📖 Kozi ya Kina ya Yoshua — Sehemu ya 2: Rahabu na Kamba Nyekundu📖 Joshua Intensive — Unit 2: Rahab and the Scarlet Cord

MwongozoOrientation

Yoshua sura ya pili ni hadithi ya upendo iliyoandikwa katikati ya hadithi ya vita. Israeli wamepiga kambi ng'ambo ya mashariki ya Yordani, mto umejaa na kufurika, mji wa Yeriko wenye kuta unasimama ng'ambo ya maji, na miaka arobaini ya kutangatanga jangwani imefikia wakati huu mmoja wa bawaba. Yoshua anatuma watu wawili. Watu hao wawili hawarudi na taarifa ya ujasusi wa kijeshi. Wanarudi na ungamo la imani la mwanamke Mkanaani na kamba nyekundu ikining'inia dirishani. Kabla askari wa kwanza hajavuka mto, kabla tarumbeta ya kwanza haijalia, kabla jiwe la kwanza la ukuta wa Yeriko halijaanguka, Mungu amekwisha kuanza ushindi wa Kanaani — na ameuanza ndani ya moyo wa kahaba.Joshua chapter two is a love story written into the middle of a war story. Israel is camped on the eastern bank of the Jordan, the river is at flood stage, the walled city of Jericho stands across the water, and forty years of wilderness wandering have come down to this single hinge moment. Joshua sends two men. The two men do not return with a military intelligence report. They return with a Canaanite woman's confession of faith and a scarlet cord hanging from a window. Before the first soldier ever crosses the river, before the first trumpet ever sounds, before the first stone of Jericho's wall ever falls, God has already begun the conquest of Canaan — and He has begun it inside the heart of a prostitute.

Sehemu hii inapitia Yoshua sura ya pili kifungu kwa kifungu. Tutaona hekima ya Yoshua katika kutuma wapelelezi wawili badala ya kumi na wawili. Tutaona imani ya Rahabu na hatari aliyojitia. Tutaona agano ambalo wapelelezi walifanya naye, kamba nyekundu iliyokuwa ishara ya wokovu wake, na ushuhuda wa ajabu wa Agano Jipya juu ya kahaba Mkanaani ambaye alionekana katika ukoo wa Yesu Kristo.This unit walks through Joshua chapter two phrase by phrase. We will see Joshua's wisdom in sending two spies rather than twelve. We will see Rahab's faith and her risk. We will see the covenant the spies cut with her, the scarlet cord that became the sign of her salvation, and the New Testament's astonishing testimony to a Canaanite harlot who was found in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

I. Wapelelezi Wawili, Si Kumi na Wawili (Yoshua 2:1)I. Two Spies, Not Twelve (Joshua 2:1)

"Kisha Yoshua, mwana wa Nuni, akatuma watu wawili kutoka Shitimu, wapelelezi, kwa siri, akasema, Enendeni, mkaitazame nchi hii, na Yeriko. Wakaenda, wakaingia katika nyumba ya mwanamke kahaba, jina lake akiitwa Rahabu, wakalala humo" (Yoshua 2:1)."Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, 'Go, view the land, especially Jericho.' So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there" (Joshua 2:1).

Miaka arobaini kabla, Musa alikuwa ametuma wapelelezi kumi na wawili kuingia Kanaani. Matokeo yalikuwa msiba mkubwa. Kumi kati ya wale kumi na wawili walirudi wakiwa na hofu kuu. Waliwaambia watu kwamba miji ilikuwa na ngome imara mno, wakaaji wake walikuwa majitu, na Israeli wasingeweza kuitwaa nchi. Ni wawili tu — Yoshua na Kalebu — waliotoa taarifa ya uaminifu ya wachache. Taifa zima liliwaamini wale kumi. Israeli waligeuka kutoka mpakani na kutangatanga jangwani kwa miaka arobaini mpaka kizazi kile kisichoamini kilipokwisha kufa.Forty years earlier, Moses had sent twelve spies into Canaan. The result was a disaster. Ten of the twelve came back terrified. They told the people the cities were too well fortified, the inhabitants were giants, and Israel could not take the land. Only two — Joshua and Caleb — gave a faithful minority report. The whole nation believed the ten. Israel turned away from the border and wandered the wilderness for forty years until that unbelieving generation died out.

