The Deliverer (24 page)
“You know the land we are going into is occupied.”
“Why should it matter if the Lord has promised it to us?” Jehoa asked.
“It does matter. He’s promised it, but make no mistake, we’ll have to fight for it. We need intelligence as to what’s awaiting us when we get there.”
“Command us, and we will serve you.” They both nodded in agreement.
“Here’s what I want you to do: Go secretly over to Jericho and spy out the land. How many men does the king have? What kinds of weapons are there? Tell no one where you’re going.”
“You sound like you’re expecting trouble,” Simon said.
“I’m expecting nothing but trouble. We don’t want to walk into a trap.”
Jehoa and Simon exchanged a quizzical look. Joshua was not a man exuding confidence and certain victory.
Simon ventured a question. “What is it, Joshua? What are you worried about?”
“Who said I was worried? We’ve got the word of the Lord on this, don’t we?”
Jehoa and Simon knew by his eyes that Joshua was not asking a question he wanted answered. I myself was curious as to what was going on in Joshua’s head. Could he be having doubts? Finally, he spoke.
“I wish Moses were here. That’s all.”
“Moses is dead,” Jehoa quipped, obviously not thinking.
“So I’ve heard,” Joshua shot back.
“What I mean to say is you’re wearing Moses’s mantle now. No one questions that.”
“But I’m not Moses. I don’t hear from God the same way Moses heard. What if I’m wrong? What if I’m hearing nothing but my own ambition?”
Uh-oh,
I thought to myself.
This is not going to be good news for Satan.
Joshua was not a duplicate of Moses for sure. He didn’t presume to know more than Moses or to be a new and improved version of Moses. This was almost unknown behavior in young successors who nearly always thought they knew more than their aged predecessors. Joshua was bringing a new element to the human equation, at least as far as mighty-men-macho-leader types go. Joshua was examining his conscience and questioning the purity of his motives. I tried to remember if any of the leaders of the Jews had ever done anything like that before; none that I could remember. Moses had been humble all right, but he never once questioned whether or not he had heard correctly from God.
Simon put his hand on Joshua’s shoulder. “Be strong and very courageous. God is with you, and so are we.”
“We’ll leave when it gets dark so as not to draw attention,” Jehoa added.
“Right, good idea.” Joshua stood, shook off his moment of self-doubt, and extended his hand to each of the men as they slipped quietly out of his tent.
I wondered if I should stay with Joshua or go with the spies. “Better to go with the spies,” I reasoned. “Joshua won’t do anything until they come back.”
It was dark when we—the spies and I—left for Jericho. It was still dark when we got near the city.
“We need a place to hide out; we could be here several days,” said Jehoa.
“I may know of such a place,” Simon answered.
“How could you know of a place? You’ve never been here before.”
“I know, but I’ve heard of a place from some of the travelers we encountered in the desert. I’ve heard stories about a woman named Rahab.”
“And so?”
“She owns a food market. At least that’s what some people think.” He lowered his voice as if not wanting anyone to hear what he said; not that there was anyone else around.
“It’s only a food market during the day. At nightfall, it’s a different story. Upstairs she has a brothel.”
“A brothel? We’re out here on a dangerous mission and your first suggestion is to find a brothel?”
“Well, look, I’m just telling you what I’ve heard. We have to have someplace to spend the night. I think we should try to find her.”
Not having a better idea, both men agreed and set out in search of Rahab’s house. I was getting kind of excited about it myself. I’d never seen a brothel. Oh, to be sure, I’d seen plenty of the temple prostitutes wherever Satan had set up idols to himself. But just a working-girl harlot? Never.
It was pitch dark on the road that night, but those two spies found the way to Rahab’s house as if they’d had a map. Simon had been right about a market. Of course, it was closed up due to the hour, but right there in front were the bins where the figs and pomegranates were kept during the day and an oven where bread was baked. The boys went around to the back of the house and knocked on the door.
A young girl opened the door just wide enough to extend a candle to illuminate the faces of the men. When she didn’t recognize them, she was immediately suspicious.
