Joshua 2: God’s Permitted Concessions Expose Unbelief

Faith trusts God’s word without demanding signs or presuming on His grace, unlike Israel’s repeated failures to seek confirmation instead of obeying.

In Joshua 2, several problems stand out. Joshua sent spies into Jericho, even though God had already promised the land. They sought to confirm with their own eyes what they should have trusted from God’s word. While there, the spies made a covenant with Rahab, though God had commanded Israel not to make covenants with the people of the land. Later in the book, Israel would make the same mistake with the Gibeonites, acting presumptuously without seeking the Lord’s counsel.

In each case, God sovereignly overruled for good — Rahab’s faith set her apart and brought her into the line of Messiah, and the Gibeonite covenant became an occasion for God to display His power in battle. Yet the principle remains: it is dangerous to presume upon God’s grace, as if He will always turn disobedience into blessing.

When men in Scripture asked for confirmation instead of trusting God’s word, the outcome was often disastrous:

Israel demanded spies in Deuteronomy 1. God permitted it, but their unbelief led to forty years of wandering and an entire generation dying in the wilderness.

Israel demanded a king in 1 Samuel 8. God permitted it, but said they had rejected Him. That decision opened the door to centuries of oppression and idolatry under sinful kings.

Balaam pressed for permission to go with Moab’s princes. God permitted it, but He nearly killed Balaam on the way because his heart was twisted toward greed.

In each case, the request for confirmation was not neutral — it was unbelief dressed as prudence. God may sometimes condescend to reassure (as with Gideon, the spies in Joshua 2, or Thomas), but there is no guarantee He will. To seek confirmation when He has already spoken is to put Him to the test, and that is spiritually dangerous. It presumes upon His patience and grace, rather than submitting to His word.

This is why the warning in Hebrews 3:12–13 is so serious: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day… that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” A heart that demands extra proof or acts presumptuously against God’s word begins to grow hard against His plain commands.

The lesson for us is sobering: Faith does not ask God to prove Himself again, nor does it presume that disobedience will somehow be turned to blessing. He has spoken in Christ, confirmed His promises by the resurrection, and sealed them by the Spirit. To seek further signs or to presume upon His grace is to treat His word as insufficient — and that is a dangerous place to stand.