SCRIPTURE UNION DISCOVERY DEVOTIONAL (USA)
Scripture Union Discovery 29th January 2025 Devotional Message for Wednesday
TOPIC: An Unlikely Ally
Opening Prayer
Lord God, as I read your Word today, give me faith to trust in all that it says, to depend on you in all that it calls me to do.
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Read JOSHUA 2:1–16
Rahab and the Spies
2 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea[a] for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.
11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
12 “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.”
14 “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”
15 So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. 16 She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return and then go on your way.”
Reflect
It is easy to misjudge people. What is your lens through which you view others?
Rahab is a surprising person to find listed among the heroes of faith, but there she is alongside Abraham and other notable people (Hebrews 11:31). By welcoming the spies and hiding them, she showed herself to be on God’s side.
Rahab is also commended by James for demonstrating her faith through her actions (James 2:25, 26). Despite her background, she finds her way into the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5). Like us, Rahab was not perfect, but she clearly believes and acts out her conviction. She has heard the stories of Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea and defeat of neighboring kings. She knows that ‘the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below’ (v. 11). Her life oozes with kindness and courage, and she plays an essential part in the conquest of the Promised Land.
Rahab’s story reminds us not to judge people too quickly or harshly. God’s allies can be found in some unlikely places. All of us are in process, and none of us is the finished article.
Apply
How is your faith being expressed in your life? In particular, how do you demonstrate kindness to those you meet? How do you respond to those who have faith and yet are clearly still in the process of transformation?
Closing prayer
Lord, for everyone I meet today, give me your love, regardless of their appearance or background. I want to see them as you do and relate to them as you would.
Scripture Union Discovery 29th January 2025 © 2025 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved.
