A Lineage of Grace (19 page)

“We choose life,” her father answered for them.

“We have one chance,” Rahab said, “and that chance rests in the Lord God of Israel.” Her heart beat strongly with excitement and thanksgiving. “We must make provisions for the days ahead. When the Israelites rescue us, we don’t want to go to them empty-handed. Sell sparingly in the marketplace, Father, and bring most of the grain, raisins, and dates here. I’ll store them so that we have food when the siege begins and gifts for later.” She nodded toward the far corner. “I’ve purchased a large storage jar for water, and I’ve gone to the spring each day in order to fill it. Have my sisters fill skins so there will be water enough for everyone.”

She rose and went to the window, looking out toward the desert. “We’ll make ourselves ready now. Have your possessions packed and ready to move. Stay girded and keep your weapon beside you at all times. When the Israelites cross the river, gather your wives and children and come here to my house.” She turned. “Waste no time. We must separate ourselves from everyone in this city, for they are all marked for destruction. The two men from God promised me that everyone who’s inside my house will live. Anyone outside it will perish.”

Her father leaned forward, clasping his hands on the table. “There are a dozen windows in the wall, Rahab. How will the Israelites know this house from all the rest?”

Smiling, she lifted the crimson rope she’d tied in her window. “They will know us by this sign, and death will pass us by.”

“There are twenty of us, Rahab. How’re you going to make room for all of us and the provisions we’ll 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.”

* * *

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 tossed a branch onto the fire, sending up a burst of sparks. He stared into the flames, his hands clasped. Joshua glanced at his old kinsman and then came around the fire to Salmon. He put his hand on Salmon’s shoulder. “You and Ephraim will both see to the safety of this woman and her family. The Lord spoke to me this morning, and I’ve given His instructions to the commanders of the tribes. You will hear them now. We cross the Jordan in three days. Make your preparations.”

Ephraim watched Joshua walk away. “Our mission wasn’t necessary. He had already decided what to do even before he heard our report.”

Caleb snapped a branch in half. “Never question the ways of the Lord or the servants He has put over the people!” He glared at Ephraim and then at Salmon. “Joshua is God’s instrument.”

Salmon didn’t share Ephraim’s disappointment over lost glory for their deed. He’d been honored that Joshua had felt enough confidence in him to send him to Jericho at all. What did it matter that the Lord spoke to Joshua before they returned? Did God need their report? It seemed to Salmon that he and Ephraim had been sent to Jericho for another reason, a reason no one had known about except the Lord: God had sent them so they would find Rahab and open the way for her deliverance.

Caleb looked between them. “Which of you intends to take charge of the woman?”

“I will,” Salmon said.

Caleb’s eyes darkened.

“Blessings upon you, my brother,” Ephraim said. “I’d be hard-pressed explaining to Havilah how I came to be in the company of a prostitute!” Laughing, he slapped Salmon on the back.

“I’m certain your brothers and sisters await your safe return,” Caleb said.

Ephraim’s amusement evaporated. “Yes, sir.” He gave Salmon a quick, sympathetic glance as he strode off to rejoin his relatives.

Salmon waited for Caleb to speak his mind. Since the death of Moses, there was no man other than Joshua whom Salmon respected more than this patriarch of his tribe, the tribe of Judah. Caleb was one of only two men to be found faithful among the slaves who had been delivered from Egypt.

The old man raised his head, his expression challenging. “She is a foreign woman. You know the warnings about foreign women.”

“She wants to be one of us.” Salmon wanted this man’s confidence and approval. He debated within himself, and then decided the best course of action was to speak the truth about his feelings and seek Caleb’s counsel. “I want to take this woman into my tent.”

“One battle at a time, my son.”

Salmon met his look. “I thought it best to discuss it now.”

“She must be beautiful,” Caleb said wryly. Salmon could feel the heat climbing into his face. The old man’s smile turned cynical. “You blush like a boy.”

Anger stirred Salmon to speak more boldly. “I’m twenty-six years old, and I’ve never met a woman who has so inclined me toward marriage.”

Caleb shook his head, angry and aggrieved. “It’s ever thus, Salmon. It’s always the pagan women who draw our men away from God.”

“Rahab isn’t a pagan!”

“She is a Canaanite.”

“This woman has acted with more faith than my father or mother. But let’s lay out all the objections at once. She’s older than I, and she’s made her living as a prostitute!”

Caleb’s eyes shone strangely. “And you would choose such a woman to be your wife?”

“Rahab is a woman of excellence.”

“Excellence?”

“She proclaimed her faith by her actions.”

Caleb poked the fire with a stick. “Perhaps she’s merely a cunning liar who’s betrayed her people in order to save her own skin.”

“Who are her people?”

