“Rahab – Unlikely Help for the Israelites”

​B I B L E  B I T S  &  B I T E S
Devotions for Families

Season 2: Heroes of the Bible
Episode 38: “Rahab – Unlikely Help for the Israelites”
Today’s Bible Bite: Joshua 2

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSdmxJbhwjA (For adults and older children)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWkbq50tH5A (Saddleback kids – younger children)
“We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety,” the men agreed. “If you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when the LORD gives us the land.” (Joshua 2:14)

God told Joshua that he would be the one to lead the Israelites into the promised land. But in order to do that, they were going to have to fight against the people already living there. It seems like a bad idea to us…you shouldn’t just push someone out of their home so you can have it. But the people who lived in the land had done some very wicked things and God had decided to punish them. This meant that He was going to give their land away to the Israelites, but God also warned the Israelites that if they became wicked like the people before them, the land would be taken from them too. It was very important to live well and follow God’s directions to ensure that God would help them.

Because they had never been to this land, Joshua sent out two spies to check things out. They went to the city of Jericho, but almost got caught! They found a safe place to hide at Rahab’s, who told the king’s men that, yes, the spies had been there, but they had already left. The king’s men left to search for them, and the spies stayed safe with Rahab. Rahab, even though she wasn’t an Israelites, hoped that she could stay safe and keep her family safe. She made a deal with the spies. She would help them get safely out of the city and in exchange, when the Israelites conquered Jericho, they would keep her safe. The agreed and Rahab let them out of the city through her window. Days later, when the walls of Jericho fell, the spies kept their promise to Rahab…but that’s a story for another day.

Think about it...
• God told Joshua to go into the promised land, but they had never been there before. What did Joshua do to prepare?
• The spies went to Rahab’s, but word reached the king—there were Israelite spies in the city! What did the king do?
• The king’s men knew that the men had come to Rahab’s. How did she get them to leave?
• Rahab made a deal in order to keep her family and herself safe. How did she help the spies?
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Prayer: Thank you, God, for helping the spies and providing a safe place at Rahab’s. Thank you for taking care of Rahab, even though she wasn’t an Israelite. Thank you that you accept anyone who obeys you, even people like Rahab and me.