2:4-7
The woman did not tell the king’s men that she was keeping the men safe, nor that she knew where they had come from, i.e. who they were. Now there are some very silly debates about whether she was lying or not, and if she was lying was it a sin. It is quite plain that she did not tell the men the truth. Any attempt to try and prove otherwise is sheer sophistry. It is also clear that she was not sinning. Nowhere does the Bible criticise her, indeed it speaks well of her (e.g. Heb 11:31). This is perhaps akin to the situation that sometimes happened in countries occupied by the Nazis in the Second World War where brave souls hid Jews from the Nazis. So Rahab sent the King’s men on a wild goose chase.
2:8-11
The woman went to see the two spies and told them why she had taken the action she had done. She had heard what the Lord had done for Israel, and that He had given them the land. Indeed, she was not the only one who was aware of this. They had heard of the Red Sea incident, and the defeat of Sihon and Og. They knew that the Lord was with Israel. Consider how different this situation was compared to that of the twelve spies who went in under Moses. Then it was ten of the spies who were filled with fear. We often think about “how am I feeling”, it is often useful to consider how the opposition is feeling. We also see that the fear the people of Jericho had was because of what the Lord had done. Too often churches seem to have a God who does not act. This is blasphemous, the Bible knows nothing of a God who does not act.
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