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Joshua
Chapter
2
{Rahab
- From Prostitute to Princess in One Chapter}
1~~And
Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim
{from the forest of Acacias (pronounced e-K-she-a's) trees}
two
men
{1 from Judea, 1 from Ephraim: remember Caleb and Joshua were
from these two tribes}
to
spy secretly, saying,
"Go
view the land, even Jericho
{a city a few miles North of where Sodom and Gomorra were
located - RBT says this was a city of 'religious legalists' who were
almost all unbelievers}."
And
they went
{believers with doctrine in their souls move out - they do not sit
still God does not preclude human action, He pre-supposes it -
the action must be based on believing the promises of God},
and
came into a prostitute's house, named Rahab,
and
lodged there.
{Note: Rahab will end up being in the direct line of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 1:4-5 we will see that Salmon one of those who was sent out to see the fortifications of Jericho and met and later married Rachab/Rahab the prostitute - who became a believer and a great woman of her day.}
{Verses
2-24: Deliverance of Jewish Intelligence Agents (Spies)}
2~~And
it kept on being said to the king of Jericho, saying,
{counter-intelligence agents must have gotten wind of them}
"Behold,
there came men in here tonight of the children of Israel . . . to
search out the country
{scout the lay of the land}."
{Verses
3-6: Questioning of Inn Keeper Rahab}
3~~And
the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab
{why Rahab? Maybe because she was known to be a believer-
In fact, one of the two spies was Salmon her 'right man',
she married him, and was the ancestor to David
and therefore the ancestor of Jesus also!}
saying,
"Bring forth the men that have come to you,
which
are entered into your hotel,
for
they have come to search out all the terrain."
4~~And
the woman took the two men and hid them
{she did this before the King's agents arrived in verse 3
(see verse 6). She hid them in the rope factory she had on her
roof - probably under the stalks of flacks used to make rope
From Hebrews 11, James, and the following verses
we see this was an expression of her faith},
and
said thus, "There came men unto me,
but
I did not know who {they were/'where they were from'}
{'aiyn means 'where', but RBT said 'who' in the Joshua series
without going into explanation}."
{Rahab
Flat Out Lies to the MP's}"
5~~
"And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate,
when
it was dark, that the men went out.
Where
the men went I do not know.
Pursue
after them quickly!
For
you shall overtake them!"
{Note: Rahab just flat lied to the MP's (military police). There is no further discussion of the lie in the Word. So apparently she confessed the lie and, as always, the lie was forgiven by God.}
6~~But
she had brought them {the spies}
up
to the roof of her hotel,
and
had hid them with the stalks of flax {used to make rope},
which
she had laid in order upon the roof.
7~~And
the men pursued after them {they bought into Rahab's lie}
all
the way to Jordan unto the fords {of the Jordan River}..
And
as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out,
they
shut the gate.
8~~And
before they were laid down
{the spies faith resting were starting to go to sleep
quite a relaxed mental attitude in each man},
she
came up unto them upon the roof.
{Verses
9-10: Great Verses on the Power of Evangelism}
9-10~~And
she said unto the men,
"I
know/understand {yada`}
that
Jehovah/God has given you the land."
"And
that your terror is fallen upon us
{people who are afraid are already whipped before the battle
starts},
and
that all the inhabitants of the land
faint
because of you 10~~
because
we all have heard
how
the Jehovah/God
dried
up the water of the Red sea for you,
when
you came out of Egypt.
And
what you did unto the two kings of the Amorites,
who
were on the other side Jordan,
Sihon
and Og {both races of giants},
whom
you utterly destroyed."
11~~
"And as soon as we had heard all these things,
our
hearts/'right lobes' did melt
{no inner resources (doctrine) on which to draw},
neither
did there remain any more courage in any man . . .
because
of you all."
"For
the Jehovah/God your 'Elohiym/Godhead,
He
. . . {is} 'Elohiym/Godhead in heaven above,
and
in earth beneath
{demonstrating that Rahab is a believer and strong in doctrine}."
{Note: This ties into Exodus 9:17 - see the Pharaoh's hardening of the heart.}
12-13~~
"Now therefore, I {Rahab} beg/pray you,
swear
unto me by the Jehovah/God,
since
I have showed you kindness,
that
you will also show kindness unto my father's house
{thinking of her family instead of only herself},
and
give me a true token. 13~~
And
that you will save alive my father,
and
my mother, and my brothers, and my sisters,
and
all that they have,
and
deliver our lives from death."
14~~And
the men answered her,
"Our
life for yours
{an idiom: means 'God take our lives if we do not keep our words
it is a pledge - the spies agree on 3 conditions:
1) say nothing of their plans
2) keep family inside
3) put the robe they use to escape in hotel's window},
if
you 'utter not this our business'/'shut your mouth'.
And
it shall be,
when
the Jehovah/God has given us the land,
that
we will deal kindly and truly with you."
{Note: And this woman had virtue - she could keep her mouth shut.}
15~~Then
she let them down by a {scarlet} rope
{a red rope related to her prostitution}
through
the window.
For
her house was upon the town wall
{in many fortified towns of the day, the dwellings were part of the
walls and when the walls fell Rahab's hotel was the only spot that
did not fall!}
and
she dwelt upon the wall.
16~~And
she said unto them,
"Go
you to the mountain
{she sent the pursuers to the river ford},
lest
the pursuers meet you;
and
hide yourselves there for three days,
until
the pursuers be returned
{she was knowledgeable about the habits of the MP's and shared it
with them}.
and
afterward may you go your way."
{Jews
Agree But With Conditions}
17-20~~And
the men said unto her,
"We
will be blameless of this your oath
that
you have made us swear
{if you do not do the following conditions}18~~
behold,
when we came into the land,
you
shall bind this line of scarlet rope in the window
by
which you did let us down.
And
you shall bring your father, and your mother, and your brothers,
and
all your father's household, home unto you. 19~~
And
it shall be,
that
whosoever shall go out
of
the doors of your house into the street,
his
blood shall be upon his head
{anyone leaves the hotel may die},
and
we will be guiltless.
And
whosoever shall be with you in the hotel,
his
blood shall be on our head,
if
any hand be upon him.
{won't be hurt if they stay inside} 20~~
And
if you utter this our business,
then
we will be quit of your oath
which
you has made us to swear
{if she does these three things, they give her their pledge of
protection}."
{Note: The analogy here is the same with that of Noah's Ark. Only believers would enter Noah's boat. Those to be saved must do it the same way - by faith. They must be believers. Since Rahab was a former prostitute, her family probably would not enter her house. So, now they must have faith and believe her in order to be saved.}
21~~And
she said, "According to your words, so be it."
And
she sent them away,
and
they departed.
And
she bound the scarlet rope in the window.
{same principal of the Passover red blood on the door}
22~~And
they {the spies} went, and came unto the mountain,
and
abode there three days
{stayed calm and did not panic},
until
the pursuers were returned.
And
the pursuers sought them throughout all the way,
but
found them not.
23~~
So the two men returned,
and
descended from the mountain,
and
passed over {the river ford},
and
came to Joshua the son of Nun,
and
told him all things that befell them.
24~~And
they said unto Joshua,
"Truly
the Jehovah/God
has
delivered into our hands all the land.
For
even all the inhabitants of the country
do
faint because of us
{contrast to their parents 40 years ago! It is the
inhabitants who are already whipped}."
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