Joshua 2:1-24

Come in, and receive God’s promises!

Joshua

Brian Rowlands

Maps to help you to study this book are on the Internet at www.easyenglish.info.

Chapter 2

Joshua sends two men to look over the land – Joshua 2:1-24

v1 Then Joshua sent out two men from Shittim. He sent them in secret to see what the land was like. ‘Go’, he said, ‘Look at all the country. Look well at the city called Jericho.’ When they came to the city, they went into the house of Rahab. Rahab was a *prostitute.

Verse 1 shows us how clever Joshua was as a soldier. It also shows us his trust in God. The best way to attack *Canaan was from the south. But the *Canaanites protected that road well. Joshua chose to enter the *promised land at Jericho from the east. He could then attack the towns and cities in the north and in the south.

He still had two big problems.

• The *Israelites had to cross the river Jordan.

• They had to destroy Jericho city.

Joshua believed that God would help them. But he also had his task to do. His trust in God was not enough! He had to show his trust in God by his actions. He sent two men in secret to see what the land was like. He told them to look at all the country. He told them to look well at the city called Jericho. He wanted to know about the people in Jericho. He needed to know what they thought. He needed to know if they were powerful. He needed to know if they were afraid.

We, too, must put our trust in God. He has promised many things. But we must not just depend on God to give things to us. We must put our trust into action.

Rahab had been a *prostitute. She may have still been a *prostitute when the two men visited her. Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 suggest that she was. We do not know when Rahab stopped being a *prostitute. She is an example of how God can change a person.

Rahab was probably the only person in Jericho who trusted the God of the *Israelites. God brought the two men to her house. If they had gone to any other house, the people there probably would have told the king.

v2 People spoke to the king of Jericho. ‘Look! Some of the *Israelites have come here tonight to see what our land is like’, they said.

v3 So the king of Jericho sent a message to Rahab. ‘Bring out the men who are staying in your house. They have come to see what all our land is like!’ he said.

v4 But the woman had hidden the two men. ‘Yes, some men did come to me. I did not know where they had come from’, she said. v5 ‘When it was getting near the time to close the gate of the city, they left. I do not know where they went. If you go after them quickly, you may catch them.’ v6 (But she had taken them up to the roof. She had hidden them under some plants that she was drying there.) v7 So the king’s men went out to find the two *Israelites. They went towards the place where people could cross the river Jordan. As soon as they had gone out, people shut the gate.

Verses 4-7 Rahab trusted the God of *Israel. She put her life in danger. She even lied to protect the two men that Joshua had sent. But we should not lie, even when things get difficult. The Bible says that it is wrong to lie (Proverbs 12:22).

Think about this. What would you do if you were in a similar situation?

v8 Rahab went up to the roof. She spoke to the men as they prepared to sleep. v9 ‘I know that the *Lord God has given this land to you’, she said to them. ‘I know that we are all very afraid of you. Everyone who lives in this part of the world is very afraid. v10 We heard how you came out of Egypt. And the *Lord dried up the Red Sea for you. And we heard what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites. They lived east of the Jordan, and you destroyed them completely. v11 When we heard all this, we felt very weak. We were very afraid. This is because the *Lord, your God, is God. He rules the heaven above and the earth beneath.’

Verses 9-11 Several years before this event, the *Israelites were afraid of the *Canaanites. They had received punishment because of their lack of *faith (Numbers 14). This punishment lasted 40 years. But during that time, people in *Canaan were afraid of the *Israelites. The *Israelites should not have worried.

If we trust in God, we should not worry. We should have confidence. God knows what is best. We often punish ourselves because of our lack of *faith.

Notice what Rahab believed about God:

• He is the only God - ‘the *Lord, your God, is God’ (verse 11).

• He is a personal God. That is, God cares about people - ‘your God’ (verse 11).

• He is an active God - he gave the land to the *Israelites (verse 9); he dried up the Red Sea (verse 10).

• He is a powerful God - ‘the *Lord, your God, is God. He rules the heaven (the place where God lives) above and the earth beneath (verse 11).

When Rahab grew up, she did not believe in the one real God. She used to believe in false gods. But now she had a new belief. She was ready to talk about it!

v12 Rahab continued, ‘Now, please make me a promise. I have been kind to you. So, say that you will be kind to my family. As you believe in God, make your promise true. Give me something to show that you will keep your promise. v13 Show me that you will save the lives of my family. Save my mother, father, brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them. Please do not let anyone kill us.’

v14 ‘We will save your life if you save ours. Do not tell the king about us. When the *Lord gives this land to us we will keep our promise. We will be kind to you’, the men said to her.

v15 So Rahab put a *rope out of the window. (The house where she lived was part of the city wall.) The men climbed down the *rope. v16 ‘Go to the hills’, she told them. ‘The men who are looking for you will not find you there. Hide there for three days until they return here. Then you can go back to your people.’

v17 ‘We will keep the promise that we have given to you’, the men said to her. v18 ‘This is what you must do. Tie this red string in the window that we go out through. Do this when we come to take your city. Get your father, mother, brothers and sisters and all your family into your house. v19 If anyone goes out into the street, he may die. That will be his own bad mistake. And you will know that we kept our promise. But if anyone in the house with you dies, then we should suffer punishment. v20 It would be different if you told anyone about this. Then we would not have to keep the promise that we have given to you.’ v21 Rahab agreed with the men, and sent them away. When they had gone, she tied the red string in her window.