Yoshua alikuwa mmoja wa wale kumi na wawili. Yoshua alisimama pale na kuona jinsi upelelezi unaoendeshwa na hofu unavyoweza kulidhuru taifa. Kwa hiyo Yoshua mwenyewe anapokuwa kiongozi, anatuma wawili — si kumi na wawili. Anawachagua kwa uangalifu. Anawatuma kwa siri. Na anawapa kazi yenye lengo moja: mkaitazame nchi hii, na Yeriko. Kiongozi aliyeonja uchungu wa kushindwa kwake mwenyewe zamani harudii kosa hilo. Uamuzi wa kwanza wa kimkakati wa Yoshua katika sura ya pili unaonyesha mtu aliyejifunza kile ambacho miaka arobaini jangwani ilikusudiwa kufundisha.Joshua had been one of the twelve. Joshua had stood there and watched what fear-driven reconnaissance can do to a nation. So when Joshua himself becomes the leader, he sends two — not twelve. He picks them carefully. He sends them secretly. And he gives them a focused mission: view the land, especially Jericho. A leader who has tasted the bitterness of his own past failure does not repeat it. Joshua's first tactical decision in chapter two reflects a man who learned what forty years in the wilderness was meant to teach.

II. Nyumba Iliyo Ukutani (Yoshua 2:1–7)II. The House on the Wall (Joshua 2:1–7)

Wapelelezi wale wawili wanaingia Yeriko na kulala katika nyumba ya mwanamke aitwaye Rahabu. Maandiko hayalainishi kazi yake. Yeye ni kahaba. Nyumba yake huenda ilikuwa imejengwa ndani ya ukuta wa mji wenyewe — mstari wa 15 unatuambia hivyo — jambo lililoifanya kuwa mahali pa kawaida pa kufikia wasafiri na mahali pa siri kwa wapelelezi. Kulala nyumbani kwa Rahabu haukuwa mpango wa Israeli. Ulikuwa uongozi wa Mungu (majaliwa yake). Wapelelezi hawafiki nyumbani kwa Mkanaani mwenye heshima. Wanafika nyumbani kwa mwanamke mwenye dhambi ambaye Mungu alikuwa amekwisha kuanza kumvuta kwake.The two spies enter Jericho and lodge at the house of a woman named Rahab. The text does not soften her profession. She is a harlot. Her house was probably built into the wall of the city itself — verse 15 tells us so — making it a natural stopping place for travelers and a discreet location for spies. Lodging at Rahab's house was not Israel's plan. It was God's providence. The spies do not arrive at the house of a respectable Canaanite. They arrive at the house of a sinful woman whom God had already begun to draw to Himself.

Mfalme wa Yeriko anasikia kwamba wapelelezi Waisraeli wameingia mjini, na wajumbe wake wanakuja kwa Rahabu wakimtaka awatoe. Yeye amekwisha kuwaficha. "Basi yule mwanamke akawachukua wale watu wawili, akawaficha; akasema, Ndiyo, watu hao walinijia, lakini sikujua walikotoka; ikawa wakati wa kufungwa lango, kulipokuwa giza, watu hao walitoka; mimi sijui walikokwenda watu hao; wafuatieni upesi; maana mtawapata" (2:4–5).The king of Jericho hears that Israelite spies have entered the city, and his messengers come to Rahab demanding she hand them over. She has already hidden them. "And the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, 'Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them'" (2:4–5).

Watu wale wako juu ya dari ya nyumba yake, wamefichwa chini ya mabua ya kitani. Maafisa wa mfalme wanakimbia kuwafuatia kuelekea Yordani, wakiwaacha wakimbizi halisi salama juu ya vichwa vyao. Rahabu ameweka maisha yake mwenyewe katika hatari ya kifo ili kuwalinda wageni wawili kutoka taifa ambalo amesikia habari zake lakini hajawahi kukutana nalo. Maandiko hayasifu udanganyifu wake kimaadili; yanasifu imani yake. Matendo yake ni ushahidi kwamba moyo wake ulikuwa umekwisha kuvuka kwenda kwa Mungu wa Israeli.The men are on her roof, hidden under stalks of flax. The king's officers race off in pursuit toward the Jordan, leaving the actual fugitives safely above their heads. Rahab has put her own life in mortal danger to protect two strangers from a nation she has heard about but has never met. The text does not commend her deception morally; it commends her faith. Her actions are the evidence that her heart has already crossed over to Israel's God.

III. Ungamo la Imani la Rahabu (Yoshua 2:8–11)III. Rahab's Confession of Faith (Joshua 2:8–11)

Kiini cha sura hii — na mojawapo ya maungamo makuu ya imani katika Agano la Kale lote — kinakuja Rahabu anapopanda juu darini kuongea na watu aliowaficha. Hajadiliani bei kama mfanyabiashara. Anashuhudia kama mwamini.The heart of the chapter — and one of the great confessions of faith in the entire Old Testament — comes when Rahab climbs to the roof to speak with the men she has hidden. She does not bargain like a businesswoman. She testifies like a believer.

"Mimi najua ya kuwa BWANA amewapa ninyi nchi hii, na ya kuwa kitisho chenu kimetuangukia, na ya kuwa wenyeji wote wa nchi hii wanayeyuka mbele yenu. Kwa maana tumesikia jinsi BWANA alivyoyakausha maji ya Bahari ya Shamu mbele yenu, hapo mlipotoka Misri; na mambo mliyowatenda wale wafalme wawili wa Waamori, waliokuwa ng'ambo ya pili ya Yordani, yaani, Sihoni na Ogu, ambao mliwaangamiza kabisa. Basi mara tulipopata habari hizo, mioyo yetu iliyeyuka, wala hakusalia tena ushujaa wo wote ndani ya mtu awaye yote, kwa sababu yenu; kwa kuwa BWANA, Mungu wenu, yeye ndiye Mungu juu mbinguni, na chini duniani" (2:9–11)."I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For 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 the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath" (2:9–11).

Angalia kile ambacho Rahabu alijua, kile alichokuwa amesikia, na kile alichoamini sasa. Alikuwa anajua kwamba BWANA alikuwa amewapa Israeli nchi. Ushindi ulikuwa bado haujatokea, lakini moyoni mwake ulikuwa umekwisha kuamuliwa. Alikuwa amesikia kile Mungu alichofanya kwenye Bahari ya Shamu miaka arobaini kabla na kile alichowafanyia Sihoni na Ogu hivi karibuni. Habari zilikuwa zimefika Yeriko. Mji wote ulikuwa na hofu. Lakini wakati mfalme wa Yeriko aliitikia kwa hofu na kufunga malango, Rahabu aliitikia kwa imani na kufungua mlango wake.Notice what Rahab knew, what she had heard, and what she now believed. She knew the Lord had given Israel the land. The conquest had not yet happened, but in her heart it was already settled. She had heard what God had done at the Red Sea forty years earlier and what He had done to Sihon and Og just recently. The news had reached Jericho. The whole city was afraid. But where the king of Jericho responded with fear and locked the gates, Rahab responded with faith and opened her door.

Kilele cha ungamo lake ndicho kilele cha sura nzima: "BWANA, Mungu wenu, yeye ndiye Mungu juu mbinguni, na chini duniani." Kahaba Mkanaani, aliyekulia akizungukwa na madhabahu za Baali na Ashtorethi, anatangaza kwamba Mungu wa Israeli si mungu mmoja tu kati ya miungu mingi. Yeye ndiye Mungu — juu na chini, mbinguni na duniani, bila mshindani popote. Ungamo hilo lisingekuwa geni midomoni mwa Musa. Lilitoka midomoni mwa kahaba.The climax of her confession is the climax of the whole chapter: "the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath." A Canaanite prostitute, who had grown up surrounded by altars to Baal and Ashtoreth, declares that the God of Israel is not just one god among many. He is the God — above and below, in heaven and on earth, with no rival anywhere. That confession would not have been out of place on the lips of Moses. It came from the lips of a harlot.

IV. Agano la Rehema (Yoshua 2:12–14)IV. The Covenant of Mercy (Joshua 2:12–14)

"Basi sasa, nawasihi, niapieni kwa BWANA, kwa kuwa nimewatendea mema, ya kwamba ninyi nanyi mtaitendea mema nyumba ya baba yangu, na kunipa ishara ya kweli; na ya kwamba mtawahifadhi hai baba yangu, na mama yangu, na ndugu zangu wanaume na wanawake, na wote walio nao, na kutuokoa nafsi zetu na kufa" (2:12–13)."Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death" (2:12–13).

Imani ya Rahabu si uzoefu wa ndani wa faragha. Ni imani ya kimisionari tangu wakati wa kuzaliwa kwake. Mara moja anaomba kwamba jamaa yake — baba, mama, ndugu wa kiume, ndugu wa kike, na wote walio nao — wahifadhiwe pamoja naye. Yeye ni mwanamke mmoja katika nyumba moja katika ukuta mmoja wa mji mmoja uliohukumiwa kuangamizwa, lakini mara anapopata imani anaanza kuwahubiria watu wa nyumba yake mwenyewe. Imani haibaki kamwe ndani ya moyo mmoja. Silika ya kwanza ya nafsi iliyookolewa ni kuwaleta wengine ndani ya mashua ya kuokoa maisha.Rahab's faith is not a private inner experience. It is missionary from the moment of its birth. She immediately asks that her family — father, mother, brothers, sisters, all that they have — be spared with her. She is one woman in one house in one wall in one doomed city, but the moment she comes to faith she begins to evangelize her own household. Faith never stays inside one heart. The first instinct of a saved soul is to bring others into the lifeboat.

Wapelelezi wanajibu kwa agano: "Roho zetu badala ya roho zenu, ikiwa hamtaitangaza habari hii yetu; kisha itakuwa, BWANA atakapotupa nchi hii, tutakutendea mema na kweli" (2:14). Wanaume wawili wageni katika nyumba ya ukahaba wanafanya agano la damu na kahaba Mkanaani, wakiapa kwa jina la BWANA, kwamba jamaa yake itahifadhiwa siku ya hukumu. Neema ya Mungu inayotangulia mbele ya ushindi ni pana kiasi kwamba inainua nyumba nzima kutoka katika mji uliowekwa alama ya kuangamizwa.The spies answer with a covenant: "Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the Lord has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you" (2:14). Two foreign men in a brothel make a blood covenant with a Canaanite prostitute, sworn in the name of the Lord, that her family will be spared in the day of judgment. The grace of God working ahead of the conquest is so wide it scoops up an entire household out of a city marked for destruction.

V. Kamba Nyekundu (Yoshua 2:15–21)V. The Scarlet Cord (Joshua 2:15–21)

Rahabu anawashusha wapelelezi kwa kamba kupitia dirishani — dirisha lile lile lililokuwa katika ukuta wa mji. Wanapoondoka, wapelelezi wanampa ishara. "Tazama, wakati tutakapoingia katika nchi hii, wewe utaifunga kamba hii ya uzi mwekundu dirishani, ambalo umetushusha kwa njia yake; nawe utamkusanya baba yako, na mama yako, na ndugu zako, na watu wote wa nyumba ya baba yako, waje kwako nyumbani... Na itakuwa ya kwamba mtu awaye yote atakayetoka nje ya milango ya nyumba yako na kwenda njiani, damu yake itakuwa juu ya kichwa chake mwenyewe, nasi tutakuwa hatuna hatia; na mtu awaye yote atakayekuwa pamoja nawe nyumbani, damu yake itakuwa juu ya vichwa vyetu, mtu akimwekea mkono" (2:18–19).Rahab lets the spies down by a rope through the window — the same window that was set in the city wall. As they go, the spies give her a sign. "Unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household to your own home... it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him" (2:18–19).

Alama ya wokovu wake ilikuwa kamba nyekundu ikining'inia dirishani mwake — ikionekana kutoka nje, ikiitambulisha nyumba yake kuwa nyumba moja katika Yeriko yote ambayo isingeanguka kuta zitakapobomoka. "Akasema, Na iwe kama mlivyosema. Akawatoa, nao wakaenda zao; naye akaifunga ile kamba nyekundu dirishani" (2:21).The mark of her salvation is to be a scarlet cord hanging from her window — visible from the outside, marking her house as the one house in all of Jericho that would not fall when the walls came down. "And she said, 'According to your words, so be it.' And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window" (2:21).

Kamba nyekundu katika dirisha la Rahabu ni mojawapo ya picha zilizo wazi kabisa katika Agano la Kale za damu ya Kristo. Hukumu ya Mungu ilikuwa ikija juu ya Yeriko. Kila nyumba mjini ilisimama ikiwa imehukumiwa. Lakini nyumba iliyokuwa chini ya ishara nyekundu ingehifadhiwa. Si kwa sababu watu waliokuwa ndani walikuwa bora kuliko watu waliokuwa nje. Ni kwa sababu ya ishara. Kwa sababu ya agano. Kwa sababu ya damu.The scarlet cord in Rahab's window is one of the clearest pictures in the Old Testament of the blood of Christ. The judgment of God was coming on Jericho. Every house in the city stood condemned. But the house under the scarlet sign would be spared. Not because the people inside it were better than the people outside it. Because of the sign. Because of the covenant. Because of the blood.

VI. Rahabu katika Agano Jipya — Waebrania, Yakobo, MathayoVI. Rahab in the New Testament — Hebrews, James, Matthew

Habari ya Rahabu haimaliziki katika kitabu cha Yoshua. Agano Jipya linamrudia mara tatu, na kila mara linaongeza safu nyingine ya utukufu.The story of Rahab does not end in Joshua. The New Testament returns to her three times, and each return adds another layer of glory.

Waebrania 11:31 — "Kwa imani Rahabu, yule kahaba, hakuangamia pamoja na hao walioasi, kwa kuwa aliwakaribisha wale wapelelezi kwa amani." Yeye ni mmoja wa wanawake wawili tu wanaotajwa kwa majina yao katika orodha kuu ya mashujaa wa imani katika Waebrania 11 — pamoja na Sara mwenyewe. Roho Mtakatifu anamweka kahaba Mkanaani katika sura moja na Ibrahimu, Musa, na Daudi, na anampa neno lile lile linalowashikilia wote: kwa imani.Hebrews 11:31 — "By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace." She is one of only two women named individually in the great roll call of faith in Hebrews 11 — alongside Sarah herself. The Holy Spirit places a Canaanite harlot in the same chapter as Abraham, Moses, and David, and gives her the same word that anchors them all: by faith.

Yakobo 2:25 — "Vivyo hivyo Rahabu, yule kahaba, je! Hakuhesabiwa haki kwa matendo, alipowakaribisha wale wajumbe, akawatoa kwa njia nyingine?" Yakobo anamtumia Rahabu kama uthibitisho kwamba imani ya kweli daima hujionyesha katika matendo. Hakusema tu kwamba aliamini — aliwaficha wapelelezi, akawatoa kwa njia nyingine, akahatarisha maisha yake kwa kile alichokiungama. Matendo yake yalikuwa ushahidi unaoonekana wa imani yake isiyoonekana.James 2:25 — "Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?" James uses Rahab as the proof that genuine faith always shows itself in action. She did not just say she believed — she hid the spies, she sent them out by another way, she risked her life on what she had confessed. Her works were the visible evidence of her invisible faith.

Mathayo 1:5 — na hapa ndipo hadithi inapofunguka kabisa. "Salmoni akamzaa Boazi kwa Rahabu; Boazi akamzaa Obedi kwa Ruthu." Kahaba wa Yeriko aliolewa ndani ya Israeli. Mume wake alikuwa Salmoni — yawezekana kabisa alikuwa mmoja wa wale wapelelezi wawili aliowaficha, ingawa Maandiko hayasemi hivyo. Mwana wake alikuwa Boazi, aliyemwoa Ruthu Mmoabu. Mwana wao alikuwa Obedi. Mwana wa Obedi alikuwa Yese. Mwana wa Yese alikuwa Daudi. Na kutoka katika ukoo wa Daudi alikuja Masihi. Kahaba Mkanaani ni bibi wa babu wa Mfalme Daudi na babu wa kale wa Yesu Kristo.Matthew 1:5 — and this is where the story breaks open. "Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth." The harlot of Jericho married into Israel. Her husband was Salmon — quite possibly one of the two spies she had hidden, though Scripture does not say. Her son was Boaz, who married Ruth the Moabitess. Their son was Obed. Obed's son was Jesse. Jesse's son was David. And from David's line came the Messiah. The Canaanite prostitute is the great-great-grandmother of King David and an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

Mungu hakumwokoa Rahabu tu. Mungu alimpandikiza katika ukoo wa damu wa Mwokozi. Kamba ile ile nyekundu iliyoning'inia dirishani mwake ilionyesha mapema damu ya mzao wake mwenyewe, ambaye angekufa kwa ajili ya wenye dhambi na makahaba na Wakanaani na watu wa nje wa kila aina, miaka elfu moja na mia tano baadaye, juu ya kilima nje ya mji mwingine wenye kuta.God did not just save Rahab. God grafted her into the bloodline of the Savior. The same scarlet cord that hung from her window foreshadowed the blood of her own descendant, who would die for sinners and prostitutes and Canaanites and outsiders of every kind, fifteen hundred years later, on a hill outside another walled city.

VII. Injili ya "Kila Mtu"VII. The Whoever Gospel

Habari ya Rahabu ni habari ya Mungu anayewaokoa watu wasiofaa. Kwa vipimo vya sheria ya Israeli, Rahabu alikosea kwa kila hesabu. Taifa lisilofaa — Mkanaani. Dini isiyofaa — mpagani. Kazi isiyofaa — kahaba. Mji usiofaa — Yeriko, uliowekwa alama ya kuangamizwa. Kila kitu hakikufaa. Na bado neema ya Mungu ilifika mbele ya kila kundi lisilofaa na kumshika kwa imani. Neema ile ile iliyomwokoa Rahabu ndiyo neema ile ile inayomwokoa yeyote anayepitia mlango ule ule — kwa imani, chini ya ishara nyekundu.The story of Rahab is the story of a God who saves the wrong people. By the standards of Israel's law, Rahab was wrong on every count. Wrong nationality — Canaanite. Wrong religion — pagan. Wrong profession — prostitute. Wrong city — Jericho, marked for destruction. Wrong everything. And yet God's grace reached past every wrong category and laid hold of her by faith. The same grace that saved Rahab is the same grace that saves anyone who comes through the same door — by faith, under the scarlet sign.

Injili ya Yoshua 2 ni injili ya kila mtu. Yeyote aliyekuwa ndani ya nyumba pamoja na Rahabu hukumu ilipokuja alihifadhiwa. Yeyote aliyekuwa nje alipotea. Mstari haukuchorwa kwa kabila au historia ya maisha au sifa za mtu. Mstari ulichorwa kwa kamba nyekundu. Yeyote — kabisa yeyote — aliyekuja chini ya ishara aliokolewa. Hiyo ndiyo injili ile ile ambayo Yesu aliihubiri: "ili kila mtu amwaminiye asipotee, bali awe na uzima wa milele" (Yohana 3:16). Rahabu alikuwa "kila mtu." Mwizi msalabani alikuwa "kila mtu." Ndivyo alivyo kila msomaji wa maneno haya.The gospel of Joshua 2 is the gospel of whoever. Whoever was in the house with Rahab when judgment came was spared. Whoever was outside was lost. The line was not drawn by ethnicity or biography or résumé. The line was drawn by the scarlet cord. Anyone — absolutely anyone — who came under the sign was saved. That is the same gospel Jesus preached: "whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Rahab was a whoever. The thief on the cross was a whoever. So is every reader of these words.

VIII. Matumizi — Ungamo Linalogharimu na Ungamo LinalookoaVIII. Application — Confession That Costs and Confession That Saves

Donald Grey Barnhouse, mchungaji mashuhuri wa Kanisa la Tenth Presbyterian huko Philadelphia, aliwahi kumwongoza askari kijana katika Vita vya Kwanza vya Dunia kumwamini Kristo. Kijana huyo alitoka katika familia tajiri ya Kimarekani, na vita vilipokwisha alikuwa karibu kurudi nyumbani kwenye maisha yale ya kabla ya vita ya karamu na upendeleo. Alimwambia Barnhouse kwamba aliogopa angerudi katika tabia zake za zamani — kwamba upendo wa familia na marafiki wa zamani ungemvuta mbali na imani yake mpya. Barnhouse alimshauri amkiri Kristo hadharani mbele ya watu kumi wa kwanza kutoka katika maisha yake ya zamani ambao angekutana nao atakapofika nyumbani.Donald Grey Barnhouse, the great pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, once led a young soldier in the First World War to faith in Christ. The boy came from a wealthy American family, and as the war ended he was about to go home to that pre-war life of parties and privilege. He told Barnhouse he was afraid he would slip back into his old habits — that the love of family and old friends would draw him away from his new faith. Barnhouse counseled him to make public confession of Christ to the first ten people from his old life he met when he got home.

Kijana huyo alishuka garimoshi katika kituo cha kitongoji na karibu mara moja akakutana na msichana aliyemfahamu katika mikusanyiko ya kijamii. Msichana alimsalimu kwa uchangamfu na kumuuliza hali yake. Alimwambia, "Jambo kubwa kuliko yote ambalo lingeweza kunitokea limenitokea. Nimempokea Bwana Yesu Kristo kuwa Mwokozi wangu." Tabasamu lake likaganda. Muda mfupi baadaye alikutana na rafiki wa zamani aliyesema kwamba sasa wangekuwa na karamu kubwa kwa kuwa amerudi. Alimwambia rafiki huyo jambo lile lile. Kufikia wakati alipokuwa amewaambia watu kumi, kundi lake la zamani la marafiki lilikuwa limejitenga naye kimya kimya. Hakuwa amewapoteza. Wao ndio waliomwacha — akatengwa nao kwa ungamo ambalo lilisema tu ukweli kwa sauti.The young man stepped off the train at the suburban station and almost immediately ran into a girl he had known socially. She greeted him warmly and asked how he was. He told her, "The greatest thing that could possibly happen to me has happened. I've taken the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior." Her smile froze. A short while later he ran into an old friend who said they would have great parties now that he was back. He told the friend the same thing. By the time he had told ten people, his old social circle had quietly fallen away from him. He had not lost them. He had been given up by them — separated from them by a confession that simply spoke the truth out loud.

Hivyo ndivyo Rahabu alivyofanya huko Yeriko. Alisimama hadharani kwa ajili ya Mungu wa Israeli kwa namna iliyohatarisha maisha yake na kumtenga na kila kitu alichokuwa amekijua. Msichana aliyeishi kama kahaba Mkanaani akawa mwanamke aliyeungama BWANA, Mungu wenu, yeye ndiye Mungu juu mbinguni, na chini duniani. Ungamo hilo lilimgharimu kila kitu. Ungamo hilo liliiokoa familia yake.That is what Rahab did in Jericho. She made a public stand for the God of Israel that risked her life and severed her from everything she had known. The girl who had lived as a Canaanite prostitute became the woman who confessed the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. The confession cost her everything. The confession saved her family.

