Women of the Word, February: Rahab #5

 

We've discussed Rahab's line of business as well as how she hid the two Israeli Spies on her roof under stalks of flax.  How she lied to the King and told the Spies how she KNEW how their God had done great things and would conquer Jericho. 

What Rahab did next not only showed her faith, but it showed that she was intelligent and loved her family.  Please read Joshua 2:12-15 below. 

12 “Now 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 sign13 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.”15 So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall."

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Rahab had faith in the Israelite God. What she said to the two spies about Jericho lacking courage and basically shaking in their boots went straight to the spies' hearts.  THEN it went to the Israelites.  Hearing this gave them a boost of confidence. Even though it was God who would bring them through the battle, HE knew they needed something nearly tangible to assuage their fear.  So he sent two spies into the house of a harlot because He knew that she had faith in Him.  

It's beautiful really! 

What this teaches us is that God goes ahead of us and prepares the way for our difficult times, our battles. He is with us throughout it all.  He defeats our enemies.  All the power is His!  

So be strong and courageous! 

Today, think about doing a verse mapping or a Bible journal page on Joshua 1:9.  Look it up in several different editions of the Bible, a concordance to see where these words show up throughout the Bible and how often they are used.  Look up in a Bible dictionary, see what words mean in Greek and Hebrew.  Really dig in to what God is saying here. 

Next time we will talk about the scarlet cord and the Battle of Jericho.  Hope you are blessed until then!