(have the text read ahead)
I have obtained a copy of a recently discovered document from the 1st century. It’s from the first publisher of the Bible – this was before there was Zondervan and Tyndale and all those publishers. It’s a letter from them to the Bible’s original author…
Dear Sir,
While we appreciate that the writing of Your manuscript has involved the work of some 40 authors and taken over 1500 years to complete, as with all writers, we feel it is important to present to You some editorial suggestions for the sake of Your book’s marketability. Please understand that these are presented with Your interests in mind, as well as the necessity of this book paying for itself as we fulfill our contract with You.
At first, our review board thought it would be best to leave out some of the less-believable material – talking donkeys, floating ax heads, parting of the sea, bread from heaven, and things like that. However we are willing to leave those in. We’re just concerned that You not undermine Your work’s credibility.
However, there are still some certain elements that we deem best left out, even though they are factual. Clearly You haven’t included every thing that ever happened, so why not omit a few features that might otherwise harm Your book’s sales? – for instance, the inclusion in Joshua of the story of a prostitute named Rahab. It seems the account of the spies in her home is just as easily left out without altering the story of the conquest of Jericho. Why make such a character a key figure in your main story line? To bring her name up again in the New Testament as an illustration of good living seems to be using poor judgment too. (If you look in Hebrews 11:31, she’s one of only 2 women mentioned there – people who had faith – along with Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and others. Then James mentions her in 2:25 as a person who was “considered righteous” for what she did.)
Worst of all is her name appearing in the genealogy of Jesus along with 2 other women of questionable background. (Sure enough, right there in Matthew 1:5 is Rahab – she married a guy named Salmon and had a son named Boaz. Boaz became the father of Obed, and Obed the father of Jesse, the father of David – and Jesus descended from that earthly line.) As Your publisher, we should point out that it isn’t even considered customary to include the names of women in such lists. Our suggestion is that they simply be omitted, as in most genealogies.
If we have somehow failed to catch the spirit of Your work, our apologies. We are, of course, simply interested in Your work being polished in a way that it will be most widely read and accepted. Thank You for working with us to make Your book the best we can make it.
Amazing what archaeology digs up, isn’t it? I’m glad God didn’t listen, or else we wouldn’t be reading the story we have in front of us today. Rahab’s story is another of a person who had a changed heart and therefore a changed life. I just want to consider her story this morning and what we can learn from her.
When I read the story of Rahab, I learn about…
I. The Trustworthiness of God’s Word
Ill - Christmastime. You get the tree all set up, and it’s time to unpack the ornaments and hang them on the tree. At our house, we’ve collected quite a few over the years, so they’re in various states of condition. Isn’t that normal? So, when you’re unpacking the ornaments, you start by hanging your favorites in all the prominent places. Then, you hang your less favorite ones somewhere less noticeable.
Then there are the ones you don’t even hang up, and there may be a few that it’s time to throw away. You don’t hang cracked ornaments up where everyone will see them. Neither do you hang them up on the family tree.
We have, in our family, a book of the family history. It has information under all the names, and lists all the notable things they did. Then, you get to this one family member. It gives his name, and all it says under him is: “He was a horse thief. He was hanged.”
That fact that God even includes stories like Rahab’s is evidence that the Bible is no ordinary, man-made book. If you’re writing a story about the world and how it’s under your control and headed the direction you’ve already determined, if you’re trying to start a world movement, and gain a following, you don’t give a lot of space to tell about all the mess-ups of your people and the way it sometimes looks like it’s not going how you want. You don’t tell warts and all…unless you’re God. But read your Bible…
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was sold and abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Peter was impulsive and denied Jesus
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried too much
The Samaritan woman was divorced, at least 4X
Zacchaeus was too small
Timothy had an ulcer...
AND
Lazarus was dead!
There’s a whole list of cracked ornaments that God chooses to include in the Bible.
