How does Joshua 2:14 connect to God's covenant with Israel in Deuteronomy? Setting the Scene Joshua’s two spies enter Jericho and find shelter with Rahab. She hides them, confesses faith in the LORD, and asks for mercy when Israel takes the city. Joshua 2:14 “ ‘Our lives for yours,’ the men assured her. ‘If you do not reveal this mission of ours, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land.’ ” Key Covenant Vocabulary • “kindly” — ḥesed: loyal love, covenant mercy • “faithfully” — ʼĕmet: steadfast trustworthiness These two words form a classic pair in covenant language, appearing repeatedly in Deuteronomy to describe God’s commitment to Israel. Echoes of Deuteronomy • Deuteronomy 7:2 — God will “deliver them over to you” exactly as the spies confess. • Deuteronomy 7:9 — “He is God, the faithful God, keeping His covenant of loving devotion (ḥesed)…” Same pair of terms the spies pledge to Rahab. • Deuteronomy 7:12 — Obedience brings God’s “covenant of loving devotion” upon the people; Rahab aligns herself with that obedience. • Deuteronomy 10:18-19 — The LORD “shows loving devotion” and commands Israel to love the sojourner; Rahab, a foreigner, receives that devotion. • Deuteronomy 31:6-8 — God will give the land and never forsake His people; the spies speak with that confidence. The Covenant Pattern at Work • Declaration of Dominion: Deuteronomy 7 and 31 promise the land; spies echo, “when the LORD gives us the land.” • Loyal Love Promised: God pledges ḥesed to Israel; Israel now extends ḥesed to Rahab. • Conditional Faithfulness: Covenant blessings flow when the partner “does not reveal this mission”; mirrors Deut’s blessings-for-obedience structure (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). • Salvation of the Believing Outsider: Deuteronomy 29:10-13 foresees “the foreigner” entering covenant; Rahab becomes that living example. Rahab’s Alignment with Deuteronomy • She “chooses life” (Deuteronomy 30:19) by siding with the LORD. • Her household is gathered in the house marked by a scarlet cord, paralleling Israel gathered under the blood of Passover (Exodus 12), a motif Deuteronomy recalls (16:1-8). • She becomes grafted into Israel’s story, later appearing in Matthew 1:5 and Hebrews 11:31, confirming God’s covenant mercy to all who believe. Faith, Obedience, and Salvation • Hebrews 11:31: “By faith Rahab the prostitute, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.” • James 2:25 shows her works validating her faith, the same faith-and-obedience balance stressed throughout Deuteronomy. Takeaway Truths • God’s covenant language in Deuteronomy (ḥesed and ʼĕmet) is mirrored verbatim in Joshua 2:14, demonstrating continuity between law and conquest. • The promise to Rahab proves that the covenant always allowed room for repentant outsiders. • The spies’ confidence springs directly from Deuteronomy’s assurances that the LORD would give them the land. • Rahab illustrates that choosing the LORD, trusting His word, and acting in line with that trust secures covenant blessing, exactly as Deuteronomy proclaims. |
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