Joshua 2

Bible Passage:  Joshua 2

Once again, another familiar story that many of us are… familiar with (Warning… Vocabulary running low)..

This was when the two spies that Joshua had sent out from Acacia Grove into Jericho went and sought refuge in the house of the harlot, Rahab. And like in many spy movies, they were discovered so to speak… However, Rahab hid them and misguided the men searching for them, allowing the spies to escape safely.

I’ll just be sharing on one point. A point that touches on something that has seen greater emphasis in these times..

But first, we gotta wonder.. Why was Rahab so willing to potentially risk her life to hide the spies from those men? They barely knew each other, but she was willing to save them from being caught.. The answer can be found in these verses…

“For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God in heaven above and on earth beneath…” – v. 10-11

Obviously, Rahab had already heard about the God of the Israelites. She had heard of the almighty works of God that He had done.. In Egypt!! If I’m not wrong, she’s not exactly near Egypt. And furthermore, there were no televisions with news channels reporting anything about the 10 plagues in Egypt at the time. So the only way to deliver messages or some reporting something at the time was through word of mouth. (Or perhaps the plagues were soooo huge and happening that anyone within a few hundred square miles could see it!! *Slaps self* )

Though she had not actually seen the actual occurrences like she could have if there was television, she still believed in them. Kinda reminds me of what Pr Chin Aun Quek said in his sermon during the mid-year spiritual meeting. Sometimes, before one could actually try to understand something like the word of God, he/she would have to believe in it first. And that was what Rahab did. And it was enough for her to be convinced that she should save those spies.

And the outcome of her act?

By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. – Hebrews 11, v. 31

What can we learn from this?

As I’ve said, this might touch on something that has been emphasised many times. And that’s on preaching the gospel, proclaiming about this God whom we have believed in. Rahab probably didn’t know of the God of Israel until she heard of the great works of the Lord that He had done in Egypt, of how He delivered the people of Israel out from Egypt.

In today’s context, there are several lost sheep out there. And they could be like Rahab.. As in, when they hear about this God of ours, about what He has done for us, how He has saved us from the chains of sin, they will be moved and will come to believe in the Lord… To seek His statutes and to eventually strive to do His will..

Furthermore, as implied earlier, Rahab probably wasn’t a direct recipient of the testimony of what happened in Egypt. The news probably went through many people before it got to her.

Likewise, when we proclaim the gospel of salvation, about God and His wonderful love and grace, the direct recipient may or may not really be the one who would accept it. But.. Who knows? Sometime… Somewhere… Some way… Someone else might get that message, and will believe in it.

We, as believers of Christ and the of the true church, have to share this message with others who do not know of it. There are lost sheep out there who are waiting to hear what we have to say and will accept it.

If the incidents in Egypt had been kept silent within Egypt and never got out of the country, perhaps.. Rahab might never have heard of them, and who knows what would become of the spies.. Similarly, if we kept this gospel within ourselves and within the four walls of the church building, how can those lost sheep ever hear of it?

We pray that God would open may open a door (or many many doors) for our message, that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, like what Paul had said in Colossians 4 verse 3…

Let us continue to proclaim the grace and the almighty works of the Lord, and to preach this gospel of salvation!

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” – Psalms 96, v. 10