Inspecting Our Church Field-3(2015) Series

INSPECTING Our CHURCH FIELD-III—Joshua 2:1-24

Attention:

Upon close examination, our perception of a situation may be much different than the reality.

We may be surprised at what we find.

We may be surprised at what we find on the church field—around & even ‘in’ our church.

Joshua sent spies to determine what they would encounter in the promised land.

We can & should determine/examine what we will encounter on our church field.

What will we discover about those on our church field?

7 Discoveries in our own church field.

Last time we found that...

Examining our church field, we discover People given to...

1. SIN(:1)

2. FEAR(:2)

3. PREVENTION(:2-3)

4. ALLIANCE(:4-7)

5—Examining our church field we discover...

People given to SIGHT & INSIGHT(:8-11)

Explanation:(:8-11)

:8—Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,”

Because of the city’s being put on ‘high alert’ & the search for the Israelite spies, the spies were evidently going to sleep or at least rest “on the roof” among the flax. But prior to their being able to rest, Rahab approached them where they were.

“Lay down”(See :1—“Lodged”)—bkv shaw-kab’—

“Came up”(See :6—“Brought...up”)—hle aw-law'—

:9—& said to the men: “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, & that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.”

She spoke to the spies, revealing that she had a knowledge of Israel, Israel’s intent, & Israel’s God, YHWH(‘the LORD’).

Rahab divulged that she personally “knew” that the God of Israel/the Hebrews(“YHWH”) had indeed “given” them “the land” of which Jericho was currently a part & very possibly beyond Jericho’s holdings. We do not know if she understood YHWH’s comprehensive plan for the boundaries of the nation of Israel.

Rahab was not the only one who knew of Israel’s progress thru & to the nations, but all the pagan inhabitants of the city of Jericho were also aware. They were not only aware of Israel’s doings but were fearful as a result of the word of it & witnesses to it.

Not only did Rahab & those of Jericho know & fear, but the same “terror” gripped “all the inhabitants of the land” as a whole, to such an extent that these too became “fainthearted” as a result.

News had traveled regarding Israel & thus of Israel’s God, YHWH.

“Know”—edy yaw-dah’—Qal Perfect—1) To know. Strong—a primitive root; To know (properly--To ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically & inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; & causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.).

“Given”—Ntn naw-than’—Qal Perfect—1) To give, put, set. Strong—a primitive root; To give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.).

“Land”—Ura eh'-rets—

“Terror”—hmya ay-maw'—1) Terror, dread. Strong—Fright; concrete--An idol(as a bugbear[a cause of obsessive fear, irritation, or loathing]). Used 17X.

“Fallen on”—lpn naw-fal'—1) To fall, lie, be cast down, fail. Strong—a primitive root; To fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative).

“All”—lk kol—1) All, the whole. Strong—properly--The whole; hence--All, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense).

“Inhabitants”—bvy yaw-shab’—Qal Participle Active—1) To dwell, remain, sit, abide. Strong—a primitive root; properly--To sit down(specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication--To dwell, to remain; causatively--To settle, to marry.

“Fainthearted/Melted away”—gwm moowg—Niphal(passive) Perfect—1) To melt, cause to melt—1b) (Niphal)--To melt away. Strong—a primitive root; To melt, i.e. literally--To soften, flow down, disappear, or figuratively--To fear, faint.

“Because of/Before”—yk keey—Conj.—1) That, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since. Strong—a primitive particle [the full form of the prepositional prefix] indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or consequent; by implication--very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb [as below]; often largely modified by other particles annexed.

:10—“For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, & what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon & Og, whom you utterly destroyed.”

It appears that Rahab must have known the larger picture of the conquest, given that she knew of the Red Sea crossing & the battles leading up to Israel’s imminent crossing of the Jordan(:10-11).

The inhabitants of Jericho were well aware that both “Sihon & Og”—both recognized sovereign authorities in their own right—had been completely & “utterly destroyed,” having been thus ‘dedicated for destruction/banned’ by YHWH thru the Israelites.

Both kings were Amorite-ish with Og being king of Bashan specifically. Bashan was an area bordered roughly by Mt. Hermon(N.), The Yarmuk River(S.), & the Jordan River(W.).

Sihon’s territory was roughly between the Jabbok River(N.) & the Arnon(S.), with the southern Jordan & northern Dead Sea as its western border.