Joshua 2:1-24

2:1-16 | For the two spies to lodge in the home of Rahab the prostitute made sense – her house was on the city wall and was constantly frequented by foreigners, giving the men greater opportunity to blend in.

2:6 | Flax is set out to dry once it is harvested and then used to make linen. Its presence on the roof would not arouse suspicion, so it made a convenient hiding place for the two spies.

2:9-11 | Rahab’s profession of faith is remarkable, coming from a woman in a pagan city with a pagan background. The reports she had probably heard from the men who came to her establishment, along with the few facts she knew herself, led her to believe that the One who had done all these marvelous wonders on behalf of His people was the true God in heaven above and on earth beneath (Deut. 2:25; 4:39). God, in His grace, reaches out to those with sordid pasts and no history with Him.

2:21 | By immediately tying a scarlet cord in the window, Rahab was acting out her faith in these men and their God. Its color represents the blood of sacrifice, symbolizing redemption (Ex. 30:10); Lev. 14:14). Tamar, another non-Israelite ancestor of Jesus, tied a scarlet cord around the wrist of her firstborn son (Gen. 38:28-30).

2:23-24 | The spies returned with a word that God had already promised: The LORD has delivered all the land into our hands. Their faith sharply contrasts that of the 10 spies in Numbers 13-14.