Bible Verse: “Before the spies lay down for the night, (Rahab) went up on the roof and said to them, ‘I know that the Lord has given you this land 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.’” Joshua 2:8-9
Scripture Reading: Joshua 2:1-24
On the edge of their first real test entering the Promised Land, Joshua does something that is perhaps a bit cringeworthy.
When Moses got the people to the edge of the Promised Land, he sent in some spies to check it out. That didn’t go so well. While the spies did bring back some great intel about the fruitfulness of the land, they also reported on the overwhelming physical attributes of their adversaries. That led to fear, which led to faithlessness, and forty years in the desert (see Numbers 13-14).
So, when Joshua sends out some spies to check on Jericho, the first city that Israel needed to conquer in the Promised Land, we may want to cringe. That didn’t go well last time! But send them he does…in secret…no need to tempt history to repeat itself by letting the people know.
These spies, just like their predecessors, encounter something encouraging. The land is “melting in fear.” The Canaanites had heard of everything God was doing, and they were terrified of what was coming for them. Read Joshua 2:10-11. Word was spreading about Israel and the God that was on their side.
Rahab had heard stories from more than forty years before! And those stories had turned the enemy into a quivering lump of Jello.
Joshua, understandably, wanted to get the lay of the enemy land when it came to the fortified city of Jericho. Whether or not this meant that he was wavering in his faith, who knows, but he did want information. He didn’t want to go in blind.
I can relate. I’m sure you can, too. My wife reminds me not to “ferret out” information. But that’s hard—some surprises are good, and some are decidedly not.
It’s not distinctly male to want to be prepared, but we distinctly do not like to be caught off guard or surprised by something we could have planned for.
So, we sympathize with Joshua. But we must make sure that our planning is not a lack of trust (we’ll get to that in a couple of days).
Joshua’s search revealed God’s presence going ahead of Israel. It was the fulfillment of the promise we read about yesterday: that God would be with him.
Prayer: God, I confess that sometimes I try to take care of everything in my own power. Help me to find the right balance between preparedness and trust. Thank You that You are always with me. Amen.
Reflection: Are there any areas in your life that you are striving for, perhaps a little too hard, using your own strength? How can you rest in God’s power and presence?
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