“What do you want?”
“We have business with Rahab.”
“What kind of business?”
“Tell her we’re here. She’s expecting us.”
“Wait here, then.” The girl looked doubtful as she closed the door.
“She’s expecting us?” Jehoa looked incredulous. “Is that the best you could come up with? Since she’s obviously
not
expecting us, she probably won’t come down.”
“I didn’t hear you offer any clever answer.”
”Well, I might have if you hadn’t jumped right in.”
The disagreement ended when the door opened again and a woman early into middle age stepped out with a lantern and closed the door behind her. As I said, I’d never seen a harlot, so I didn’t know what to expect, but I guess I didn’t expect her. To start with, she was substantial. I don’t mean that she was large, more medium sized I suppose, but her demeanor was, well, substantial. She was not timid, and she certainly was not the least bit, uh, flirty. That’s it. Not flirty in the least. She looked intently into the face of each man before speaking.
“I know who you are.”
“You do?”
“You do?” I said before I caught myself.
“Yes, I do. You must come with me quickly, and do just as I say. They’re already looking for you.” She ushered the men through the door and then stepped in front of them to lead the way. Neither of them expected such a reception, but they had no doubt they were to do just as she instructed them.
“Follow me up to the roof. Hurry.”
“Come and help me, Rhoda.” She nodded to the young girl who had first met them at the door. The girl dropped the basket she was carrying and scurried up to the roof behind the spies.
“Now, quickly, both of you lie down near the wall.”
They hesitated only a moment before doing as she told them.
“We’re going to cover you up with these bundles of flax. Do not move and do not talk until I come back for you.”
Just then a warning voice from below called out to her.
“Rahab, the king’s men are here. They’re asking for you.
Come down quickly.”
“I’m coming.”
Spreading the last bundle of flax over the spies, with urgency in her voice, she whispered loudly, “Not a word. Not a move.”
The two soldiers were waiting inside the house when she came down. Smoothing her apron out before her and adjusting her head scarf, she bowed slightly before speaking to them.
“What do the king’s men want with a widow?”
“Widow? Is that what you are now?” The captain laughed.
“Why, of course you’re a widow. That explains the long line of men who visit this house,” said the junior of the two.
“I’m a poor grocer. What do you want with me?”
Rahab did not twitch or display any nervousness at all as she lied through her missing teeth. I would have been a wreck seeing the swords those soldiers carried and knowing the ruthless reputation of the king of Jericho to anyone who betrayed him. But not her; not a stumble of any kind.
“Bring out the men who came to you to stay the night in your house. They’re spies; they plan to lead an insurgency.”
“Spies? Is that what they were? Yes, two men did come to me earlier. They looked suspicious, and since I didn’t know where they’d come from, I sent them away. Why do you seek them?”
“It’s none of your concern. Where did they go?”
“I don’t know. When the gate was about to be shut, they left. But I have no idea where they went.”
“You’re sure they said nothing to indicate where they were going?”
“Wait, now I remember. They talked about getting to the river. They must have taken off down the Jordan road. If you hurry, you can still catch them!”
Without so much as a thank-you, the soldiers set chase down the Jordan road toward the fords. As soon as they were gone, Rahab closed and locked the door.
Gathering her skirts about her, she climbed back on the roof, where the spies lay motionless and quiet.
“They’re gone. You can come out now.”
Jehoa and Simon shook the flax off and stood up.
“We’re grateful,” Simon said.
“You don’t know us,” Jehoa interrupted. “Why did you help us?”
“I know who you are and that God has given you this land. We’re all afraid. Everyone in the country is terrified of you.”
Jehoa and Simon looked at each other, unsure of what to say in response.
“We’ve heard how God dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and what He did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan whom you put under a holy curse and destroyed.”
She paused to gauge their reaction, which was hard because they were too dumbstruck to react.
“We heard it, and our hearts sank. Fear consumed us all because of you and your God. They say He is the God of the heavens above and God of the earth below. Is that so?”
