You have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down

 Joshua 2:1-24

Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

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.

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.

Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. 

They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.

Jericho, the city of palm trees,, lies just west of the River Jordan. Joshua's intention was to make his first trust into the center of the land, driving a wedge between north and south. Jericho stood directly in his path, an obvious first target.

Rahab's action in harboring the sies stemmed not from fear, but from the belief that Israel's God is the true God. The storyteller makes no attempt to 'clean up' Tahab's reputation,. The tale is simply told. As Rahab saves the lives of the spies, so she and her family come under God's protection - to find a permanent home among God's people and become part of the great salvation story. Rahab was naturalized, married Salmon, and through her son, Boaz became an ancestress not only of David but of Jesus himself. It is an outstanding example of God's grace.

Rahab's house was built on or into the city wall with a flat roof on which products could be spread out to dry - in this case flax, from which she would spin linen thread. The house of a prostitute was somewhere two men might go with no questions asked: and no doubt a good place to pick up information. The Israelites kept their promise to her.

Why?

Rahab knew the Lord of Israelite is the real God so she took action to save these two spies and make an agreement with them. This is a dangerous decision to her, but she knew it is a chance to be saved. 

Even Rahab was a prostitute but she grasps this good chance so she reverses her life and became the family of the Lord.

Make the right decision at the right time is very important.

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這次的探子不像摩西當時的探子只看物產，外表。這次探子是了解人心。

過紅海及亞摩力王被殺，兩事間隔40年，可見當地的人心很注意以色列人的事。不要被外表現象欺騙。原來40年前就已經預備了，可是人不信，以至浪費40年。很難從神的作為中看見神的心意。

喇合的眼光，她選擇站在耶和華這邊，耶律個王卻選擇和神對抗。神蹟大家都看見，但是不是每個人都有屬靈的眼光。她看清楚誰才是真正的敵人。我們是耶律哥城的王還是喇合。

大災難中又有得救的記號。以色列人出埃及時，門上的羔羊血是避災的記號，現在紅絲帶是平安的記號，今天耶穌是得救的記號。兩名探子以生命保證喇合的全家，今天耶穌是我們生命的保證，要進入屋內才能保證平安 ，要進入神的家庭才有平安。

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How?

My God is The God in heaven above and on the earth below.