And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. (PHillipians 1:28)."
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. ( Joshua 2:11).
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom ( Proverbs 9:10). Continuing with some ideas from my previous post; it seems that when it comes to supposed testimonies of hell; the fear of the Lord and a sense of it being His wrath as a great part of the terror is lost in accounts of suffering. The same thing makes us even more suspect with those testimonies about heaven; even Moses who knew God unlike any other man at the time ( Exodus 33:11) and spoke to Him as a friend still had fear when He appeared in all His glory ( Deut. 9:19). WE ALL SHOULD TAKE THIS ADMONITION SERIOUSLY as to fear and AWE of Him no matter how long we have been believers (sorry but I felt caps were needed here).
The assurance of salvation and the evident blessings being present on someone brings meaning to the first quote from Philippians; and the fact that we will return with Him ( Rev. 19:14) will strike fear in those whose eyes are now opened;
along with the fear of judgment to come.
The concept of our enemies also needs to be addressed along with our own enmity toward God that we now have reconciled.
Romans 11:28 shows how the unbeliving Jews were enemies in one sense; yet Paul wished that he himself could be accursed to save them ( Romans 9:3). We are to love our enemies; but not fraternize to gain reputation as the world does; for what is honorable among men is an abomination to God ( Luke 16:15 also could be "highly esteemed"). We should have no part fellowshipping with those who preach a false Gospel; and in no uncertain terms testify to the peril the unsaved is in apart from repentance.
Hello Negandjo. I don't know the answer to the question you have given, but if I might make an assumption. Are you referring to the two men that Joshua sent to spy out Jericho and these men arrived at the house of Rahab, the harlot?
If that is your question (from Joshua 2:1), then it was Joshua who took the initiative to send out the spies, based upon what the LORD had commanded him to do (in Joshua 1:2). I don't think that Joshua knew about Rahab, as nothing was known about this city or the new territory they were about to enter & conquer. And the two spies themselves, may not even have known much about Rahab. We can only guess about this; my thought is that Rahab probably ran some sort of inn, as well as being a woman of ill repute (or, maybe she once was such a person, but the stigma stuck with her & attached to her name). So the two spies probably took whatever accommodation they could easily get - it just happened to belong to Rahab & God had planned this & subsequently used Rahab to help Joshua & Israel overcome the city. And after the city was razed to the ground & all living were killed, Rahab & her family members were spared as promised & taken out to live with God's people ( Joshua 6:23,25). I hope that's what you were looking for. If not, please let us know.
Another commandment in addition to the blood on the door posts in Egypt and the scarlet thread was they had to remain in the house. The scarlet thread and blood did no good if they went outside their house. I liken this to we have to keep the commandments of Christ and abide in his house or the blood will not avail anything. St. John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
A lesson on faith is hidden in this verse. The Jewish spies told Rahab that mercy would be shown to her and her family because of her assistance to them. There was one thing she had to do. She was to hang a scarlet scarf in her window to identify her house as under the protection against the coming of the Jewish military to destroy that city. Even as they made their way to safety she hung the scarf. Her faith in their promise was immediate. The invasion could happen at any moment. She wasted no time to effect the protection offered her. We, too, have been offered grace, through the blood of Jesus. His judgment could come at any moment. Don't delay accepting that grace. Be obedient. Give your status with God visibility for all to see. Woo your loved ones. Do not delay. What God has said will be done. You can't afford delay, for Christ could come to you at any time.We could go to the eternal God at any time.
Hi Charles. Genesis chapters 1 & 2, as you have read, is about the Almighty God who made the universe & the Earth in particular. And how God has made the Earth habitable, where He has placed all living creatures including man & woman. Everything was perfect as God planned for & created but it didn't remain like that for very long. Was there something in those chapters that you couldn't understand?
