The Right Place

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

THE RIGHT PLACE

Josh 2:1-13

2:1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. 2 The king of Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land." 3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land." 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." 6(But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. 8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.   11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death."

NIV

Once again, there is much to ponder within this first portion of the narrative regarding Rahab and the two spies, and we have not gotten to the rest of the end of what happened. Nevertheless, the first thing we want to ponder is why these two spies enter Jericho go right to the house of a prostitute, and then stay there. Were they not sent to get the lay of the land? Were they not supposed to check out the city’s defenses, such as how many soldiers, guard towers, type of weapons, or any other information that would be pertinent? From the narrative, all they saw was the house of Rahab, and hiding on her roof. Rahab gave them insight into how the people of Jericho were melting in fear of the Israelites and how they were aware of the miracles their God did for them. All they had to report to Joshua was what Rahab told them.  They did not do much spying on their own but got all the information they needed from the most unlikely of a person, Rahab, the prostitute. What we ponder is the work they were supposed to do as men, failed, but the Spirit of the Lord working through Rahab did all the work for them. Sometimes, we wonder if we look too much at our own abilities and less at the Spirit of the Lord when it comes to our lives. Do we have a place to hide from the world, as the men hide from the men of Jericho who the king sent to search for them? Do we have a place to get all the information we need? Of course, we do as first, we have the word. Second, we have the Spirit who leads us into all truth. The two spies went straight away to the right place, although we are not sure of their motives. However, it had to be the Spirit leading them so that it would be Rahab. It is Rahab who was the mother of Boaz, the kinsman redeemer of Ruth. This puts Rahab in the line of David, thus the line of Jesus. This was the plan of God that these men should enter the house of Rahab. We should always be aware of the Spirit’s leading, so that we are in the right place according to the plan of God, for His purposes far exceed any purpose we might devise. What we know is that we should be in the right place.