Joshua 2
Today's Passage: Joshua 2
If you’re like me, you don’t like the grey situations in life. I like absolute truths (2+2=4). Life does not always work in absolute truths.
Which takes me to my point: in Joshua 2, Rahab lies to protect the spies from probably being killed (v. 1-7). She committed a sin to honor God, and through her actions, God honored her. We know God honored her because she is in the lineage of Jesus (Matthew 1:5). This is not the only instance this happens in the Bible. In Exodus 1, Pharoah told the midwives to kill all male babies born to the Israelite women. The midwives, because of their fear of God, lied to Pharoah to save the baby boys. God then blesses the midwives.
What do we do with this? How could God bless people who committed sins?
1. These are special exceptions. In both situations, God used the midwives and Rahab to bring about his plan of redemption. If all the boys of Israel died, the Messiah could not come through God’s people. I love what John Piper said: So I conclude from these two biblical stories that it is possible to be a person who fears the Lord (like the Hebrew midwives) and acts in faith (like Rahab) and yet feel constrained in extreme, life-threatening situations to oppose evil by lying.
Now, let’s be very clear, lying is a sin. Proverbs 12:22 says: Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. There are always consequences for sin. I am not condoning sin.
2. All of us are sinners and do not deserve blessing. It never bodes well to play the comparison card. We don’t deserve anything God has given us – we are not more righteous than Rahab or the midwives. Instead, we should be thanking God for His abundant grace.
At the end of the day, we must trust the character of God. He is just, but also loving. God knows the heart.
In life, we will run into grey areas. The most important thing we can do is to honor God in everything.
Written By: Brice Stockton
If you’re like me, you don’t like the grey situations in life. I like absolute truths (2+2=4). Life does not always work in absolute truths.
Which takes me to my point: in Joshua 2, Rahab lies to protect the spies from probably being killed (v. 1-7). She committed a sin to honor God, and through her actions, God honored her. We know God honored her because she is in the lineage of Jesus (Matthew 1:5). This is not the only instance this happens in the Bible. In Exodus 1, Pharoah told the midwives to kill all male babies born to the Israelite women. The midwives, because of their fear of God, lied to Pharoah to save the baby boys. God then blesses the midwives.
What do we do with this? How could God bless people who committed sins?
1. These are special exceptions. In both situations, God used the midwives and Rahab to bring about his plan of redemption. If all the boys of Israel died, the Messiah could not come through God’s people. I love what John Piper said: So I conclude from these two biblical stories that it is possible to be a person who fears the Lord (like the Hebrew midwives) and acts in faith (like Rahab) and yet feel constrained in extreme, life-threatening situations to oppose evil by lying.
Now, let’s be very clear, lying is a sin. Proverbs 12:22 says: Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. There are always consequences for sin. I am not condoning sin.
2. All of us are sinners and do not deserve blessing. It never bodes well to play the comparison card. We don’t deserve anything God has given us – we are not more righteous than Rahab or the midwives. Instead, we should be thanking God for His abundant grace.
At the end of the day, we must trust the character of God. He is just, but also loving. God knows the heart.
In life, we will run into grey areas. The most important thing we can do is to honor God in everything.
Written By: Brice Stockton
1 Comment
Thanks Brice! I also tried to view it from Rahab’s perspective. These people were about to take over. But she rightly concluded that there is no sense fighting against God’s plan. She joined it instead!