Be Wise, My Child

Prov. 27:11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.

Who Are the Wise?

Prov. 27:12 The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. 

In other words, one characteristic of the wise is the ability to avoid future problems by planning ahead and making good decisions. One fascinating example of a wise person is Rahab, an inhabitant of Jericho, which was about to be invaded by Israel. You can read about her in the book of Joshua.

In we read that Israel’s orders are to exterminate everyone and all livestock in the city. Many people think that God is being morally evil for ordering this, but that is an issue for another post. This story is about Rahab’s reaction to the impending attack and her decisions to save her family from impending slaughter.

As Joshua is preparing to attack, he sends two spies to scout out the area and especially Jericho. (Having learned the lesson from Moses in Numbers 13 and 14 , he avoids sending more than two.) They find themselves trapped in Jericho as troops search for them. Rahab, the owner of the inn (and likely a prostitute) hides them from the troops, lying about their whereabouts to send them on a wild goose chase. This is a dangerous move, but she succeeds in saving their lives.

The purist might suggest that lying is a sin, but this could be a matter of deciding between a greater or lesser evil. Is it better to preserve life or be responsible for strangers being killed? The question should rather be, why did she help them? She answers that question herself by summarizing the situation she and her people find themselves in, then making a request of the spies.

Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof  and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”

Joshua 2:8-11

She then asks them to promise to save her and her family on oath to their God.

“Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.” 

Joshua 2:12-13

This is truly shocking. She is convinced that their God will win the war for their city, and that these men will honor their oath and preserve the lives of her and her family. The story gets more shocking, however, when you consider the battle plan God has in mind.

The spies go back and inform Joshua of the state of the city and of the country. Rahab has given them all of the intelligence they need to know that the city-states are in a panic about Israel’s invasion and the power of their God. I can imagine the spies sheepishly explaining to Joshua about their oath to a prostitute – in a city whose people are to be exterminated. Yet their oath was in the name of Yahweh, so Joshua gives the order, ” The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent”  (Joshua 6:17).

What needs to be noticed is that her house is literally built into the wall of Jericho. Why is that a problem? Because God’s strategy is to make the walls fall outward so that Israel can attack directly. Where does that leave Rahab? Will God honor the oath two of His people who did not know God would take down the wall?

The wall comes down, but Rahab and her family home are not affected. Joshua sends the spies in to identify the family and lead them out safely. Archeology has uncovered that the walls of Jericho did indeed fall outward, except for one section that had housing within it.

How do you think Rahab reacted to the fact that only her section of the wall did not fall down and crush her and her family? Remember that all she asked was that her life and that of her family be spared. Once that happened, she could go anywhere she wanted. So what does she do?

She stays with the invaders. She lives among them and even marries one of them (Matt. 1:5-6). No more prostitution. Her great-grandson will end up as Israel’s most famous and beloved king, David. Her son will marry Ruth, a Moabite immigrant widow who chose Israel because of the love of her widowed mother-in-law. Boaz would choose faith and character over mere beauty. That is not surprising with Rahab training him as his mother.

Why does Rahab stay in Israel?

Because she has seen that Israel’s God is a God who keeps even the promises His people make, to the point of changing His battle-plan to accommodate mercy for her family.

In reality, her wisdom was manifest in trusting the God of Israel to preserve her family from the impending slaughter. She wrested an oath from the spies and made sure that the oath was to their God. She insisted on that because she believed that He is God of both heaven and earth, and that He was giving Israel that land. You can read the entire account in Joshua 2-6

Where does Wisdom Come From?

The Bible has some fascinating and surprising things to say about wisdom and its source. For instance, Prov. 8:22-36 says that wisdom was there as God was making the world, as though Wisdom was a “workman” helping God create the universe. The New Testament goes even further:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John 1:1-5, 14-18

The Apostle Paul add, in 1 Cor 1:30, “It is because of him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”

In other words, Jesus Christ, who created the heavens and the earth, is the very Person of Wisdom. We can only get wisdom from Him.

How Do We Get Wisdom?

Psalm 2:5-10 The wise respect and obey the Son of God.

Psalm 19:7-14 The law makes the simple wise. Read the Bible.

James 1:5 Ask for wisdom.

Why Be Wise?

Prov. 11:30 The wise save lives. It worked for Rahab and her family.

Prov. 13:14 The teaching of the wise saves lives. This is what the gospel is for.

Prov. 21:22 The wise can pull down strongholds of the mighty. For nonmilitary applications check out 2 Cor. 10:4.

Matt. 23:33-35 Jesus promises to send teachers, sages (wise men and women) and prophets to warn Jerusalem of impending catastrophe as a witness that they will refuse to follow God. We are their disciples!

Eph 3:8-11 One of the purposes of the church is to make God’s wisdom blindingly obvious to “the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.”

God’s call for wisdom in His children therefore is, as in Prov. 27:11, “Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.“