Read Joshua 1:1-2:24

She isn’t exactly the kind of person you would expect to play a key role in HIS story or in man’s rescue, but she certainly did!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Forty years had passed since yesterday’s reading. The Israelites had experienced many highs and lows. All those who had been over twenty years old had died in the wilderness wandering. Even Moses had only looked across the river to the Promised Land. He died without entering it. Joshua, Moses’ right hand man, was the new leader. He had been appointed by God and approved by His people. An overwhelming task stood before him. Under his leadership, they were to conquer those inhabiting the land God had promised His people. Like you and me in the challenges we face, he would need instruction from the word of God…and courage to do it. If he put together those two ingredients, God guaranteed success.

Like forty years before, spies were sent. But this time was different. Though the later spies also saw a fortressed city filled opponents, unlike the majority of their earlier counterparts, they returned with confident faith that God would allow them to conquer the opponent while delivering them safely. And this unlikely woman would play a key role. God used her…even though her past was tainted by the immoral vocation she had chosen. She protected the spies and refused to tell the city officials. As a result, God conquered the city while rescuing her and the Israelites. Hebrews 11:31 tells us that she responded in faith. Something caused her to turn from her past and trust God.

But God’s work through her did not stop after her deliverance from Jericho. Genealogies…yes, those less read portions of the Bible…indicate that she later married a man by the name of Salmon. Together, the two of them stand as important pillars in the lineage of Christ! That’s right, she was the great, great, great, great (not sure how many “greats” to include here)…grandma of Jesus! God used this woman with a questionable past to rescue the spies, the Israelite nation, and all who place personal faith in Christ.

Do you have a past that isn’t particularly stellar? All of us do.  God can use you too!

Steve Kern