In this portion of God’s Word, the Israelites are preparing to go into the promised land. They send two spies who meet a woman named Rahab. When the king of Jericho hears about these spies, he demands that Rahab hand over them over. The easy thing to do would have been to obey the king. Rahab, though, doesn’t feed into the fear that her culture had about the Israelites. Instead, she acts out of faith, and hides the spies. By taking a look at Rahab’s story, we get a practical example of what it looks like to live fearlessly in a fear-driven world.

1. Don’t feed into fear
Joshua 2:8-14, 2 Tim. 1:7, Phil. 4:6-7, Ps. 34:4, 56:3, 1 John 4:18

2. Be willing to stand against sin
Joshua 2:1-7, Matt. 10:16, 1 Pet. 5:8, Ex. 1:15-22, 20:16, James 4:7

3. Hold onto God’s promise of salvation
Joshua 2:15-21, John 3:16-17, 2 Pet. 3:9, Eph. 2:8-9, Acts 4:12, Rom. 10:9

Reflection Questions:

1. Rahab could have chosen to take the “easy way” out, and hand the spies over to the king of Jericho. Instead, she acted out of faith, and hid the two spies. However, if she would have taken the “easy way” out, she would have been destroyed with the rest of the city. Because she acted out of faith, though, she was saved. Have you ever tried to take the easy out on anything in your life instead of doing what God wanted you to do? How did it turn out for you? What lessons did you learn?

2. Read Joshua 2:8-14. Here Rahab makes it clear that the entire city, after hearing what God had done for the Israelites, is terrified of what He is capable of. Instead of feeding into this fear though, Rahab, after hearing about what the God of Israel has done, comes to faith. How can you, in your life, avoid feeding into fear, and instead grow your faith in God?

3. Read Joshua 2:1-7. Rahab stood against the king of Jericho. It was a risk that could have ended up poorly for her, but she decided to take it because of her faith. In your life, or around you, is there any sin that you need to stand up against?

4. Read Joshua 2:15-21. Here, Rahab and the spies work out a plan where, when Israel goes to defeat the city, they will see a red cord, and save Rahab and her family. Similarly, when we put our faith in Jesus, His blood has covered us and we are saved. Rahab would have held onto the promise of the spies, and that they would save Rahab and her family from destruction. What would it look like, in your life, to hold onto God’s promise of salvation?

5. What is your biggest take away about how this passage affects your life? What do you need to work on? Who can you share this with and ask you to keep you accountable to accomplishing this?