Before I was a parent, I was your consummate expert in the art of raising children. Now, three adult children later, amazingly I really don’t have much to say unless asked. Though I believe we did a lot of things right, looking back, there are clearly areas that could have done with more solution seeking. That, of course, goes way beyond just raising children.
Advice is easier to give than to take. It is especially when in the throes of anger and frustration that we either eschew advice or seek out those who tell us what we want to hear. Too often we don’t know when to stop long enough to seek advice that doesn’t include others who don’t know what they are talking about. I believe you know what I mean.
Rahab of Jericho did not need advice. The problem was clear: The God who had destroyed Egypt and the kingdoms over the Jordan River was coming to destroy her. What she sought was deliverance from certain death.
We don’t usually associate Providence or Answered Prayer with Rahab’s deliverance. But given that she was one of Jesus’ ancestors (Matthew 1:5), and that she clearly had faith in the power of the God of Israel (Joshua 2:9-11), providence and answered prayer fit nicely.
It is often noted that Rahab’s place of business was ideal for those seeking both intelligence and anonymity. Naturally, Rahab had the advantage over all who came and went, and she swooped upon it when Israel’s spies arrived. This was an account of a woman who heard and believed.
It was that faith, albeit driven by fear, that made Rahab bet her life on a promise made by two enemy spies. Yes, she had hidden them from certain torture and death, but her wager was still based on the word given by two men she sent fleeing into the night.
Later, when hanging that red material from her window, it was the promise made in the name of Yahweh that she believed in. That was where she found her solutions.
John Staiger
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