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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Leigh Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap. We wrapped up the five books of the law yesterday, and we've already hit one of the wisdom books when we read Job. Today we step into the first of the history books. As we read through these, remember that their goal isn't so much to reveal history as it is to reveal God. So keep looking for him. Yesterday, Moses died after 40 years of leading the Israelites through the wilderness. This was probably around 1400 BC, which is roughly 2,500 years after we first met Adam and Eve. Before Moses dies, he passes the torch to his assistant, Joshua, the man God appointed to lead the people into the Promised Land. Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim, which was the smallest non Levite tribe at this point. So it's a pretty big deal that he gets this role. Both God and the Israelites tell Joshua to be strong and courageous. He hears that four times in one chapter alone, three times from God and once from the people. He heard it from above and from below, from his leader and from his followers. It's already a big deal when God repeats himself. But when everyone around you is also telling you the same thing, you know it's something you need to hear. As they prepare to head into Canaan, Joshua reminds the 2.5 Transjordan tribes, Gad, Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh, that they still have to cross the Jordan and fight for the land like all the other tribes. Then they can come back east and live in the pasturelands they requested from God. Back in numbers 32. They agree to do all Joshua commands them, just like they did with Moses, which honestly doesn't sound like a great promise. These people are pretty forgetful if they really thought they obeyed Moses. But whatever. Joshua sends two spies into the Promised Land. Remember, he was a spy once, along with 11 others. And he probably knew what kind of man made a good spy versus what kind would come back. Terrified and unbelieving, he sends the spies to Jericho, a city that's just across the border in the Jordan river, because it will be a logical first step in taking the Promised Land. The first thing the spies encounter when they get to Jericho are the city walls. The wall was probably a double wall, and it was common for poor people like Rahab the prostitute to to build their homes in the narrow space between those two walls. The spies had two primary goals on this stay safe and get a good view of the city's layout. What better place to accomplish both of those goals than a rooftop on the edge of the city. You'll find lots of people who think the spies are staying at Rahab's house for reasons that are not so honorable. But to me, it seems more locationally strategic than anything. Plus, the text doesn't give us any reason to think they have ill intentions. And from what we've seen so far of the Bible, it doesn't hesitate to tell us the ugly truths other historical texts suggest. Rahab also ran a hotel of sorts, so that could be the reason they stayed there. Plus, what we see about Rahab is that even though she's a Canaanite prostitute, she seems to fear Yahweh. She says the fear of the Israelites has fallen on her people, which is the fulfillment of something God promised in Exodus 15 and 23. She seems to have a real faith in the God of Israel and knows what he is capable of. She's heard stories of something God did hundreds of miles away, 40 years earlier. And this was all before the Internet. I know word travels, but that is crazy to me. Think about it this way. If you live in America, can you tell me off the top of your head one thing that happened in Canada 40 years ago? Probably not, but Rahab has heard about how God led them across the Red Sea on dry land, which is a story they seem to often forget themselves. Rahab is praised twice in the New Testament in Hebrews and James for the way she lived out her faith. Not only that, but she's included in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1, which is kind of a big deal. Rahab's understanding and fear of Yahweh leads her to do something that you may struggle with if you're a rule keeper. At all costs, she lies to the king's men and says the spies aren't at her house. Meanwhile, she's hiding them on the roof. Does this remind you of anything we've seen before? It made me think of what we read in Exodus 1:15 21, where the Egyptian midwives Shiphrah and Puah refused to kill the Hebrew babies and possibly lied to Pharaoh about it and God blessed them. Rahab lied to the king's men and sent the spies to hide in the hills. The spies make a deal with her for saving their lives. When they come to take Jericho, she and her family should throw a red rope out her window so they can easily identify her home and make sure to spare her and her family. Remember this moment because we're going to encounter a lot of wartime language in Joshua where God tells the Israelites to destroy all the people in the land of Canaan. And it's going to be important for us to remember that this is not genocide or ethnic cleansing that God is calling for. This has nothing to do with their ethnicity and everything to do with the fact that they were idolaters who did things like child sacrifice. And God was bringing judgment on their sins, but he was always willing to spare the repentant. Anytime someone repented, even a prostitute, they were kept alive and welcomed to live among the Israelites. God isn't calling for the wholesale slaughter of the Canaanites. There are obvious exceptions that we'll see in the text, and Rahab and her family are among them. I also want to point out one thing about these two spies. They believe God's promise. That's another reason why I think they were honorable in their actions toward Rahab. In 2:14, they told Rahab, when the Lord gives us the land, we will deal kindly and faithfully with you. Not only do they believe God is going to bless them, as he said, but they're already planning on paying that blessing forward. So the spies go back to Joshua and give him the good news. And Joshua rallies everyone to cross into the promised land. Finally. Okay, here we go. They put the Ark of the Covenant way out front, like half a mile ahead, carried by the Levite priests. Then they all follow behind, and guess what happens? They hit a river. But no big deal. This has happened to their parents. And they've heard stories about how God came through. I mean, even the Canaanite prostitutes have heard that story. Last time, they had to cross a body of water. God stopped the water before they entered. But this time, the water doesn't stop until they step into it. Walking with God requires increasing amounts of obedience and trust. In 3:17, just as they're crossing over, God calls Israel a nation for the first time. This has been promised since way back in Genesis 12:2. Up until this point, they were just a people. But now they're a nation. God has fulfilled that promise to them. God tells them to set up 12 stones, one for each tribe, because even the Transjordan tribes came to help take the land like they promised. These stones would serve as a reminder for them and for their children, so they won't forget what God did here. Not only that, but in 4:24, God says, All of this is so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever. The miracle of God's provision for Israel was an invitation to all people groups to know and fear him. And speaking of provision, if you remember anything about the Hebrew calendar, you may have noticed what day they set foot in the Promised Land. It's the day that preparation for the Passover celebration begins. That means we've got some big stuff coming up in the days ahead, so stay tuned. What was your God shot today? I noticed something that kept showing up in chapter one when God was telling Joshua to be strong and courageous. It does take strength and courage to be obedient, but every time God commanded that, he preceded it or followed it with the promise that he would be with Joshua. It's a reminder that strength and courage aren't just things we muster on our own. It's not just some mental pep rally or some mindset we meditate our way into. True strength and courage is established by being mindful of God's presence in our lives. He never asks us to do things on our own. His nearness is what equips us to obey, and he never asks us to be our own strength or provision. He provides all that he requires of us. He's where the strength is, he's where the courage is, and he's where the joy is. If you've been watching the Chosen, you know season five is coming to theaters on March 28th, and we've got a sneak peek for you where you can experience what it might have looked like as the religious leaders plotted to kill Jesus. We've linked to the full clip in our show notes.
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Tragically, Jesus has now forced us into a situation where to protect our people, we must consider drastic measures. If the people are following a man falsely claiming he raised Lazarus from death, we make sure he's dead.
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