Verses 12, 13 Rahab showed her courage. She trusted God and the *Israelites. She would need to tell her family about the two men who had visited her. That might be dangerous. Her family also had to have *faith in her.

Think about this. Do you tell other people about your *faith in God? Can they trust you?

Verses 14-21 The two men made a *covenant with Rahab. A *covenant is an agreement or promise between two people. Rahab promised not to tell anyone. The two men promised to protect her.

When people made a *covenant, they often used something physical. For example, the rainbow is a sign of God’s promise not to flood the whole earth again (Genesis 9:12-13). Bread and wine are a sign of the new *covenant that God has made with his people (Luke 22:19-20).

The men told Rahab to hang a red string in her window. This was the sign that the *Israelites would not kill her or her family.

Red is the colour of blood. The red string reminds us of the blood that was put on the doors at the first *Passover (see Exodus 12). God told the *Israelites to kill a young sheep. Then they had to put its blood by their doors. God killed the oldest sons in every family in Egypt. This was a terrible punishment for the people in Egypt. But God protected the sons of the *Israelites, because of the blood.

The red string also reminds us of the blood of Jesus. The *Israelites saved Rahab because she put the red string in her window. Jesus saved us from God’s punishment for our *sins when he died for us (Hebrews 9:14).

v22 The two *Israelites went into the hills and they hid there. The king’s men looked everywhere for them for three days. They did not find them, so they returned to Jericho. v23 Then the two men came down from the hills and they crossed the river Jordan. They went to Joshua. They told him everything that had happened. v24 ‘We are sure that the *Lord has given the whole country to us. All the people there are very afraid of us’, they said.

Verses 22-24 The two men returned to Joshua. They were sure that God would give the land of *Canaan to them. They were sure that God would bless the *Israelites as they entered the land.

We, too, can be sure that God will bless us. The only thing that will stop us will be our own lack of *faith.

More about Rahab

The *New Testament mentions Rahab three times.

• Matthew 1:5 Rahab was an *ancestor of Jesus. This is unusual. Rahab was not an *Israelite. Rahab was not a very good woman. God chose her because of her *faith. It does not matter how bad we are. God can still use us.

• Hebrews 11:31 In Hebrews 11, there is a long list of people from the *Old Testament who had *faith in God. This list mentions Rahab.

• James 2:25 Rahab receives honour because of what she did. ‘*Faith without action is dead’ (James 2:26).

prostitute ~ a woman that a man pays for sex.
Canaan ~ another name for the promised land.

promised land ~ the land that God promised to give to Abraham and his family.
Canaanites ~ the people who used to live in Canaan, the promised land.

Canaan ~ another name for the promised land.

promised land ~ the land that God promised to give to Abraham and his family.

'promised land ~ the land that God promised to give to Abraham and his family.
Israelites ~ people from Israel. They are also called Hebrews and Jews.

Israel ~ all the people born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; the people that God chose; or, the land that the Israelites lived in.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for one of the Israelites.
Israel ~ all the people born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; the people that God chose; or, the land that the Israelites lived in.

Israelites ~ people from Israel. They are also called Hebrews and Jews.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for one of the Israelites.
Lord ~ a name for God in the Bible. The original language of the Old Testament is called Hebrew. In the Hebrew language, there are two words that we translate as ‘Lord’. The Hebrew word ‘ADONAI’ means that God rules. God is our master. The Hebrew word ‘YHWH’ means that God never changes. God is always God.

Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before the life of Jesus.
faith ~ trust, trust in God, belief.
rope ~ a strong material that people use to tie things together; a thick piece of string.
covenant ~ an agreement between two people; or, an agreement between God and a person or people; or, an agreement between groups of people.
Passover ~ an important holy day for the Jews. They eat a special meal on this day every year. This helps them to remember that God freed them from slavery in Egypt. This happened at the time of Moses.

holy ~ description of God, God’s character; set apart, perfect, wonderful; completely good, with nothing bad in it. People can be holy if they belong to God. And, they should refuse to do evil things.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for one of the Israelites.

slave, slavery ~ a slave is someone who belongs to someone else. A slave must work hard for his master and obey him.
Israelites ~ people from Israel. They are also called Hebrews and Jews.
Israel ~ all the people born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; the people that God chose; or, the land that the Israelites lived in.
sin ~ when we do not obey the rule of God; when we do not do what God wants us to do.'New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus.
ancestor ~ people years ago that your parents came from.'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before the life of Jesus.
faith ~ trust, trust in God, belief.