Joshua sent two men to Jericho, secretly, to have a look round and see what they were up against. They had to cross the Jordan; we know from events shortly to follow that it was a flood stage.
And, at some point, they were spotted. Probably not by soldiers, who would have nabbed them on the spot, but by someone who reported it to someone who reported it to someone who told the king.
I don't know if they were looking for shelter and deliberately chose a prostitute's house, thinking that would provide cover for them. Foreign men...just in the city...looking for a little pleasure...not that remarkable. It wasn't a bad idea. They may have even asked someone for a recommendation.
Maybe it was the person they asked who realized they were Israelites; maybe someone overheard the conversation. Or maybe they were just spotted going into Rahab's door. But in any case, their cover was blown and they were hunted.
How they got wind of it isn't clear. Maybe they were actually aware someone was on to them and ducked into her house randomly, asking for shelter, since she was on the wall and had a window to the outside. But I kinda think Rahab invited them in herself; maybe she saw them walking through town and, to anyone who observed, was drumming up business when she invited them to her house. Or maybe she overheard something that tipped her off and she went looking for them. However she found out, she knew they were being hunted and took them home and hid them in pretty short order.
It took a little while for the word to get up to the king and the orders back down to the soldiers; she had a little time to devise a plan. And, truth be told, she did have the perfect cover. When the soldiers knocked, she could give them the impression that the two men had come, had their fun, and left: "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." (Josh. 2:5; all scripture today from the NIV 84).
It appears the soldiers didn't even search the house; they took her word for it and took off on the road out of town, leaving just before the city gates closed behind them.
So, with a bit of a breather, Rahab told the men why she hid them...with a pretty amazing statement from a pagan ..."I know that the LORD has given this land to you." (v. 9) All her actions, all her risk, was based on that statement. She knew that God was with them and that they were going to take the land.
Indeed, she went on to explain that everyone knew the history of the Hebrews... that God dried up the Red Sea for them, that they had utterly defeated the kings on the other side of the Jordan, and that the whole city was terrified of them. Then she made another statement of her personal belief, "...the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below." (v. 11)
Rahab had just staked her life on the God of the Hebrews. The actions she'd taken placed her firmly in opposition to the entire city of Jericho. But, from her point of view, it was the only path to survival. She saved them so that they could save her. "Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death." (vs 12-13)
The guys had been about to catch some z's, but instead, she put a rope out of the window that opened through the city wall (remember, it was after the gates had been closed for the night...it was dark) to let them safely down outside the wall, with instructions to go towards the hills and camp there for three days, since the soldiers were looking for them between Jericho and the river.
Just before they left, they gave her their promise to save her and her family so long as she met the conditions they gave her...to not speak of them to anyone, to gather everyone she wanted to protect into her house, and to hang a red cord from the window.
She agreed and, as soon as they'd gone, she tied the red cord in her window. The men took off for the hills, waited three days as instructed, then crossed the river and returned to Joshua, relating how terrified the people of the land were. 'God has surely given the whole land into our hands,' they told him.
I wonder if Joshua sent only two because two would not be very conspicuous...or if he sent only two because only two had returned from a similar look round with those words 40 years earlier. There were no naysayers to discourage the people this time.
Meanwhile, the red cord innocently hung from Rahab's window. Some folks say it was the rope she used to let them down, but I think it was a decorative cord used on the window draperies that one of the men noticed as they were heading out the window. A rope sturdy enough to hold a man would surely have drawn attention...especially since two men disappeared from that house. No, I think it was exactly as it's described...a red cord. Nothing worth noticing...unless it was looked for. It was Rahab's life if anyone noticed it and started asking questions.
Rahab believed the God of the Hebrews was able to give them victory. Everyone else was afraid of the army, but she was afraid of their God. God saw Rahab. He saw what she believed; it was no coincidence that the spies ended up on her doorstep, however it happened. HE gave her the opportunity to act on her belief. She didn't hesitate; she grabbed that opportunity with both hands and put her life in theirs. And God's.
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