This kinda reminds me of the Passover in Egypt . Rahab put a scarlet thread in her window and all that were in her house were saved from destruction . That seems to me a kind of Passover , at least for her and her family . Yes Jesus's lineage is very interesting , lots of people who we might not imagine to be there , Rahab a Canaanite prostitute and Ruth a Moabite . This to me , is a foreshadow of the cleansing of all sinners through Christ , even gentiles , us in other words . I love the Old Testament so much , it sheds so much light on the New . I'm enjoying your commentaries very much , thank you .
The infamous "Rahab the Harlot" tale. The origin of this person brings in mind Christ's statement in Matthew 21:31. Despite her past trade; this woman was given insight on how God was the true God of heaven and earth. (v. 11). Her reaction was to immediately ask for safety for her family and all that belonged to her. Obviously, the spies were grateful that their lives were spared. One could nitpick about the deception used to remove the men searching for them. It appears that others were aware of those going in and out her house; and the King was quickly informed-perhaps the strategic location and the great fear of invasion has something to do with their hypervigilance.
Anyway; she is written in Hebrews; as being in the "hall of faithful" in Hebrews 11. She was the great grandmother of David; and in Christ's lineage. The instructions given reminds us of those who escape wrath in other scriptures. She was to wait until they came; which did occur later. She wasted no time in identifying her house with the scarlet cord as instructed to be placed when they returned to invade.
Once again, she made them swear an oath (v. 12); and they agreed if she obeyed their stipulations and laid their lives on the line to bind it. (v.14) Ultimately; Christ said to make our yea yea and nay nay; and not to swear on anything ( Matthew 5:37). This would be in relation to things between people; not to eliminate covenants with God such as marriage.
Would it be that we all realize that we are unworthy servants; and take action when necessary when it is prudent to do so. This is one case where no prayer was needed in order to make a wise decision. She was given grace to see clearly what the Lord intended to do; and to be sensible enough to realize He is the true God who would continue to fight for His chosen people.
Story from a Hebrew website - In Reply on Joshua 2 - 2 years ago
Rahab Saves the Spies and Saves Her Family
A Canaanite woman living in Jericho, Rahab is a prostitute who is also a biblical heroine. According to the narrative in Joshua 2, before the conquest of Canaan, Joshua sends two men as spies to see the land. They come to Rahab's house for lodging, information. The king, hearing about the two men, demands that Rahab give them up. Like the midwives in Egypt, Rahab is faced with a "moment of truth." Like them, Rahab defies the ruler and rescues the Israelites. She tells the king's men that the two men have left and that the king's men should chase them. Meanwhile, she has hidden the men under the flax drying on her roof (2:4); the writer uses the unusual word tizpeno, "she hid him" (even though there are two men), perhaps as an allusion to Exod 2:2, where Moses's mother hides her newborn (tizpenehu). Rahab is midwife and mother to Israel in its beginnings in Canaan.
Rahab lets the two men out through her window, which is in the town wall. She requests a return for her act of esed (NJPS, "I have shown loyalty"). She asks that she and her family be spared once the Israelites attack Jericho. The spies give her a crimson thread to hang from her window, with the injunction that she is to gather her family and wait inside her house; as long as they stay indoors, they will be spared. When the Israelites destroy Jericho, as described in Joshua, Rahab and her whole extended family indeed escape doom by waiting inside a house marked with a red thread, just as the Israelites who stayed in houses marked with the blood of the paschal lamb were spared the fate of the Egyptians. They are exempted from the erem, Israel's obligation to destroy all Canaanites (see 6:17), and are brought out of the city to live among the Israelites (6:25). Rahab and her family are a new Israel.
Right,. God never called her a harlot , it was the people, particularly the ones that made fabric, because she was the best ,. An that made others jealous
The Bible is a very honest book , all kinds of human frailty and foolishness can be found in it . It doesn't sugar coat the Truth and neither should we .
