Two Witnesses (Part 3)

This post is from my previous blog, Ear to the Heavens. Enjoy.

I offer one more thought.

If Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses, and they have been witness to the transfiguration, the resurrection, the ascension, and the demonstrated wrath of God, then what about being eyewitnesses to the mercy and faithfulness of God. If they are witnessing to Israel just before they are to go into the wilderness to lean on God and trust Him for everything, then isn’t it important that they know and have faith in the mercy and faithfulness of God? Shouldn’t they know that God keeps His promises and is able to deliver them?

I am always intrigued by the appearance of God as a man in the Old Testament. What an amazing and gracious God we have that He would descend from Heaven to fellowship with us. Abraham was so blessed to have known and seen God.

So was Joshua.

One of the other interesting appearances of God as Man - the theophany – is the night before the attack on Jericho. Joshua is alone when he confronts a soldier and, at first, he challenges the man, not knowing whether he be friend or foe. The soldier, who is the Lord, tells Joshua to take of his shoes for the place on which he stood was holy ground.

How often had Joshua heard Moses tell the story of his first encounter with God? As Moses stood before that burning bush, the Lord spoke, saying, “put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou stand [is] holy ground” (Ex. 3:5) Joshua is instantly aware of whom it is he faces and his response is one of immediate worship.

My attention is always drawn to similarities in the biblical record. It is there that I look for some correlation that might bind the story together. It is interesting that so close to this appearance of the Lord in human form, just as it was so in Genesis 18, there is also the appearance of two men.

In Joshua, these two men are spies sent by Joshua to survey the land and, in particular, Jericho. When in Jericho, these two men are taken in by Rahab, the harlot. She hides them in the reeds of her roof and later lowers them down the outside wall with a scarlet cord. They report back to Joshua, but offer no information of strategic value. In fact, Joshua is given his “battle plan” by the Lord and the report of the spies is irrelevant. They seem to have had only one purpose: to arrange for the safety of Rahab.

Once the walls of Jericho fall, these two men are sent in by Joshua to rescue Rahab and her family. The rescue of Rahab shows God’s mercy towards a common harlot and God’s faithfulness to keep His promise.

What if these two men…?

Yes, they could have been anyone. Besides, what could possibly be the connection between these two men and the two who appeared in Sodom?

The obvious connection is that they were both sent on rescue missions. But is there more?

In the opening verses of Matthew’s gospel, we are told the lineage of Jesus Christ. In that lineage is Rachab, or as we know her in Joshua, Rahab, the harlot. Is it possible that these two spies are sent in to protect and preserve the lineage of Jesus Christ by saving Rahab from Jericho’s fate?

Rahab was a Moabite. Over and over again in Numbers, the plains of Moab are described as being by Jericho. Jericho was a Moabite city.

Remember the two men who rescued Lot. God could easily have destroyed Sodom without coming to earth in human form. But, to demonstrate that God is just, Lot, whom God saw as righteous, needed to be rescued. The bartering between God and Abraham over the number of righteous required to invoke God’s mercy on the city is further evidence of God’s justice.

After their escape from Sodom, Lot and his daughters found refuge in a cave. Lot’s daughters conspired to have children by getting Lot drunk and then going in and sleeping with him. Ultimately, the two girls were impregnated.

“And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same [is] the father of the Moabites unto this day.” (Gen 19:37)

Lot is Rahab’s ancestor, and in turn, one of Jesus’ ancestors. Again, the lineage of Jesus was protected when Lot was rescued.

Is it possible that God sent his two witnesses, Elijah and Moses, on these rescue missions throughout history to preempt disaster by saving Jesus’ ancestors from certain destruction and, at the same time, create witnesses to major events that point to the character and qualifications of Jesus to assume the throne?

Is it possible?

Imagine the testimony those two witnesses might have.