A Prostitute and Spies

 

Joshua 2:8 - 14

 

 Before the spies lay down for the night, she 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.   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.   When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

“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 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.”

Most of us hear the word prostitute, what thoughts come into our minds?  Could it be  “a person who misuses their talents or who sacrifices their self-respect for the sake of personal or financial?”  Taken from the dictionary.  It is not someone you want to have anything to do with, in fact, they are shunned by most of the culture we live in.  But God loves prostitutes, and politicians and lawyers and car salesman, Jesus, made that clear in John 3:16.

This lady of the night became part of the linage of Jesus Christ, she had great faith in a big God than 90% of those who attend church on a regular basis.  When she asked the two spies this question; “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 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.”  We call that closing the sale, in her case, she was used to being lied to by men, and treated like scum by those who were religious.  She did not want their word, no she wanted God's word.  What faith of this lady who was shunned by her society; God takes great delight in a sinner that shows this kind of faith.  

And the spies answer her in this way; “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice