Thursdays with Joshua

Read Joshua 6:22-24 – But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.” And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. (NKJV)

Joshua wasn’t a flawless leader. He will make a few mistakes as God’s man and the captain of Israel’s army. But Joshua is a man of his word. In the midst of the chaotic victory and the massive bloodshed that occurred at Jericho, Joshua remembers the promise his spies made to Rahab—the harlot who provided shelter and protection for those spies. Honestly, at Joshua’s level there’s a lot going on. He’s trying to lead perhaps millions of people and oversee the greatest military victory in Israel’s history. A promise to a woman he’s never met could have seemed like a small thing. Of course, it wasn’t a small thing to Rahab and her household. But Joshua takes care of the “little things,” knowing that God blesses righteousness in all things. That’s a good lesson for us in the “little things” that may matter more to others than they do to us.

– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.