Joshua Q's with no real A's

Just a few rapid fire questions from Chapter Two of the Book of Joshua. Random thoughts, let me know what you think the answers are for my questions and wonderings.

-Why did Joshua "secretly" send the spies. I mean...the very nature of a spy is secrecy, so why did he have to secretly send the spies who are suppossed to be secret anyhow? Who was he keeping the secret from? Was there spies amongst the Israelites? Just seems redundant....secretly sending spies.

-Verse 2 = maybe this is why he was trying to keep it a secret....turns out the spies weren't very good at secrecy

- Why had the prostitute already hidden the spies when the authorities came to the door? What made her feel compelled to hide them before the perception of danger?

- Verse 10 and 11 says they had heard of what God had done and they were in fear....this one will make sense in a moment

- Verse 12....She wanted a sure sign that she would be spared. Think the demand of a contract was just the nature of her business?

- Verse 14....If God had already promised to give them the land...what was the purpose of all the secrecy in the first place?

- Does the scarlet chord tied on the window seem slightly reminiscent of another moment folks were spared by something red on their door frame?

- Verse 22...Maybe it's because Easter is still so fresh on my mind...but do you think there is any significance to the fact that the spied hid for 3 nights in the woods before returning to their home?

- Verse 24...Remember verse 10 and 11? The people were scared because they had heard what God had done....why are they now taking credit?


What do you think...Got any answers to my random questions?

Oh The Plans of Men and Their Feet

Ever have really good ideas but don't run with them? Ever have really bad ideas and run too far with them? I think that LeBron James was absolutely accurate when on 60 minutes he said "You can't be afraid to fail, you have to take the next shot"

I also believe that often we spend too much time and energy trying to make something successful that was never meant to be succesful.

Joshua 1:3 is an oft quoted text. "I will give you every place where you set your foot" Sounds inspiring...gives us courage and a backbone to step out in faith and conquer the enemy....throw a rock at goliath, march around a city, face the giants etc.

Ever get that courage...step out...and get your butt handed to you and run back to God and holler "BUT YOU SAID YOU WOULD GIVE ME EVERY PLACE WHERE I SET MY FOOT!!"

Hmm....contextual reading sure is important. Verse 1-2 actually tell Josuah where to go...and verse 4 actually spells out the boundaries. "from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river Euphrates, to the Great Sea on the West" God actually said....here is where you are to put your feet....and by the way...I will give you every place where you set your feet.

Our problem is, we often fail to listen to the guidelines, the instructions on where to place our feet. We run off, stomp the ground...do a magic dance, click our heels together and instruct those around us that it's gonna work cause it's where we planted our feet. Meanwhile...God is looking for someone who can hear his voice and understand where He wants you to plant your feet so he can give it to you.

We gotta slow down and listen sometimes and maybe failure won't be such a frequent visitor.

Whatcha think?