Wise As Serpents

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Opening Prayer

Amazing God, You are rich in mercy and lavish in Your care of me. Your great name be praised.

Read Joshua 2:1–16

^[1] Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. ^[2] The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” ^[3] So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.” ^[4] But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. ^[5] At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” ^[6] (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) ^[7] So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. ^[8] Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof ^[9] and said to them, “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. ^[10] 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. ^[11] 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. ^[12] “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 ^[13] 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.” ^[14] “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land.” ^[15] So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. ^[16] She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.”

Meditate

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8,9). That truth is so clearly seen in today’s passage.

Think Further

Wisely, Joshua’s preparation for entering Canaan included sending in two

spies (1). He needed some idea of what lay ahead. Unknown to the spies, however, God had

prepared the way.

The fact that they stayed with a prostitute is probably not quite what it seems. The text implies

that they stayed in her home, not that they had sexual relations with her (cf. Judg. 16:1). So

although Rahab was a prostitute—possibly a Temple prostitute with a high social

standing—because she lived in a house in the city walls, she was probably also an innkeeper.

God often uses unlikely people, so why does it surprise us? Had they stayed with anyone else,

their adventure (and probably their lives) would have been short-lived, since it didn’t take long

for news of their arrival to reach the king (2). But God had prepared the way. Rahab recognized a

higher authority than the king. Not only did she hide them (6), but she sent the king’s messengers

off on a wild goose chase (7). War is rarely squeaky clean.

God had taken them straight to the person who could tell them exactly what they needed to know

(8–11; see Exod. 15:16; 23:27). As ever, he had gone ahead of them and prepared the way. News

of what God had done for the Israelites had traveled and done its work, and the battle was

already partly won. The Canaanites recognized that it wasn’t that the Israelites were strong and

powerful, but that their God was (11). But how did they know? Whatever the answer, the spies

now knew that they carried the reputation of the Lord with them. The way that they and the other

Israelites would treat Rahab and her family in the future would reflect on God himself (12–14).

Wisely, Joshua’s preparation for entering Canaan included sending in two spies (1). He needed some idea of what lay ahead. Unknown to the spies, however, God had prepared the way. The fact that they stayed with a prostitute is probably not quite what it seems. The text implies that they stayed in her home, not that they had sexual relations with her (cf. Judg. 16:1). So
although Rahab was a prostitute—possibly a Temple prostitute with a high social standing—because she lived in a house in the city walls, she was probably also an innkeeper. God often uses unlikely people, so why does it surprise us? Had they stayed with anyone else, their adventure (and probably their lives) would have been short-lived, since it didn’t take long
for news of their arrival to reach the king (2). But God had prepared the way. Rahab recognized a higher authority than the king. Not only did she hide them (6), but she sent the king’s messengers off on a wild goose chase (7). War is rarely squeaky clean. God had taken them straight to the person who could tell them exactly what they needed to know
(8–11; see Exod. 15:16; 23:27). As ever, he had gone ahead of them and prepared the way. News of what God had done for the Israelites had traveled and done its work, and the battle was already partly won. The Canaanites recognized that it wasn’t that the Israelites were strong and powerful, but that their God was (11). But how did they know? Whatever the answer, the spies now knew that they carried the reputation of the Lord with them. The way that they and the other
Israelites would treat Rahab and her family in the future would reflect on God himself (12–14).

Apply

What are you doing today? How will it point people to the reality of God in your life? In what ways could it reflect badly on him?

Closing prayer

Lord God, I bow before Your infinite wisdom. I look for Your thoughts and ways as I seek to follow You.

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