CHAPTER II.

Joshua begins the necessary preparations to cross the Jordan. The people are ready to obey him. Spies are sent to explore the country, and protected by Rahab.

Joshua was prompt to obey the divine command. No apparent obstacles, however formidable, dismayed him. He saw the full stream of the Jordan overflowing its banks, while the Israelites had no means of crossing it. But He who parted the Red Sea, to afford them a passage through its waters, could again interpose in their behalf. Hosts of powerful enemies would have to be encountered; but the promise of Omnipotence had been given, and remained sure. "There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."

Joshua knew in whom he trusted; and his only concern was the discharge of present duty. He commanded the proper officers to go into the various parts of the encampment, and direct the people to prepare for the passage of the Jordan, and the entering upon the possession of the promised land. Within three days, they were told,

they would begin to move forward; and orders were given to have a sufficient supply of provisions in readiness for the undertaking. Part of this supply was the manna, which did not entirely cease to fall till they entered Canaan, and had eaten of the "old corn" of the land; but probably the greater portion of it consisted of such kinds of food as they found in the countries which they had already conquered on the east side of the Jordan.

On the same side, the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh, it will be recollected, were to have their possessions. But while this was the case, and their families, with their flocks and substance remained, their "mighty men of valor" had been commanded by Moses, in the name of the Lord, to pass over the Jordan with their brethren, and to assist them in subduing the heathen, until they had made secure their portion, also, of the promised inheritance. Joshua reminded them of this command, to which they were ready to yield a willing and prompt obedience. It afterwards appears, that about forty thousand of them, well chosen and equipped for battle, marched with the other hosts of Israel, while seventy thousand fighting men were left behind to protect their wives and children, their flocks and other possessions. How effectually did a covenant-keeping Jehovah order these va

rious providential arrangements for the security. and welfare of his people.

There was but one reply to the orders of Joshua: "All that thou commandest us, we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with MoWhosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage."

ses.

Previous to these transactions, as it would seem, Joshua had sent out two faithful men, as spies, to cross the Jordan and examine the country around Jericho, and particularly the city itself, that so the best means might be devised of attacking and subduing it. It was an ancient and strong place some six or eight miles from the river, and being the first that would oppose the progress of the Israelites, it was very important for Joshua to be acquainted with its situation and power of defence.

The spies succeeded in reaching Jericho in safety, and secured a temporary lodging in a house which was built upon, or near, the wall of the city. It was occupied by a woman named Rahab, who, although she had been a person not

of the best character, received the men in a very friendly manner, and had no disposition to expose them to detection. But they had been noticed as strangers by some of the inhabitants. They were supposed to be Israelites, and to have come to search out the land with hostile intentions. They were known to have taken shelter in the dwelling of Rahab; and information was quickly conveyed to the king of this circumstance, and of the suspicions which rested upon them. He immediately sent peremptory orders to her to bring forth the men, and deliver them up to justice; stating as the reason for this demand, the supposed errand on which they had

come.

Rahab was prepared for the crisis. She had heard not a little of the Israelites and their history. She knew something of the true God, and of his wonderful dealings with this new and mighty people who were encamped on the other side of the Jordan. The spies had, probably, already informed her who they were, and made her acquainted with the object of their visit, and the designs which Jehovah had in view with regard to the destruction of the city, and the possession of the country by the Israelites. If she had not done it before, she now appears to have yielded the obedience of her heart to the Divine will, and to have come under the influence of a cordial

faith in the only living and true God; while repenting of her past transgressions, there is reason to believe that she, afterwards, led a virtuous and pious life.

Rahab showed her faith by her works. She was ready to connect her interests with those of the people of God, and, notwithstanding the dangers to which it would expose her, to act on their side, as the exigencies of the occasion might require. Having an intimation, probably, of the demand that would be made upon her to deliver up the spies, she had concealed them under some flax that was spread to dry upon the roof of the house, which being flat, as is the case in the Eastern countries, rendered it very convenient for such a purpose.

She acknowledged to the messengers of the king, that the men of whom they were in search had been in her house; but declared that she knew not whence they were, and that they had gone away, she could not tell whither, when the gate of the city was closed, at night-fall. "Pursue after them quickly," said she, "for ye shall overtake them."

Her advice was followed, probably without any search being made in the house; and when the king's officers were fairly out of the city, on their way to the fords of Jordan, Rahab went up to the spies in their hiding-places, to tell them