Below is the Bible Study written by Jim Rudiger for his Sunday School Class which meets at Third Presbyterian Church, Norfolk, Virginia. It's based on Joshua 2:3-9, 15-16, 22-24.
When a Jehovah Witness or Mormon comes to your door, what do you do? Run for cover. What is it about these people that causes us to panic? We know that they are trying to sell us on their church and they don’t take, “I already go to a church” as an answer. Besides, we don’t want to have to defend why we are Presbyterians. Believe me, these people are trained on just how to answer when we try to explain our Christianity. Not many of us have a background that allows us to put up a good fight. There was a guy who taught at Norfolk Christian who relished these people coming to his door. In fact, he invited them in and then started to present scripture so completely that his visitors couldn’t argue against what he said and left with a sense of failure echoing in their minds. For me, I just tell them that I admire their willingness to do missionary work, but, I already have the assurance of eternal life and so there wasn’t anything more that their church could offer me.There are other people who come to our door: house repair people and people wanting to buy our home. But, not as many come to our door as there used to be sixty years ago. Remember when you were young, there were all kind of salesmen who knocked on doors. The Fuller Brush man who promised could clean up any mess you made on your floor and then proved it. This kind of salesmen went out of business when TV came along. Now we are stuck with guys screaming about a light switch you can glue to your wall or tomato plants that grow upside down. When I see a guy with a pillow made of Egyptian cotton, my finger can’t find the mute button fast enough. It’s easier to deal with these unwanted people today. We just switch stations or turn off the TV and eat a bag of potato chips.
In today’s study a woman hears a knock on her door and when she opens the door, there are two Israeli men standing there. Whatever they are selling she isn’t sure she’s buying. What will she do? Slam the door in their faces? Scream “Death to Israel”? Send her son to the door to tell them that mommie is cooking a ham for supper?
Now, where were we when we left Joshua last week? Oh, yeah. Joshua had told the Israelites to get ready to move out. D-day has come. Pack a big lunch because there are rivers to cross and land to take. And what kind of war will it be? A slash and burn campaign. Captured cities will be burned to the ground. Nothing left alive in the ruins. And it was God who told him to do it. Was this really necessary? Or at least in our 21st century politically correct thinking. Why burn a city to the ground? It seems like an over-kill.Maybe this will make you feel a little better about why God would give such an order. In those days and even today, the worst result of war is the spread of disease after the battle. Rotting corpses and animals are tailor made for disease. By burning the city to the ground a plague might be averted. Also, the Israelites realized that their victory was a gift from God, so in gratitude, the beaten city would be sacrificed to God and that sacrifice involved fire.
So how is Joshua handling calling for a war on Canaan? He is just a guy following orders - God’s orders. For him these were “holy wars” and in “holy wars”, God is in charge and responsible for all defeats and victories. The Canaanites were living in the Promised Land at the time. Sure, they had first come first served rights, but, are they really fit to own the Holy Land? Here is a little bit of stuff you need to know about the Canaanites. For starters, they practiced child sacrifice. And, prostitution was a regular part of their worship of their gods. In fact Baal, their favorite god, was a fertility god. The land was actually in the hands of a few wealthy land owners who oppressed the rest of the people. These wealthy land owners were propped up by the Pharaoh in Egypt. This was the land that God had picked out for the Israelites to bring salvation to the rest of the world. The Canaanites wouldn’t fit that bill. If it weren’t for burning down the cities, these oppressed Canaanites might have looked on the Israelites as liberators for freeing them from oppression and Egyptian rule.
As we begin our study today, Joshua is about to start his conquest of Canaan and faces his first obstacle, Jericho. Is there anyone here who hasn’t heard the story of Rahab? It is a great Bible story. It has spies working behind enemy lines, prostitutes, a chase sequence, lying and good winning out over evil - everything that an author like John Grisham might write about. So, how is Joshua going to use this Bible story to conquer Canaan?
Joshua’s plan is simple. Nine miles on the other side of the Jordan River is Jericho. It is one of the oldest cities in Canaan. It is a well fortified city with no weaknesses in it’s walls. Well - maybe one. You might call Jericho the New York City of Canaan. Before Moses died, he went up on a high mountain in Moab to see across the Jordan River to the Promised Land. Land that he would never enter. From his place on the mountain, he could see the big city of Jericho. Jericho was the doorway to Canaan and it was the most well defended city in Canaan. If Canaan was to be possessed, Israel would have to go right through Jericho. Joshua’s work was cut out for him. Forty years have passed since Moses sent out his spies. The report from those spies didn’t include anything about Jericho. So, Joshua sends out two men to get some intelligence on the security of Jericho and how prepared they are for a battle. The Israelites were camped in a place called Shittim. Shittim was just east of the Jordan River and Jericho was just on the west side of the Jordan. Shittim was mentioned, maybe, for a purpose that we will talk about later. These two spies cross the Jordan, get to Jericho and enter the city. Where is the first place they go? To AAA to get a trip ticket of interesting sites? Viking Cruise Lines to get tickets back across the Jordan? No! They went to the house of Rahab. And what does Rahab do for a living? She’s a known prostitute. Why would they go to Rahab’s house? It might be because it was close to the city gate. We know that her home was actually built in the wall that surrounded the city. I would think that this wouldn’t be a good real estate investment because the wall will be damaged every time another country attacked Jericho. If your house formed a part of the wall, then the odds were that your house might be damaged or even destroyed.
