For We Have Heard

"For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed."  Joshua 2:10

Soon after the Israelites promised to obey all that Joshua commanded and to go wherever he would send them just as they obeyed Moses, Joshua secretly sent two Israelite men from Shittim as spies to view the land, particularly Jericho. The men came to a house dwelling on the city wall where Rahab, the harlot, lived. Soon after the two spies arrived, the king of Jericho was informed and he sent word to Rahab to bring the two spies out because the men were in Jericho to search the country.

​Rehab hid the two men on the roof and told the men pursuing the spies that the two men went out in the dark as the gate was being closed, she did not know where they went, and if the men want to apprehend them, they must act quickly to pursue them. Believing Rahab, the men took the road to the Jordan to pursue the two men and shut the gate.

After the pursuers left, Rahab went up to the roof and told the spies that she and others had heard of how the Lord delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians by drying up the Red Sea and later utterly destroyed the two Amorite kings. On hearing these things, the people's hearts melted and their courage left because the Israelites' Lord is God in heaven and on earth beneath. In turn, Rahab asked to be shown kindness towards her and her father's house that included her parents and brothers and sisters so that they were delivered from death because she knew that the Lord had given the Israelites that land, which they would soon overtake and possess.

This passage reveals that Rahab heard about the God of the Israelites and knew of His faithfulness to keep His promises and His infinite power to deliver His children by defeating their enemies. Rahab's actions demonstrated her faith in the Israelites' God's power to save. Rahab did not fear the king of Jericho nor the men who came to seize the spies. Undoubtedly the king and the men also heard of the God of Israel and yet did not acknowledge His power to save and deliver His people but sought to prevent the two men from searching the land. Rahab was remembered for helping the two men escape without harm and both she and the men made a promise that was signified by a scarlet cord (Joshua 2:12-21).

As we encounter various people everyday with different backgrounds, lifestyles, and beliefs, we must remember that they too have heard in some manner about God as Romans 1:18-23 tells us that all of creation speaks of God. Many of the people we encounter may either acknowledge God in some way as Rahab did or ignore God as the king of Jericho and his men. We can, as the two Israelite spies, act and speak in a manner that is a witness and an indication that we belong to the Father and He is our God who is the God of heaven and earth.