July 2025

05-July-2025

Shelach

Haftarah Reflections 37

Torah portion Numbers 13 : 1 to 15 : 41

Listen to the Prophets

High tension! Excitement, apprehension, curiosity, emotion, fear. Forty years of wilderness wanderings and now the Israelites were camped on the East of the Jordan River. They could see the land on the other side. The time had come for them to enter the Land promised to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. But Joshua, a competent and careful leader, decided to carry out one final reconnoitre of the territory before they crossed the river. Two of his trusted aides were sent to secretly spy out the land, especially the nearby city of Jericho. They chose the house of Rahab as their base. Surely they would not arouse any suspicion since Rahab, because of her lifestyle, probably had a motley variety of visitors to her house. But they were wrong.

Someone had not only seen their arrival and deduced their origins, but carefully noted where they were lodging and reported the whole plan to the king of Jericho. End of mission! Or was it?

Rahab is probably the least likely person we might have chosen to be a part of God’s master plan. But God’s ways are not our ways. Much later, God would choose the great, great grandson of Rahab to be King of Israel. And of him it was written “man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart”.

Look at some of the quotes in our Bible about Rahab.

“And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father's household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.” Joshua 6:23

“Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David, the king”. Matthew 1:5,6

“By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.” Hebrews 11:31

“Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?” James 2:25

Rahab, looked down upon by ‘normal’ society, certainly not one to be invited to one’s home for dinner. And yet used by God in the lineage of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach. Mentioned amongst the ‘giants’ of faith in Hebrews 11. And in James Epistle, justified by an act of “works”!! She did something which demonstrated her faith.

Obviously, Rahab was a woman of some perception. She had heard, as had everyone else, about the mighty act of God when He parted the Red Sea to facilitate the salvation of the Israelites from the hand of Pharoah. She had heard, as had everyone else, about the fate of Amorite king, Sihon, and of Og, king of Bashan, who had vainly attempted to hinder the passage of the Israelites on their journey (through the land we know today as Jordan). So Rahab made a bold decision. A decision which saved her own life and that of her entire family. In effect she said “As for me and my house, we will be on the side of the Lord God of Israel” (my paraphrase).

Rahab took advantage of the revelation she had regarding those who opposed Israel, and those who joined them. It sounds rather ‘matter of fact’, but in effect that is what she did, as the Apostle James tells it.

So here is the lesson for us today. We have a Bible which tells us of God’s dealings with His people. There are stories galore of the miraculous events which brought those Israelites out of bondage in Egypt into a Land of their own. We might say that in a country such as ours, “everyone has heard it”. But not everyone is a “Rahab”. There are those who believe, and there are those who oppose. Even within the body of today’s church.

Many of the prophets we are ‘reflecting’ upon foretold the regathering of the Jews to their Land. An event we see taking place before our eyes today. That is practical. It is happening, and in increasing numbers. This is just one of the signs we are given which heralds the coming return of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach.

At the end of the Book, Joshua issues a challenge to the people under his command. It is worthy of our attention. “ … choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve …. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

Shabbat Shalom