Joshua 2:4-7 Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” 6 (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) 7 So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut.
The two spies that Joshua had sent out to Jericho represented God's people. They represented God, the Word, His sovereignty, His Grace, and Life. The two spies represent the Light of God going into the world or into darkness. The king of Jericho represented the world and the kingdom of the world. Rahab, a prositute, by receiving the two spies received God and His Word and thus forsook her old world. Rahab is a prositute. She represents many of God's people who are also cheating on God. Many Christians are harlots. They are sinning against God. Rahab will be in the line where the Messiah will be born. She is a chosen one of God. She forsook her old way of life. By forsaking her old way of life, she was risking her life. If she was to be caught for hiding the two spies, it would mean death for her and her family.
By faith, Rahab had heard that God had parted the Red Sea and destroyed the previous kings of Sihon, Og, and the Amorites. She said she knows that God has given HIS people their land. She had heard the Word of God and by faith she accepted the Lord as the Supreme God. In a sense, she was accepting her Savior and becoming a believer. She was now submitting to the real true God.
Joshua 2:10-11 For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. 11 No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.
She had told the king of Jericho that the two spies had left when in fact she had hidden them. On the surface of this story, it can appears she was lying but she was not. In the New Testament, she is counted as righteous for hiding the two spies. There is a deeper revelation that she was not actually lying but speaking life. This deeper revelation is for another time.
James 2:25 NIV In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
By accepting and hiding the two spies, Rahab was accepting the Word of God and hiding it in her heart. When she told them the two spies were gone, it showed that she would not compromise the Word of God which the two spies represented. God was now her ticket to life. She would not compromise the life of the two spies. She protected them. They represented the Word of God. She would not compromise them as she had risked her life and as she had gavin up everything of her old life. This was her complete surrender. The Red Scarlet hanging from her window along the wall represented the Blood of Jesus covering her household.
Joshua 2:12 “Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that 13 when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.”
"When Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families." When the world and all the idols within the world is now conquered in you and we come to complete surrender, there will be life and salvation for our families. Those who are reading this article, you are the key to your families. You must come to complete surrender. You must become the prayer warrior who is devoted to prayer. You must come to full obedience. You must completely die to yourself and come to the resurrected life of Christ. This is not a theory. Christianity is a living walk with Christ in HIS Glory.
Joshua 2:17-20 Before they left, the men told her, “We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions. 18 When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members—your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives—must be here inside the house. 19 If they go out into the street and are killed, it will not be our fault. But if anyone lays a hand on people inside this house, we will accept the responsibility for their death. 20 If you betray us, however, we are not bound by this oath in any way.” 21 “I accept your terms,” she replied. And she sent them on their way, leaving the scarlet rope hanging from the window. 22 The spies went up into the hill country and stayed there three days. The men who were chasing them searched everywhere along the road, but they finally returned without success.
God can save our families when we come to full surrender but there are still conditions. In verse 18, all the family members must be under the covering of Rahab. She is a kingdom and her family are under her kingdom. They cannot go into the streets which represents going back into the world.
If Rahab or any of her family members go back into the streets, it would be a compromise in fear of her own worldly people of Jericho thus forsaking God. The two spies made an oath. This oath represents God's covenant between HIM and us. But it is conditional as they said they are bound only if she follow precise instructions. We must follow the instructions of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. In verse 21, she accepted the terms. It was as though she was accepting Jesus and the terms of surrender for life. As the two spies left, she left the scarlet rope hanging from her window. This was the Blood of Christ. Then the two spies went up the hill and stayed three days. When Christ died, HE died for three days. This story is a type of Christ representing salvation.
There is a promise in the bible that if we believe, our whole household will be saved. But this word to believe is not just a state of mind. It is a word in action to come to complete surrender and obedience to God's Kingdom in a resurrected life. It may require you to risk your life and all that you have including your families and your old way of life. But if you trust HIM, then HE will never forsake you.
Acts 16:31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.”
May you come to resurrected life to experience the abundant life that HE has promised for HIS people.
Glory to God
Pastor Steve Yong Kim
Fire of God Church
Fremont, CA USA
If Rahab or any of her family members go back into the streets, it would be a compromise in fear of her own worldly people of Jericho thus forsaking God. The two spies made an oath. This oath represents God's covenant between HIM and us. But it is conditional as they said they are bound only if she follow precise instructions. We must follow the instructions of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. In verse 21, she accepted the terms. It was as though she was accepting Jesus and the terms of surrender for life. As the two spies left, she left the scarlet rope hanging from her window. This was the Blood of Christ. Then the two spies went up the hill and stayed three days. When Christ died, HE died for three days. This story is a type of Christ representing salvation.
There is a promise in the bible that if we believe, our whole household will be saved. But this word to believe is not just a state of mind. It is a word in action to come to complete surrender and obedience to God's Kingdom in a resurrected life. It may require you to risk your life and all that you have including your families and your old way of life. But if you trust HIM, then HE will never forsake you.
Acts 16:31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.”
May you come to resurrected life to experience the abundant life that HE has promised for HIS people.
Glory to God
Pastor Steve Yong Kim
Fire of God Church
Fremont, CA USA
No comments:
Post a Comment