Josué 2

Josué 2

Calvin - “It has often happened, that even when good men have endeavored to keep a straight course, they have turned aside into circuitous paths. Rahab acted wrongly when she told a lie and said that the spies had gone; and the action was acceptable to God only because the evil that was mixed with the good was not imputed to her. Yet, although God wished the spies to be delivered, He did not sanction their being protected by a lie.” (Joshua 2 Commentary) Davis - For one to lie in this manner is for one to assume that he knows the outcome of a situation which, in fact, he does not. God has control of every situation and therefore it might well be the will of God that the spies should die. It is the job of the believer to represent the truth and allow the Lord to care for that situation.” (Israel From Conquest to Exile) Donald Campbell - To argue that the spies would certainly have perished if Rahab had been truthful is to ignore the option that God could have protected the spies in some other way. To excuse Rahab for indulging in a common practice is to condone what God condemns . Paul quoted a poet of Crete who said that Cretans were inveterate liars, and then added, "This testimony is true. For this cause reprove them severely that they may be sound in the faith." (Titus 1:3). The lie of Rahab was recorded but not approved . The Bible approves her faith , demonstrated by good works, but not her falsehood. (No Time for Neutrality) Pink makes an excellent point - But, it may be asked, Did not the workings of provi dence in the sequel go to show God approved of Rahab's policy? did He not give success to the same? Answer, His providences are no Rule for us to walk by or reason from: though water flowed from the rock which Moses smote in his anger, yet that was no proof God approved of His servant's display of temper. God indeed graciously overruled Rahab's conduct, yet that did not vindicate her . Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them - Here she even promises the king's men assurance that they will overtake them! Compare James 2:25 which says "In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received (hupodechomai) the messengers and sent them out by another (heteros) way?" Notice two "works" that show her faith was genuine. First she received the two spies where received is the Greek verb hupodechomai which means she took them under her care (as if placing the hands or arms under a person) and which pictures her receiving them with hospitality and kindness! Second, she sent them out by another way, which could refer to their departure by a rope let down from her house on the wall rather than departing through the city gate which is presumably how they had entered Jericho. Another way could also mean that Rahab sent them in a different direction, a direction opposite to the one she knew the king's men would be searching ("on the road to the Jordan"). In Joshua 2:16 she told the two spies to "Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.” The hill country would be in a direction different (heteros) than the road to the Jordan River (see further explanation below). Joshua 2:6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. to the roof: Jos 2:8 Ex 1:15-21 De 22:8 2Sa 11:2 Mt 24:17 hidden them: Ex 2:2 2Sa 17:19 1Ki 18:4,13 2Ki 11:2 Jer 36:26 Col 3:3 Heb 11:23 Joshua 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries SOME OF THE WORKS OF RAHAB'S FAITH But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof - Her faith is shown to be genuine by not only welcoming the spies (See note below on Hebrews 11:31) but bravely hiding them and then later by putting out the scarlet cord. Rahab was willing to risk everything she had for a God she barely knew. That is genuine faith in action! Campbell explains that "the stalks of flax which had been placed on her flat roof for drying. After flax stalks were pulled up at harvest time, they were soaked in water for three or four weeks to separate the fibers. Then, after drying in the sun, the flax was made into linen cloth. (The Bible Knowledge Commentary Old Testament or Here) Life Application Notes - Flax was harvested in the fields and piled high on the rooftops to dry. It was then made into yarn, which was used to make linen cloth. Flax grows to a height of three or four feet. Stacked on the roof, it made an excellent hiding place for the spies. Keil & Delitzsch add that these stalks of flax would “grow to the height of three or four feet in Egypt, and attain the thickness of a reed, and would probably be quite as large in the plain of Jericho, the climate of which resembles that of Egypt, and would form a very good hiding-place for the spies if they were piled up upon the roof to dry in the sun”. A W