It’s not uncommon to read exaggerated stories in the ancient accounts by kings of Assyria and Babylon. Even Josephus, the Jewish historian, had a tendency to slant figures. Something else they all do is conveniently omit stories about losses and mess-ups. After all, if you’re writing history, why not make your history the best?! But when God tells the story of setting aside a special nation, and preparing the way for His Son, He includes the liar, the cowards, the cheaters, the mess-ups, and the street walker in the family tree.
Just the fact that today we’re reading about a former prostitute who became a part of the Israelite community and even an ancestor of the line of King David tells me something about this book: it’s not the product of just human work, and its purpose is more than being interesting reading. The Bible is credible because it’s REAL.
People of this generation are clamoring to find things that are REAL. Well, let’s be REAL. Let’s show them people who are REAL – not people who get together every Sunday and put on their church face and pretend that everything about life is just great. That’s not how the Bible reads. Let’s show people that God’s word is REAL, and be REAL. There are enough phonies and big fronts around. Let’s not have them here.
Something else I learn about as I read the story of Rahab is…
II. God’s Way of Taking Any Person, Any Thing, and Using Them to His Glory
I don’t care who you are or what you’ve done this morning, stories like this are here in part to teach us that God can take someone where they are and change them and use them to His glory.
For a moment, just consider how “far away” Rahab was from what God’s people were called to be:
She was a
1. Pagan – Rahab was a Canaanite. One of the main reasons God had Israel annihilate the Canaanite nations was because they were so totally sold over to the worship of false gods. That probably included Rahab. She lived among a people whom God ordered to be completely killed because of their wrong religion. Kind of intolerant of God, wasn’t it? Somewhere along the way we’ve lost some of our appreciation for just how much God won’t put up with the competition of a false god. That’s just the way it is, and we need to remember that whenever we’re tempted to put anything before God in our lives. Rahab was also a…
2. Prostitute
Yes, a prostitute. Some of you may have a notice in the margins of your Bible that say the Hebrew word could also be translated “innkeeper.” That makes it a lot more comfortable, doesn’t it? It makes it easier to be allowed into the Israelite community, into the family line of Jesus. It even makes the spies seem a little neater to say that they stopped off at Hotel 6 instead of a house of ill repute. But when James speaks of her, and she’s mentioned in Hebrews, the word is prostitute, no other way to translate it. Rahab made her living as a prostitute.
According to the book The Day Americans Told The Truth the American public believes that prostitution is the 4th sleaziest way to make a living. 3rd on the list is TV evangelist. The number one sleaziest is drug dealer.
Now, put those two items together, and Rahab was the exact antithesis of what Israel was supposed to be morally and religiously
Wouldn’t have expected that, would we? No, we don’t expect it of pagans and prostitutes today, and it’s too bad. It was Isaiah who reminded Israel,
Isaiah 59:1
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
Peter was reminded by God,
Acts 10:34-35
"I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.
Sure enough, God accepted this woman, because Rahab feared God, and made an attempt to do what’s right. Make a note of what made Rahab change from who she had been to what she was to become.
Joshua 2:8-11
Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
It’s pretty remarkable that this woman makes such a bold statement of faith in God – and that’s what it is. The writer of Hebrews says that by faith she was saved.
Hebrews 11:31
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
When someone says, “the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below,” that’s a pretty strong statement of belief in God. She got there by simply considering the evidence. Word had gotten around. Everyone else in Jericho had heard it too. This was Israel. 40 years earlier, when they were fleeing Egypt, their God parted the Red Sea and let them walk across on dry ground. They traveled around, and Amorite kings Sihon and then Og refused to let them pass peacefully through their territories. They came out to overthrow the Israelites. Instead God gave them over to the Israelites. And now, those Israelites had their sites set on Jericho.
Consider Rahab’s options:
1. Rat out the spies and count on Jericho to protect her as a true patriot
2. Just don’t get involved and try to survive along with the rest of the city
3. Sign on with the enemy and hope for their protection
According to the law of Hammurabi if Rahab was caught hiding the spies she would have been guilty of treason and executed.
