didn’t find anyone.

And they didn’t find anyone because, as you kidzos know, the spies were still back in Jericho hiding out in Rahab’s roof!  Now the spies were probably thinking to themselves, “why in the world did this Canaanite woman hide us from her own people?”  But the spies didn’t have to wonder long, because Rahab came up to the roof to explain herself.  And Rahab said to the spies, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.  (10)  For 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 the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.  (11)  And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” (2:9-11) So basically, Rahab is telling the spies, “Yah I know that God has given Canaan to Israel.  And we’ve heard all about the crazy amazing miracles that God has done for you over the years.  Everyone is super scared…but for some reason some people want to fight.  Well I’m not going to fight God, and instead I’m going to help you.”  

And Rahab also seemed to know that the rest of the Israelites would be making their way to Jericho soon.  And when that happened, she understandably didn’t want to die along with the rest of the stubborn people in Jericho who were fighting God.  So, before she showed the spies how to get out of Jericho, she she said to them, “Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token,  (13)  and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.” (2:12-13) So since Rahab had saved the spies’ lives, she was asking them to spare her and her family’s lives when the Israelites eventually came for Jericho.  And that seems fair, right kidzos?  So the spies answered her and said, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.” (2:14) And with the agreement in place, Rahab showed them how to get out of the city.  Now remember that Rahab’s house was built up right against the city wall?  Well, the part of the wall that her house was built up against happened to have a window to the outside.  So, Rahab put together a long scarlet cord (which btw kidzos scarlet is a bright red-orange colour), and let it out of the window and all the way down to the ground.  Then she said to the spies, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.” (2:16) And the spies agreed.

But before the spies made their escape, it occurred to them…you know what…after we’re gone, how are we going to remember where Rahab’s house is?  I mean, Jericho was a big city with all kinds of walls with windows everywhere…how would they know for sure which one was Rahab’s?  Or how would they know if Rahab and her family were even still alive by the time that they came back?  And even if they were alive, how would they make sure that both Rahab and all her family (wherever they all lived) would survive once the Israelite army entered the city?  So, the spies turned to Rahab and said, “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear,  (18)  unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household to your own home.  (19)  So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.  (20)  And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.” (2:17-20) And this all made sense…if Rahab and her family were to survive, then they all needed to be in same place, and they needed to be easily known.  And so Rahab responded and said, “According to your words, so be it.” (2:21) And with everyone in agreement, out the window went the spies into the night, and Rahab left the scarlet cord in the window…waiting for the day that the Israelites would return.

And the two spies did as Rahab had told them…they went to the mountains, waited three days, and then crossed the river again and they safely made their way back to the Israelite camp.  And right away, the spies went to Joshua to tell him all that had happened…that they had gone to Jericho, that they’d been discovered, that they’d been saved by Rahab, and…most importantly…that they had found out that everyone in Canaan was deathly scared of them, and they wrapped up their report by saying, “Truly the LORD has delivered all the land into our hands” (2:24).  Well, this was great news.  Hopefully the Canaanites being scared would mean that many of them would flee and escape…because indeed…as we talked about in our last bonus episode…the Israelites were going to wipe out anyone who stayed behind to fight.  The more that the Canaanites were scared was the less killing that the Israelites would have to do.

And as the Israelites continued their preparation to invade Canaan, I’m sure that Joshua couldn’t help but think about just how different this was compared to the last time that they’d sent spies into the Promised Land…of which Joshua had been one of the spies.  You kidzos remember right?  10 of the 12 spies had been like, “there’s no way that we can conquer Canaan!”  What a different story that it was this time.  Everyone was on board…everyone was ready…it was time to move forward.