Covenant Fidelity in the Ruins: The Salvation of Rahab Text: Joshua 6:22-25
Introduction: Two Destinies in One City
When God moves in judgment, it is never a chaotic, indiscriminate flood. His judgments are precise, surgical, and always distinguish between the righteous and the wicked. In the midst of the smoking ruins of Jericho, a city devoted to utter destruction, we find a startling scene of meticulous grace. As the walls came down, not by siege engine but by a shout of faith, two very different destinies were being worked out. For the inhabitants of Jericho, it was the culmination of centuries of patient judgment, the final reaping of a harvest of iniquity that had become fully ripe. For one family within those same walls, it was the dawn of a salvation so thorough, so unexpected, that it echoes down to the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
The story of Jericho's fall is not simply an account of ancient warfare. It is a living parable of the gospel. It reveals the absolute necessity of two things: the terror of God's holiness against sin, and the boundless reach of His grace to those who believe. Jericho is a microcosm of the world under judgment. Rahab is a portrait of every sinner saved by faith. And the spies' oath is a magnificent display of covenant-keeping fidelity, a reflection of the God who keeps His promises, even when they are made in the darkest of places to the most unlikely of people.
We live in a sentimental age that wants a God of grace without a God of judgment. We want Rahab's deliverance without Jericho's destruction. But the Bible will not allow us to have one without the other. The same God who commanded the utter devotion of Jericho to destruction is the God who meticulously orchestrated the salvation of a Canaanite harlot and her entire household. The scarlet cord hanging from her window was a sign of faith in the midst of a city of unbelief. It was a bloody banner of hope against a backdrop of well-deserved doom. Understanding this contrast is central to understanding the gospel itself. God's grace is not cheap; it is costly grace, demonstrated against the backdrop of His perfect and terrifying justice.
In these few verses, we see the practical outworking of God's decree. The command is given, the oath is honored, the family is saved, the city is burned, the treasure is consecrated, and a Gentile is grafted into the covenant line of Israel. This is not just a historical footnote; it is a theological cornerstone.
The Text
Now to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the harlot’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her.” So the young men who were spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel. But they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of Yahweh. However, Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua preserved alive; 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 6:22-25 LSB)
An Oath Is an Oath (v. 22)
We begin with Joshua's command, which is grounded in a solemn promise.
"Now to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, 'Go into the harlot’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her.'" (Joshua 6:22)
Before the work of judgment proceeds any further, the work of salvation must be secured. Joshua's first thought is for the promise made to Rahab. This is a matter of covenantal integrity. The two spies had made an oath, a solemn vow before God, and the commander of Israel ensures that this oath is honored to the letter. We should not miss the gravity of this. This oath was made to a Canaanite, a pagan, a prostitute. By all the external measures of that world, she was an outsider's outsider. And yet, an oath made in the name of the Lord of Israel is binding, regardless of the station or ethnicity of the one to whom it is made.
This is a direct reflection of the character of God. God is a covenant-keeping God. He binds Himself by His Word, and His people are to do the same. "He who swears to his own hurt and does not change" is the man who may dwell in the Lord's holy hill (Psalm 15:4). The spies had put their lives and the integrity of their nation on the line with this promise. To break it would have been to profane the name of their God in the eyes of the nations. Joshua understands that the conquest of Canaan is not merely a military campaign; it is a holy war, and holiness requires faithfulness. Israel's right to the land is based entirely on God's covenant promise to Abraham, and they cannot expect God to be faithful to His word to them if they are faithless in their own words to others.
Our culture treats words as disposable tools for manipulation. Promises are made and broken with casual indifference. But for the people of God, our word is our bond. An oath is a sacred thing because it invokes the ultimate reality, God Himself, as the witness and enforcer. Joshua's command here sets the tone for the entire conquest: we will be a people who keep our word, because we serve a God who keeps His.
Salvation and Separation (v. 23)
The spies act immediately on the command, and we see the process of deliverance and its first step.
"So the young men who were spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel." (Joshua 6:23 LSB)
Notice the scope of this salvation. It extends to Rahab and "all she had." This is federal headship in action. Through her faith, a covenant of deliverance was extended to her entire household, all who would gather under the protection of the scarlet cord. Her father, mother, brothers, and all her relatives were saved because they identified with her and her faith. This is a beautiful picture of how salvation works in families. The faith of one can be the instrument God uses to bring an entire household under the umbrella of His grace.