Na kisha kuna hadithi ya picha. Msichana kijana Mbrazili aitwaye Christina alitoroka kijiji chao maskini kwenda mitaa ya Rio de Janeiro, akiota maisha bora. Mama yake Maria alimfuata. Akijua ni maisha ya aina gani binti yake angetumbukia, Maria alienda kutoka baa hadi danguro hadi hoteli, na katika kila mahali alibandika picha yake mwenyewe kwenye kioo au kwenye kibanda cha simu. Nyuma ya kila picha aliandika ujumbe mfupi mmoja. Wiki kadhaa baadaye, baada ya kila ndoto kugeuka kuwa jinamizi, Christina alikuwa akishuka ngazi za hoteli ya bei rahisi alipoiona picha ya mama yake. Alivuka ukumbi. Akaigeuza picha. Ujumbe ulisema: "Lolote ulilofanya, chochote ulichokuwa, haijalishi. Tafadhali rudi nyumbani. Bado nakupenda."And then there is the photograph story. A young Brazilian girl named Christina ran away from her poor village to the streets of Rio de Janeiro, dreaming of a better life. Her mother Maria followed. Knowing what life her daughter would fall into, Maria went from bar to brothel to hotel, and in each one she taped a photograph of herself onto a mirror or a phone booth. On the back of every photo she wrote one short note. Weeks later, after every dream had become a nightmare, Christina was descending the stairs of a cheap hotel when she saw her mother's picture. She crossed the lobby. She turned the photograph over. The note said: "Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn't matter. Please come home. I still love you."

Hiyo ndiyo injili iliyohubiriwa juu ya dari za Yeriko. Huo ndio ujumbe unaoning'inia kwenye kamba nyekundu. Lolote ulilofanya, chochote ulichokuwa, haijalishi. Njoo chini ya ishara. Rudi nyumbani. Damu ya Mwanangu inatosha.That is the gospel preached over the rooftops of Jericho. That is the message hanging from the scarlet cord. Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn't matter. Come under the sign. Come home. The blood of My Son is enough.

HitimishoClosing

Sura inamalizika Rahabu akiwa amerudi nyumbani kwake, kamba nyekundu ikiwa imefungwa dirishani mwake, jamaa yake ikiwa imekusanyika pamoja naye, wakisubiri. Nje, jeshi la Israeli linakusanyika kwenye Yordani. Kuta za Yeriko bado zimesimama. Siku ya hukumu bado haijafika. Lakini mwanamke aliye ukutani amekwisha kuvuka. Amevuka moyoni mwake. Ushindi wa Yeriko ulianza siku ile Rahabu alipoamini.The chapter ends with Rahab back in her house, the scarlet cord tied in her window, her family gathered with her, waiting. Outside, the army of Israel gathers at the Jordan. The walls of Jericho still stand. The day of judgment has not yet come. But the woman in the wall has crossed over already. She has crossed over in her heart. The conquest of Jericho began the day Rahab believed.

Na wewe yeyote ulivyo — popote ulipokuwa, lolote ulilofanya, hata uwe mbali na nyumbani kiasi gani — Mungu yule yule aliyetundika kamba nyekundu ukutani mwa Yeriko ndiye Mungu yule yule aliyemtundika Mwanawe msalabani nje ya Yerusalemu. Ishara imetundikwa. Mlango uko wazi. Agano limeapwa. Yeyote anayekimbilia chini ya alama nyekundu ya damu ya Kristo hatapotea siku ile kuta zitakapobomoka.And whoever you are — wherever you have been, whatever you have done, however far from home — the same God who hung a scarlet cord on the wall of Jericho is the same God who hung His Son on a cross outside Jerusalem. The sign is up. The door is open. The covenant is sworn. Whoever takes refuge under the scarlet mark of the blood of Christ will not perish in the day the walls come down.

Mvulana mdogo aliwahi kuulizwa kama amempata Yesu. Alifikiri kidogo kisha akasema, "Kwani bwana, sikujua kwamba Yeye alikuwa amepotea. Lakini mimi nilikuwa nimepotea, naye akanipata."A little boy was once asked if he had found Jesus. He thought about it and said, "Why sir, I didn't know He was lost. But I was, and He found me."

Rahabu alikuwa amepotea. Yeye alimpata. Alimpandikiza katika familia ya Mwana wake mwenyewe. Aliliandika jina lake katika ukoo wa Masihi. Na bado anafanya vivyo hivyo leo, kila mara kamba nyekundu inapotundikwa katika dirisha jingine.Rahab was lost. He found her. He grafted her into the family of His own Son. He wrote her name into the genealogy of the Messiah. And He still does the same today, every time the scarlet cord goes up in another window.

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