need to survive?”
“Oh, Mizraim, you worry about so many things. You worry about what you’re going to eat and where you’re going to sleep. Only one thing is necessary. Obey the instructions we’ve been given! If you want to live, pack your belongings and come to my house.” She smiled. “And in your haste, don’t forget to bring Basemath and the children with you.”
Ω Ω Ω
After three days, Salmon and Ephraim left the hill country and crossed the Jordan. Stripping off the Amorite garments, they donned their own clothing and ran the rest of the way to Shittim, where they found Joshua and Caleb together.
“The Lord will certainly give us the whole land,” Ephraim said, panting heavily, “for all the people in the land are terrified of us!”
“Be at ease and rest.” Joshua nodded for them to sit close to the fire. He was calm, his gaze steady, as though nothing they told him had changed anything.
Salmon’s excitement was roaring within him so that he felt he could run through the entire camp, shouting the news to the thousands who waited to go into battle. “The land is ours, and it’s rich beyond anything we’ve ever imagined! God has kept His promise. The hearts of the Canaanites have melted before the power of the Lord.”
“A harlot in Jericho told us,” Ephraim said, still breathing hard.
A harlot. Salmon didn’t like the way Ephraim described Rahab.
Salmon had always thought it was Joshua’s and Caleb’s faith that had singled them out from all others among the chosen race, but a single evening in the company of a Jerichoan whore had made him realize that God could write His name upon the heart of anyone He chose—even a Canaanite prostitute! Out there in the darkness, across the Jordan inside the wall of a pagan city was a woman of contemptible reputation who’d never seen a miracle, tasted a bite of manna, or heard a single word of the Law. And yet her faith was strong enough that she had greeted, welcomed, and protected those who were coming to destroy her and her people. “The Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below,” she had declared.
“The woman’s name is Rahab,” Salmon said to the two venerable old warriors. “She called down to us from a window in the wall and met us just inside the gate, then took us into her house. She hid us on her roof before the soldiers came, then told them we’d left the city.”
Ephraim quickly took up Rahab’s defense as well. “The soldiers believed her lie and went chasing after shadows.”
“She welcomed us with kindness and recommended we wait in the hill country for three days before returning to give you our report. It was this woman who said the Lord has given us the land. She said, ‘The Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.’ And she asked us to give an oath to save her family from death, an oath by the Lord.”
Joshua’s eyes narrowed slightly. “And did you give this oath?”
Salmon felt the sweat break out on the back of his neck. Had he overstepped himself and gone against the will of the Lord? “Yes, sir, we did give our oath.” He swallowed hard. “If I have done wrong in this, I pray the Lord will hold me alone responsible and not punish this woman. We did swear before the Lord our God that anyone inside Rahab’s house would be spared.”
“Then it will be so,” Joshua said.
Salmon breathed easier.
“How will we know her from the others?” Caleb asked.
Salmon turned to him eagerly. “We gave her a sign to use so that we’ll know where her dwelling is. She used a scarlet cord to let us down to the ground, saving our lives and giving us a way of escape. I told Rahab to leave that same cord tied in her window. It will be easily seen from outside the walls.”
Joshua rose. “The Lord protects those who belong to Him.”
“Blessed be the name of the Lord,” Salmon said, relieved.
Caleb
“Oh, Mizraim, you worry about so many things. You worry about what you’re going to eat and where you’re going to sleep. Only one thing is necessary. Obey the instructions we’ve been given! If you want to live, pack your belongings and come to my house.” She smiled. “And in your haste, don’t forget to bring Basemath and the children with you.”
Ω Ω Ω
After three days, Salmon and Ephraim left the hill country and crossed the Jordan. Stripping off the Amorite garments, they donned their own clothing and ran the rest of the way to Shittim, where they found Joshua and Caleb together.
“The Lord will certainly give us the whole land,” Ephraim said, panting heavily, “for all the people in the land are terrified of us!”
“Be at ease and rest.” Joshua nodded for them to sit close to the fire. He was calm, his gaze steady, as though nothing they told him had changed anything.
Salmon’s excitement was roaring within him so that he felt he could run through the entire camp, shouting the news to the thousands who waited to go into battle. “The land is ours, and it’s rich beyond anything we’ve ever imagined! God has kept His promise. The hearts of the Canaanites have melted before the power of the Lord.”
“A harlot in Jericho told us,” Ephraim said, still breathing hard.
A harlot. Salmon didn’t like the way Ephraim described Rahab.
Salmon had always thought it was Joshua’s and Caleb’s faith that had singled them out from all others among the chosen race, but a single evening in the company of a Jerichoan whore had made him realize that God could write His name upon the heart of anyone He chose—even a Canaanite prostitute! Out there in the darkness, across the Jordan inside the wall of a pagan city was a woman of contemptible reputation who’d never seen a miracle, tasted a bite of manna, or heard a single word of the Law. And yet her faith was strong enough that she had greeted, welcomed, and protected those who were coming to destroy her and her people. “The Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below,” she had declared.
“The woman’s name is Rahab,” Salmon said to the two venerable old warriors. “She called down to us from a window in the wall and met us just inside the gate, then took us into her house. She hid us on her roof before the soldiers came, then told them we’d left the city.”
Ephraim quickly took up Rahab’s defense as well. “The soldiers believed her lie and went chasing after shadows.”
“She welcomed us with kindness and recommended we wait in the hill country for three days before returning to give you our report. It was this woman who said the Lord has given us the land. She said, ‘The Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.’ And she asked us to give an oath to save her family from death, an oath by the Lord.”
Joshua’s eyes narrowed slightly. “And did you give this oath?”
Salmon felt the sweat break out on the back of his neck. Had he overstepped himself and gone against the will of the Lord? “Yes, sir, we did give our oath.” He swallowed hard. “If I have done wrong in this, I pray the Lord will hold me alone responsible and not punish this woman. We did swear before the Lord our God that anyone inside Rahab’s house would be spared.”
“Then it will be so,” Joshua said.
Salmon breathed easier.
“How will we know her from the others?” Caleb asked.
Salmon turned to him eagerly. “We gave her a sign to use so that we’ll know where her dwelling is. She used a scarlet cord to let us down to the ground, saving our lives and giving us a way of escape. I told Rahab to leave that same cord tied in her window. It will be easily seen from outside the walls.”
Joshua rose. “The Lord protects those who belong to Him.”
“Blessed be the name of the Lord,” Salmon said, relieved.
Caleb
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