November 27,1994 --PM
UP WITH FAITH, DOWN WITH WALLS
Hebrews 11:30-31
INTRO: Jericho was a city which had been promised to Israel by God Himself. Joshua¡¦s job was to take the city, but a large, imposing wall hindered progress. So many would face the wall and believe it impossible to conquer. For this very attitude Joshua¡¦s contemporaries (with the exception of Caleb), died in the unforgiving and unconquered wilderness. Their faith never braved enemies nor overcame obstacles in order to conquer territory for the Lord and the blessings He promised them. See Numbers 13:26-14:10, 28-38.
Rahab was a woman who lived in that city. Chuck Swindoll claims that she was a Jewess who came to live there because she had married an Egyptian ambassador who eventually took up residence in Jericho in the course of duty. While there he died and left her there with no way to fend for herself. She turned to prostitution presumably to make a living. I can¡¦t find where Dr. Swindoll gains this information, and I hesitate to challenge such a noteworthy man, but reading the Bible causes me to question this story for two reasons: one, Rahab¡¦s family had to be with her in her house when the walls fell for their own safety -- this leads me to believe that they and she were residents of the city by nationality; two, she speaks throughout the text of the fear ¡§we¡¨ felt when ¡§we¡¨ knew ¡§you¡¨ were coming -- her use of the first person leads me to conclude that she was part of the city by nationality; and three, she and her family were put outside the camp of Israel when the were rescued from the siege -- this leads me to conclude that they were not part of the nation of Israel and were viewed as unclean, unconverted Gentiles. I am not saying that there are no satisfactory answers to these objections, but until I discover them I must first believe the Bible. I think Charles Swindoll would concur with that. See (24) #19-32 and Joshua 2:1-21.
In any case she was a woman in need of help. It was her house the spies entered that day when they scouted the city. Her occupation made her a woman of ill-repute and an unlikely candidate to demonstrate faith. She was in the city of destruction. She had her own walls. She needed help. See Joshua 6:1-25.
PROP: TRUSTING THE LORD HELPS PEOPLE OVERCOME OBSTACLES
Here are two sets of consideration about the correlation between people, walls, and faith.
AN OBSTACLE TO OVERCOME: THE WALL (V30)
Look first at the wall. It was shut up against the people of Israel (Josh. 6:1). An individual recently mentioned the tendency of people in a certain community to be quicker to build walls than bridges. We do that don¡¦t we. Rather than resort to the lord as our fortress, we wish to erect one of our own. Walls are not bad in their proper place, but they tell us something about the people who build them when they are shut up against the people and plan of God. Here are some things a wall can mean sometimes:
Ownership -- a wall marks what belongs to a city. Its presence says, ¡§This is ours!¡¨
Boundaries -- A wall shows how far a city extends, where it begins and ends.
Security -- A wall imparts a sense of protection.
Terror -- A wall sometimes hints of the fear behind its construction. It also serves to inspire fear in potential threats.
Arrogance -- A wall, well-constructed, can be a source of pride for the inhabitants.
Capability -- A wall indicates power -- to erect it and contained within it.
Limitation -- A wall restricts movement of enemies and inhabitants.
Error -- A wall can be built when there is no need. It can grow from and lead to mistaken notions.
Each of these reasons for a wall of any kind can become an obstacle to faith. That is what the structure around Jericho spelled for the people of God.
I. The Results of Properly Placed Faith:
A. When faith (trust in God) is properly placed (in God), the wall, whether physical or of attitude, falls down.
B. When the faith of Joshua was properly placed, Joshua and his people had the Lord¡¦s presence. We see this from a little incident in Joshua 5:13-15. An armed stranger was before Joshua and declared himself to be the Captain of the Lord¡¦s Host. He was not ¡§for¡¨ Joshua, or under his command, nor was he for the enemy, or on his side. He was for the Lord¡¦s host, or their commander. With properly placed faith, the Lord was on the side of the nation of Israel. His armies fought their battles.
