Joshua 2:9-11

"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. 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. 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."

These words spoken by Rahab the harlot to the spies that Joshua sent into Jericho show a heart for the God of Israel. Because of her trust in the living God, shown in the appeal that she makes in the next few verses after these, Rahab and her family were spared in the judgment that fell. She is also mentioned in the genealogy of the LORD Jesus Christ in Matthew as being a direct descendant of His.

What makes her statement so astounding is the fact that forty years had passed since the events to which she refers. Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt and right up to the promised land. But the 12 spies sent by Moses discouraged the people from obeying the LORD who commanded them to take the land. So they wandered in the desert for forty years before they came back. And this is the occasion of the words of Rahab. Interesting too is the fact that she says that they had heard of what God had done. In the hearing of what God had done the people of the land had no more courage (she says) and their hearts did melt. Further, because of their sin God was using the Israelites to judge the people in the land. They were not His people, as were the Israelites. And they were under His righteous wrath. Yet, this woman finds grace in God's eyes for her faith in Him.

Consider the contrasts. The Israelites had seen the events to which Rahab refers, she had only heard of them. The Israelites wandered for forty years in the desert for their lack of obedience to God. Rahab and her countrymen lived forty years in fear that the great God of Israel would send them their way. The Israelites were always under God's blessing because of their standing before Him. Rahab threw herself on this great God and ultimately found that she was no longer under His wrath because of her faith.

It is incredible to consider that the Israelites had lived these great events and failed to take in Who it was that was on their side; Who it was that fought for them. The story is recounted in Nehemiah 9, Psalm 106, and Ezekiel 20 and in each account we find God doing great things, and the Israelites falling away from following Him. They rebel against Him and His direction time and time again. What stands out in its immensity is God faithfulness to them nonetheless. In each of the accounts God's mercy and faithfulness and kindness to Israel is emphasized; "Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst." (Nehemiah 9:19, 20). The spies that Joshua sent are now confronted by a woman who had only HEARD about what God had done and she is throwing herself upon God's mercies to spare her life and the life of her family. Her breath was not taken away by the spectacle of the things that had happened. She merely heard about them, and was astonished. And this astonishment carried for forty years to the day when she spoke the words above. What a rebuke to God’s people her faith is. For they had seen, she had merely heard.

Then let us consider that for their disobedience the Israelites wandered in the desert. Having seen the great things that they had, they nonetheless failed to take God at His word and believe Him. The people of the land of Jericho fainted for the sake of this great God and His great acts. Rahab took in that the God of Israel is, "... God in heaven above, and in earth beneath." He is the great God who created all things. This reminds of the reaction of the sailors to the revelation, as recorded in Jonah 1:9, 10. Jonah was an Israelite who said unto them, "... I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land." It goes on the say, "Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them." They rebuked Jonah for running from God! So Rahab and her people lived in fear for forty years of this great God, and all the while the Israelites wandered in the desert because they refused to believe Him.

Finally, as was hinted earlier, notice the greatness of God in His faithfulness. Israel did get into the land. The generation of folks that refused to take the land under Moses died in the wilderness. But God brought their children into the land. He never did abandon them, neither did He take away the manna or the guidance of the cloud and fire. In fact, He even maintained their clothing for those forty years. Their shoes did not wear out neither did their clothing. Rahab determined that she knew enough about this great God that she would throw herself upon Him for His mercy. Many people died in Jericho, but not Rahab because she realized that this God was the greatest of all. She drew the conclusion that if God was able to do the great things that He did for the Israelites so many years before then He surely would be merciful to her. Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Rahab's trust in God, her faith, did save her.

This same God is merciful to them who trust Him even today. He is mighty beyond our ability to even think. There is nothing that is impossible for Him, except to lie. Can He still be trusted? Even in the face of death, can He help? Rahab found out that He can. And for us who know Him as LORD and Savior, when was the last time we saw that God was great? Was it a few years ago? Do we now struggle because He has not shown Himself mighty in a while? Are we guilty of asking (by our actions) what He has done for us lately? Rahab heard of events that had happened forty years before she even met the people about which these things were told. Still, she threw herself on this great God for the sake of this one event about which she had heard. Any indication of His greatness and His mercy to us ought to last a lifetime. Such is the great salvation that He provided. But He has been great to us many times since. Shouldn't we trust Him more?

Only trust Him, only trust Him,
Only trust Him now;
He will save you, He will save you,
He will save you now.

HJK