Before the men lay down, 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 the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away 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 who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”
The news of Israel was not hidden from the world. When reading the above passage we have to marvel that Rahab still remembered the crossing of the Red Sea. The above event is taking place 40 years after that miracle. Rahab, and the people of Jericho she seems to represent, were still in awe of a miracle performed decades previously. In the next chapter, Israel will cross the Jordan river on dry ground, like they did the Red Sea. Imagine the fear this would strike in everyone, again. Remember, this 1.5 million or so people who had wandered in a wilderness near Jericho, about the size of Virginia, for forty years. In the process they had conquered kings. In the process God made it so their shoes didn’t wear out. In the process God feed them each day with manna from the sky. In the process God gave them water from a rock. In the process God guided and protected them with a cloud by day and fire by night. Although they were wandering, they were also professing before the world (Jericho included), with their lives, the mighty acts of God. This put fear into the hearts of those who observed and heard about their conquest. God uses His power, through His people, to speak to the lives of the non-believer. We don’t know how old Rahab is. She is a harlot and others came to her. This is why the rulers of the city knew she would know where the spies were. Her house was on the city wall, which means it must have had both access to the passing world (a great place to run a house for harlots) and visibility of those passing by. She feared for her parents and siblings. Her asking in faith for mercy and grace was her act of coming to God. It all started by her hearing of the great things God had done for His people. We might like miracles ourselves, but in reality God often sends miracles to, also, convince the world around us of the His power and grace in the lives of those He loves. God uses miracles to draw others to Himself, not just to make the lives of His people easier.
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