Joshua and Judges: Crossing the Jordan - The spies and Rahab, part 5. Jos 2:17-3:10.
Title: Joshua and Judges: Crossing the Jordan - The spies and Rahab, part 5. Jos 2:17-3:10.
Announcements / opening prayer:
Jos 2:17 And the men said to her, "We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear,
Jos 2:18 unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father's household.
Jos 2:19 And it shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be free; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if a hand is laid on him.
Jos 2:20 But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be free from the oath which you have made us swear."
Jos 2:21 And she said, "According to your words, so be it." So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
In the case of Rahab, the spies instructed her to hang a scarlet rope out of the window of her house, which was built into the wall. This scarlet rope would identify the "house of safety" to the army of Israel when they came to take the city. The color of the rope is significant for it reminds us of blood.
Just as the blood on the door posts in Egypt marked a house that the angel of death was to pass over (Exo 12:1-13), so the scarlet rope marked a house on the Jericho wall whose occupants the Jewish soldiers were to protect.
The veil before the holy of holies also contained scarlet as a symbol of the covenant of blood.
Exo 26:31
"And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.
In conclusion, the spies guarded against any arbitrary interpretation and application of their oath, by imposing three conditions, on the non-fulfilment of which they would be released from their oath.
Anyone who went outside the door he was likely to be slain, and if so, he should bear his death as his own fault. But everyone who was with her in the house, his blood should fall upon their (the spies') head, if any hand was against them, i.e., touched them or did them harm.
This means that the members of the household also had to trust the promise of the Israelites.
When all hell broke loose it would be natural to want to flee, but they had to trust that if they stayed in the house, knowing that the other houses were being raided, they would make it out safe. Rahab certainly would have believed them since they swore upon Jehovah.
Jos 2:21 And she said, "According to your words, so be it." So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
When Rahab had accepted all these conditions, she let the men go, and bound the red cord in the window. It is not to be supposed that she did this at once, but merely as soon as it was necessary. It is mentioned here for the purpose of bringing the subject to a close.
Jos 2:22 And they departed and came to the hill country, and remained there for three days until the pursuers returned. Now the pursuers had sought them all along the road, but had not found them.
Jos 2:23 Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country and crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they related to him all that had happened to them.
Jos 2:24 And they said to Joshua, "Surely the Lord has given all the land into our hands, and all the inhabitants of the land, moreover, have melted away before us."
Joshua's heart must have warmed to hear them, not so much by their report of the fear of those in Jericho, but more so I would think from their own confident assertion.
Joshua 40 years earlier was also sent in a spy mission with eleven others and he returned 40 days later with a similar report.
Num 14:7-9
"The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it to us — a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they shall be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them." But all the congregation said to stone them with stones.
What did he and Caleb get for their wonderful and accurate advice?
When you teach the truth or communicate it to someone who needs it, though accurate and clear, it may not be heeded but in fact may be vehemently rejected.
Yet both of Joshua's spies relate the report that the people are afraid and, though not knowing how they were to take the city yet, they were confident that the Lord had given the city into their hands, and they were right.
The following morning, after the return of the spies into the camp, Joshua proceeded with the people from Shittim to the bank of the Jordan, to complete the necessary preparations there, and then cross the river and enter Canaan.
Shittim is a wide rich plain at the foot of the mountains of Moab. It is carpeted by wildflowers springing in luxuriant beauty, watered by many rivulets and brooks, here and there covered by acacia trees, where birds of brightest plumage carol, and beyond, to the south, by the banks of streams, where scented oleanders rise to a height of twenty-five feet, their flower-laden boughs bending like those of the willow. Beyond it are the fords of the Jordan and beyond the hills of Judea. Climate and vegetation are tropical, on the eastern side more than the western.
Many memories hallow the place. Somewhere around here Elijah smote the waters of the Jordan with his robe, that they parted, and the fiery chariot took him from Elisha and this earth. It was somewhere close to here that Jesus humbled Himself to be baptized by John.
God split the Red Sea through the staff of Moses and God split the Jordan through the ark of the covenant for Joshua. The mantle was passed from Moses to Joshua.
