The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Joshua 2:8-11,
"Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, 'I know that the Lord has given this land to you 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. 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. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.'"
In a fascinating acknowledgment of the hand of God in Israel's fortunes from Rahab, this prostitute expresses what had been revealed not just to her but to all the peoples the Israelites will face as they conduct their campaign to take the promised land. God has certainly prepared the way for Israel's offensive!
The writer of Hebrews acknowledges Rahab as one of the members of the great "hall of faith" he enumerates in Hebrews, chapter 11. "By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient." Hebrews 11:31.
Paul makes an interesting observation in his letter to the Romans about God. He says, "The Scripture says to Pharaoh: 'I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.'" Romans 9:17. This is a quote of Exodus 9:16 where the Lord tells Moses to confront Pharaoh with some bad news just prior to the plague of hail.
Some have viewed God as being needy if he seeks the adulation of people and requires his glory to be acknowedged. As if he has some kind of shortcoming in his personality, he must be missing something if he "needs" us to worship him. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Here in Rahab's confession of the fear all of these well-fortified giants of the land felt as they observed Israel coming their way, God's purpose in his statement to Pharaoh becomes obvioius. God hardened Pharaoh's heart so that the situation surrounding Israel's exodus from Egypt would become so dramatic it would be something all the nations would hear of and live in fear of. God used it to set the stage for Israel's conquest of the region, to demoralize and strike fear into the hearts of the people in the land Israel was to take.
Interesting, isn't it, that forty years earlier, the Israelites responded in fear to the report of the ten spies. In reality, the "giants" of the land living in the fortified cities were quaking in their boots as they heard and saw the devastation to Egypt as Israel went, along with the more current events. So great was the fear, that Rahab's report comes forty years later as they are still in fear of the Israelites!
I also find it interesting that God didn't make it clear to the Israelites how the events of the ten plagues and the exodus affected the inhabitants of the promised land. Israel would have to accept the promised land on faith and faith alone that God would give it into their hands.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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