A Choice of the Moment That Determines Eternity

Joshua 2:1-24

Rahab and the Two Spies

Joshua the successor of Moses, was leading Israelite to occupy the Promised Land—Canaan. They were supposed to attack the first city—Jericho. Joshua first sent out two spies into the city.

40 years before, Moses sent twelve spies into the land of Canaan. However, 10 of the 12 spies did not have faith in God and because of this, the whole of Israel were not able to enter the Promised Land. Now Joshua only sent two spies, will they succeed in their mission?

The two spies were supposed to spy out the city. However, they went to the house of a prostitute – Rahab. What is going on here?

A Choice of the Moment that Determines Eternity

The two spies hid in Rahab’s house. They king of Jericho got the news very quickly and sent a few men to apprehend the spies, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.” (V.3)

In a moment of urgency, Rahab made a quick decision and said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from but they left. Go after them quickly!” (V.5)

Rahab did not say that the spies had not come to her house. Instead, she said that she did not know who they were and that they had already left. This is a very skilled answer. The men of Jericho believed her and immediately rushed out the city in pursuit, then the gates of the city were shut.

Rahab knew that those two Israelites were spies, yet she hid them. That was an action that put her life in danger.

Then Rahab went up to the roof to negotiate with the two spies, “I know that the LORD has given you this land 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. 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 Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 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 sign 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.” (verse 9-13)

The words that Rahab said was as if she was proclaiming her belief of the salvation of Yahweh (Deut 4:39). She realized that Yahweh is the God of the whole world, and at the same time saying that all the gods in the land of Canaan were not real gods. Not only did she wanted salvation, she was even more willing to worship and be loyal to Yahweh.

Rahab knew Yahweh through “hearing” and not “seeing”. After hearing, she put it into action to show her trust in Yahweh. The king of Jericho also “heard” the works of Yahweh but was defensive and resistant.

Rahab’s faith was not only an affirmation of the mind, but of a total makeover of her life. Rahab was not betting on the word of the two spies, but on Yahweh whom she trusted in, because she wanted the two spies to swear to her “by the Lord”.

At that very moment, Rahab decided to side with the Israelites. Rahab recognized and believed in Yahweh’s sovereignty. She accepted His promises to the people of Israel and then she became an Israelite herself.

The decision that Rahab made in a moment in time determined her fate and life for the rest of eternity. The spies promised her that as long as she didn’t reveal their location and safeguard their life, they would fulfil her wishes. (V.14)

We see that Rahab took the upper hand with her keen and decisive actions when dealing with the two groups of men. Her agile thinking and prompt decision making led her to securing hers and her family’s salvation before the city of Jericho was destroyed.

God had already mentioned that the city of Jericho must be completely destroyed together with all the living things in it, and Israelites cannot make covenants with Gentiles (Ex 23:32-33, Deu 7:2-5, 20:10-18).

Rahab had faith in Yahweh and made the right decision to protect the two spies. God had compassion on Rahab, and by His grace He gave salvation to Rahab and her family. Rahab and her family became the survivors of Jericho. All in all, the decision that Rahab made in a moment was enough to turn around their fates!

Today, we must make a similar decision to fully give ourselves to serve God. This decision can turn around our lives, leading us to a breakthrough in our adversity.

It’s a pity that many Christians only believe in Christ with head knowledge. Their belief does not come from their hearts that they do not build a relationship with God. They are indifferent and doubtful; they ask God for “religious vacation”; their hearts are filled with complaints and are always having disputes with others. In the end, they fall and back slide. These kind of faith is very different from Rahab’s bold and determined faith!

The genuine faith in Christ is one that when God revealed Christ to us, we would be impacted to go and reveal Christ through us. A Christian has more than an intellectual belief in Christ; they sense a personal relationship.

And they know that this relationship is not given to them solely for their own person comfort and joy. They know they have a responsibility to reveal Christ to others through what they are, do, and say.

Like Rahab, let us take heed and make up our minds to love God with all our hearts and to serve Him even before our “walls of Jericho” falls, because only the kingdom of God will last forever. The decision that we make today will determine whether our lives will be full, meaningful, and eternal.