The home was definitely in the low rent district and there doesn’t seem to be any question that Rahab was a prostitute. As a prostitute, being close to the city gate offered some advantages for plying her trade. She got them coming into town and leaving town. Is this the kind of person these spies should be associating with? While we have definite feelings about a prostitute, it wasn’t as frowned on in Canaan. If a woman lost her husband and was left to pay all of the bills, sometimes that was the only way she could to make the money needed. It appears that she not only took care of her own needs, but, also the needs of her mother and father and, even some other relatives.
Scripture doesn’t give us any reasons why the spies went to her house. It may be that Rahab's was the first door they came to after entering the city gate. But, it appears that they went knowing that she was a prostitute. Maybe, they knew that as a prostitute, she would open the door for them thinking they were clients. Maybe they thought that she didn’t have much to lose since life had handed her a bad hand and she didn’t owe the people living in Jericho anything. There might be another less noble reason. Remember I said that Shittim might figure into this story. Shittim had a checkered past with the Israelites. It represented a dark period in their travel from Egypt to Canaan. It was in Shittim that the Israelites lost their moral compass. They went for the wild life and part of the wild life was frequenting prostitutes. Maybe these two spies hadn’t gotten that wild life out of their system, and, being away from home, thought nobody back home would catch them. Or maybe a prostitute was the only person they knew in Jericho. Regardless of why they went to her house, as our study opens, they are in Rahab’s house.
Joshua 2:3 Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab. “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come only to search out the whole land.” 4 But the woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from, 5 And when it was time to close the gate at dark, the men went out. Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them.” 6 She had, however, brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof. 7 So the men pursued them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. As soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
Who finds out that there are spies in Jericho? The king of Jericho is told that there are some Israelites in town to check on the town’s defenses. How did these people identify the Israelis as spies? Sorry to say, but they seemed to be spies who bungled their job. An important thing about being a spy is that people aren't suppose to know you are a spy. But, no sooner had they entered the city than they were identified and reported to the king spies. How did the Jerichoans identify them so fast? Maybe it was the way they dressed or it was their accent. Maybe the “Long Live Israel” tee shirt was a dead give away. Whatever it was, it wasn’t long before the king not only knew who they were but, what else? He knew where they were. He gets some armed guards and heads out for Rahab’s house. He doesn’t go inside. No use going inside and making people think he is there for pleasure. Instead, he stands outside and yells, “Send out your ‘visitors.’ Those guys are spies.” The king was having a little fun at Rahab’s expense. He used words that we would say today as double entendres. Things like, “I know they didn’t get any sleep in your house, so, send them out.” Obviously, the king considered Rahab a loyal citizen of Jericho who, when she found out that these guys were spies, would do as he commanded and turn them over to the authorities.
Now Rahab has to think fast. She put her fingers to her lips to tell the Israelis to be quiet and led them quickly up the steps to the roof which happened to be the top of the wall. They laid down on the roof and she covered them with sheaves of grain. Then she hurried down the steps and did she tell the king the truth and where the spies were hiding? She said, “Kingy, dear, there were two strangers here tonight, but, after they paid and got what they wanted, they left before the gate was shut for the night. I had no idea where they came from. Just that they had the money I asked for. The last time I saw them they were trudging along the eastward road.” Why would Rahab risk so much for two men she didn’t even know - who might be spies? It could be that she had a profession that wasn’t right up there with school teachers. Maybe the town’s people had let her know that she was scum. Why be loyal to them? We do know that she had heard about how the Egyptian army drowned following the Israelites across the Dead Sea and the battles that the Israelites had won in two other towns on the other side of the Jordan. It might be that she counted the odds and came to the conclusion that Jericho would fall and be destroyed anyway. Her best bet was to strike a deal with the Israelites. Just to make sure that these bumbling spies don’t walk into a trap and spill the beans about her, she tells the king that the last time she saw them, they were heading back on the road to Moab. If he hurries, he can catch them before they get back to their camp. The king, who also seems to be a bit dopey, follows Rahab’s suggestion and lights out for Moab. He’s so out of step with reality that he doesn’t even order that her house be searched.
How far did the king pursue the spies? To the fords. Not Chevrolet of Chrysler, but, fords., mind you What is a ford? It is a place where a river can be crossed. The most shallow place along the river’s run. It would take the king about one day to walk the distance from Jericho to the Jordan River.
Joshua 2:8 Before they went to sleep, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you.
