約書亞記 2
約書亞派探子進耶利哥
1當下，嫩的兒子約書亞從什亭暗暗打發兩個人作探子，吩咐說：「你們去窺探那地和耶利哥。」於是二人去了，來到一個妓女名叫喇合的家裏，就在那裏躺臥。 2有人告訴耶利哥王說：「今夜有以色列人來到這裏窺探此地。」 3耶利哥王打發人去見喇合說：「那來到你這裏、進了你家的人要交出來，因為他們來窺探全地。」 4女人將二人隱藏，就回答說：「那人果然到我這裏來；他們是哪裏來的我卻不知道。 5天黑、要關城門的時候，他們出去了，往哪裏去我卻不知道。你們快快地去追趕，就必追上。」（ 6先是女人領二人上了房頂，將他們藏在那裏所擺的麻稭中。） 7那些人就往約旦河的渡口追趕他們去了。追趕他們的人一出去，城門就關了。
8二人還沒有躺臥，女人就上房頂，到他們那裏， 9對他們說：「我知道耶和華已經把這地賜給你們，並且因你們的緣故我們都驚慌了。這地的一切居民在你們面前心都消化了； 10因為我們聽見你們出埃及的時候，耶和華怎樣在你們前面使紅海的水乾了，並且你們怎樣待約旦河東的兩個亞摩利王西宏和噩，將他們盡行毀滅。 11我們一聽見這些事，心就消化了。因你們的緣故，並無一人有膽氣。耶和華－你們的神本是上天下地的神。 12現在我既是恩待你們，求你們指着耶和華向我起誓，也要恩待我父家，並給我一個實在的證據， 13要救活我的父母、弟兄、姊妹，和一切屬他們的，拯救我們性命不死。」 14二人對她說：「你若不洩漏我們這件事，我們情願替你們死。耶和華將這地賜給我們的時候，我們必以慈愛誠實待你。」
15於是女人用繩子將二人從窗戶裏縋下去；因她的房子是在城牆邊上，她也住在城牆上。 16她對他們說：「你們且往山上去，恐怕追趕的人碰見你們；要在那裏隱藏三天，等追趕的人回來，然後才可以走你們的路。」 17二人對她說：「你要這樣行。不然，你叫我們所起的誓就與我們無干了。 18我們來到這地的時候，你要把這條朱紅線繩繫在縋我們下去的窗戶上，並要使你的父母、弟兄，和你父的全家都聚集在你家中。 19凡出了你家門往街上去的，他的罪 必歸到自己的頭上，與我們無干了。凡在你家裏的，若有人下手害他，流他血的罪就歸到我們的頭上。 20你若洩漏我們這件事，你叫我們所起的誓就與我們無干了。」 21女人說：「照你們的話行吧！」於是打發他們去了，又把朱紅線繩繫在窗戶上。
22二人到山上，在那裏住了三天，等着追趕的人回去了。追趕的人一路找他們，卻找不着。 23二人就下山回來，過了河，到嫩的兒子約書亞那裏，向他述說所遭遇的一切事； 24又對約書亞說：「耶和華果然將那全地交在我們手中；那地的一切居民在我們面前心都消化了。」
各位弟兄姊妹平安，今天我們要分享的是《約書亞記》第2章中，一段極具傳奇色彩的故事：關於約書亞派遣探子進入耶利哥城。這座城市以其堅固的城牆和強大的軍隊而聞名，對以色列人來說，這是一場硬仗的開始。因此，作為智慧的元帥，約書亞選擇先派出探子打探城中的情況，以掌握先機。
接下來的故事發展充滿戲劇性，甚至有些令人驚訝。聖經這本神聖的經卷中，居然記載了這樣一段與妓女有關的情節。讓我們一起來看看這段耐人尋味的經文。
首先，這兩位探子不知出於何種原因，竟然選擇住進了一位名叫喇合的妓女家中過夜。這引起了不少疑問：難道耶利哥城中沒有更合適的地方為這兩位探子提供藏身之所嗎？其實，這與當時的文化與社會習俗有關。在那個時代，女性尤其是像喇合這樣的女性，幾乎沒有任何社會地位。喇合可能因為生計的壓力，被迫從事這樣的行業來養活家人。
然而，耶利哥的王顯然已經察覺到以色列人派了間諜進入城中，並且確切地知道這些探子來到了喇合的家。因此，王立刻下令，要求喇合交出這兩名探子。
當耶利哥王的使者來到喇合的家時，她採取了一個讓人意想不到的行動——她撒謊，欺騙了王的使者。喇合告訴他們，那兩個探子已經離開了，她暗示他們可能已經走出城外，並建議趕緊追趕。而實際上，這兩位探子正躲藏在她家屋頂的麻秸堆下。或許是因為喇合身為妓女，她的家並不被視為體面的地方，所以王的使者並沒有對她的住所進行仔細搜查，便匆匆追出了城。
在這樣一個緊張的時刻，喇合接下來說出了一番讓人震撼的話。她對以色列的兩位探子說：「我知道耶和華已把這地賜給你們，我們因你們甚是驚惶，這地的一切居民在你們面前心都消化了。」**她解釋道，耶利哥的居民都聽聞了以色列人從埃及出來時的神蹟，特別是耶和華如何使紅海的水乾涸，讓他們安全通過。他們還聽聞以色列人如何在曠野擊敗亞摩利人的兩位王西宏和噩。這些事跡讓耶利哥的百姓驚恐不已，徹底喪失了信心。
喇合的話表明，她不僅聽聞了耶和華的作為，更相信祂是唯一的真神。她說：「因為耶和華—你們的神本是上天下地的神。」這樣的信心，從一位外邦人、一位社會邊緣的妓女口中說出，無疑顯示出她對上帝的深切認識和敬畏。這也成為她行動的根本動機。
這段故事確實有一些讓人感到不太光彩的地方：以色列的探子需要一位外邦妓女以撒謊來拯救，似乎有悖於我們對聖潔與榮耀的期待。然而，正是這樣的故事被詳細記錄在《約書亞記》中，展示了上帝的心意和祂計劃的深邃。