In Christ, We Have the Victory

Rahab let the two spies to the ground by a rope through the window. This is because her house was part of the city wall (V.15). Rahab was living at the edge of the society: on the city wall.

She was also a prostitute, a person at the edge of society; a marginalized person. She was also a Gentile, but she had confidence and was loyal to the beliefs of Israel, and became a spiritually marginalized person. She also had to carry the responsibility of taking care of her family. As a woman, it should not be her responsibility, but a father or a son’s.

Today, there are people who are in situations similar to Rahab. They carry many responsibilities and are looked down by others, pariah, in danger and marginalized. They often blame their bad surroundings and give up fighting, not wanting to change their lives.

Rahab, however, was different. She had faith and depended on God to overcome her adversity. She took hold of the opportunity to turn her fate around and managed to have a breakthrough! Rahab asked the two spies to hide in the mountains for three days until the pursuers returned before going back to the Israelite camp (V.16).

The two spies said to her, “When we enter the land, tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, then you and all in your home will be spared.” (VV. 18-19)

Rahab followed their advice and tied the scarlet cord in her window. Rahab’s home became a shelter, and the scarlet cord in her window became the marker for the Israelites to determine her house. Up until here, Rahab’s actions signified that she had totally surrendered to Israel. This indicated that she and her family would eventually be saved!

“Salvation through the scarlet cord in the window” echoes the blood of the Passover lamb and the blood of Christ. These are the symbols of salvation. In the chaos and confusion of the destruction of the walls of Jericho, Joshua sent men to save Rahab and her family.

Rahab let down the two spies with a rope from the window on the city wall, and later on she was also saved by the scarlet cord in the window on the city wall. Where she was weak and being obedient to God, there she also became strong and obtained salvation.

Because Rahab identified herself with the Israelites, she experienced what the Israelites experienced, and became a part of the history of the salvation of the Israelites.

When we see Rahab’s difficult life experienced a breakthrough and a turn for the better, it tells us that we should not passively expect our environment to change to suit us. Instead, we should change ourselves.

We can change the way we think and our attitudes through dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit. We can change the way we live our lives and our relationship with others through dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit. Changing our mind-set and attitude will make our lives becoming very much different.

Today, if you feel that you are in a negative environment, facing poverty and sickness, if you do not want others to know about it, and build a wall around your heart and feel very depressed every day, or if you feel that you were born into a worse environment compared to others, then, you need to change your thinking.

These kind of negative thoughts can cause us to very easily fall into self-pity, bitterness, feeling of being rejected and misunderstood. May God help us to overcome these negative thoughts.

In fact, every one of us face many unpredictable tragedies, political persecution, economic downturn, and public order problems which cause us to be insecure and worrisome. We cannot control every blessings and misfortunes and every encounter in our lives, no matter good or bad.

Our only certainty is our dependence on God, by having faith in God and hanging up our scarlet cord to lift up the precious blood of Christ. Christ has saved when we first accepted him as saviour and he will save us till the end.

In all of life’s unpredictability where we have no control over, our only hope is on the blood of Christ that can bring us salvation and guard us. We cannot pray to God for a smooth ride, but we can look to Christ’s salvation in our adversities and find hope. The truth is, the disciples of Christ witnessed God’s protection and blessings in most part of their lives.

We also notice that Rahab did not ask for salvation for herself only. She also asked it for her family. She became a vessel of grace. She was no longer marginalized. Instead, she became the core person of her family.

Rahab’s faith also changed the perspective of the two spies. After listening to what Rahab had to say to them, God’s Promised Land to them was not something which they would obtain in the future. It was something that was concurrently happening.

They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.” (verse 24)

In Matthew 1:5, Rahab’s name was recorded in the genealogy of Jesus. She became the ancestor of the house of King David and Jesus. This is amazing indeed!

Today, we should not build a wall around our hearts and isolate ourselves. We need to cross over this wall and breakthrough from our adversity and no longer be marginalized.

We can become a precious pearl, a vessel of salvation for our families, church and society, bringing hope and revival to everyone. We should contribute our talents and resources so that we will turn around the negative situations around us.