New Words
1. Spy (v. espiar)
2. Hidden (v. escondido)
3. Dusk (s. atardecer)
4. Lead (v. conducir, liderar)
5. Rope (s. cuerda, soga)
Joshua 2
1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he
said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab
and stayed there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out
the land.”
3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and
entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to
me, but I did not know where they had come from.
Joshua 2
5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they
went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.”
6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid
out on the roof.)
7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan,
and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof
9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you
has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.
Joshua 2
10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out
of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan,
whom you completely destroyed.
11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of
you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
12 “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family,
because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign
13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who
belong to them—and that you will save us from death.”
Joshua 2
14 “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will
treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”
15 So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part
of the city wall.
16 She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there
three days until they return, and then go on your way.”
17 Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us
18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through
which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers
and all your family into your house.
Joshua 2
19 If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own
heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood
will be on our head if a hand is laid on them.
20 But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”
21 “Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.”
So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
22 When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had
searched all along the road and returned without finding them.
Joshua 2
23 Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and
came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them.
24 They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the
people are melting in fear because of us.”
“and said to them, “I know that the Lord has
given you this land and that a great fear of you
has fallen on us, so that all who live in this
country are melting in fear because of you.”
Joshua 2:9
English
Character and Community
A song goes like this: “I am a rock, I am an island.” Have you ever felt like that—wanting to stand alone?
You may even have heard people say, “Well, my walk with God is a private affair. It’s not something I want
to talk about.”
Read Ephesians 4:11–16. What’s the point Paul is making here? What role does he give here for
community?
When Paul writes to the Ephesians, he describes the church as a body. Jesus is the Head, and His people
make up the rest. If you look at Ephesians 4:13, you will notice the ultimate purpose of living in such a
community—it is to experience “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (NIV). And for that we need
each other!
It certainly is possible to be a Christian all alone. Indeed, as for many people throughout the centuries
who have been ridiculed or persecuted, standing alone is often unavoidable. It is a powerful witness to
the power of God that men and women do not buckle under the pressures that surround them. However,
while this is true, Paul emphasizes a critical truth: ultimately, we experience and reveal the fullness of
Christ when we are working together in fellowship with each other
In today’s text, what does Paul say must happen before the fullness of Christ may be revealed in our
Christian community?
In what way is the witness of a community that is revealing the fullness of Christ different from the
witness of an individual that is revealing the fullness of Christ? What are the implications for this in the
context of the great controversy? (See Eph. 3:10.)