Outline
Rahab receives and hides two Israelites. (Verse 1-7.)
Rahab and the spies. (Verse 8-21.)
The return of the spies. (Verse 22-24.)
1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
[2 Cor 5:17]
“harlot” – Rahab is an example of how God can save any person from their sins and change their lives despite their past. Because of Rahab’s faith and submission to God (2:11), she is held up as a heroine of faith in Heb. 11:31. She eventually married one of Caleb’s sons (compare Mat. 1:5 and I Chron. 2:51) and became one of the physical ancestors of our Lord (note again Matt. 1:5).
Joshua who is a type of Christ sends two men that are unnamed, into Israel just as Jesus sends two unnamed witnesses to Israel during the time of Jacob’s trouble (the tribulation period).
Their purpose, unknown to them at the time, was to go into the city and save a Gentile who had placed her faith in the God of Israel.
Who were these two unnamed men? Scripture doesn’t say. One of them could have very well been a man by the name of Salmon who is the Father of Boaz because we know by the genealogy in Matthew 1:5 that Salmon later married Rahab the harlot.
Prior to the Jews coming to Rahab she was an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, and a stranger from the covenant of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. Eph 2:12 Rahab is not a type of the body of Christ, she is a type of the believing Gentiles that enter into the kingdom with Israel.
2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country.
3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.
4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:
5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.
6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.
7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.
Is it alright to lie to protect someone? It was alright in this circumstance. It is not in most of the circumstances we find ourselves in today.
We cannot use this situation as an excuse to disobey the sixth commandment. None of us have ever been in this same situation.
Rahab understood that her physical salvation was dependent protecting these two Jewish “messengers”. Listen very carefully as you read her words of testimony of the God of Israel and how he had changed her life drastically.
There was no turning back for Rahab now, she had betrayed her own nation and was totally at the mercy of the God of Israel.
8 And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;
9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
[Gen 35:5, Ex 15:16,23:27, Deut 11:25, Josh 5:1, 1st Sam 14:15, 2nd Chron 14:14]
10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token:
[Gen 21:23, 1st Sam 24:21]
13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.
Salvation at this time was of the Jews and Rahab had submitted herself to eat from crumbs that fell from the master’s table (Israel).
Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
Rahab feared and believed while the others only feared, she is a Gentile that believed and becomes the wife of a Jew that just so happens to be in the line of king David and more importantly in the line of the Messiah.
James 2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.
16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.
17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.
18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee.
the scarlet (red) cord is a type or picture of safety through the blood of Christ. Like the blood on the door at Passover, this cord had to be in the window and would protect only those in the room. In the same manner, the ONLY way you can have your sins forgiven, escape hell and gain heaven is if the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ has been applied to your soul – are you sure it has been?
19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.
Doesn’t this sound like the passover for the children of Israel in Egypt? The red cord is symbolic of the blood that was placed upon the door posts, and anyone that was under the blood was preserved.
20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.
21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
22 And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.
Notice that Rahab doesn’t wait until the messengers are returning with the army to tie the scarlet thread to the window but does it immediately.
This scarlet thread represents the blood Jesus Christ shed prior to his death and resurrection three days later. Notice how many days it is before the men return, three days.
23 So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them:
24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.
All the kingdoms will be delivered into Christ’s hands during the millennium because he spent three days in the heart of the earth.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.
Verse 1-7 – Faith in God’s promises ought not to do away, but to encourage our diligence in the use of proper means. The providence of God directed the spies to the house of Rahab. God knew where there was one that would be true to them, though they did not. Rahab appears to have been an innkeeper; and if she had formerly been one of bad life, which is doubtful, she had left her evil courses. That which seems to us most accidental, is often overruled by the Divine providence to serve great ends. It was by faith that Rahab received those with peace, against whom her king and country had war. We are sure this was a good work; it is so spoken of by the apostle, James 2:25. and she did it by faith, such a faith as set her above the fear of man. Those only are true believers, who find in their hearts to venture for God; they take his people for their people, and cast in their lot among them. The spies were led by the special providence of God, and Rahab entertained them out of regard to Israel and Israel’s God, and not for lucre or for any evil purpose. Though excuses may be offered for the guilt of Rahab’s falsehood, it seems best to admit nothing which tends to explain it away. Her views of the Divine law must have been very dim: a falsehood like this, told by those who enjoy the light of revelation, whatever the motive, would deserve heavy censure.
Verse 8-21 – Rahab had heard of the miracles the Lord wrought for Israel. She believed that his promises would certainly be fulfilled, and his threatenings take effect; and that there was no way of escape but by submitting to him, and joining with his people. The conduct of Rahab proved that she had the real principle of Divine faith. Observe the promises the spies made to her. The goodness of God is often expressed by his kindness and truth, Psalms 117:2. in both these we must be followers of him. Those who will be conscientious in keeping promises, are cautious in making them. The spies make needful conditions. The scarlet cord, like the blood upon the doorpost at the passover, recalls to remembrance the sinner’s security under the atoning blood of Christ; and that we are to flee thereto for refuge from the wrath of a justly offended God. The same cord Rahab used for the saving of these Israelites, was to be used for her own safety. What we serve and honour God with, we may expect he will bless, and make useful to us.
Verse 22-24 – The report the spies brought was encouraging. All the people of the country faint because of Israel; they have neither wisdom to yield, nor courage to fight. Those terrors of conscience, and that sense of Divine wrath, which dismay the ungodly, but bring not to repentance, are fearful forebodings of approaching destruction. But grace yet abounds to the chief of sinners. Let them, without delay, flee to Christ, and all shall be well.