"I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you...for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below." Joshua 2:9, 11
"But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho--and she lives among the Israelites to this day." Joshua 6:25
Tuesday: Rahab
Bible Reading: Joshua 2, 6
Jesse Tree symbol - scarlet cord (have your children draw the side of a wall with a cord, colored red, hanging down from it - like above picture)
Rahab, a prostitute, a foreigner, was destined to be destroyed with the entire pagan city of Jericho when the Israelites entered the Promised Land. Rahab was a very unlikely woman to become part of the family tree of Jesus Christ. But that is exactly what God did for her! "Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David." Matthew 1:5-6
One thing stands out about Rahab...her faith in God. But how...how did she come by this faith? God has "made every nation of men...so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:26-27) Think about that for a moment...every nation of men...not just the Jews but those from Jericho as well. God had placed a witness for Himself in Jericho. Unfortunately, only Rahab and her family chose to side with God.
When the spies enter Jericho, why does the king of Jericho send a messenger straight to Rahab's house to ask about the spies? "The king of Jericho was told, 'Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.' So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: 'Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.'" Joshua 2:2-3. Maybe someone had seen them enter her house or, maybe Rahab had a reputation for talking about and possibly believing in the God of the Israelites.
Whatever the reason, her faith saved not only herself, but her entire family. "By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient." Hebrews 11:31. They had to believe her story and put their trust in God Almighty. Reminds me a bit of the story of Noah.
She and her family are saved through a scarlet cord...representative of the lamb's blood on the doors during Passover and later, the blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...the blood that saves us from eternal destruction.
The story of Rahab is repeated again and again throughout the world. There is a group of people...a tribe, a village, a nation...hopelessly lost in the clutches of Satan, destined for eternal destruction. Yet God has preserved a witness for Himself. One person, a few people, a family, who believe differently than their neighbors. Then the spies enter. Yet, these are not spies searching out the area for information on how to destroy it. No, these are men and women trying to find clues within the culture on how to save it, on how to share the love of Christ with them. We call these men and women missionaries.
In every culture God has preserved for Himself a testimony. In His mercy, He has permitted every culture in the world to retain a portion of the truth. If a missionary goes into a region, searching the culture for its grains of truth, and then affirms that these ideas ARE true, and then presents the Gospel as the REST of the truth, he and the Gospel will quite often be received. For more on this, please read my blog post Eternity in their hearts
Rahab was the bridge between her culture and God. And she speaks to us today. We must never think that a group of people is unreachable. We must pray for a witness for God in every culture so that, like Rahab and her family, lives might be saved and God will be glorified.
The above commentary on Joshua is part of a 4-week Advent Reflection for the Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is similar to an advent calendar. Every day you will read a Bible passage to your child(ren), discuss what it means to them in personal terms and color an ornament to hang on your Jesse Tree. A fuller description of this can be found at The Jesse Tree
When you are finished today, you might want to discuss how Christmas is about giving much more than getting. One way that your family can give is through their daily prayers. This might be a good time to pray for a specific country or for a group of people who do not know about Jesus. Today, over 2 billion people, 1/3 of the earth's population, have never heard the Gospel message. We need to step out in obedience and pray for them as God asks us to.
Two great websites to help you do this are:
Operation World go to Featured Nation and click on Country Profile
Another way to give is by giving a gift to those, throughout the world, who have very little. It might be a chicken, or sheep or a goat...maybe you can help pay for the digging of a well or provide a sewing machine to a widow so she can provide for her family. There are many ways to help this Christmas. Visit Gospel for Asia and take a look at their Christmas Catalog.
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