Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read Joshua 2, Jeremiah 27, and Psalms 78-80 today. This devotional is about Joshua 2. Then Joshua, son of Nun, secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho. So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there. And it was reported to the king of Jericho, Behold, some men of Israel have come here to-night to spy out the land. So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab and said, Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they have come to spy out the whole land. But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when the gate was about to close, the men went out, and I do not know which way they went. Pursue them quickly, and you may catch them. But Rahab had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flack that she had laid out there. So the king's men set out in pursuit of the spies along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they had gone out, the gate was shut. before the spies lay down for the night. Rahab went up on the roof and said to them, I know that the Lord has given you this land, and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites across the Jordan, whom you devoted to destruction. When we heard this, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you. For the Lord your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below. Now therefore, please swear to me by the Lord that you will indeed show kindness to my family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will deliver us from death. Our lives for your lives, the men agreed. If you do not report our mission, we will show you kindness and faithfulness when the Lord gives us the land. Then Rahab let them down by a rope through the window, since the house where she lived was built into the wall of the city. Go to the hill country, she said, so that your pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there for three days, until they have returned. Then go on your way." The men said to her, We will not be bound by this oath you made us swear, unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window, through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother and brothers and all your family into your house. If anyone goes out the door of your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if a hand is laid on any one with you in the house, his blood will be on our heads, and if you report our mission, we will be released from the oath you made us swear." Let it be as you say," she replied, and she sent them away. And when they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord in the window. So the spies went out into the hill country and stayed there three days, until their pursuers had returned without finding them, having searched all along the road. Then the two men started back, came down from the hill country, and crossed the river. So they came to Joshua son of Nun and reported all that had happened to them. The Lord has surely delivered the entire land into our hands, they said to Joshua. Indeed, all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of us. This is God's word. So much has changed from the time that Israel first sent spies into the Promised Land and our record of it here in Joshua chapter 2. The first time, twelve men were sent to be spies, one from each tribe according to Numbers chapter 13 verse 2. This time, only two were sent according to verse 1. Instead of looking at the land exhaustively as Numbers 13.17 and Numbers 13.21-22 describes, these spies here in Joshua were told, look over the land, especially Jericho, that's verse 2b. So their task was to survey, but with a particular focus on one city. Instead of having to investigate the people, the land, the towns, the soil, and the trees, as the first group did in Numbers 13, 18-20, this time they seem to be looking more strategically. Another difference was that this time the spies found an ally, although an unlikely one, a prostitute named Rahab, according to verse 1. Verse 1 says they entered her house and stayed there. I suppose that was a strategic decision. A house like hers frequently had men coming and going, and so maybe they decided it would be easier to avoid detection this way. Regardless of what they may have thought, they were spotted, and their mission and their lives were thereby jeopardized according to verses 2 and 3. While some have faulted Rahab for lying, the scriptures never suggest that she sinned. In fact, she's heralded for her faith and was protected from death, the death that her questioners received for their unbelief. You can see Hebrews 11.31 for that. But above everything else that happened in this passage, Rahab provided the insight that Israel needed to move forward in faith. In verse 9, she said, I know that the Lord has given you this land, and that great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. Again, that's verse 9 in the NIV. Later, she said it again, our hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed because of you. That's verse 11 in the NIV. Out of all the things they learned in their survey trip, her statement seems to have made the biggest impression on the spies. When they gave their report to Joshua, they used her own words to express their confidence. In verse 24, this time from the NIV, scripture says, The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands. All the people are melting in fear because of us. And again that's verse 24 from the NIV. Both Rahab and the spies understood that this was going to be a spiritual victory. As Rahab put it, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. She said that in verse 11. It was not Israel's military might, superior weaponry, or ingenious tactics that would give them the victory. It was the power of God and their faith this time in the promises that God had made to them. But isn't it interesting how God provided them with reassurance through Rahab? God could have found fault, I suppose, with them sending spies in the first place. There was no indication that he directed Joshua to send the spies. God's command was clear, as were his promises of victory. So the very act of sending spies could be seen as an act of unbelief. But instead of rebuking them, however, God gave them Rahab and her words of faith as the final boost they needed. Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever been ready to do the right thing morally in your life or the wise thing scripturally in your life? And just as you're about to move forward, God provides just a little bit of reassurance that yes, he's in this decision. How gracious of the Lord to confirm His word. How merciful He was to spare a sinful woman like Rahab when she believed in Him and acted accordingly. I hope this passage gives you some confidence today as you go out into the world to live for Him.