Women of the Bible: Rahab

Joshua 2:1 Joshua 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.

2 The king of Jericho was told, “Behold, men of the children of Israel came in here tonight to spy out the land.”

3 Jericho’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.”

4 The 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. 5 About 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.” 6 But 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. 7 The 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. 8 Before they had lain down, she came up to them on the roof. 9 She 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. 10 For 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. 11 As 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. 12 Now therefore, please swear to me by Yahweh, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a true sign; 13 and that you will save alive my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death.”

14 The men said to her, “Our life for yours, if you don’t talk about this business of ours; and it shall be, when Yahweh gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.”

15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was on the side of the wall, and she lived on the wall. 16 She said to them, “Go to the mountain, lest the pursuers find you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward, you may go your way.”

17 The men said to her, “We will be guiltless of this your oath which you’ve made us to swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, tie this line of scarlet thread in the window which you used to let us down. Gather to yourself into the house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. 19 It shall be that whoever goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be on his head, and we will be guiltless. Whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand is on him. 20 But if you talk about this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless of your oath which you’ve made us to swear.”

21 She said, “Let it be as you have said.” She sent them away, and they departed. Then she tied the scarlet line in the window.

22 They went and came to the mountain, and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but didn’t find them. 23 Then the two men returned, descended from the mountain, crossed the river, and came to Joshua the son of Nun. They told him all that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “Truly Yahweh has delivered all the land into our hands. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt away before us.”

Joshua 6:17 The city shall be devoted, even it and all that is in it, to Yahweh. Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. 18 But as for you, only keep yourselves from what is devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted it, you take of the devoted thing; so you would make the camp of Israel accursed and trouble it. 19 But all the silver, gold, and vessels of bronze and iron are holy to Yahweh. They shall come into Yahweh’s treasury.”

20 So the people shouted and the priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight in front of him, and they took the city. 21 They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword. 22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring the woman and all that she has out from there, as you swore to her.”

Joshua 6:23 The young men who were spies went in, and brought out Rahab with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. They also brought out all of her relatives, and they set them outside of the camp of Israel. 24 They burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only they put the silver, the gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron into the treasury of Yahweh’s house. 25 But Rahab the prostitute, her father’s household, and all that she had, Joshua saved alive. She lives in the middle of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

Matthew 1:4 Ram became the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon. Nahshon became the father of Salmon. 5 Salmon became the father of Boaz by Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse. 6 Jesse became the father of King David. David became the father of Solomon by her who had been Uriah’s wife.

Hebrews 11:31 By faith, Rahab the prostitute didn’t perish with those who were disobedient, having received the spies in peace.

James 2:24 You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith. 25 In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.

There are a few references to some sort of entity, nation, or mythical being, named Rahab. This, or these, don’t seem to be connected to the woman who first appears in the book of Joshua. (See Job 9:13 and 36:12, Psalm 87:4 and 89:10, Isaiah 30:7 and 51:9) Matthew Henry’s commentary says that Rahab signifies Egypt.

 

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 30

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. His discussion continues:

The revelation of the Christian's privilege and his wealth in these promises, opened up to my own mind a vision of wonderful possibilities which had hitherto been hid.

It is just as glorious a privilege to trust these promises for guidance as it is to trust other promises for salvation.

Glory be to God for the abundant provision He has made, not only to cover all our sin but to supply all our need.

2. Inspired Examples. Enoch was so divinely led that he continually "walked with God," and followed His counsels so fully that there is no record of his slightest deviation.

Abraham not only received great spiritual blessings, but appropriated God's guidance so
completely that he was divinely directed in his travels, in choosing' his homestead, in his knowledge of the doom of Sodom, and in accumulating an immense fortune.

The stories of Jacob, of Joseph, of Moses, of a nation led by a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night, are replete with illustrations of how God's people have looked to and been marvelously led by Him.

All the mistakes, the wanderings and the captivity of His people came, because they failed to hear and heed His voice; but whenever they listened He revealed Himself and granted the needed wisdom.

The explicit directions which He unfolded for the construction of the Tabernacle and afterwards of the Temple, are but illustrations of His ability and willingness to give minute directions at every needed point, no matter how small it may be, to all who are "workers together with Him."

Joshua must have been fully instructed, or he could not have fully followed. Daniel, divinely directed, was meet for every emergency, and his wisdom was a wonder to the world.

Not only were the illustrious lights of Old Testament history thus divinely led, but there were also numberless stars of lesser magnitude whose beams were hid in the obscurity of the humbler walks of life; yet who, guided by God's hand, moved and shone "as the sun when he goeth forth in his might."

They were so firm in their convictions that their actions were prompted by the Unseen One, that rather than do violence to their divine instructions they submitted to be "stoned," "sawn asunder," and "slain with the sword." Oh, for an army of such heroes. Souls so possessed of the idea that they are actuated in all things by the power that upholds suns and systems, that they will die rather than turn traitor to it.

