“Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night. 2 But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.” 4 Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” 6 (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.)” Joshua 2:1-6 NLT
God of new adventures,
The same and yet different. This time two spies were sent out rather than twelve. Perhaps Joshua had learned from the past not to make the same mistakes but trust two good men. And they had a different experience in that they were straight away at risk. But You had gone before and prepared a safe place for them with the least expected person. A woman, a foreigner and a prostitute, Rahab. We read in the genealogy of Jesus, Salmon was the father of Boaz whose mother was Rahab (Matthew 1:5). Making her the great great grandmother of David. And an ancestor of Mary mother of Jesus. How wonderful. They did not judge who saved them they were just grateful. You love us just as we are.
When Jesus came Your Word said he would have nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He would be despised, rejected, a man of sorrows and acquainted with deepest grief (Isaiah 53:2,3). He came as one of us. And he would be the one to keep us safe. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of You God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).
You, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in Your eyes. You decided in advance to adopt us into Your own family by bringing us to Yourself through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:4,5). How amazing. Help us, like Rahab, to do what is right towards others.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Worship Sunday 23rd March 2025
Such a profoundly simple way to praise God.
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Repeat . . .
Lyrics: Thomas Ken.
This hymn was originally the final verse of three hymns by Thomas Ken. (“A Morning Hymn”, “An Evening Hymn”, and “A Midnight Hymn”), but is more commonly sung as a hymn unto itself.