How could God save Rahab!?!
9 "I know the LORD has given you this land," she told them. "We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. 10 For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. 11 No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.
12 "Now swear to me by the LORD that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that 13 when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families."
14 "We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety," the men agreed. "If you don't betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when the LORD gives us the land."
Joshua 2:18 When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members--your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives--must be here inside the house.
Joshua 2:23-24 Then the two spies came down from the hill country, crossed the Jordan River, and reported to Joshua all that had happened to them. 24 "The LORD has given us the whole land," they said, "for all the people in the land are terrified of us."
The news is out, the nation of Israel has done great things, things that could only be done with the help of God. People are scared, they have heard that the Israelites are getting closer to Jericho, it must have been torture to hear about the Israelites camping on the other side of the Jordan river for forty years as they waited for God to allow his children to cross into the Promised Land.
In all of those forty years the citizens of Jericho had time to get right with God, much like the delay that Moses asked for on behalf of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, one family was spared from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and now one family will be spared from the destruction of Jericho.
The question is why? Why did Rahab receive favor when everybody else in town was going to be killed, didn't God know what kind of person she is?
Rahab makes a personal confession in verse eleven, "For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below" As big as Jericho was, she was probably the only person that confessed that there is one God, nobody else cared, they were scared of the Israelites but nobody payed any attention to why they were so powerful.
Rahab was to hang a scarlet rope outside here window so that her family would not be harmed during the attack, it sounds a lot like the first passover back in Egypt when the blood had to be put on the door post so that the death angel would pass by. It also sounds like the scarlet thread that was used by the priest (Lev 14:4, Lev 14:6, Lev 14:51, Num 19:6).
God is full of grace and compassion and he allowed Rahab to be saved from the destruction of Jericho, not because of who she was but because of what she believed.
Thank you Lord for your mercy and compassion, I pray that I will always remember how undeserving that I am to receive favor from you.
