Joshua 6:22-27
22 And Joshua said to the two men who had spied out
the land, “Go into the harlot’s house and bring the woman and all she
has out of there, as you have sworn to her.” 23 So the young men who
were spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother
and her brothers and all she had; they also brought out all her
relatives, and placed them outside the camp of Israel. 24 And they
burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and
gold and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the
house of the LORD. 25 However, Rahab the harlot and her father’s
household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst
of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to
spy out Jericho.
26 Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time,
saying, “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and builds this
city Jericho; with the loss of his first-born he shall lay its
foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its
gates.” 27 So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the
land.
In these final verses we see some marvelous facts
about God and His dealings with people. First, they demonstrate God’s
faithfulness to His Word; they remind us that God, who is immutable and
cannot lie, is also absolutely faithful (cf. Jam. 1:17).
The promises to Rahab were kept—she and her family were delivered.
While it is not stated, evidently that part of the wall on which Rahab’s
house was built did not collapse.
Second, they demonstrate God’s grace and mercy.
God’s love and plan of salvation is open to anyone who calls on the name
of the Lord (John 3:16; 2 Pet. 3:9; Rom. 10:11-13).
Third, in keeping with His faithfulness to keep His
promises, the prophecy against any who would seek to rebuild Jericho
(vs. 26), also demonstrates God’s severity and the surety of His Word.
The prophecy of verse 26 came to be fulfilled in the days of Ahab (see 1 Kings 16:34). Jericho was occupied sporadically after its destruction, but never to the previous degree.
Source:Bible.org
No comments:
Post a Comment