Because She Hid the Messengers

“And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.” Joshua 6:25

​Under Joshua’s command, the Israelite army utterly destroyed everything in the city of Jericho, which included the men, women, children, oxen, sheep, and donkeys with the edge of the sword. Joshua told the two men who spied in the land of Jericho to keep their promise by retrieving Rahab, her parents, her brothers, and all that she owned to be spared from destruction. After which, Rahab and her family were taken outside the camp of Israel. The Israelite army then burned the city of Jericho with fire, except for the silver, gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, which were put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.

​This passage demonstrates that our actions of obedience or inaction of disobedience can affect others in significant ways and for generations to come. Rahab’s action of faith by hiding the two Israelite spies led to her and her family’s deliverance from the utter destruction of the city of Jericho. Had she not responded in faith and acted on her belief that the God of heaven and earth is the true God, the two Israelite men would have been captured and possibly perished under the hand of the king of Jericho and his officials. Later, Rahab and her household would have died during the siege and destruction of Jericho. But because she hid the messengers, she and her household were saved, and she became the ancestor of Jesus as the mother of Boaz.

​Consider your actions or choices of inaction. What you decide to do or not to do, whether in obedience or disobedience to God, will consequently affect you, those you love, what you possess, and others for this present age and for generations to come. Rahab may have experienced some fear when she met the crossroads of deciding what to do about the two Israelite spies when they unexpectedly chose her home to lodge, and when the king of Jericho sent word to her to question and demand that the two men be surrendered to his officials. At that moment, Rahab chose to recall what she knew to be true about the God of Israel and His promise to His children about possessing and inheriting the Promised Land, and decided to hide them. When faced with significant decisions, we, too, must remember our God, the one true God of heaven and earth, and act in obedience to His will and ways. Our choices reflect whether we are for or against God and will also affect our near and distant future and that of others.