Joshua 1:14-2:1214Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valor, and help them; 15Until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord's servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising. 16And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. 17According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. 18Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage. 1And 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. 2And 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. 3And 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. 4And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: 5And 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. 6But 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. 7And 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. 8And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 9And 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. 10For 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. 11And 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. 12Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: (Joshua 1:14‑2:12)
THE wives and children of these two and a half tribes never passed over Jordan, though their men of war did. What a lesson for us as to our Christian homes! How many dear believers have a home like the world, and bring up their children in that environment. Of course they desire that they should be saved, but, alas, their homes and the part their children take in earthly affairs show that, although they themselves may be engaged in seeking heavenly things, their wives and families are not with them. The sad result, often is that, like the armed men of the two and a half tribes in our chapter, they give up the conflict in time, and settle down with their families. Oh may these things be a lesson to us, for they have been written for our learning, and God would have us to profit by them for His glory and our blessing, We who are parents know only too well how there is a continual conflict In bring up our children "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:44And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)), but let us remember that any home training which does not bring before the children the believer's heavenly calling is lacking in one of its most important phases.
The armed men of the two and a half tribes, after Joshua's charge, then turned to him and said, "Only be strong and of a good courage." Undoubledly they felt their position as to their homes, and so wanted a courageous leader. How often when there is not full devotedness on our part, we want to see it in others so we can lean upon them.
Joshua then sent two spies into the land, who, after crossing the Jordan, came to Jericho and found shelter in the house of a poor sinful woman named Rahab. The king of Jericho then heard of how Rehab had taken the spies into her house, and so he sent a messenger to her demanding that she turn the men over to him. Rehab, however, did not want to turn them over to the authorities, so she told a lie saying that although they had come into her house, they had and gone again, God has told us about her lie so that we might see. He knows all about us for nothing is hidden from him.
She, of course, told this lie to protect the spies, but we ought to remember that we should never "do evil that good may come.” Romans 3:88And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. (Romans 3:8). God overruled her lie, but He did not approve of it (Romans 3:77For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? (Romans 3:7)), for His Word says, "Lying lips are abomination to the Lord." Proverbs 12:2222Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight. (Proverbs 12:22).
Rahab then came to the spies who were hiding in her house, and took them up to the roof where she hid them among the stalks of flax that were there. She then began to tell how all the inhabitants of the land were afraid of them. She told how they had heard how God had made a way through the Red Sea for them, and how they had destroyed their enemies as they passed through the wilderness, and now their enemies were trembling. The world often puts on a bold front, like the people of Jericho did, but they are afraid in their hearts. Rahab then went further and told how she knew that the Lord was the true God, and she asked the spies to promise, in His Name, to protect her from the judgment which was soon to come upon Jericho. It is always a good thing for a sinner when he, like Rahab, acknowledges the Lord.
Messages of the Love of God 12/28/1952