Handling Emergencies Series

Roaring Springs and Matador

United Methodist Churches

MOTHER’S DAY

May 14, 2000

Rev. Monte Wike, Pastor

“HANDLING EMERGENCIES”

The Story of Rahab, Great Grandmother of King David

Leadership #2

GREATER TEXT: Joshua chapter 2

TEXT: Joshua 2: 13-14, “And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.”

Matthew 1: 4-5, “And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;”

I. QUICK CHANGE OF EVENTS

A. AN EMERGENCY ARISES

Joshua 2: 1-3, “And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.”

Mother’s Day and a spy story? Mother’s Day based on the story of a harlot? Mother’s Day as one of a series on Leadership? Yes! to all three, primarily because of the leadership roles that mothers do and must play, and because this woman in particular became one of the outstanding examples of motherhood and of faith in the Bible! She was later to marry one of the two spies, and became the mother of Boaz, (Old Testament spelling) the grandfather of King David, and is in the lineage of Jesus.

Emergencies can arise on any level of existence at any moment. They can include everything from opportunities of extreme embarrassment to life-threatening injuries. They may come from accidents, misunderstandings, treats and acts of nature. They may affect a single person, a family or as many as a nation. Always an emergency is of sudden onset, takes precedence over everything and anything at the time, negates considerations of budget, time and relationships, is a time of emotional intensity, and leaves not merely changed circumstances, but extremely altered states of existence in its pathway.

An emergency may be handled in many ways. There can be a joint effort at solution, solitary heroic action, bungled and failed efforts, irreparable emotional and physical damage. Very often lies and deceit may enter into the solution, as in the case before us. It is not uncommon for a smaller emergency to lead to a larger crisis and accelerating or compounding results.

B. NATIONAL SECURITY THREATENED.

Joshua 2: 8-11, “And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the

“Handling Emergencies”, p. 2

Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, 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 earth beneath.”

A national emergency is of such a nature that when national security is threatened, the lives of every person in the country are endangered. Such was the case of the arrival of the two spies from the hordes of the Israelites who were camped just across the Jordan, and who had already conquered and occupied the lands to the east. Their fame had preceded them. People of that entire mid-east region were still talking about the unprecedented escape of slaves from Egypt and the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea forty years later. Terror struck the nation from the King down. They thought the emergency could be deflected if the spies were eliminated.

For years I had wondered that spies from a religious country would go to a harlot’s house, why they would be unfaithful to their wives. But now I can see that this was the perfect foil, the way that any stranger entering the city would behave. They were young, unmarried men fulfilling the role of spy perfectly. But they were recognized as soon as they entered the city, and followed to Rahab’s house which was built into or upon the wall, so they did not make much of a tour of the fortifications of the city. Rahab realized the two men as the spies they were, and for the opportunity it presented for her own family.