喇合的身份與行動表面上看來卑微甚至矛盾，但她的信心卻是故事的亮點。她的宣告表明她清楚地認識到，以色列的上帝是「上天下地的神」。這樣的信心從一位外邦人、妓女口中說出，顯得格外震撼，也展示了上帝不因身份、地位或過往的生活方式來判斷人，而是以信心為基準。
這段故事有以下幾個重要啟示：
1. 上帝的拯救不分身份喇合的故事告訴我們，上帝的恩典無關乎人的背景、職業或過去，而在於信心。即使是外邦人、妓女，只要相信上帝並行動，依然能蒙祂的拯救與接納。喇合因信被拯救，甚至在以色列的信仰歷史中佔有重要地位。
2. 信心勝過外在條件喇合的職業和社會地位可能令人輕視，但她的信心卻是真實且偉大的。她不僅相信上帝的能力，也主動參與祂的計劃，冒著生命危險拯救以色列的探子。這種信心讓她成為上帝計劃中的重要一環。
3. 上帝的計劃包含所有人喇合的故事也預示著上帝的救恩是向萬民敞開的。她最終與猶大支派的一名以色列人結婚，成為耶穌家譜的一部分（馬太福音1:5）。這表明，上帝的計劃超越了種族、文化與社會的界限。
4. 不完美的人也能成為上帝計劃的一部分這段故事提醒我們，上帝使用的是有信心的，而不是完美的人。喇合的謊言救了探子，這在道德上可能有爭議，但她對上帝的認識是正確的。因此，這段看似矛盾的故事，實際上蘊含著深刻的啟示：上帝的愛與恩典無所不及，祂能使用任何人來成就祂的計劃。喇合的故事不僅見證了上帝的拯救，也成為所有不完美但有信心的人的一個重要榜樣。
在新約的希伯來書十一章，作者說喇合因著信，和平接待探子… 還有雅各書二章，雅各甚至把喇合的行為和先祖亞伯拉罕相提並論。這可不是隨便做比較的。可見喇合的這一件事情上所顯出的信心，大過了她在行為上的瑕疵，因而被引用為信心的榜樣。但是要注意，這並不是要我們因著信心去做違反道德的事情，可不要把原則本末倒置了。接下來，在約書亞記第三章中，我們將見證另一個偉大的神蹟——約書亞如何帶領以色列人過約旦河。這個神蹟類似於摩西當年分開紅海的奇蹟，再一次印證了上帝與以色列民同在。明天，我們續分享約書亞記第三章的內容，感謝各位的聆聽。
Joshua Chapter 2
Rahab Protects the Spies
Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.
But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.”
Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut.
Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.
“Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.”
“We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety,” the men agreed. “If you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when the Lord gives us the land.”
Then, since Rahab’s house was built into the town wall, she let them down by a rope through the window. “Escape to the hill country,” she told them. “Hide there for three days from the men searching for you. Then, when they have returned, you can go on your way.”
Before they left, the men told her, “We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions. When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members—your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives—must be here inside the house. If they go out into the street and are killed, it will not be our fault. But if anyone lays a hand on people inside this house, we will accept the responsibility for their death. If you betray us, however, we are not bound by this oath in any way.”