After the king and his men left on their wild goose chase, Rahab goes back up on the roof and talks to the Israelites before they go to asleep. What does she confess to the spies? She has heard about Israel’s God and is sure that he is the real thing. All of her life she has worshiped Canaanite gods, but, she has never seen them do what the Israelite God did. How do the other people in Jericho feel about the Israelites? They’re scared to death because the Israelites have a God who really does something for those who worship him. Now, Israel isn’t exactly a world power. They aren’t even a top notch army. And, Jericho is the most fortified city in Canaan. Probably had a pretty good army, too. Why were they so afraid of the Israelites? God had done so much for Israel in the past, that it guarantees that he will do as much for them in the future and that future will include Jericho. In verses 12 through 14 Rahab tells the spies what her help should be worth. There is no doubt in her mind that the Israelites will wipe out the king’s army and burn the city to the ground. Her reward for helping them is that she and her family be spared. She names her family as her mother and father, brothers and sisters and all of their families. What does this tell us about Rahab? No husband or children of her own. This supports the idea that she was a prostitute because she was responsible for caring for a lot of people and she was on her own - no husband or children. She was a prostitute by need not choice. She really wasn’t in a strong bargaining position, here. The Israelites could agree to her terms and then change their minds later and kill her and her family. She tries to cover that by asking them for a sign that they will keep their word. No sign was given. They could only promise to spare her and her family and nothing more.
Joshua 2:15 Then she let them down by a rope through a window, for her house was on the outer side of the city wall and she resided within the wall itself. 16 She said to them, “Go toward the hill country, so that the pursuers may not come upon you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned; then afterward you may go your way.”
Using a red rope, Rahab attached it to a support in the house and dropped it out the second story window. Remember, her house is part of the wall, so, her window would actually be in the outside part of the wall and the Israelites could use the rope to climb down the wall and escape.
The men told her that when she saw the Israelite army approaching, she should take this same red rope and hang it out of this same window after she had gotten her whole family into the house. They should stay in the house until an Israelite comes to get them. Before the spies climbed out the window, she told them that she had instructed the king to watch out for two men leaving Jericho on the east road to Moab. What advise does Rahab give them? She told them that since she had told the king they went east, they should go west. The westerly road led into the hills where there were lot’s of crevices and caves to hide in. How long will they stay in the hills? They were to stay there for three days. Why three days? It would take the king one day to get to the crossing in the Jordan. If he didn’t see the spies after waiting a day at the ford, then he had missed them. So, the king would head for home. That would take another day. Three days total and then it would be safe for the spies to head for the border. When it got dark, the men slid down the rope and escaped.
Joshua 2:22 They departed and went into the hill country and styed there three days, until the pursuers returned. The pursuers had searched all along the way and found nothing. 23 Then the two men came down again from the hill country. They crossed over, came to Joshua son of Nun, and told him all that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before us.”
The men get back to Joshua and are debriefed. They report on the city’s defenses and the size of the army and tell how Rahab had saved their skins. In return they had promised that she and her family would be spared. Her whole family will be in her house and the army could identify the house by a red rope hanging out the window. What they didn’t know was that as soon as they lit out for the hills, Rahab hung the red rope out the window. She was afraid that she might be busy working and not see the Israelites coming. That’s a woman really committed to her job. Better safe than sorry.
Good briefing, right? Lets recount exactly what the spies really did. They got to Jericho and went immediately to Rahab’s house. Were discovered and had the king breathing down their necks. They spent their time in Jericho hiding out on Rahab’s roof. After it was safe, they climbed down a rope and hid again only this time in the hills - for three days. Then they return and report to Joshua. While in Jericho, who else did they talk to? With all of this messing around in Rahab’s house and hiding on roofs and hills, when did they ever have time to do any real spying? I mean coded letters and disguises. It seems that all of the main parts of the report about the size of the army and the defense of the city came from one source and who would that be? Rahab. How would Rahab have all this good spy information? Loose lips sinks ships and lips get pretty loose when young soldiers are talking to a prostitute and trying to impress her. Rahab was probably a fount of valuable intelligence for the spies.The battle plan is drawn up. Joshua is in command but he is waiting for word from God. He knows that the city is mobilized. He remembered that his spies had made a deal with Rahab. The army is alerted to look for one window close to gate and hanging out that window is a red rope. The army is not to mess with anything or anyone in that house.
The army was put on battle alert. They were to be ready to move out when they see the Ark of the Covenant being carried by the priests. For three days the army prepared and then the priests came carrying the Ark. Then God gives the command to Joshua to attack. The priest carrying the Ark heads down toward Jericho, but, blocking them is the Jordan River. Representatives from every tribe fall in behind the priests as they approach the Jordan. When the priests feet touch the Jordan River, it stops flowing just as the Dead Sea had when Moses was leaving Egypt. The priests walked out into the middle of where the river had been and stood there while the whole Israelite army crossed over to the Jericho side of the river.
Somebody is knocking at your door. Peek out your window and see if it's the Mormons or the Jehovah Witness. Nope, not one of them. How do you know that? Everybody knows that Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses wear suites when they are doing their missionary work and the guys knocking on the door aren’t wearing suites. They are wearing disguises. Should you answer the door? Who knows, it may be two bumbling spies trying to do God’s will in Norfolk.
Prayer: Father, we trust you to work out your plans in our lives. May we look past our reluctance and self serving actions to be your agent in this mixed up world. Amen.
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