The New Testament firmament is no less resplendent with stars, whose orbits are divinely made, than is the Old. It opens with Joseph, Mary, Simeon and the wise men from the East, who will ever beam brightly as examples of those who have tested God's promises to fully guide. The Gospels shine with the dazzling splendor of Him who, in His humanity as our example, ever so fully learned the Father's will that He always said and did those things, and those only that were "pleasing in His sight."

The Acts of the Apostles teems with telling incidents illustrating this principle. The Apostles were "filled with the Spirit" and "led by the Spirit." They could not have been led by Him had they not first have learned His leadings.

The promise which Jesus gave them that He would teach them how to answer their enemies, and that the Spirit of the Father should speak through them, found such fruitful fulfillment that all their adversaries "were not able to resist the wisdom and spirit" by which they spake.

They were gifted with such divine wisdom that they outwitted both ecclesiastical intrigue and Roman power, and while the cry "crucify Him" was still echoing from Mount Calvary, they had established a kingdom which will flourish when Jerusalem and Rome are forgotten -- even forever.

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Farewell speeches from Bible characters

The last words of  Jacob -- Genesis 49:1 Jacob called to his sons, and said: “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which will happen to you in the days to come.
2 Assemble yourselves, and hear, you sons of Jacob.
Listen to Israel, your father. ...
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.
Your father’s sons will bow down before you.
10a The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs. ...
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them, and blessed them. He blessed everyone according to his own blessing. 29 He instructed them, and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah, his wife, and there I buried Leah: 32 the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.” 33 When Jacob finished charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, breathed his last breath, and was gathered to his people.

Joseph: Genesis 50:24 Joseph said to his brothers*, “I am dying, but God will surely visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being one hundred ten years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
*Probably means his relatives, including his offspring, not strictly his brothers. It is likely that some of Joseph’s eleven brothers were dead by this time.

Moses: Deuteronomy 31:1 Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 He said to them, “I am one hundred twenty years old today. I can no more go out and come in. Yahweh has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ 3 Yahweh your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will go over before you, as Yahweh has spoken. 4 Yahweh will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land; whom he destroyed. 5 Yahweh will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandment which I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them; for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.”
7 Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 Yahweh himself is who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged.” . . .
Deuteronomy 32: 43 Rejoice, you nations, with his people,
for he will avenge the blood of his servants.
He will take vengeance on his adversaries,
and will make atonement for his land and for his people.†
44 Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun. 45 Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel. 46 He said to them, “Set your heart to all the words which I testify to you today, which you shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. 47 For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing you shall prolong your days in the land, where you go over the Jordan to possess it.”

Joshua: Joshua 24:22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen Yahweh yourselves, to serve him.”
They said, “We are witnesses.”
23 “Now therefore put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to Yahweh, the God of Israel.”
24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to his voice.”
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Yahweh. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all Yahweh’s words which he spoke to us. It shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God.” 28 So Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.

David: 1 Chronicles 29:10 Therefore David blessed Yahweh before all the assembly; and David said, “You are blessed, Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, Yahweh, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all! In your hand is power and might! It is in your hand to make great, and to give strength to all! 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank you, and praise your glorious name. 14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. 15 For we are strangers before you, and foreigners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no remaining. 16 Yahweh our God, all this store that we have prepared to build you a house for your holy name comes from your hand, and is all your own. 17 I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. Now I have seen with joy your people, who are present here, offer willingly to you. 18 Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this desire forever in the thoughts of the heart of your people, and prepare their heart for you; 19 and give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.”
20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless Yahweh your God!”

Jesus: Matthew 28:18 Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19  Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20  teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. [This is often called The Great Commission.]

Paul: Acts 20:18 When they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you all the time, 19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears, and with trials which happened to me by the plots of the Jews; 20 how I didn’t shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus. 22 Now, behold, I go bound by the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there; 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me. 24 But these things don’t count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God.
25 “Now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I went about preaching God’s Kingdom, will see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you today that I am clean from the blood of all men, 27 for I didn’t shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood. 29 For I know that after my departure, vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Men will arise from among your own selves, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore watch, remembering that for a period of three years I didn’t cease to admonish everyone night and day with tears. 32 Now, brothers, I entrust you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build up, and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I coveted no one’s silver, gold, or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands served my necessities, and those who were with me. 35 In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” [That last quotation, from Jesus, is not found in any of the Gospels, but it is consistent with Jesus’ teaching.]

All scripture quotations above are from the World English Bible, public domain. Thanks for reading. What would, or should, my farewell speech be like? Yours?

Joshua's Long Day, again

I have previously posted on Joshua's long day, as recorded in Joshua 10. My belief is that this was a miracle, and that I have no idea of how it was done.

A recent post by He Lives dismisses arguments that such a miracle would have been impossible, because we know that the rotation of the earth can't be stopped, or because we know something else. Brief, combative, and a good job.