More than 500 years later God would split the Jordan through Elijah's robe and when this robe fell to Elisha, he also split the Jordan with the same robe. The mantle was passed from one to the other and the display of God in His unmatched power gave comfort and confidence to the successor.
First we have the final preparations for crossing and then the passage through the bed of the river and the erection of stones as a permanent memorial of this miracle. This is arranged in three parts in chapters 3 and four.
The account is also arranged upon the following plan: in every one of these three sections the command of God to Joshua is mentioned first; then the communication of this command to the people by Joshua; and finally its execution.
Faith is needed, but faith is not blind. There are commands to follow. Know them, put your faith in them, and execute them.
Jos 3:1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and he and all the sons of Israel set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan, and they lodged there before they crossed.
The people moved the short distance from Shittim to the bank of the Jordan, about 5 miles or so, and there they rested.
Jos 3:2 And it came about at the end of three days that the officers went through the midst of the camp;
We can imagine that the three days was given for further preparations. In 1:11 they were also told to prepare and now at the bank they are asked to prepare more.
God always desires for us to be prepared for whatever it is that we are about to enter. This is why your study of the word of God must go beyond academics and into a reality of life. It must become a part of you.
You, as a new creature, are alive and powerful. The word of God is alive and powerful. By faith and the filling of the Spirit in faith, allow the word to become enmeshed with your very being so when the time comes for its needed application, you are strong to apply the word exactly as it is. Things come upon us when we don't expect them. If we are not properly prepared then we will fail, guaranteed.
Since it is springtime the water level is high and would overflow its banks. This would make the fords much harder to cross, so they are commanded to wait until the ark of the covenant, carried by the priests, enters the water and God stops the flow.
Jos 3:3 and they commanded the people, saying, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.
Jos 3:4 However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure [0.57 miles]. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before."
Hence preparation is vital. We are embarking on unknown territory. Faith is needed, but faith is not blind. There are commands to follow. Know them, put your faith in them, and execute them.
At 2000 cubits [0.57 miles] the people would have only seen the sun's reflection of golden light. They would not see the priests - they were not to focus on man.
The people were to keep about 2000 cubits away from the ark. The ark was carried in front of the people, not so much to show the road as to make a road by dividing the waters of the Jordan, and the people were to keep at a distance from it, that they might not lose sight of the ark, but keep their eyes fixed upon it, and know the road by looking at the ark of the covenant by which the road had been made, i.e., might know and observe how the Lord, through the medium of the ark, was leading them to Canaan by a way which they had never traversed before, by a miraculous way. At that distance, about 0.57 miles, the ark would have looked like nothing more a golden light reflecting the sun. They would not have been able to see the details of the ark or even the priests. Perhaps that was God's intent. What they would see is light, the Shekinah Glory, God's light reflecting off His golden ark. By not seeing the priests they could not get the idea of man in any way, as if man, be they priests or not, had anything to do with this miracle or where needed for it.
Jos 3:5 Then Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."
The issuing of these commands with the prediction of the miracle presupposes that the Lord had already made known His will to Joshua.
Consecrate [qadash = sanctify] yourselves - not outward washing but a spiritual sanctification of turning the heart towards the Lord and focusing on Him alone.
Their consecration or purification could not have consisted in washing their clothes since they wouldn't have had time for it. So we would not conclude that God's command to Joshua had to deal with outward cleansing, washing or changing to clean clothes and abstaining from sexual intercourse, both mentioned in Exo 19. This cleansing therefore must have been spiritual. In this time they were all to be sure that their hearts were turned to the Lord and not in concern for traveling or where they were going or how they would get there. Turning the heart refers to what the heart is occupied with. They were not to be focusing on the details of the journey, but on Jehovah and His deliverance from Egypt and unto the Promised Land. They were to turn their hearts to Him and thus spiritually sanctify or cleanse themselves.
It would be so easy to get occupied with the packing, the preparations, the journey, what the place they were going to might look like, etc. The same is true for us.
2Ti 2:4
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.