Have a read below from the Bible book Joshua 2.1-14 - its a lively one with interesting characters.
1 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent out from Shittim two men as spies:
"Go. Look over the land. Check out Jericho." They left and arrived at the house of a harlot named Rahab and stayed there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, "We've just learned that men arrived tonight to spy out the land. They're from the People of Israel."
3 The king of Jericho sent word to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you to stay the night in your house. They're spies; they've come to spy out the whole country."
4-7 The woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, two men did come to me, but I didn't know where they'd come from. At dark, when the gate was about to be shut, the men left. But I have no idea where they went. Hurry up! Chase them—you can still catch them!" (She had actually taken them up on the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax that were spread out for her on the roof.) So the men set chase down the Jordan road toward the fords. As soon as they were gone, the gate was shut.
8-11 Before the spies were down for the night, the woman came up to them on the roof and said, "I know that God has given you the land. We're all afraid. Everyone in the country feels hopeless. We heard how God dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt, and what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you put under a holy curse and destroyed. We heard it and our hearts sank. We all had the wind knocked out of us. And all because of you, you and God, your God, God of the heavens above and God of the earth below.
12-13 "Now promise me by God. I showed you mercy; now show my family mercy. And give me some tangible proof, a guarantee of life for my father and mother, my brothers and sisters—everyone connected with my family. Save our souls from death!"
14 "Our lives for yours!" said the men. "But don't tell anyone our business. When God turns this land over to us, we'll do right by you in loyal mercy."
This passage speaks to me powerfully about the present situation in Israel and Palestine, the original Promised Land as defined in Chapter 1 of Joshua. Who do you worship, an all powerful, exclusive god or the compassionate, inclusive God? If you worship the former then you may well support the Israeli regime of settlements, the wall and occupying the whole of the land of Israel, by force if necessary. Only then, some say, will the second-coming be possible and “The Rapture” happen. But look more closely at this passage, Rahab is a pagan, a Canaanite, a prostitute, many would assume she was the last person willing to risk everything for a God she barely knew. She saw and had faith not in an imperialistic or aggressive God, but in a God of Judgement, judgement against the Canaanite people. Do the Palestinians warrant the same judgement as the Canaanites? Rahab has a lot to teach us; do not gauge a person’s interest in God by his or her back-ground, life-style or appearance, also, Rahab recognised something that many of the Israelites did not - the God of heaven is not an ordinary god, he is mighty enough to destroy mighty, wicked armies and he is also powerful enough to save us from certain death. Who do you support? Who do you worship?
Roger Newton
Christ Church United Reformed Church, South Manchester
Image: White Wolf Woman by Diana Stanley
