{"id":12742,"date":"2020-11-24T21:00:42","date_gmt":"2020-11-25T04:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/joshua_1_10-18-copy\/"},"modified":"2020-11-22T20:37:09","modified_gmt":"2020-11-23T03:37:09","slug":"joshua_2_1-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/joshua_2_1-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it Okay to Lie?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joshua 2:1-13\u00a0\u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Joshua 2:1-13.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Joshua 2:1a (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.”\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 1: Before commanding his troops to enter the land they are planning to conquer, Joshua first sends two spies to look over the land.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Before making a big decision, do your due diligence first.\u00a0\u00a0Whether it\u2019s a relationship, a financial decision, a job opportunity, or something else that will involve a major investment of your time, heart, energy and resources, look before you leap.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Know what you\u2019re getting into before getting into it.<\/p>\n

Joshua 2:1b-7 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u2026So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The king of Jericho was told, “Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.”
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.”
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0(But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.)
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1b-7:\u00a0\u00a0Upon entering Jericho, Joshua\u2019s two spies enter the house of a prostitute in Jericho called Rahab.\u00a0\u00a0Rahab hides the two spies and then lies to the king\u2019s messengers, pretending not to know the whereabouts of the spies when questioned.\u00a0\u00a0Her answer sends the king\u2019s messengers in a different direction, keeping the Israelite spies safe.<\/p>\n

Was it okay for Rahab to lie in this situation, since it was meant to protect the Israelite spies?\u00a0\u00a0Though the Bible does not make any express negative comment about Rahab\u2019s lying, that does not mean that God approved of Rahab lying in this way.\u00a0\u00a0Keep in mind that in the Old Testament there are numerous examples of a person lying where there is no express statement later on saying that what that person did was wrong.\u00a0\u00a0But over and over, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, the Bible is clear on its teaching that God detests lying lips and that we are not to lie (for example, see Leviticus 19:13; Proverbs 12:22; Ephesians 4:25; Matthew 5:37).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So I believe that\u00a0instead of condoning or approving of Rahab\u2019s lie, God simply had mercy on Rahab<\/strong>, who, as the following verses will show, clearly had faith in the Lord and a heart to protect God\u2019s people.<\/p>\n

Joshua 2:8-13 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and said to them, “I know that the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0We have heard how the\u00a0LORD\u00a0dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now then, please swear to me by the\u00a0LORD\u00a0that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 8-13:\u00a0\u00a0Here we learn why Rahab had hidden and protected the Israelite spies: it\u2019s because Rahab had faith that the Lord had given the land in which she lived to the Israelites.\u00a0 A non-Jew,\u00a0Rahab even declares that \u201cthe Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below\u201d (v11).\u00a0\u00a0She also requests that the Israelites spare her family and protect them (v12-13).\u00a0\u00a0In the New Testament, Rahab is repeatedly commended for her faith (see Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25), and is even mentioned as an ancestor of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God used, blessed and saved Rahab, who was a prostitute, a Gentile (a non-Jew) and who also lied in this story.\u00a0\u00a0It goes to show that\u00a0God is willing to use and save people regardless of their background, their past or their imperfect record.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s not because we earn God\u2019s approval by our good deeds.\u00a0\u00a0Rather it\u2019s by faith in God\u2019s mercy and love, which are greater than our mistakes.<\/p>\n

Also, just as word traveled to the city of Jericho about the great things God was doing on behalf of the Israelites (v9-10), when God is doing great things in your church community, as a leader you don\u2019t need to stress about trumpeting it or boasting about it before others.\u00a0\u00a0Naturally the word will get around.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You that You love us, bless us, save us, and have mercy on us despite our past mistakes.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You that it is Your mercy and love at the end of the day that cover us and protect us.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Joshua 2:1-13.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Joshua 2:1a (NIV)\u00a0
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.”\u2026<\/p>\n

On verse 1: Before commanding his troops to enter the land they are planning to conquer, Joshua first sends two spies to look over the land.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Before making a big decision, do your due diligence first.\u00a0\u00a0Whether it\u2019s a relationship, a financial decision, a job opportunity, or something else that will involve a major investment of your time, heart, energy and resources, look before you leap.\u00a0\u00a0Know what you\u2019re getting into before getting into it.<\/p>\n

Joshua 2:1b-7 (NIV)
\n1\u2026So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.\u00a0
\n2\u00a0\u00a0The king of Jericho was told, “Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.”\u00a0
\n3\u00a0\u00a0So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12742"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12743,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12742\/revisions\/12743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}