II. The Way Faith was Demonstrated:
A. There was no apparent relationship between marching around the wall and its eventual downfall. Logically, they did not coincide. The connection is major however. Marching around the wall demonstrated faith. Our belief in God and His word is something which must be exercised. If our faith is alive, it will have vital signs.
B. Joshua¡¦s demonstration of faith was a timely demonstration.
1. He spent time with the Lord (Josh 5:13-15).
2. He led the people to move according to the Lord¡¦s time unlike his contemporaries back in Num. 14:40-45. They tried to take the land after the turned their back on the Lord and He pronounced judgment. They had a change of mind without a change of heart. Their conformity was in flesh only and involved false and late faith.
3. He marked time at the Lord¡¦s command. When a US Army unit marches in one place according to the order of the drill sergeant, they are doing mark time.
C. Why did they have to walk around the wall? I can think of five reasons.
1. By walking around the wall they were forced to see its bigness. Constructed of large tones, stacked and mortared to a great height -- perhaps 30 feet -- and to a width perhaps large enough to set 6 chariots side by side on its top, they had to be impressed with its size.
2. They had to walk the wall to see its dangers and become aware of them. If one was too close to a wall any little old lady could drop a miller¡¦s stone and crush a soldier¡¦s head. Boiling oil could be dumped on those climbing the wall. Archers would not miss at point blank range. Getting too close to the wall had its dangers.
3. By walking the wall they softened the inhabitants toward their presence. The act of marching quickly loses its spectacularity. The city dwellers perhaps even retorted to taunting the marchers after awhile.
4. Walking the wall forced the exercising of faith. When nothing happened with each trip around the wall, they had to rely only on God¡¦s promise.
5. After they traveled around the wall enough, they had to be impressed with the bigness of God when it fell. This is the best reason of all for having to walk around the wall -- to become even more impressed with the greatness of the God who can make it fall.
A PERSON NEEDING HELP: RAHAB THE HARLOT (V31)
Look now at the person inside the wall. Of all those spared, each has Rahab to thank for introducing them to the way of deliverance. She was a prostitute sure and clear. As a woman of ill-repute she was despised on the outside of the wall. But because of her faith, this lowly woman was made greater than anyone inside of the wall. The least in the kingdom of Heaven is greater than the greatest among those born of women.
I. The Results of Properly Placed Faith:
A. When Rahab placed her faith properly, she was saved by Joshua (Josh 6:25). Joshua and Jesus are the same names in two languages. They both mean Savior. Faith properly placed in Jesus is saving faith.
B. Rahab lost her walls. She lost the one around the city and the one around her life. When she properly placed her faith she gained her freedom.
C. Rahab married a prince in Israel by the name of Salmon. She is never again known as a prostitute but as a faithful woman in lineage of Christ (Mt 1:5).
D. She saw the deliverance of her family because she believed in the word of the Lord and they responded to it as she declared it to them.
II. The Way Faith was Demonstrated: While Joshua showed a timely faith, Rahab showed a receptive faith. This same idea is used in Luke 10:8-10 when Jesus talked to His disciples about going into cities and what to do if they received or did not receive their message. The same word used in Hebrews 11 is also used in the passage in Luke.
A. First of all she received the Lord¡¦s people.
B. Then she received the Lord¡¦s message about the destruction of the city and the way of deliverance.
C. She also received the Lord¡¦s peace which accompanied her reception of the Lord¡¦s spies.
D. Lastly she received the Lord¡¦s timing which we have already said is so very important. She responded when she needed to.
CONCL: (1) Many people are going to get hung up on the fact that Rahab clearly lied to the king of Jericho about the spies she hid. Let me say four things about that:
„h The lie is not an evidence of her faith. The fact that she did it shows maybe the weakness of her faith but not where it is really placed.
„h She traded enemies and chose to lie and clearly place herself on the side of the Lord. Inside the wall she was on the wrong side and an enemy of the Lord. When she traded sides the king of the city became her enemy.
„h The Bible makes no comment on the lie. It simply records it.
„h This incident reminds us that Salvation comes to imperfect people. Aren¡¦t you glad?!
(2) Now read Hebrews 11:30-31.
