The tale of Rahab & the Spies is one of the Book of Joshua’s Ten Commandments’ moment. The event offers readers insight as to how the Children of Israel addressed the Decalogue during the period of their conquest of the Promised Land. Rahab & the Spies addresses the commandment concerning the prohibition of using the Lord’s name in vain.
Prior to the siege Jericho, Joshua commissioned two spies to make observations. Joshua 2:1. To do so, the spies entered the city and stayed at a local inn run by a woman named Rahab.
The spies’ presence apparently was no secret to the city’s monarcy. Jericho’s king questioned Rahab concerning the spies. He informed her of their identity and demanded that they be turned over.
Rahab defied the King. Instead, she hid the men. She told them that she was aware that the Lord had given them the land and that fear had fallen upon the residents. She advised them that the inhabitants had melted because of the Children of Israel. She informed them that she was aware of the Exodus and of the defeats of Sihon and Og. She told them that she recognized that the Children of Israel’s God was the God of heavens above and the earth below. Joshua 2:8-11.
With the disclosures made, she then asked the spies to swear by the Master that they would do kindness with her father’s household and give her a trustworthy sign, that they would keep alive her father, her brothers, and her sisters, and all that was theirs.
With the request made, the spies told her “our souls will die instead of yours, if you do not relate this discussion or ours. And it will be when the Lord gives us the land that we will do kindness and truth with you.” Joshua 2:14.
Rahab supplies them a rope for their get away. The men then say “we are absolved from this oath of your which you made us swear[unless] Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you lowered us; and your father and your mother and your brothers and your father’s entire household you shall bring into you, into your house.”
Why was there the need for the spies absolve themselves from the oath?
It is likely that the spies realized that their oath was problematic. They came to understand that they had no means to discern Rahab’s family from Jericho’s other residents. Thus, they needed a way to correct the agreement. Due to the seriousness of using the Lord’s name in vain, an absolution of the initial agreement was required. Once done, the new and improved terms were instituted to make sure that the agreement was honored. In other terms, they needed to qualify the oath. Ralbag.
In the end, Rahab’s family and possessions were spared. Rahab came to live with the Children of Israel. Joshua 6:25.
This story is among the variety that provide an excellent example as to why the Ten Commandments included the provision to not use the Lord’s name in vain. Many people, at that particular time, used an oath as a means to increase the likelihood of performance. they did not live in an area with a court system that could adjudicate such a matter. Thus, if one dealt with someone who feared the Master, there was more of a guarantee that the task would be done.
Beyond thrust of the commandment matter of the sanctity of using the Master’s name in vain, there was also an expression of values on Rahab’s part. Even though she was not yet a part of the Children of Israel, she possessed values of caring for her parents as well as appreciated monotheism.
In sum, this story is a perfect example as to how various commandments were valued at particular points and situations in time.
Be well!!
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