hair stand on end. The force of their voices made the ground shake, and she put her hands over her ears, trying to drown out the noise.
Even through her clutching hands, however, she could hear the noise increasing, and feel the ground literally shaking. She leaned out of the window and saw to her left and right that Jericho’s impregnable walls
were actually falling down!
They were crumbling and collapsing all around them. Without ever an arrow being shot, without fire or battering rams, with nothing more than a shout the Lord had ripped down Jericho’s fortress. Jericho had been defeated.
Rahab’s eyes watered. She felt numb with the shock of what she was seeing. As the dense powder of stone and mortar began to settle, Rahab grasped the extent of the damage. Apart from her own section of the wall, which miraculously stood unharmed, as far as her eyes could see the entire defensive structure had crumbled to the ground. In some areas a small hedge, no taller than Rahab’s knees still clung to its foundation; in others, not even that remained. To her horror, she also noticed limbs sticking out from under large pieces of stone and she knew the carnage of war had begun. For some time words failed her. Then she realized she needed to alert her family, who were clinging to each other in the back of the room away from the window, as to what had befallen their homeland.
“Gather your things together,” Rahab cried with a shaky voice, coming out of her haze. “Get ready. The walls have collapsed and they’ll be coming for us soon.”
“The walls have
collapsed?
Was that the noise we heard? But it cannot be possible!” Joa’s voice was hoarse beyond recognition. “Let me see.”
Rahab moved aside and let him look. His chest shook and a small sound escaped his lips. “No …
no!
How did this happen? They never even came within shooting distance. Was it magic—a powerful incantation of some sort?”
“No.” Rahab recalled Ezra’s brief warning that the Lord disapproved of magic, mediums, and fortune-telling. “It’s the power of God.”
Karem came to stand next to Joa. “Look!” He pointed with a finger. “The rest of the wall has fallen, but this part where we’re hiding is still standing. If this section of wall had failed we would have been crushed like those poor people. This God, it seems, has preserved our lives.”
In the middle of the worst day in the history of her people, Rahab found herself smiling. Not Hanani, not Ezra, not Joshua, not the armies of Israel, not a forced promise, but God Himself had chosen to spare her life. His own hand had sheltered them.
With more confidence, she said, “Come everyone. You have to be ready. There won’t be time for dallying once they come for us. Grab what you can carry as I have told you. Leave behind whatever isn’t essential.”
The children were crying. Rahab’s sister and sisters-in-law were crying. Her mother and father were crying. Her brothers wiped silent tears from their faces and began picking up their bundles as if in a daze. Their whole way of life was over. God had rescued them, but they were too numb and brokenhearted to be grateful yet.
They could hear the Hebrew army moving into Jericho. The sounds of fighting rang out. Running feet. Screams. Weeping. Scuffling. Clashing metal. Then Rahab heard someone running up her stairs. For a moment she froze. What if they didn’t keep their promise? What if they betrayed her? Then she remembered Hanani’s words and knew that he would keep faith.
The door burst open and there was Hanani himself with Ezra behind him. They were covered in dirt and grinning from ear to ear. Seeing them gave her a rush of strength, and she ran toward them laughing and crying at the same time. “You came. You came for us.”
“Didn’t we promise? Joshua, our leader, has sent us to take you out of Jericho. We’ll lead you to a place not far from Israel’s camp. Make sure you bring everything you’ll need. The
Even through her clutching hands, however, she could hear the noise increasing, and feel the ground literally shaking. She leaned out of the window and saw to her left and right that Jericho’s impregnable walls
were actually falling down!
They were crumbling and collapsing all around them. Without ever an arrow being shot, without fire or battering rams, with nothing more than a shout the Lord had ripped down Jericho’s fortress. Jericho had been defeated.
Rahab’s eyes watered. She felt numb with the shock of what she was seeing. As the dense powder of stone and mortar began to settle, Rahab grasped the extent of the damage. Apart from her own section of the wall, which miraculously stood unharmed, as far as her eyes could see the entire defensive structure had crumbled to the ground. In some areas a small hedge, no taller than Rahab’s knees still clung to its foundation; in others, not even that remained. To her horror, she also noticed limbs sticking out from under large pieces of stone and she knew the carnage of war had begun. For some time words failed her. Then she realized she needed to alert her family, who were clinging to each other in the back of the room away from the window, as to what had befallen their homeland.
“Gather your things together,” Rahab cried with a shaky voice, coming out of her haze. “Get ready. The walls have collapsed and they’ll be coming for us soon.”
“The walls have
collapsed?
Was that the noise we heard? But it cannot be possible!” Joa’s voice was hoarse beyond recognition. “Let me see.”
Rahab moved aside and let him look. His chest shook and a small sound escaped his lips. “No …
no!
How did this happen? They never even came within shooting distance. Was it magic—a powerful incantation of some sort?”
“No.” Rahab recalled Ezra’s brief warning that the Lord disapproved of magic, mediums, and fortune-telling. “It’s the power of God.”
Karem came to stand next to Joa. “Look!” He pointed with a finger. “The rest of the wall has fallen, but this part where we’re hiding is still standing. If this section of wall had failed we would have been crushed like those poor people. This God, it seems, has preserved our lives.”
In the middle of the worst day in the history of her people, Rahab found herself smiling. Not Hanani, not Ezra, not Joshua, not the armies of Israel, not a forced promise, but God Himself had chosen to spare her life. His own hand had sheltered them.
With more confidence, she said, “Come everyone. You have to be ready. There won’t be time for dallying once they come for us. Grab what you can carry as I have told you. Leave behind whatever isn’t essential.”
The children were crying. Rahab’s sister and sisters-in-law were crying. Her mother and father were crying. Her brothers wiped silent tears from their faces and began picking up their bundles as if in a daze. Their whole way of life was over. God had rescued them, but they were too numb and brokenhearted to be grateful yet.
They could hear the Hebrew army moving into Jericho. The sounds of fighting rang out. Running feet. Screams. Weeping. Scuffling. Clashing metal. Then Rahab heard someone running up her stairs. For a moment she froze. What if they didn’t keep their promise? What if they betrayed her? Then she remembered Hanani’s words and knew that he would keep faith.
The door burst open and there was Hanani himself with Ezra behind him. They were covered in dirt and grinning from ear to ear. Seeing them gave her a rush of strength, and she ran toward them laughing and crying at the same time. “You came. You came for us.”
“Didn’t we promise? Joshua, our leader, has sent us to take you out of Jericho. We’ll lead you to a place not far from Israel’s camp. Make sure you bring everything you’ll need. The
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