The Faith of Rahab
01/09/05 AM
Reading: Hebrews 11:1-13
Text: Joshua 2:1-24
INTRODUCTION
In Hebrews 11 we encounter faith’s Hall of Fame. In this roster we read the names of truly famous biblical characters such as Abraham, Moses, and David. The list is an extended one, as we would expect. Most of the names speak for themselves. However, there is one name in particular listed this Hall of Fame which raises a few eyebrows.
That name is the name of Rahab. We cannot help but ask: Why is Rahab in faith’s Hall of Fame? What is her claim to fame?
Rahab’s story is recorded in Joshua 2. That record itself provides the reason to question her inclusion in the list of Hebrews 11.
• Joshua 2:1 tells us who Rahab was; a harlot in Jericho. We ask, “How can a prostitute be placed alongside Abraham?”
• Joshua 2:2-7 describes her assistance to the Israelite spies sent by Joshua. The story says that she hid the spies among some rooftop flax and then deliberately misled the king’s soldiers who ended up on a wild goose chase.
• Joshua 2:8-13 provides an account of her apparent profession of faith. She told the spies that she is convinced that God had given the city of Jericho to the Israelites.
We must restate our original question: Did Rahab really deserve to be in faith’s Hall of Fame?
Heb 11:31 emphatically answers: “By faith the prostitute Rahab . . . was not killed with those who were disobedient.” Rahab had faith! Her faith qualified her for Hall of Fame status. What an amazing proposition!
Nevertheless, a question begs to be answered. What was this faith that Rahab had?
I. The foundation of her faith.
A. Romans 10:17 “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”
1. A striking fulfillment of the above prediction is found in the words of Rahab to the two spies: "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 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" (Josua 2:9-11).
2. In the prophetic song of Moses at the Red Sea it was declared, "The people shall hear and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of Thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till Thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which Thou hast purchased" (Ex. 15:14-16).
3. This it is which explains the reference in Hebrews 11:31 unto the other inhabitants of Jericho, who perished because they "believed not." The knowledge which they had of God and His wondrous works, through the reports which had reached their ears, rendered them without excuse for disbelief.
4. Thus it was with Rahab. Quickened by the Spirit, faith was planted within her soul, hence when the report reached her of God’s wondrous works, she received it "not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God" (1 Thess. 2:13), and therefore did she say, "I know that the Lord hath given you the land."
II. The nature of her faith.
A. It was a singular faith.
1. The city of Jericho was about to be attacked: within its walls there were hosts of people of all classes and characters, and they knew right well that if their city should be set upon and stormed they would all be put to death.
2. But yet strange to say, there was not one of them who repented of sin or who even asked for mercy, except this woman who had been a harlot. She and she alone was delivered, a solitary one amongst a multitude. Now, have you ever felt that it is a very hard thing to have a singular faith?
3. It is the easiest thing in the world to believe as everybody else believes, but the difficulty is to believe a thing alone, when no one else thinks as you think; to be the solitary champion of a righteous cause, when the enemy mustereth his thousands to the battle.
4. Now this was the faith of Rahab. She had not one who felt as she did, who could enter into her feelings and realize the value of her faith. She stood alone.
B. Rahab’s faith was an active one.
The faith of God’s elect is a living, energetic principle, which "worketh by love" (Galatians 5:6) and produces fruit to the glory of God.
That faith which is unaccompanied by an obedient walk and abounds not in good works, is "dead, being alone" (James 2:17).
Different far was the faith of Rahab. Of her we read,
James 2:25 “Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?”
This does not mean that her good works were the meritorious ground of her acceptance with God, but that they were the evidence before men that a spiritual principle had been communicated to her, the fruits of which justified or vindicated her profession, demonstrating that she was a member of "the Household of Faith."
C. "Rahab’s faith was a sanctifying one.
1. Did Rahab continue a harlot after she had faith? No, she did not. I do not believe she was a harlot at the time the men went to her house, though the name still stuck to her, as such ill names will; but I am sure she was not afterwards, for Salmon the prince of Judah married her.
2. “You cannot have faith, and yet live in sin. To believe is to be holy. The two things must go together. That faith is a dead faith, a corrupt faith, a rotten faith, which lives in sin that grace may abound. Rahab was a sanctified woman.” (C.H. Spurgeon).
III. The reward of her faith.
A. "By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not."
1. The historical account of this is found in Joshua 6:22, 23, "But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel."
2. But not only was Rahab, and the whole of her family, preserved from the burning of Jericho which immediately followed, but as Joshua 6:25 tells us, she "dwelt in Israel."
3. Thus, from being the slave of Satan she was adopted into the family of God; from being a citizen of heathen Jericho she was given a place in the congregation of the Lord.
4. Nor was that all; later, she became the honored wife of a prince in Judah, the mother of Boaz, and one of the grandmothers of David. Her name is inscribed upon the imperishable scroll of sacred history; it is recorded in Matthew 1 among the ancestors of the Savior—she was one of the mothers of Jesus! From what depths of sin and shame did sovereign grace deliver this poor woman; to what a height of honor and dignity did sovereign grace elevate her. Truly, the rewards of faith are most excellent and glorious.
CONCLUSION
Concerning those in faith’s Hall of Fame we read: “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.” (Heb 11:13) Imagine that! All that they had were promises. Rahab had only the second-hand promise of the spies. “Our lives for your lives,” they assured her. (Joshua 2:14) What if the spies could not keep their promise? What if Joshua had overruled the spies? What if God had not accepted their promise? Rahab’s redemption was precariously contingent upon this promise of the spies.
As we stroll through faith’s Hall of Fame, we are struck again and again by the fact that all these men and women of faith trusted God’s promises and acted accordingly even when those promises were not immediately fulfilled. They, like Rahab, chose to trust God because he gave his word. As the late Mother Teresa once said, “God did not call me to be successful; he called me to be faithful.” Faith is trust in unsubstantiated promise.
Faith is only faith if it extends beyond the obvious. It enables us to have confidence in unconfirmed reality. It is about reliance upon unproved knowledge. It is about allegiance to unverified relationship. It is trust in unsubstantiated promise. This was Rahab’s faith. This is why Rahab is included in faith’s Hall of Fame. People who have such faith show that they are looking for a country of their own (Heb 11:14).
They realize that they are pilgrims in this world and faith gives them eyes to see the reality of God and his kingdom. With such faith they are perennially involved in the ‘pursuit of God’.
The ultimate compliment to such faith is this: “Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.” (Heb 11:16) That is why God is not ashamed to include Rahab in faith’s Hall of Fame. This can be your faith as well. You too can be in faith’s Hall of Fame.!
Invitation