I've read comments about Rahab not being a harlot. Even Matthew Henry made a comment that she was not likely a harlot, but rather a business women such as innkeeper. The Word of God warns us of changing His word. Do not add to it, nor subtract from it! So what's it going to be? Do we believe all of His word, or pick and choose what fits our own narrative? I think we best follow His Word, and lean not on our own understanding.
Donna Something to keep in mind what they saw was a vision or a sight, the same word is used in Acts 10:17 + 19 God was displaying something for a specific purpose. God was showing Peter to go to the gentiles Cornelius Household for they could receive Holy spirit In Acts 26:19 in context same thing God making something to occur to fulfill His word with Apostle paul. When God wants to accomplish His word nothing will stop that.
Here is a differentiation that I think is important to keep in mind.
There is ONE interpretation of Joshua 2:13-20. Any passage has ONE INTERPRETATION not many. It is not the same as this typology or picture of Jesus rising on the third day. The interpretation would be what a reader would have understood in 1300 BC or 20 AD. The correct interpretation is the message that the writer meant to convey not the interpretation you want to give it. There may be an additional message in a typology but typology is not allegory, which is reading into the text what is not there as the interpretation. For instance, studying Leviticus may be difficult apart from typology, but the typology does not change the meaning of what the Ark of the Covenant was to an OT believer.
The scarlet thread was to show which house to save. It is also a type of Christ, the scarlet thread being a symbol of the blood of Jesus red blood , which saves us, as the scarlet thread saved those who were in the house.
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. What was the purpose of the scarlet line? They didn't enter into the city that way. They came in the front gate.
We learn in v.11 that Rahab believed in God and because of her belief, she and her household was promised salvation. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house", Acts 16:31
Its all about God's amazing grace, his purpose and plans for our lives, at the appointed time He can and will change our lives, no matter how we started out, if we obey the day we here his voice it does'nt have to end that way, but will end in total victory, our God is sovereign!!!!
Jack Ellington; Joshua 2:1. Scripture says she was a Harlot. V6. "She hid them in the stalks of flax." It doesn't say why the flax was there. It doesn't say she was a business woman, but it does say she was a harlot. The point of the story is that she protected them.
And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. (PHillipians 1:28)."
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. ( Joshua 2:11).
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom ( Proverbs 9:10). Continuing with some ideas from my previous post; it seems that when it comes to supposed testimonies of hell; the fear of the Lord and a sense of it being His wrath as a great part of the terror is lost in accounts of suffering. The same thing makes us even more suspect with those testimonies about heaven; even Moses who knew God unlike any other man at the time ( Exodus 33:11) and spoke to Him as a friend still had fear when He appeared in all His glory ( Deut. 9:19). WE ALL SHOULD TAKE THIS ADMONITION SERIOUSLY as to fear and AWE of Him no matter how long we have been believers (sorry but I felt caps were needed here).
The assurance of salvation and the evident blessings being present on someone brings meaning to the first quote from Philippians; and the fact that we will return with Him ( Rev. 19:14) will strike fear in those whose eyes are now opened;
along with the fear of judgment to come.
The concept of our enemies also needs to be addressed along with our own enmity toward God that we now have reconciled.
Romans 11:28 shows how the unbeliving Jews were enemies in one sense; yet Paul wished that he himself could be accursed to save them ( Romans 9:3). We are to love our enemies; but not fraternize to gain reputation as the world does; for what is honorable among men is an abomination to God ( Luke 16:15 also could be "highly esteemed"). We should have no part fellowshipping with those who preach a false Gospel; and in no uncertain terms testify to the peril the unsaved is in apart from repentance.
