Lesson 153 - Junior

Memory Verse

"When I see the blood, I will pass over you" (Exodus 12:13).

Notes

Jericho

On the west side of the Jordan River, in the midst of many palm trees, lay the beautiful City of Jericho. It was a wealthy city, and was surrounded by great walls to keep out invaders who might want to come to capture its inhabitants or steal its gold. The king and many brave men lived in Jericho, but they were wicked people and God had promised their city to the Israelites.

The Israelites had come to the borders of Canaan, and their first object of attack was Jericho. Moses sent spies to see how many and what kind of people lived there. There were gates in the city wall, which were open during the day, and the spies walked in unquestioned as though they were harmless visitors.

The walls that protected Jericho were thick enough for houses to be built upon them. In one of these houses Rahab had an inn to which the spies went to spend the night.

Suspicion

The king of Jericho knew that the Israelites were camped on the other side of Jordan, and he was alert to the danger such a vast army might be to his city. His counter spies were watching, and they noticed the arrival of the two strange men who had gone to Rahab's inn. They reported it to the king, who immediately sent officers to search for them.

The houses in Jericho had flat roofs, and upon Rahab's roof she had spread out flax to dry in the sun. Under this flax she hid the two spies; and when the officers came she told them that her guests had already left the city, and if they hurried they might overtake them before they crossed the river. Her story was so convincing that the officers immediately set out in hot pursuit. It was now getting dark and the huge gates were closed so no one could go out nor come into the city. It was not right to tell a lie, but she was only a heathen Canaanite and did not know the law, "Thou shalt not bear false witness."

Rahab's Faith

Hiding the spies meant that Rahab was a traitor to her king; and if she were discovered she would probably be killed. But she was afraid of Someone else more than she was afraid of death. She feared the Lord. She said to the spies: "The LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath." She realized that He was all powerful, and she had faith that He could do much greater things than man could do.

Jesus one time told the people, "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do . . . . Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell" (Luke 12:4, 5). That was the fear, which Rahab understood many hundreds of years before Jesus preached on earth.

A True Token

Rahab was risking her life in sheltering them, and she asked their mercy when the Israelites would march in-to Jericho in triumph. She said they had heard of the miraculous things God had done for His people even be-fore they had left Egypt. The people of Jericho knew that in all their battles the Israelites had been successful, and it frightened them so that their hearts "did melt" within them. She knew that God would give His people this city, too.

The spies promised that her goodness to them would be rewarded. Nothing would happen to her or the members of her family if they remained in her house, if she would promise not to tell the king that they had been there. As a sign or token of their promise a red cord was to be tied in the window of her house. When the invading army saw the cord they would know that that was the house of Rahab who had befriended Israel.

The spies' mission was now finished, and as it was night and the gates in the wall were closed, Rahab used that scarlet cord to lower them from her house to the ground outside the city. She advised them to hide in the mountains a few days until the officers who were looking for them should have returned. This they did, and escaped safely to the camp of Israel.

The Scarlet Line

That scarlet line was more than a token for Rahab's household. It is a type of the Blood of Jesus, the scarlet line that runs through all the Scripture. From the time animals were killed to clothe Adam and Eve when they sinned in the Garden, the shedding of blood was a type of the re¬mission of sin. "And without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). Abel offered the slain lamb from his flock as a sacrifice to God, which was accepted as the right offering. Burnt offerings continued to be presented by the fathers of each family until the time that God instituted the tabernacle worship and the priests were given the duty of killing the animals and shedding the blood for the sins of the people.

All these sacrifices pictured the coming of Jesus as the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world: His Blood was shed on Calvary to provide an atonement for all who want to be saved.

Our Safety

Our safety today is the Blood of Jesus. When the Blood covers our hearts and washes away our sins we are safe from the destroyer. We are just as safe as Rahab's family was in the house where the scarlet line was in the window. But we must remain under the Blood. Rahab's family were compelled to stay in the house in order to be safe. The Israelite soldiers would never have recognised them out in the street with the other inhabitants of Jericho. They must stay behind that red line.

So must we stay under the Blood. God will not recognise us as His children if we go back into sin. When we come to stand before the Judge of all the earth, our good works will not buy our way into Heaven. The Blood of Jesus, which cleanses us from all sin will be our only plea.

No matter how good a Christian one may have been at one time, if he leaves the safe place behind the scar-let line he will be no safer than if he had never been there.

Rahab's Reward

All the people of Jericho had heard that the Israelites were God's chosen people. For forty years they had noted their march, and they even remembered the plagues that God had sent upon Egypt as judgment against Israel's oppressors. The dwellers in Jericho believed in the mighty power of God, and they feared and trembled. But only Rahab, one lone woman, sought God's favour. And because she did she saved the lives of all her family when the city was destroyed.

Rahab is listed in Hebrews 11 among the heroes of faith. She married an Israelite and became an ancestress of King David in the royal line from which Jesus was born ([MAT:1:5]).

We can see that not all who fear God's judgments will be saved. Even the devils fear and tremble, but their portion will be hell for all eternity. Only Rahab's household who remained behind the scarlet line were saved. Only the people who have the Blood of Jesus wash away their sins will enjoy eternal salvation.

Questions

1. Describe Jericho.

2. Why did the spies go to Jericho?

3. Where did they stay in Jericho?

4. How did Rahab hide the spies?

5. How did she get them out of the city?

6. What was the true token?

7. What did it represent, or typify?

8. What is our True Token?

9. What was Rahab's reward for befriending the Israelites?

10. What will win us favour with God in the judgment?