THE GREAT GENERAL. 39

Grandfather. No, it was not true. Some have said,
as an excuse for Rahab, that some other men may have
gone to her house of whom she knew nothing, and they
may have left when it became dark. But that is not a
sufficient excuse; for though she may not have told a
direct: falsehood, she certainly spoke with an intention
to deceive. We must, however, remember that Rahab
was brought up in a heathen country, with a conscience
unenlightened by the knowledge of the truth, and so
could have had little idea of the sinfulness of a lie, and
no idea how hateful all falsehood is to a God of truth.
Rahab’s motives were good ; it was because she believed
in the God of Israel ‘that she saved the lives of these
men of Israel. When the king’s messengers had gone
in pursuit as she directed them, Rahab went up to the
roof to speak to her guests. “I know,” she said to
them, “ that the Lord hath given you this land, and
that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inha-
bitants of the land faint because of you. For we have
heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea for you, when
ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two
kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side
Jordan, Sihon and Ogg, whom ye utterly destroyed.
And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did
melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any
man, because of you ; for the Lord your God, he is
God in Heaven above, and in the earth beneath.

George. How did Rahab know that, when she lived
among heathens ?