“It is so,” Jehoa said.
“Then swear to me by your God that because I showed you mercy you will show my family mercy; my father and mother, my brothers and sisters—everyone connected with my family. Promise me you will save our souls from death!”
“We’ll protect you with our lives because you have risked your life to save us!” said Simon. “But don’t tell anyone our business. When God turns this land over to us, we’ll do right by you in loyal mercy.”
“The soldiers will be back,” Jehoa cautioned. “How can we get out of here?”
“I’ll show you.” She called for Rhoda to come and help her. Together they lowered the men through a window with a rope; as I said, Rahab was a substantial woman.
“Run for the hills so they won’t find you. Hide out for three days, and give your pursuers time to return. Then get on your way.”
Jehoa called back to her, “In order to keep this oath you made us swear, here is what you must do. Hang this red rope out the window through which you let us down, and gather your entire family with you in your house—father, mother, brothers, and sisters. When the fighting starts, anyone who goes out the doors of your house into the street might be killed.”
“If that happens,” Simon added, “it’s his own fault—we aren’t responsible. But for everyone within the house we take full responsibility. If anyone lays a hand on one of them, it’s our fault.”
“But if you tell anyone of our business here, the oath you made us swear is canceled—we’re no longer responsible,” Jehoa added.
“If that’s what you say, that’s the way it is,” she answered and sent them off. They left, and she hung the red rope out the window.
With me right behind them, the spies headed for the hills and stayed there for three days until the king’s men had returned to Jericho. The pursuers looked high and low but did not find them.
Jehoa and Simon returned to their camp to find Joshua waiting in anticipation for their report. They were out of breath from running the last mile in excitement to tell him what they’d found.
“You won’t believe it.” Simon bent over and rested on his knees to catch his breath.
“They are terrified of us!” Jehoa blurted out.
“Terrified?” Joshua asked.
“It’s true,” Simon interrupted. “Every word of it. They know who we are. They know where we’ve been, and they are convinced we are coming to take the land away from them.”
“That wouldn’t make them terrified unless they thought we could do it.” Joshua seemed skeptical. “Why would they assume a people who has wandered in the desert for forty years could just walk in and take out a fortified city? Jericho is walled up. No one goes in or out without the permission of the king.”
“They know God has promised it to us.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“The harlot told us,” Jehoa blurted.
“You were with a harlot?” Joshua’s eyes widened.
“No, not like that,” Simon interrupted. “She’s not a real harlot.”
“Not a real harlot?”
“No, she’s sort of a grocer.” Simon struggled for words to describe Rahab. “She’s more like a part-time harlot, just to make ends meet, I’m sure.”
“And, so, was she pretending to be a harlot or pretending to be a grocer when you went to her house?”
“I don’t know. We weren’t there more than thirty minutes, but I can tell you she saved our lives.”
“That’s right,” Jehoa said. “The king of Jericho sent soldiers looking for us. We don’t know how he knew about us or how he would have known that we sought refuge in the harlot’s—Rahab’s—house.”
“A grocer harlot?” Joshua tried, but he couldn’t get a visual. “Never mind; go on with the story.”
“Rahab hid us on the roof and covered us up with bundles of flax. The king’s soldiers came looking for us, but she told them we’d been there and gone.”
Joshua’s face was more perplexed than jubilant at such a development.
“I don’t understand. Why?”
“It’s like we told you. The news of us has gone before us, and the people fear us.”
“It’s more like they fear God,” Jehoa corrected. “Rahab said the people near and far know that God is with us and has promised us the land.”
Joshua put his hands on his hips and walked back and forth as if having received some important new revelation. I walked back and forth with him. I was also thinking how the scales might tip in Israel’s favor if the people were already afraid before they got there.
“That settles it.” Joshua clapped his hands together in newfound resolve. “Tomorrow we go out.”
The three men slapped shoulders, gave each other a manly hug, and then each headed back to this own tent, leaving me to pace by myself.