Background: Back in Joshua chapter 1 we see that God has called Joshua to go and take the land of which God had promised him.
Life as a Christian can be messy and full of failures at every corner. In this mornings lesson we will encounter a woman named Rahab whose story may be a lot more similar to our story than what we realize.
Joshua 2:1
The Israelites are on the brink of the promise land and one of the first cities they are going to have to overcome is the city of Jericho. So Joshua knowing this is going to be a big battle sends in some spies before hand because he wants some Intel on the land they are going to. He wants to see exactly what they will be facing when they come into Jericho.
Its a major city. The city is know for its fortified walls and it military stationed there. The land of Jericho was approximately 7 miles from the Jordan river so Joshua sent these 2 spies who were told when they arrive they would stay in the house of this prostitute named Rehab. And I have no doubt that that was a good place to stay in this sense.
Strangers were able to come and go there very easily and many of them would not be noticed at all. Im sure there were many men going in and out of that house constantly because Rehab was a prostitute.
1. Take again notice of her name. I think this is a very intricate part of the story here.
In fact did you know that every time rehab is mention in scripture, she’s referred to as Rehab the prostitute. How would you like for people to remember you because of your sins that you have committed for your whole life. It wouldn’t be very flattering would it? How would you like to be remembered all time for that major mistake that you made or the major sin you committed?
Some people will try and make the argument that she was an innkeeper and not a prostitute but when you look in Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 both of them continue with her being a prostitute.
You may ask why and of this matters, but I truly believe that the reason that Rahab is continually mentioned as a prostitute is because God is making a point that he will use anyone who is willing to further his kingdom.
What is your name? Do you feel like your name isn’t good enough for God? Do you feel like your past sins and troubles have tainted your name and that God can’t use you anymore.
Did you know there are 4 different places between the book of Deuteronomy and Leviticus that condemn prostitution in the eyes of God and yet Rahab plays a significant part in the success of the Israelite nation in capturing the land of Canaan
So it is now easily seen that Rehab is not a woman of God and that she never grew up with God. But an interesting part of the story comes when we see what Rehabs response is to the spies when she realizes who they are.
Joshua 2:8-10
2. Notice here what we see out of the faith of Rahab.
Rehab recognizes that God is on the Israelite people’s side and that his power is strong enough to do everything. Because of this, even though Rehab was not a woman of faith initially, she has a fear for God.
It is also worth nothing that taking into consideration Rehabs occupation, she is probably much younger and many of the stories and events in the Israelite timeline is well before she was around. Due to this we see that her fear for God comes from the stories of the past of which she heard.
Did you know that Rahab is actually mentioned in the Hall of Faith. In hebrews 11:31 we see Rahab being commended for her faith and trust in God and it tells of how her faith is what actually delivered her.
How does that apply to us though? Is it not the same for us as Christians today. Our faith is based around the stories of scripture that has happened well before our time. We as Christians are called to have faith through those stories.
We all have a call to fear God even if we didn’t grow up with God.
3. As we progress through the story we see a plea from Rahab. With her acknowledgment of the power of God she pleads with the spies to save her and her family.
In verses 11-14 we see Rehab absolutely pleading for her life because she understands that God is going to help the Israelite army prevail and take down the city.
I believe that many of us as Christians do the same thing. We as Christians plead for our life to keep the world away from us so that we may not be overcome by it. We know that Satan is living in this world and we plead with God to save us from it.
And just like the spies in verse 14 God does the exact same thing for us. In fact the statement there about our life for yours even to death it carried out in the story of God and man. God send his son to die on a cruel cross so that we would be able to overcome the inevitable defeat that we would receive from this world. He gave his son to die so that we could be alive.
4. Notice the Scarlet Rope in the next verses
In verses 15-21 we see Rehab giving them instructions of what they need to do and how they need to go in order that they shall live but we also see those people giving her instruction on what she needs to do so that she she can live.
We see the scarlet rope and it being hung down from the window for the Israelite people to see so they knew they needed to PASSOVER her house for her and her family were to be kept safe and alive.
I believe there are interesting parallels that we can draw from this. One of the ones being at the time of passover just before when the people of Israel painted blood on their doorpost so that the angel of Death would passover them.
Exodus 12:5-7
The scarlet thread is a very intricate part of the story of rehab and its also a very intricate part of our story as well.
The scarlet thread for each and every one of us as Christians today is the blood of Jesus. We see through all of Scripture how his blood will wash us new and save our lives from eternal damnation. Jesus died a cruel death on a cross so that we could live and have a hope for eternal salvation.
As we look at this story and make it comparable to our story, we see Our Name, Our Faith, Our Plead, and the scarlet cord for each of us. We are all called to a purpose and a task that God has put into our lives, just as he did with Rahab.
As an outsider looking into this story many of us are sometimes skeptical of the choice that God made of using Rehab. We see rehab and think that with her background that she would have been the least qualified to do the job. But the fact is is that God knew she was the perfect person for the job. In fact her occupation was the best it could be for the job. People came in and out of her house so many people would not question it. We then see that she fears God and this causes her to hide the spies and not give them up.
Application: This applies to many of us today because many times we feel as though were not qualified enough for what God wants us to do and even worse we look at others and say that their not qualified enough to do what God has called them to do.
Illustration: the disciple and their background
Paul and his background
Disciples background:
Peter, Andrew, James, John were all fishermen. Did not have a formal education that the jews would have required. Not qualified
Peter was a tax collector: He cheated and stole from the people and sinned constantly by doing that. Was not qualified
Paul: Saul to Paul, Pharisee to Christian.
God can use each and everyone of us and he gives us the tasks that he knows we can do.
Each of us have a task that we can do and we have to have faith and courage to do it. Thankfully we have a God who provides us with that.
Joshua 1:9
He is always with us just as he was the Israelite army and the rehab in Joshua 2.
Invitation
