Rahab and the Spies- Joshua 2

Joshua 2-Rahab 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 ^[a] named Rahab and stayed there.

 2 The king of Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land." 3 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."

 4 But the woman 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. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

 8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to you 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. 10 We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea ^[b]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. ^[c] 11When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 12Now 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 13 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."

 14 "Our lives for your lives!" the men assured her. "If you don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land."

Thoughts about the passage:

It is first great to know that the Bible is a very honest record of history.  It records the good with the bad in people revealing to us that no one is perfect.  It's also good to note that everything in the Bible points towards Jesus.  The Old Testament all pointed toward the New Testament, the redemption of mankind through Jesus Christ.  In this story we have Rahab, a prostitute, who acknowledges the work of God and in her zeal to do her part to see the LORD glorified, she chooses to divert the truth in order to "save" the spies.  I put save in quotations revealing the obvious that God did not necessarily need Rahab to save the spies.  He is a Big God and able to do more than we could ask or imagine.  However, this is the beauty of the story.  God recognizes Rahabs heart to do right and acknowledge God's plan.  And even though she does not choose the best option (to lie), God uses the situation to affirm her faith in Him.  That is why we see her again in scripture as one who had great faith.  What a story of redemption and hope for us.  Even at times when we dont choose the best option, God still love us and cares for us and see the depths of our hearts.  That is good news!!! What do you think about this? Does this make sense? Agree or disagree? All thoughts are welcome.