The Faith of Rahab

Extract

The Faith of Rahab – A. W. Pink

The Spies (Joshua 2:1-3)

In the second half of chapter 1, the Holy Spirit has recorded the response made by Joshua unto the great commission he had received from the Lord: He complied promptly, he conducted himself according to the Divine Rule, and he acted in faith. The command he issued to his officers (Jos. 1:11) showed he had no doubt whatever that the Jordan would be crossed, and his words to the two and a half tribes (Jos. 1:15) evinced his full confidence in the Lord’s help for the whole campaign. Such language had been both honouring to God and encouraging to His people. We have already seen how the Lord rewarded His servant by constraining the two and a half tribes to accept Joshua as their leader and yield full obedience unto his authority. Those things are recorded for our instruction and encouragement―to show that none are ever the losers by trusting in the Lord and rendering obedience to His Word. In what is now to engage our attention, we have a further proof of the Lord showing Himself strong on behalf of the dutiful. The land which Joshua was called upon to conquer was occupied by a fierce, powerful, and ungodly people. Humanly speaking, there was no reason to conclude that the Canaanites would render assistance or do ought to make his task easier; rather to the contrary, as the attitude and actions of the kings had shown (Num. 21:1, 23, 33). When he sent forth the two spies to obtain information about Jericho, he could not naturally expect that any of its inhabitants would render them any help in their difficult task. Yet that is exactly what happened, for those spies received remarkable favour in the eyes of her in whose house they obtained lodgement. Not only was she kindly disposed toward them, but she even hazarded her own life on their behalf. What an illustration was this that “when a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Prov. 16:7)! Those two men were in the path of duty, carrying out the orders of God’s servant, and He undertook for them.

“And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy …