JOSHUA 2; PSALM 121

 READ: JOSHUA 2; PSALM 121

TEXT TO MEDITATE ON:

And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. JOSHUA 2:1

REFLECT

The Israelites were about to conquer the Canaanite cities. Before attacking, Joshua sent spies to the cities to find out more about the cities. Two spies were sent to the heavily fortified city of Jericho. Jericho was not only heavily fortified with strong city walls and a powerful army, it also had reliable intelligence. On the day the spies reached Jericho, the king had already been informed that they were hiding in Rahab the prostitute's house. Soldiers were quickly dispatched to her house to arrest the spies. But Rahab had hidden them on the roof top of her house. She then lied to the soldiers that the spies had already left her house and urged the soldiers to pursue them in a different direction. After the soldiers had left her house, Rahab approached the spies asking them for a pledge that she and her household would be spared by the Israelites when they invaded Jericho. She explained to them why she was taking such a huge risk in hiding them: that the surrounding nations had heard of how powerful Israel's God was, and how terrified they were of Israel. She was certain that Jericho would fall to the Israelites. This was why she was helping the spies, in exchange for a pledge that the invading Israelite army would spare her family.

The rest of the story, as they say, is history. God gave Jericho into Israel's hand by supernaturally tearing down the city's walls. Rahab and her family were spared and welcomed into the community of Israel. In fact, centuries later, Rahab was mentioned as a woman of faith along with other giants of the faith such as Abraham and Moses: "By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies." (Hebrews 11:31).

RELATE

A question: Why did God, who defeated the army of Jericho by supernaturally tearing down Jericho's city walls, and without any great effort from Israel's army, need help from a Gentile prostitute who through treason betrayed her own city and people? The only reason I can think of is that God wanted to show that this lying treasonous Gentile prostitute believed God and acted on her beliefs while God's own people had difficulty trusting their own God. But in doing this, was God also indicating that there are priorities in what is good and moral? In short, do the ends justify the means? Is trusting God and being aligned with God's agenda more important than mere morality? I really have no clear answer. I remember in my early years, my Sunday School teachers were embarrassed whenever they taught this lesson. How do you present a prostitute who betrays her country and lies to the authorities as a hero of the faith? 

The issue of situational ethics has been argued over for centuries. But it is an issue that is well worth thinking through and revisiting over and over again. This is because we are daily confronted with situations akin to Rahab's where different morality and faith demands stand opposed to each other. And we realise that few situations are black and white and need only considerations in one direction. Some examples raised in the past include the following: It is clearly wrong to take a life; but is it wrong to take a life when in doing so we save a hundred lives? Bonhoeffer wrestled painfully with the issue of whether it was ever justifiable to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Did killing Hitler break the commandment to not commit murder? Did savng thousands of lives by his assassination justify the act of murder?

Is it wrong to lie if in lying we bring good to others? There was a time when Bibles were forbidden in China. A group of brave persons, led by the late Brother Andrew, risked their lives and freedom to smuggle Bibles into the country. This is no longer necessary and Bibles are now readily available in China. In his time, while Brother Andrew was lauded for his courage in some circles of Christianity, his means of bringing Bibles was also roundly condemned by others. The question of whether smuggling and lying can ever by justified by the need to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to places where Bibles are forbidden, was hotly debated. 

Years ago, when the import and sale of much needed generic medicine for treating HIV was illegal, the price of such medicines bought over the counter was out of the reach of many. Those involved in helping HIV sufferers smuggled in generic medicines at a fraction of the cost of the ones sold over the counter. But they had to 'doctor' their organisation's accounts so that such illegal purchases were not reflected in the books. This issue was hotly debated: Is it justifiable to bring in life-saving medicines illegally and to 'doctor' the organisation's accounts so that this practice would not be discovered? Will this practice not justify dishonesty in other transactions as well?

Keeping a strict view of morality is comfortable as the rules appear clear: black is good and white is bad. Honesty is good and lying is bad. Patriotism is good and treason is bad. Such rules are clear and make decision-making and obedience easy. But the reality is that life is never so clear and simple. Because the observance of one rule often results in the breaking of another. Jesus pointed out this conundrum many times as he lived and taught. Keeping the sabbath was good, he said, but what if breaking the sabbath laws resulted in saving an animal that had fallen into a ditch, or healing a blind man, or setting another free from demons? Or that maintaining a reverential atmosphere in the Temple was important but if a part of the Temple was being used to exploit others, was it justifiable to overturn tables and create a commotion? Jesus clearly thought that it was justifiable.

We still often prefer to have clear lines where morality is concerned. And this is safe. It helps us know where our boundaries are. And it helps us teach our young where the boundaries are. But it is also a form of lazy thinking. And it could lead to much harm. One of the biggest issues confronting the church today is that of LGBTQ. The Bible clearly teaches that the homosexual act is sin. So we want to educate our congregations and especially our youth and children. But what do we teach them? Simply that the act is wrong, and that practising homosexuals cannot be disciples of Christ unless they give up their lifestyles? But have we heard each other enough? Do we know of the spiritual experiences of homosexuals or of their devotion to Christ? Have we witnessed their love and commitment to their partners that is more akin to the love described in 1Corinthians 13 than what we display in our heterosexual marriages? And what if a homosexual couple with children asks to be taught to be disciples of Christ? Do we tell them to break their relationship first before coming in to be discipled? On the other hand, what if embracing such a family influences our 'young' to do likewise? Would this make being a gay Christian acceptable? 

These are difficult questions and it is alright to keep on wrestling with them. In fact, it would be wrong if we simply took one position and stopped thinking about the matter because the matter is not simply a choice between obedience and disobedience. Rather it is a choice between being obedient to one command and disobedient to another command. And prayerfully we need to ask if there is a priority with which we make our decisions. My priority is that of love, and to love means we first must be patient and kind, and to listen to the 'opposing' side - the side that we disagree most with. This does not make decision-making easier. But at least we have an end to focus on - that in making our decision, we have loved our neighbour as ourselves.

REST

 Father, I acknowledge that facing dilemmas is a part of my everyday living. Help me not to avoid making such decisions and to just follow the crowd, or the church's stand, or anyone else's stand. Instead help me to allow your Holy Spirit to mold my heart and my mind to love you and to love my neighbour as myself. I ask this in Jesus' Name, Amen.

Chiu Ming Li