She knew them for Hebrews the minute she set eyes on them. Besides their unfamiliar accent, it was the way they carried themselves. They looked trim and well-muscled like soldiers, not soft like merchants. Certainly they had raised the guards’ suspicion, and if she had not interfered they would have been arrested. Jericho had been shaken by fear of the Hebrews since the fall of Og. Every stranger approaching their gates was examined with more zeal than finesse. Every other citizen of Jericho in her place would have raised an alarm. Would have insisted they be examined. But Rahab panicked at the thought of their danger. She could not bear that those belonging to the Lord should be destroyed. She had to help. As she stepped forward, she had no plan or clever ploy. She just knew she had to remove them from the attention of the guards. So she improvised. Now there were two Hebrews traipsing behind her like lion cubs following their mother. Who would kill her first? The Hebrews or Jericho’s soldiers?
