Thought from today’s Bible reading from Joshua 5-8.
Yesterday we noticed Rahab’s faith which led her to help the Israelite spies who had come to Jericho. Because of her actions, her life was spared when the city was destroyed.
“However, Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho” (Joshua 6:25).
Her life was spared. But what did she do next? Did she simply go her own way, leaving Jericho and departing from the nation of Israel? No. She remained with Israel and lived among the people of God.
Why did she do this? It was because of her faith in the Lord. She knew that He was the leader and protector of Israel. Where else could she go? If she wanted to enjoy God’s favor, she needed to remain with His people.
Of course, living among the Israelites came with certain demands. She was going to have to follow the same divinely-given standard that the Israelites were to follow (Leviticus 24:22; Numbers 15:16). If she wanted to enjoy the benefits of God’s care and protection, she needed to be obedient to His commandments.
The same is true for us today. Once we have been saved, we must continue to follow His instructions if we want to be saved in the end (Matthew 28:20; Revelation 2:10). If we fail to do this, we will fall short of the reward (Hebrews 4:11).
Tomorrow’s reading: Joshua 9-11
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