When Caleb raised his hand as though to wave Salmon’s words away, Salmon plunged ahead in his defense of Rahab. “It is God’s will we are to follow. You and Joshua are the ones who have taught me that. And that’s what I seek to do:
God’s will
. Help me find it where this woman is concerned!”

Caleb let out his breath slowly and rubbed his face. “Joshua has already given the command. You will see to the woman’s safety and that of those who are with her. And if you choose, she will belong to you by right of conquest.”

Salmon’s heart beat strongly. He felt he’d been handed a precious gift, despite the coolness of Caleb’s proclamation.

Caleb lowered his hands and looked at him gravely. “You will leave this woman and her relatives outside the camp. Perhaps she will go her own way and take her family with her.”

“She will want to become one of us.”

“How can you be so certain?”

Salmon hunkered down. “I saw her eyes. I heard her voice.” He wanted Caleb to trust Rahab as he did. “Were we not slaves when God delivered us? I believe God sent Ephraim and me into Jericho to find this woman. It’s the only reason that makes sense to me, considering that God spoke to Joshua before we returned to give our report. The Lord wants this woman delivered from the evil of the Canaanites, just as He delivered us from Egypt.”

“Be careful not to add to what the Lord has said, Salmon. You must align yourself with the will of God—not the desires of your own heart. My generation thought they could have their own way, and they all died in the desert.”

“The will of God is ever in my mind. From the time I was a small boy, you’ve taught me the truth and lived it before my eyes. One thing has always been clear to me. It was not because we had merit or deserved freedom that the Lord delivered us from Egypt. The Lord saved us out of 
His
great mercy.” Salmon held his hands out. “Would the Lord not extend His mercy to anyone who yearns to belong to Him? I saw this yearning in Rahab. I heard it in her voice. She
believes
the Lord is God, and she declared her allegiance to Him by saving us, His servants.” He paused, weighing his next words carefully. Finally he spoke the question that had been burning on his heart for the past three days. “Could it not be that God has aligned the desire of my heart with His good purpose toward this woman?”

Caleb considered his words. “You’re only guessing about the desires of this woman’s heart, Salmon.”

“It is a sign of wisdom that she is in awe of the Lord. Could Rahab truly declare that the Lord is the only God—the God of the heavens above and the earth below—if God Himself had not written His name upon her heart?”

“If you seek a quick answer from me, my son, I have none. We must both pray and seek God’s will in this matter.”

Salmon struggled against the urgency he felt. “If anyone finds out she’s given aid to Ephraim and me, she may not survive long enough to be rescued. I should go back—”

“Did she ask this of you?”

“No, but—”

Caleb’s eyes blazed. “Then I would ask you this: Where is
your
faith, Salmon? If it is indeed God’s plan to deliver this woman,
He will do it
.”

Salmon started to say more but was silenced when he looked into Caleb’s eyes. He had said enough already. The lines in the old man’s face showed wisdom earned by years of suffering. The sins of others, including those of Salmon’s own father and mother, had caused Caleb and Joshua greater heartache than he would ever know. It had been almost forty years since Joshua and Caleb had received the promise that they would be the only ones of their generation to set foot in the Promised Land. Two out of an entire people. All because the others had refused to believe the promise God had given them.

“I believe the Lord will protect her,” Salmon said, lowering his head. “May God forgive my unbelief.”

“I was young and impetuous once,” Caleb said more gently. “You must learn to be patient. God doesn’t need our help.”

Salmon raised his head and smiled. “When you meet Rahab, you’ll understand what I see in her.”

“
If
I meet Rahab, I’ll know it is by God’s will—not by your efforts—that her life has been spared.” He stood. “It’s late, and we both need to rest. There is much to do tomorrow. We must make our preparations for the days ahead.”

Salmon rose with him, but didn’t move away from the fire. He wanted Caleb’s blessing for his plans regarding Rahab. “Then you have no objections to my taking Rahab into my tent?”

Caleb gave him a rueful stare. “It would be wise to wait and see what choice
she
makes.”

“She’s already made her choice.”

“Indeed, and if God delivers Rahab from Jericho, it will be left to her to decide what to do with the life God grants her.” His mouth tipped up in a gentle smile. “If she is as wise as you say, she will prefer an older man.”

Salmon laughed, all the tension falling away. Had Caleb merely been testing him? “You said she belonged to me by right of conquest.”

Caleb laughed with him. “Ah, that’s true, but a woman with her faith and courage will have a mind of her own.” He clamped his hand upon Salmon’s shoulder, his expression serious again. “When the battle is over, Joshua will decide her fate. Her true motives will be put to the test.” He let go of him. “If she is as you say she is, then you needn’t concern yourself over the outcome.”