What if The Spies Decided Not to Visit a Brothel?

“Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and spent the night there. The king of Jericho was told, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land.” Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come only to search out the whole land.” But the woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from. And when it was time to close the gate at dark, the men went out. Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them.” She had, however, brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof. So the men pursued them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. As soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. Before they went to sleep, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any of us because of you. The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” The men said to her, “Our life for yours! If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will deal kindly and faithfully with you when the Lord gives us the land.” Joshua 2:1-14

Don’t you think it was interesting that the first place the spies visited was the home of a prostitute? Weren’t there other homes where they could have spent the night? Couldn’t you just as easily get a handle on the lay of the land in another home – in another part of the city? But the spies have come to the home of a prostitute – and it appears there are two specifically good reasons why. First, if the spies wanted to stay “undercover” (no pun intended), then going to the home of a prostitute would allow them to not arouse much suspicion. Many men may have been seen going and coming from her home, so two more would not be something out of the ordinary. However, a second reason that her home would be a good site to stay is because her home is situated on the city wall. If they needed an easy escape, this was the perfect place to hide. When men come looking for the spies, she hides them on the roof and sends the men in another direction. This action saves her family when the Lord gives their city into the hands of the Israelites. In effect, G-d uses the spies to save Rahab’s family – as such we once again that no one is outside of G-d’s mercy and Grace. So, if the spies did not seek the home of a prostitute, they may have been discovered, and Rahab’s family, along with the spies, would have perished along with the city. G-d does work in mysterious ways….

Pastor Dave

What if Aaron and Moses Didn’t Like Each Other?

“But Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Then the Lord said to him, “Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.” But he said, “O my Lord, please send someone else.” Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “What of your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he can speak fluently; even now he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you his heart will be glad. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. He indeed shall speak for you to the people; he shall serve as a mouth for you, and you shall serve as God for him. Take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.” Exodus 4:10-17

Moses and Aaron were brothers. We have lots of stories in the Old Testament about brothers. Cain and Abel were brothers, and that story didn’t end well. Jacob and Esau were brothers, and that story did not turn out that well for Esau. Joseph had eleven brothers, and all but Benjamin were a little snarky toward Joseph. Just as sisters can be kind, or mean, or even vindictive, brothers can be the same. Such is the case with family. But, sometimes brothers actually work together – such is the case for Moses and Aaron. But what if they didn’t like each other? What then would the Lord have instructed Moses to do? The Lord was getting angry with Moses with each denial he placed on the table as to why he wasn’t the one to take up the Lord’s request. And so when Moses says that he is not eloquent in speech, the Lord must be frustrated with this servant of G-d. We know that Moses will go on to do great things, but in this moment he sure does seem like a failure. So when he complains about his inability to speak clearly, the Lord finds a way around. “What about your brother, Moses, he can speak for you. His heart will be glad when he sees you.”

If the brothers were enemies, like Jacob and Esau once were, then supporting one another was out of the question. And, as many of us know, family relationships can sometimes be the hardest for us to maintain a level of civility. Why? I think it is because there is so much baggage that comes with sibling relationships. When we look at brothers like Joseph and his eleven siblings, Cain and Abel and the like, their relationships are very, very complicated. But not so with Moses and Aaron. They are able to work with one another and to defeat Pharaoh. Without Aaron, Moses may not have even accepted his call by G-d to lead the people. And without Moses, G-d would have had to find another leader – and there were few leaders like Moses.

Pastor Dave