Editor’s Note: The AMI QT Devotionals for February 25-6 are provided by Tina Hsu.  Tina, a graduate of Biola University and Talbot School of Theology (M.Div.), currently serves in E. Asia as a preaching intern. 

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Joshua 2:1-3, 8-14, 23-24 (NASB)

Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there. 2 It was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” 3 And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” 8 Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you.10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth, 13 and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 14 So the men said to her, “Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you. 23 Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country and crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they related to him all that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “Surely the Lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover, all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before us.”

The story of Rahab and the two spies displays God at work in two significant ways. First, God uses Rahab, an unlikely heroine, to play a part in God’s purpose for Israel. Through a Gentile harlot, the two spies learn that Jericho is melting in fear at the thought of the sons of Israel. Jericho had heard about how the God of Israel split the Red Sea and also gave Israel victory over the Amorites. Rahab’s report is a sign for the two spies, and later for Joshua, that God has paved the way for Israel to successfully enter and possess the land.

Second, this story reveals a glimpse of God reaching the Gentiles, which was His heart for Abraham as He said in Gen. 12:3, “And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” God delivers Rahab and her family from the judgment He was about to bring about by His holy nation, Israel. Rahab was probably confused that the two spies sought to lodge at her place, whereas most men seek her out for her business as a harlot. It was not until the servants of Jericho’s king knocked on her door that she found that these men were actually the sons of Israel. In her heart, she thought to herself, “The God of these men who are lodging in my home is the God who did mighty wonders for His people. He is God of heaven and earth. I want a future with the God of Israel. If I have favor from them, my family and I could have a hope and a future.” Rahab was not only God’s instrument to speak to Joshua and the two spies, but she was the key instrument for her family’s redemption and future with God’s people. In the eyes of the world and in the eyes of her family, Rahab is an unlikely heroine, but God chose to touch her life in this transformative way and to use her to bring about His purposes for Israel.

God uses average people who are precious in His eyes to accomplish His extraordinary plans. Today, spend some time thanking the Lord that He has called average people like us to be blessed and to be a blessing.

Prayer: Dear God, I echo Psalm 20:7 as my prayer this morning, “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the LORD our God.” I desire for Your glory and honor to shine in and through my life. Continue to use an ordinary person like me for Your extraordinary purpose. In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 4

Lunch Break Study

Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31: For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God. 30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Questions to Consider

1. What is the situation of Paul’s audience, the Corinthian church?
2. What does Paul exhort the Corinthians to consider?
3. What do you usually boast about to feel valued and significant? Consider your calling – how your value and worth are found in Christ Jesus – and boast in Him today.

Notes

1. There was internal division and quarreling in the church body. People were also troubled and felt inferior to the world’s standard of wisdom because their faith was centered on a crucified Messiah, which is foolishness in the eyes of the world.
2. Paul exhorts them to be empowered by that truth that they are God’s chosen ones. They are “in Christ Jesus, who became to [them] wisdom from God.” God did not base His choosing upon human wisdom, power, or ancestry. God chose them by His wisdom and power, so that they may only boast in God.
3. Personal Reflection.

Evening Reflection

Consider your personal testimony of salvation and transformation. How does your life testimony highlight the goodness and power of God? Ask God for an opportunity this weekend to boast about His goodness and power to someone.