A Token of Grace!
The Sending of the Spies
CBC Joshua Series #6
Joshua 2:1 - 24
INTRODUCTION:
• Chronologically, the events in chapter two were already completed before the events in chapter 1.
• Joshua had said, Prepare to go in three days.
• These spies were in Jericho three days, so they had already been sent before the orders to march.
I. Their Commission (1A)
Joshua 2:1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho.
• NOTE: The word for spies is nearly the same as the word for blacksmiths and also for deaf and dumb persons. Some Jewish commentators have speculated that they went into the city as traveling smiths, or pretended to be deaf and dumb so as not to have to give answers. (Gill)
A. The Place
1. Of Departure
Abel-shittim. In the plains of Moab, 7 miles from Jericho. Some say 14.
2. Of Destination
From the book of Joshua, we learn a six things about the city of Jericho.
a. It is a sinful city (2:1).
b. It had a sophisticated political organization (It had a king).
c. It was well fortified (It had a gate and walls).
d. It had houses built on its wall. (It had two walls, inner 12’, outer 6’).
e. It had a thriving trade with distant cities (Goodly, Babylonish Garment 7:21).
f. It had an army, perhaps a strong one (6:2)
B. The Plan
1. Selective
• 40 years earlier, Moses chose 12.
• 10 returned with the wrong answer.
• 2 had it right.
• So Joshua will send only 2!
2. Secret
• It sounds ridiculous to say that spies went secretly.
• That would be assumed would it not.
• But they went secretly in reference to the Israelites.
• Joshua will not chance another popular uprising.
• Contrary to popular belief, not everyone needs to know everything.
C. The Purpose
1. Military - View the Land, Find roads, Check the mood of the people, find weaknesses.
2. Mission - To rescue Rahab.
• This was the providential reason.
• A woman and her entire family had come to believe in the God of Israel. She needed encouragement, protection and deliverance! (Getz)
• Joshua was to Rahab as Jesus would be to the woman at the well.
• John 4:4 And he must needs go through Samaria.
II. Their Contact (1B)
[1B] And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
• QUOTE: They did not go in for lust, but for lodging.
• This woman knew two things: 1) The history of Israel, 2) The attitude of the Canaanites.
III. Their Concern (2-3)
[2] And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. [3] And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.
A. The King’s Fear
Life as he knows it is about to end. He is frightened for his life.
B. The King’s Facts
• The mission seemed destined to turn sour early on.
• Note the amazing surveillance system the king had in place.
1. He knew that they had entered Rahab’s house.
2. He knew that they were together and had not split up.
3. He knew that they were “sons of Israel.”
4. He knew their exact arrival time – that very night.
5. He knew their purpose – to search out the land.
IV. Their Concealment (4-7)
A. Rahab’s Sin (4-5)
[4] And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: [5] And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.
• She admits that the men have come.
• She denies that she knew their nationality.
• She tells them that they have left.
• She pretends to be interested in their capture (to remove suspicion from herself).
• There is a vast difference between what the Bible reports and what it recommends!
• Prov. 12:22 Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight.
• God could have delivered them as he would the three Hebrew children.
• But, we must remember that she had grown up among pagans where it was considered a way of life.
• She was acting on the light that she had.
• Bible study was next week!
B. Rahab’s Sacrifice, Service (6-7)
[6] But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. [7] And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.
• Flax - a fiber used in the making of cloth.
• Why was she so ready to help?
• As we shall later see, she had already changed her allegiance!
• She, with her pagan upbringing, acted with more faith than many Israelites!
V. Their Conversation (8-13)
A. Rahab’s Report (8-11)
[8] And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; [9] And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. [10] For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. [11] And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
• Rahab knew History - The Red Sea, 40 years earlier.
• Sihon and Og - Just days earlier.
• Og, King of Bashaan, was the last of the giants.
• His iron bed was 13 feet long and 6 feet wide!
• If he could not stand, who could?
• Only one conclusion could be reached.
• Jehovah is the true God, and He is on the side of the Israelites.
ILLUS: Incredible Hulk
B. Rahab’s Request (12-13)
[12] Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: [13] And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.
• Rahab could have just run with the spies.
• But her new faith gives her a concern for others.
• This is as natural as it can be.
VI. Their Commitment (14-16)
[14] And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. [15] Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. [16] And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.
• They give their word.
• She lets them down over the wall.
• As Paul in Damascus (Acts 9:25)
• It was common for harlots to have their homes on the wall so as to allow for a quick exit!
• As the “speak easies” during prohibition.
VII. Their Conditions (17-21)
A. The Sign (17-18A)
[17] And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. [18] Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by:
B. The Setting, Scene (18B-19)
[18B] and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee. [19] And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.
• There is one place, and one place only that this deliverance will take place.
• There are places of safety that we dare not leave. Your home, your church, your family.
C. The Secret (20-21)
[20] And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. [21] And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
• You dare not ignore God’s conditions.
• These were the conditions for deliverance.
• They were specific.
• They must all be kept.
VIII. Their Conclusion (22-24)
A. Their Return (22-23A)
[22] And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not. [23] So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun,
B. Their Report (23B-24)
[23B] and told him all things that befell them:
[24] And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.
CONCLUSION:
1. Rahab’s Condition
• As this chapter opens, Rahab’s reputation could not be worse.
• She is a female in a male dominated world.
• She is a pagan in a pagan land.
• She is a practitioner of the oldest and lowest profession known to man.
• A bookie wouldn’t take 50 to 1 odds on her.
• But we don’t worship a bookie!
2. Rahab’s Conversion
• As we saw earlier, Rahab could not have been lower.
• But as the NT is given, she is placed with the greatest of Hebrew women!
• She is in the very line of Christ!
• She makes a great statement of faith!
[11c] for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
3. Rahab’s Change
ILLUS: Dad Speer - It’s Different Now. “I’ve Been Changed, I am new born now, all my life has been rearranged”! ♬
a. Her Works
1. She took God at His word.
2. She took her stand, even at great risk to her well-being.
3. She showed concern for others.
b. Her Work
1. The Flax
• What I am about to show you is one of the most blessed things I have ever seen in Scripture. (Thank Gene Getz for this portion).
• She had already been converted before they came.
• She had already started changing her profession.
• The flax was used to weave cloth.
• It was a trade of a virtuous woman.
Prov 31:13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
• She had enough of it to cover two grown men.
2. The Scarlet Rope
• Dye in that day came from boiling rocks.
• The resultant dye was hard to ship.
• So they would lower a rope into it.
• The rope would absorb the dye, then be shipped and sold in lengths.
• A 6" piece with clothes in boiling water would dye the entire pot.
• Rahab had enough it would seem to hand off a 30’ wall.
• She must have been in the cloth business for months!
• Which means she must have been saved for months.
• No wonder God made sure the spies came to her house!
Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
James 2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
APPLY!
• One house left standing!
• Because it was built on a rock.
• Will your house stand after God’s judgment has come?
Their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more! (see Heb.)