Any decision was risky, but she had reached a point where she believed in the God of heaven, and she was selling out to Him. It was the right choice. The other 2 would have ended up with her being killed. God could have used anyone else in the city, but really, stopping in Rahab’ house made good sense. She would have had contact with travelers and military men of the day. She also had a house on the wall, so it was a good place to use for a quick escape. They also wouldn’t draw as much attention to themselves, compared to the public places of Jericho.
It wasn’t a mistake. God knew her faith, and He knew that she’d be the most help. And, by using someone we wouldn’t have chosen, God brings glory to Himself.
Rahab’s story also reminds me of…
III. God’s Great Mercy to The Most Unlikely Receiver
There’s a risk that we’ll read this story, get all caught up in Rahab’s change, and fail to remember that this is a story about the greatness of God’s mercy. Rahab was spared and forgiven and blessed because of God. Her own city was destroyed, but she was given a place in the Israelite community because of God.
Jesus made it a habit to get into the thick of society’s need and deal with the people there. Because of this, He was accused of being a friend of tax collectors and sinners. But in response, Jesus told them,
Matthew 9:12-13
"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ’I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Matthew 21:31b …tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
Rahab’s story should remind us of just how big God’s mercy is.
Is it really so radical? The Israelites made her a part of their community. Salmon married her. God accepted her. God accepts us. What’s the difference?
Now, someone might take that and say, “Well, then, why would anyone not be saved? It’s not right for God to save some and not others. But you have to remember, Rahab’s salvation wasn’t without conditions. She could be saved the day Israel attacked, but it was only if she met the conditions.
Joshua 2:17-19
The men said to her, "This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him.
Joshua 6:23
So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
If we really understand the reason people are saved, we’ll be quick to point out that there are conditions we have to meet. It’s not going to be forced on us. We have to meet the conditions.
There’s another neat feature of Rahab’s salvation. Did you get it as we read? It’s her family. Her parents and brothers can all be saved too, but they have to meet some conditions. Otherwise, they’d be destroyed too. Imagine Rahab convincing her family to join her under the protection of the scarlet cord. My guess is that she was pretty adamant. My guess is that she urged and pleaded and did whatever she could to convince them to come into her house and place their trust, their futures, in a single red cord hanging out the window. She was convinced it was their only hope. Wouldn’t you have become pretty outspoken about their need too?
Part of the joy of this story is that Rahab’s salvation is a wonderful shadow of our own.
We don’t deserve to be saved. The world of which we’re a part is going to be destroyed. There are others who can be saved, if we can convince them to join us. We come to have faith in God based on what we hear about Him and what He has done. And just as surely as Rahab hung a red cord outside her house’s window, there’s a red cord running through your Bible. Pick it up. Many of you will have one – a marker, a red marker, that’s there to serve as a bookmark. I want to encourage you to let that marker be a reminder to you of the red line that runs through your Bible. It starts as early a Genesis 3:15, and it’s repeated over and over until the end of revelation. It’s a red line made by the blood of Jesus.
Conclusion:
And just like Rahab had to meet the conditions in order for her to be saved, we have to meet the conditions to be saved now. It’s not a matter of earning our salvation. Rahab didn’t earn hers. It’s a matter of agreeing to meet Jesus on His terms. From there, the gift of salvation is from His hands to you. Part of those conditions involves faith first and foremost. You can’t please God without it, and without it you’ll have no reason to meet any other conditions. Another of those conditions is a willingness to confess Jesus. It’s what Rahab did when she declared, “the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” Another condition is baptism – being immersed in the name of Jesus.
Just like Rahab needed that red cord hanging outside for her to be saved, we need to be covered with the red blood of Jesus on our lives in order for us to not be destroyed. This morning you have a chance to do that – to be forever changed.
