Why did God bless Rahab when she told a lie (2:45)?
Scripture unequivocally condemns lying as a sin. In Rahab s case there were special factors that operated in her favor, and they should not be overlooked, even if they do not altogether excuse her mendacity. In this particular case the lie meant for her a step of faith that put her very life in jeopardy. . . . At any rate, she professed a very firm conviction that the Israelite forces would capture and destroy Jericho, even though from the standpoint of military science it looked as if Jericho was virtually impregnable. . . . Despite her sinful past her faith was reckoned to her for righteousness, not only by the Lord, but also by His people; and she assumed a position of honor as an ancestress of the Lord Jesus Himself (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25). The Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties How did the people consecrate themselves (3:5)? An act by which a person or thing is dedicated to the service and worship of God. In this particular passage, the people were to be consecrated because Go
