Topic: Sunday Sermon Series – Living By Faith
Text: Hebrews 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days 31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.- NIV
Title: Joshua’s Conquering & Rahab’s Saving Faith! (Part 2)
VI. The Salvation produced by faith!
A) Subject of salvation?
Joshua 2:1b “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
1. Rahab!
a) Her Sin?
i. Prostitution!
Q: What does the Bible say about prostitutes and prostitution?
Proverbs 23:27 For a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well. 28 She lies in wait like a robber and increases the traitors among mankind. -ESV
Proverbs 5:3 For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; 4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell. -NKJV
Q: So what in the world were these spies doing in here house?
ii. Probability?
a) Her brothel was built into the city wall!
b) Probably the easiest access into the city!
Joshua 2:15b for the house she lived in was part of the city wall.
iii. Point?
a. They weren’t very good at spying!
b. Nearly blew the whole operation apparently!
Joshua 2:2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.”
Joshua 2:3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”
c, Response of Rahab?
i) Sinful?
Joshua 2:4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.”
ii) Lied!
Joshua 2:6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
b. Why did she lie?
John McCarthur -This is a common vice among heathen, it’s known as lying. She was probably unconscious of its moral guilt to some extent because it was so much a way of life, but even more so because the laws of eastern hospitality perhaps even surpassed the laws of honesty. When someone came into your house, even if it was your greatest enemy, and ate salt at your table, you were bound to save their life whatever that meant. Honoring your guests was the highest moral law.
c. Was God OK with it?
i) No! He is never ok with sin!
Proverbs 16: 16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, -NV
iv. Perspective: We need to see however is:
a) God didn’t focus on the falsehood she professed, God focuses on the truth she confessed, and by that truth confession God saved her! Hallelujah!
i. This narrative puts before us the….
v. Particular’s of what she confessed:
Joshua 2:8a Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land…
a) Her confession:
i. She Confessed the Lordship of Israel’s God
ii. She confessed their God, Israel’s God, is the real God, not the Canaanite God’s!
iii. The Canaanites had a number of deities, too many to count!
b) Point?
Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
c) Then please note the strength of her conviction, not I think, or I believe, but rather I know, I know!
Joshua 2:8b, “I know that the Lord has given you this land…
a. Salvation starts there doesn’t it?
John 3:1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
b. Secondly please note not only her confession but also…
b) Her conviction!
i. The conviction she was under, if I can put it that way!
Joshua 2:9b and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, (Including me!)
i. She confessed their God was the real God and…
ii. She was convicted by the Spirit.
a. Just like God had promised through Moses
Deuteronomy 2:25 This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you."
Deuteronomy 11:25 25No one will be able to stand against you. The LORD your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.
Joshua 2:9c so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.
Q: Is fear the prerequisite to salvation?
A: Yes it is!
Psalm 85:9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land.
Act 13:26“Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.
Isaiah 33:6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.
b. Please note, not only her confession and her conviction, but also her foundation..
c) Her foundation
i. In other words the foundation upon which her confession and conviction was based:
ii. Not only did she – Confess
iii. Not only was she – Convicted
iv. She was also - Convinced by the Word, that she had heard!
Joshua 2:10 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.
a. She was 40 years removed from that!
b. That was old news wasn’t it?
Hymn- “Tell me the old, old, story, it’s me only hope and glory, tell me the story of Jesus!”
c. The bible is an ancient book for modern times!
Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Joshua 2:11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
d. How did she know?
i. Creation?
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges- Rahab expressly acknowledges God as Almighty, a knowledge which is possible to the heathen, for the “invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead” (Romans 1:20).
ii. Revelation!
Matthew 16: 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Pulpit Commentary- How Rahab attained to this knowledge of God's name and attributes we do not know. It is certain, however, that under the circumstances her knowledge and spiritual insight are as surprising as any recorded in Scripture, and are sufficient to explain the honor in which her name has been held!
a. All this led to her salvation and revealed her place in the plan of God!
i. Jesus Christ in the flesh is a descendant of her!
Matthew 1:1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Bishop Hall - "I see her here, not only a disciple of God, but a prophetess."
b. And he gets that from her following statement:
Joshua 2:12 “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 13 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.”
c. God will surely give us into your hands!
Joshua 2:14 “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.” 15 So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. 16 She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.”
VII. Application! Picture
Joshua 2:17 Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us 18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied [listen to this] 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. 19 If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. 20 But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.” 21 “Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.” So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
A) Picture?
1. Not only did she – Confess Christ as Lord
2. Not only was she – Convicted by the Spirit
3. Not only was she - Convinced by the Word, that she had heard!
4. Scarlet cord is a picture of -She also was - Covered by the Blood.
Isaiah 1:18“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
Joshua 2: 21b “and she bound the scarlet line in the window.”
5. You see something in this passage what theologians call - “The Scarlet Thread of Redemption”
a) The Beginning of “The Scarlet Thread of Redemption”
Genesis 3:21 "The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them." (NIV)
i. God killed an animal, shedding its blood, and made tunics of skin for Adam and Eve. This was the beginning of the “scarlet thread of redemption.
b) The First Blood Sacrifice To God - GENESIS 4:3-7
Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. (NIV)
i. Why did God accept Abel’s sacrifice and reject Cain’s? Abel’s was a blood sacrifice and Cain’s was not!
c) How about the Passover?
Exodus 12:23 When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. -NIV
i. All these OT symbols, types & figures were merely shadows that pointed toward the blood of redemption shed by Jesus Christ!
All this leads to the….
VIII. Verification!
Joshua 2:22 When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. 23 Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.”
A) Point?
1. Salvation is a SURE THING!
B) Plea?
1. Do you have -Saving faith?
2 The faith that Rehab shows us that no matter what the depth of depravity that someone’s life entails:
Luke 7:36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37a A woman in that town who lived a sinful life…
AMP -she is a notorious sinner (a social outcast, devoted to sin).
THE MESSAGE- the town harlot
She can be saved, by the kind of faith that Rahab displayed!
Luke 7:37b learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
But what did Jesus say to this woman?
Luke 7:50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” -NIV
THAT CAN BE TRUE OF YOU TO!