If that is your question (from Joshua 2:1), then it was Joshua who took the initiative to send out the spies, based upon what the LORD had commanded him to do (in Joshua 1:2). I don't think that Joshua knew about Rahab, as nothing was known about this city or the new territory they were about to enter & conquer. And the two spies themselves, may not even have known much about Rahab. We can only guess about this; my thought is that Rahab probably ran some sort of inn, as well as being a woman of ill repute (or, maybe she once was such a person, but the stigma stuck with her & attached to her name). So the two spies probably took whatever accommodation they could easily get - it just happened to belong to Rahab & God had planned this & subsequently used Rahab to help Joshua & Israel overcome the city. And after the city was razed to the ground & all living were killed, Rahab & her family members were spared as promised & taken out to live with God's people ( Joshua 6:23,25). I hope that's what you were looking for. If not, please let us know.
"Oh yes, she's the sister we don't talk about."
And then she was chosen to be in the lineage of Jesus!
Anyway; she is written in Hebrews; as being in the "hall of faithful" in Hebrews 11. She was the great grandmother of David; and in Christ's lineage. The instructions given reminds us of those who escape wrath in other scriptures. She was to wait until they came; which did occur later. She wasted no time in identifying her house with the scarlet cord as instructed to be placed when they returned to invade.
Once again, she made them swear an oath (v. 12); and they agreed if she obeyed their stipulations and laid their lives on the line to bind it. (v.14) Ultimately; Christ said to make our yea yea and nay nay; and not to swear on anything ( Matthew 5:37). This would be in relation to things between people; not to eliminate covenants with God such as marriage.
Would it be that we all realize that we are unworthy servants; and take action when necessary when it is prudent to do so. This is one case where no prayer was needed in order to make a wise decision. She was given grace to see clearly what the Lord intended to do; and to be sensible enough to realize He is the true God who would continue to fight for His chosen people.
A Canaanite woman living in Jericho, Rahab is a prostitute who is also a biblical heroine. According to the narrative in Joshua 2, before the conquest of Canaan, Joshua sends two men as spies to see the land. They come to Rahab's house for lodging, information. The king, hearing about the two men, demands that Rahab give them up. Like the midwives in Egypt, Rahab is faced with a "moment of truth." Like them, Rahab defies the ruler and rescues the Israelites. She tells the king's men that the two men have left and that the king's men should chase them. Meanwhile, she has hidden the men under the flax drying on her roof (2:4); the writer uses the unusual word tizpeno, "she hid him" (even though there are two men), perhaps as an allusion to Exod 2:2, where Moses's mother hides her newborn (tizpenehu). Rahab is midwife and mother to Israel in its beginnings in Canaan.
Rahab lets the two men out through her window, which is in the town wall. She requests a return for her act of esed (NJPS, "I have shown loyalty"). She asks that she and her family be spared once the Israelites attack Jericho. The spies give her a crimson thread to hang from her window, with the injunction that she is to gather her family and wait inside her house; as long as they stay indoors, they will be spared. When the Israelites destroy Jericho, as described in Joshua, Rahab and her whole extended family indeed escape doom by waiting inside a house marked with a red thread, just as the Israelites who stayed in houses marked with the blood of the paschal lamb were spared the fate of the Egyptians. They are exempted from the erem, Israel's obligation to destroy all Canaanites (see 6:17), and are brought out of the city to live among the Israelites (6:25). Rahab and her family are a new Israel.
There is none righteous; not one.
Even when we were dead in our sins and enemies of God, Christ died for us.
We are all in the same "life boat" and the rescuer is the same for all of us.
Joshua 6:25.
Hebrews 11:31.
There is ONE interpretation of Joshua 2:13-20. Any passage has ONE INTERPRETATION not many. It is not the same as this typology or picture of Jesus rising on the third day. The interpretation would be what a reader would have understood in 1300 BC or 20 AD. The correct interpretation is the message that the writer meant to convey not the interpretation you want to give it. There may be an additional message in a typology but typology is not allegory, which is reading into the text what is not there as the interpretation. For instance, studying Leviticus may be difficult apart from typology, but the typology does not change the meaning of what the Ark of the Covenant was to an OT believer.
You have noted another interesting parallel, with the details, in Joshua 2:15-18. Wonderful!
God Bless you Skip.