Thanks for reading. Read He Lives.

The sun does NOT revolve around the earth!

You may have thought that the title statement was unnecessary. So did I. But not so, I'm afraid.

It has come to my attention that there is a conference, planned for November of this year, which conference has an on-line flyer that begins thus: "Galileo Was Wrong: The Church Was Right." Oh?

There are some scriptures that can be taken to indicate that the earth does not move in space, and everything moves around it. These include the story of Joshua's long day, and also Psalm 93:1 and 96:10, which say that the earth cannot be moved. (However, Psalm 99:1 says that it can be moved.) For a more complete list of Bible passages which have been taken to support Geocentrism, the idea that the sun revolves around the earth, see the Wikipedia article on Modern Geocentrism.

The Bible was written for people who believed that the earth was the center of the universe. It would have been strange, in the days when it was written, to proclaim that it wasn't, in the Psalms, or in other places. Many of the verses that say that the earth is fixed are poetic, and, hence, should be taken as literal only with great care. The rest of them can be taken to mean that the earth is fixed in its orbit around the sun, or as being written to be compatible with the scientific views of the day. When Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, God knew what Joshua wanted, and, somehow, made it happen. Joshua would never have said "Earth, please stop rotating!" He didn't know that it does rotate. (I don't claim to know what actually happened when Joshua prayed as he did. Something miraculous must have occurred.) Galileo, and, since his time, many other astronomers, have shown, by many kinds of evidence, that the earth is not the center of the solar system (or of the universe). The Catholic church, which, at one time, officially disagreed with Galileo, has come to accept that he was right about this. (See the Wikipedia on Galileo, and also here.)

One of the ways God reveals Himself to us is through nature. (See Psalm 19:1-4, Romans 1:20). Much of what we know about nature is through the findings of science. If scientific findings tell us that the earth is not the center of the solar system, we'd better take that seriously, even if the Bible seems not to agree. In this case, most Christians have come to see that there is not a real disagreement. Unfortunately, not all of them have.

Thanks for reading.

Memorial stones

There are several examples of stones used as memorials of God's work, or as promises to follow God, in the Old Testament. Here are some of them:

Genesis 27:22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” (All scripture is ESV. Jacob is speaking in this verse.)

Genesis 31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.

Genesis 35:14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.

Exodus 28:12 And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance.

Joshua 4 includes the story of how the Israelites brought twelve stones from the bottom of the Jordan River, and also set up twelve stones on the river bottom.

In Joshua 24, Joshua re-establishes the covenant with the Israelites, and sets up a stone as a memorial.

1 Samuel 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”

Thanks for reading.

Did NASA prove that Joshua's long day happened?

I received an e-mail forward a few days ago, which claimed that NASA had proved the story of the long day, told in the book of Joshua.

The Bible story is true, although I don't know how to explain it, but the story that NASA has proved it isn't. See my previous post, from over two years ago, on this subject. The false rumor is still out there, and still circulating. (See here and here) That's too bad. God's truth is not served by false information, whether circulated knowing that it's false, or not.

Thanks.

Joshua's Long Day

Joshua 10:11 And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

12 At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. (ESV)
This is going to be an easy post, because what I want to say has been said, in an article available from Answers in Genesis. To summarize it:

1. The event did occur.

2. This passage does not support a biblical argument for geocentrism (the sun going around the earth). I should point out that the beliefs of Answers in Genesis are such that, if they have to err, they will err on the side of overly literal interpretation of scripture.

3. However it happened, it was a miracle. (The article discusses some possible mechanisms.)

4. In spite of rumor, there is no evidence from NASA that confirms that this event happened, and no such evidence could have been found, "because to make such a calculation one would need to know the planets' positions before any missing day, as well as after. This is impossible." (same source)

I did a quick Google search for these words "Joshua long day NASA," and was happy to discover no web pages that claim that NASA confirmed the story in Joshua, and quite a few that say it is a rumor.

Someone, or more than one someone, started this rumor, and it's very difficult to see how they could have done it without knowing it to be false. The Bible shouldn't get, and doesn't need, that sort of defense. It is unfortunate that some people defend it by making things up and claiming they are true. (Another such rumor is that Russian scientists have discovered hell beneath the earth, but let's not get into that one.) No one should do that to the Bible, even on April Fools' Day.

It's been a pleasure to find myself in complete agreement with Answers in Genesis (their home page) on a subject. That doesn't always happen.

Thanks for reading.

*  *  *  *  *

On January 3, 2013, David Heddle, of the He Lives blog, posted about this subject, in particular about arguments that stopping the earth would have been impossible because of the consequences.

On October 21, 2013, I posted, referring to an article by John Walton, an Old Testament scholar, who believes that Joshua wasn't praying for some sort of astronomical phenomenon at all. He is an expert on the cultures of Old Testament times.