1Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, including Jericho.” They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there.
2The king of Jericho was told, “Behold, men of the children of Israel came in here tonight to spy out the land.”
3Jericho’s king sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered into your house; for they have come to spy out all the land.”
4The woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I didn’t know where they came from. 5About the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, the men went out. Where the men went, I don’t know. Pursue them quickly. You may catch up with them.” 6But she had brought them up to the roof, and hidden them under the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. 7The men pursued them along the way to the fords of the Jordan River. As soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. 8Before they had lain down, she came up to them on the roof. 9She said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, and there wasn’t any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.
Progress into the Promised Land wasn’t going to be easy, ground had to be claimed and battles needed to be fought. One of the cities to be defeated was Jericho, its people were godless and wicked. Joshua sent two spies to gather as much intel about Jericho as they could. The Spies stayed at Rahab’s house which was built right into the city wall. The King of Jericho found out about the spies and sent his soldiers to arrest them. Rahab hid the spies on the roof of her house under bundles of flax and kept them safe. Before Rahab got the spies to safety, she told them of the fear that had filled the city.
Jericho was strong and fortified, its walls were its strength and Rahab lived right in the strongest part of the city, the wall itself. Despite all their strength, terror had gripped them all. Rahab tells the spies that she already knows that God will give them the land, she informs them that they have heard about other victories that God has given to the Israelites. The people of Jericho even know about the Red Sea incident with the Egyptians and they are afraid. In the house in the wall, in the heart of Jericho’s strength Rahab confesses that the presence of God and the story of his strength has reached them. The wall was going to be the most difficult thing for the Israelites to overcome, but God was shaking its foundations before the army even turned up!
Isn’t is good to know that even in the strongest and most difficult things we face God is already at work. Just the mention of His name sends a shockwave through the heart of enemy territory.