In the book of Joshua, the Reubenites, the Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh told Joshua, “whosoever he be that does rebel against your commandment, and will not hearken unto your words in all that you command him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage”, and in chapter two and verse one of his book Joshua, “sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly”, where we read,
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
The verse reads, “And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho.” Joshua began with the words, “and Joshua” which means “and Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation” “the son of Nun” or “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Nun whose name means fist or posterity” “sent out of Shittim” which means “dispatched and assigned from Shittim whose name means the acacias which was place west of Jerusalem and Israel's encampment between the conquest of the transjordanic region and crossing the Jordan into Canaan” “two men to spy secretly” or “two male human beings to be tale-bearers, explorers, slanderers and ones who go about secretly”, “saying” which means “uttering, declaring”, “go view the land” or “leave and depart to see the district, region an territory”, “even Jericho” which means “indeed and also Jericho whose name means it’s moon and was a city five miles (8 km) west of the Jordan and seven miles (11.5 km) north of the Dead Sea and the first city conquered by the Israelites upon entering the promised land of Canaan”. Joshua dispatched “two men” from “Shittim” to secretly “spy” on the territory known as “Jericho”.
The verse goes on to say, “And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.” Joshua continued with the words, “and they went” or “and they, the two men, left and departed”, “and came into an harlot’s house” which means “and entered in the abode, habitation and dwelling place of a prostitute”, “named Rahab” or “who was known by the name of Rahab which means wide”, “and lodged there” which means “and lie down, rested and relaxed in the harlot Rahab’s house”. Joshua or the writer said the “two men” who were dispatched to the city of “Jericho” entered into and rested in the dwelling place of a prostitute named “Rahab”.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how Joshua dispatched “two men” from the city of “Shittim” to the “city of Jericho” which was located inside the promise land. Because they were “spies”, they went to the home of a prostitute whose name was “Rahab” to rest there. We should remember that these two men were to scope out “Jericho” because it was to be the first city which would be conquered by Joshua and the people of Israel. We shall see more about that in our verses to come, but for now, let us be reminded that God Almighty was going before the people of Israel and He would ultimately fight for them. God goes before us as well, and when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way through belief and trust in Him to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and given His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and lead us into territories where He has dispatched the “spies” who shall defeat our spiritual foes.
Next time the writer or Joshua says, “it was told the king of Jericho”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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