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a pair of scouts

Joshua 2:1 (JDV)

Joshua 2:1 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there.

pair of scouts

Joshua had been one of the original twelve scouts sent by Moses to get a sense of the task before Israel and report back. He and Caleb had given the minority report, and encouraged the people to obey God and possess the land without delay. But they had been overruled by the majority which had expressed fear and doubt.

Now it was Joshua’s turn to send out a party, and he chose only two scouts. Everyone knew about the past failure, and nobody wanted to repeat it. If either of the two spies had come back with a negative report, it would be Joshua who would have the final say.

One of the frustrating things about news is that people tend to take it seriously, and one negative comment can do a world of damage. Yet, we are hard-wired to expect bad news. It takes courage to look beyond the superficial facts and trust God in challenging circumstances. Even if what you and I are facing will take a miracle (Jericho did) we should be ready to face it. God does miracles.

Lord, give us the courage to face the facts, but still keep going in the direction you send us.