“I accept your terms,” she replied. And she sent them on their way, leaving the scarlet rope hanging from the window.
The spies went up into the hill country and stayed there three days. The men who were chasing them searched everywhere along the road, but they finally returned without success.
Then the two spies came down from the hill country, crossed the Jordan River, and reported to Joshua all that had happened to them. “The Lord has given us the whole land,” they said, “for all the people in the land are terrified of us.”
Brothers and sisters in Christ, peace be with you!
Today, we are sharing from Joshua Chapter 2, a truly remarkable and dramatic story: Joshua sending spies into the city of Jericho. This city, renowned for its mighty walls and formidable army, represented a significant challenge for the Israelites. As a wise commander, Joshua chose to send spies ahead to gather information about the city and gain a strategic advantage.
The story unfolds in a dramatic and surprising manner. It is intriguing that a sacred text like the Bible records an event involving a prostitute. Let us delve into this fascinating passage together.
Initially, the two spies, for reasons unknown, chose to stay overnight in the house of Rahab, a prostitute. This raises questions: Couldn’t they find a more suitable place to hide in Jericho? This choice, however, can be understood in the context of the cultural and social norms of the time. Women, especially those like Rahab, had little to no social status. Rahab may have resorted to this occupation to support her family under dire circumstances.
The king of Jericho, aware of the presence of Israelite spies in the city and their location in Rahab’s house, immediately ordered Rahab to hand them over.
When the king’s messengers came to her house, Rahab took an unexpected action—she lied to them. She deceived the king’s men, claiming the spies had already left the city and urging them to pursue them quickly. In reality, the spies were hidden under stalks of flax on her rooftop. Perhaps due to the stigma associated with her profession, Rahab’s home was not thoroughly searched, and the messengers hurriedly left the city in pursuit.
At this critical moment, Rahab made a declaration that was both surprising and profound. She told the Israelite spies: “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.” She explained that the residents of Jericho had heard about the miraculous works of the Lord—the drying up of the Red Sea and the victories over the kings of the Amorites, Sihon, and Og. These accounts had left the people of Jericho terrified and disheartened.
Rahab’s words reveal that she not only heard about the Lord’s deeds but also believed in Him as the one true God. She declared: “For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” Such faith, expressed by a Gentile woman marginalized in her society, is both extraordinary and inspiring. It became the driving force behind her actions.
This story indeed contains elements that might seem less than honorable: Israelite spies relying on a Gentile prostitute’s lie to save them. Yet, this narrative is carefully recorded in the Book of Joshua, reflecting the profound intentions and plans of God.
Rahab’s status and actions, though seemingly humble and contradictory, are highlighted by her faith, which stands as the centerpiece of the story. Her declaration underscored her recognition that the God of Israel is “God in heaven above and on the earth below.” Such faith, emerging from a Gentile and a prostitute, is striking. It demonstrates that God does not judge based on one’s status, background, or past but values faith above all.
This story provides several key insights:
God’s salvation transcends statusRahab’s story illustrates that God’s grace is not dependent on one’s background, occupation, or past but is rooted in faith. Even a Gentile prostitute, through faith and action, was saved and accepted by God. Rahab’s faith earned her a significant place in Israel’s history of faith.
Faith outweighs external conditionsDespite Rahab’s profession and social standing, her faith was genuine and profound. She not only believed in God’s power but also actively participated in His plan, risking her life to save the Israelite spies. Her faith made her an integral part of God’s plan.
God’s plan includes all peopleRahab’s story foreshadows God’s salvation being open to all nations. She later married an Israelite from the tribe of Judah and became part of Jesus’ genealogy (Matthew 1:5), demonstrating how God’s plan transcends racial, cultural, and societal boundaries.
Imperfect people can be part of God’s planThis story reminds us that God uses people with faith, not necessarily those who are perfect. Rahab’s lie saved the spies, an act that may raise moral questions, but her understanding of God was correct. This seemingly contradictory story highlights that God’s love and grace know no bounds. He can use anyone to accomplish His purposes. Rahab’s story serves as a testament to God’s salvation and a model for all who are imperfect but have faith.
In the New Testament, Hebrews 11 commends Rahab’s faith, and James 2 even compares her actions to those of Abraham. This is no casual comparison. Rahab’s faith in this instance overshadowed the flaws in her actions, making her an example of faith. However, it’s important to note that this does not mean faith justifies morally questionable actions. Principles should not be turned upside down.
Next, in Joshua Chapter 3, we will witness another great miracle: Joshua leading the Israelites across the Jordan River. This event parallels Moses’ parting of the Red Sea, reaffirming God’s presence with His people. Tomorrow, we will continue with Joshua Chapter 3. Thank you for listening.
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