On the other side of the Jordan River and several miles from; the Israelites’ camp stood a large city called Jericho. A high wall had been built around this city to keep out the enemies of the many people who lived there. A gate had been made in this wall through which the people of Jericho might go out of and come into the city.
When the Israelites first made their camp near the Jordan River, the people of Jericho heard about it. And they became afraid. They had heard long before this time about the Israelites. Some one had told them how God led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. Some one had told them how God helped the Israelites fight against their enemies, and how the Israelites captured the cities and lands of their enemies. And the people of Jericho trembled when they heard these things. They were wicked people, and their king was a wicked ruler. They did not serve the wonderful God of the Israelites; and now they were afraid that the Israelites would cross over the Jordan River into Canaan, and take their city away from them.
After Moses died, God spoke to Joshua and told him to lead the Israelites into the land of Canaan. While the people were getting ready to start, Joshua sent two men across the River to visit Jericho and learn all they could about that city. Because Jericho was such a large city, Joshua believed that the Israelites would need to capture it before they could go farther into Canaan.
When the two spies came to Jericho, they found the gate standing open, so they walked in. They came to a house where a woman lived whose name was Rahab. While they talked with her, some one hurried to tell the king of Jericho that two strange men had come inside the city and were stopping at Rahab’s house. They believed these men were from the camp of Israel.
The king of Jericho said, “These men are spies, and they have come to see how strong our city is. They will do mischief to us if they return to their people. We must find them and kill them.” So the king sent his officers to Rahab’s house to capture the spies.
When the officers came they could not find the men at all. Rahab had hidden them on the flat roof of her house by piling stalks of flax on top of them. Then the officers believed that possibly the spies had started back to the camp of Israel, so they hurried out of the gate and ran toward the River to overtake them and kill them. Then when they passed out of the gate, the people of Jericho closed the gate so that no more spies might come inside their city. And so these two spies were made prisoners at Rahab’s house. They could not get out of the city.
Buti Rahab spoke kindly to the men. She said, “We know your God is helping you, and we know you are going to take our country and our city. I will make a way for you to return to your people safely, if you will promise to remember my kindness when you come with your great army to take Jericho. If you will promise to save me and my family alive, I will help you to get outside of this wall.”
Because Rahab had faith to believe in Israel’s God, the spies promised to save her and her family alive. Then she took them to a window of her house, which opened outside the city and above the wall. She told them to hide in the mountains near by for three days, because the officers of the king would be looking for them. Before they, went away to hide in the mountains, the spies told Rahab to leave a cord hanging from her window, so the Israelites might know where to find her house, and then they would save her alive. Then she let them down by a cord to the ground outside the wall. And Rahab tied a cord, which was of scarlet color, to the window-frame.
After three days the spies returned safely to Joshua, and told him about all that had happened to them. And they said, “Surely God has given that beautiful country to us; for the people are afraid of us, and they are too weak to fight against us and drive us out of their land.”