But then we see a curious detail: they "placed them outside the camp of Israel." At first glance, this might seem like a half-hearted rescue. Are they still being kept at a distance? Is this some form of segregation? Not at all. We must understand this in light of the Old Testament laws of holiness. The camp of Israel was where the holy presence of God dwelled in the Tabernacle. To enter the camp was to come into God's presence, and this required ritual purity. Rahab and her family, coming straight out of a pagan, idolatrous culture, were ritually unclean. Placing them "outside the camp" was not an act of rejection, but the first step in their consecration. It was a period of quarantine, of transition. It was here that they would be instructed, cleansed, and prepared to be brought fully into the covenant community. It is a picture of sanctification. We are saved out of the world in a moment (justification), but we are then brought through a process of being cleansed from the filth of the world before we are fit to dwell in the full fellowship of God's people (sanctification).
Firstfruits of Judgment and the Treasury of God (v. 24)
With the objects of mercy secured, the objects of wrath are dealt with.
"But they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of Yahweh." (Joshua 6:24 LSB)
This is the law of herem, or "the ban." Jericho was the first city conquered in the Promised Land. As such, it was the "firstfruits" of the conquest, and the entire city was to be devoted to the Lord. In this case, "devoted" meant utter destruction as a sacrifice of judgment. The people, the animals, the buildings, everything was to be consumed by fire. This was not wanton destruction; it was a holy act. It was God executing His long-delayed sentence on a culture saturated with depravity, idolatry, and child sacrifice. This is the terrible holiness of God on display, and it should make us tremble. God is not a sentimental grandfather in the sky; He is a consuming fire.
But notice the exception. The precious metals, silver, gold, bronze, and iron, were not to be taken as personal plunder. Achan will make this mistake in the next chapter, with disastrous consequences. Instead, these items were consecrated and put into the Lord's treasury. Why? Because God is the King. All the wealth of the nations ultimately belongs to Him. By consecrating the wealth of this first city, Israel was acknowledging that the entire conquest was His, and that all the spoils belonged to Him by right. They were not enriching themselves; they were serving their King. This act established a vital principle: God owns everything. Our victories are His victories. Our wealth is His wealth. The firstfruits always belong to Him, and acknowledging this is a fundamental act of worship and submission.
The Grafted Branch (v. 25)
The chapter concludes by summarizing Rahab's fate and the reason for it.
"However, Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua preserved alive; 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 LSB)
Here is the glorious conclusion of the matter. The one who was placed "outside the camp" is now described as having "lived in the midst of Israel." The transition is complete. The period of cleansing and instruction is over, and she has been fully incorporated into the covenant people of God. The Gentile has become an Israelite. The outsider has been brought inside. The harlot has become a mother in Israel, and not just any mother. We know from Matthew's genealogy that she married Salmon, a prince of Judah, and became the mother of Boaz, who married Ruth. She is an ancestress of King David, and ultimately, of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the gospel in miniature. This is Romans 11, centuries before Paul ever wrote it. A wild olive branch, a pagan Gentile from a condemned stock, has been grafted into the cultivated tree of God's covenant people. And how? The text tells us plainly: "for she hid the messengers." James tells us she was justified by this work, and Hebrews tells us she acted by faith. Her work was the undeniable evidence of her faith. She heard the report of God's mighty acts, she believed it, and she staked her life on it. She transferred her allegiance from the king of Jericho to the King of Heaven.
Conclusion: The Scarlet Cord of Redemption
The story of Rahab is our story. We were all citizens of Jericho, a world under the sentence of death, devoted to destruction. We were by nature children of wrath, unclean, and outside the covenant promises of God. There was nothing in us to commend ourselves to God. We were spiritually destitute, members of a rebel kingdom.
But God, in His mercy, sent messengers to us with a report, the gospel of Jesus Christ. He told us of a greater Joshua who has come to conquer sin and death. He told us of a deliverance available to all who would believe. And He gave us a sign, a scarlet cord to hang from the window of our lives. That scarlet cord is the blood of Jesus Christ. It is by His blood alone that we are marked for salvation. It is by faith in His shed blood that the angel of judgment passes over us.
Like Rahab, we are called to a faith that acts. We must hide the messengers in our hearts, treasuring the gospel. We must transfer our allegiance fully to King Jesus. And when we do, He does for us what Joshua did for Rahab. He pulls us out of the ruins of our old life. He brings us "outside the camp" for a season of cleansing and sanctification, teaching us His ways. And then, gloriously, He brings us into the very midst of His people, grafting us into His own family, making us fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
The same God who judged Jericho is the God who saved Rahab. His justice and His mercy meet at the cross. For those who reject the scarlet cord of Christ's blood, there remains only a fearful expectation of judgment, a city devoted to the fire. But for all who, like Rahab, will believe the report and trust in Him, there is a promise, secured by the oath of God Himself, that He will bring us out of the destruction and make us to live in the midst of His people, forever.