Introduction
Hey: More and more we are hearing about other religions. False religions that say you must do something in order to be saved. But we serve the true God, who reached out to us to provide salvation.
You: Have you found salvation in the Lord today? Or are you still trying to earn it.
Look: This morning we are going to look at the prostitute who placed her faith in God and received salvation from destruction.
Do: This morning you can receive salvation as well by trusting in the Lord.
Passage: Joshua 2:1
1Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia.„T He instructed them, ¡§Spy out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.¡¨ So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.
Prayer
1. Joshua sends the spies
We talked last week about how the Israelites chose to follow Joshua. And then Joshua told them that they would be leaving in three days.
Now Joshua was ready for his next task. He sends out two spies.
Look at verse one:
1Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia
Now, notice some things about this passage. First of all, Joshua sends two spies. This is significant because we see that Joshua learns a lesson from this first experience. We saw last week what happened what Moses sent twelve to spy out the land. Now of course God told Moses to choose the twelve. But there¡¦s no record Joshua having such a command from God. So Joshua takes a lesson that he learned. When the spies went out before ten came back with negative reports, and two came back with positive reports. Joshua we remember was one of the two. So this time the only sends two.
But also you will notice that Joshua send them out secretly. Joshua doesn¡¦t tell everyone that the spies are going. Why? Because everyone would want to know when they got back. Why is this a problem? Because the last time the whole camp waited to make the decision to go into the Promised Land or not. Joshua was not going to be deterred this time. He was going to be strong and courageous and in sending his spy, they where to do one thing¡Kspy out the land and pay particular attention to Jericho.
2. They come to the house of Rahab;
So Joshua sends out the spies. Look at the last part of verse one:
So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.
We don¡¦t know all the details of how they got to Rahab¡¦s house but it appears that the spies listened to Joshua and made bee-line straight to Jericho. They of course wanted to pay particular attention to Jericho. And then they came to Rahab¡¦s house.
Rahab was an immoral woman. She had made it her profession of selling herself to the sinful lusts of men. As you would imagine, she had given all of herself away. She had nothing to live for. Over the years she had been beating and bruised emotionally and probably physically. She was sure to have been rejected by her family and her friends for what she had become. Her whole life was surrounded by the hopelessness, despair, rejection and filthiness of sin.
But now she saw an opportunity to save herself. She saw an opportunity to make a difference for herself and her family. She saw that she could have a fresh start.
3. Rahab protects the spies
She saw the opportunity to protect the spies. She brought them into her house and hid them. It is interesting to me that much of the city of Jericho knew they were there.
Some of you may have seen the movie, ¡§Black Hawk Down¡¨. I read the book several months ago. In the book, the author describes the delta force. The delta force is the super secret branch of the US army. And the soldiers are trained not to act like soldiers but like civilians. And this is what I picture these spies as. They are the best of the best. They are smart. They are knowledgeable. They are resourceful. And they blend into the society.
But even when you are trying to blend in it is impossible to totally hide who you are, particularly what your nationality is.
So the king hears that the Israelite spies are in their midst. So the King sends orders.
Verse three:
3So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: ¡§Bring out the men who have come into your house. They are spies sent here to discover the best way to attack us.¡¨
Now Rahab takes a risk. This is her opportunity. While the entire city is fearful of the spies, she sees how she may be saved. She chooses to protect the spies from Israel and this day chooses to serve the Lord.
Verse four:
4Rahab, who had hidden the two men, replied, ¡§The men were here earlier, but I didn¡¦t know where they were from. 5They left the city at dusk, as the city gates were about to close, and I don¡¦t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.¡¨
But this is not at all what was going on. She¡¦d taken up to the roof and hid them. But the King as men believed her and went after the spies outside of the city gates.
4. Rahab talks to the spies
Now was her chance to seal the deal. She went up to the roof to talk to spies.
And here she places her faith in the Lord. She says in verse nine:
9¡§I know the LORD has given you this land,¡¨ she told them. ¡§We are all afraid of you. Everyone is living in terror. 10For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea„T when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.„T 11No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. 11No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.¡¨
Rahab declares that the Lord is the supreme God! She recognizes that it is the Lord who flights for Israel and not simply a strong army. She sees that it is God who created the heavens and the earth that holds her life accountable. And she sees that the only way to save her self is to surrender to the Lord. She places the safety of herself and her family in the hands of the Lord. She sees these spies as representative of the Lord himself. He also sees that because Jericho was rejected the Lord it will be destroyed. Her only hope is to surrender.
And we see that our only hope is to surrender. We are all sinners. We are all immoral people. The Bible says when we have committed one sin we are committed them all. And we are on the road to destruction because of that sin. The Bible says that we must pray for our sin by our death. Because of our sin we must be destroyed. Our only hope is to place our faith in the Lord. Our only salvation is asked him to rescue us. And place our faith in him.
As a result of her faith she is saved from destruction. It doesn¡¦t matter what she has done. Her faith has saved her.
And the spies guarantee her safety.
She asks in verse thirteen, ¡§Promise me that¡K
13when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.¡¨
The spies guaranteed their safety. But she would have to do one thing. She would have to leave the scarlet rope hanging from the window and stay inside the house.
Verse 19:
19If they go out into the street, they will be killed, and we cannot be held to our oath. But we swear that no one inside this house will be killed¡Xnot a hand will be laid on any of them. 20If you betray us, however, we are not bound by this oath in any way.¡¨
She was told to leave a scarlet rope, the color of blood. This was no coincidence. Throughout the Scriptures blood is shown to cover our sin. Without the shedding of blood there is no redemption of sin. It is the blood of Christ that rescues us from destruction.
Rahab placed this rope outside her window and placed her faith in the Lord. Her safety depended on this scarlet rope. And your safety depends on the blood of Christ.
At the Passover, when the Lord saw the blood of the lamb placed over the door post, their first-born would be saved.
In Jericho, when the army of the Lord saw the blood colored scarlet rope, the family would be saved.
On judgment day, those who are washed in the blood of Christ will be saved.
Oh! Precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know¡X
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Are you washed in this blood this morning? We are all sinners but Jesus paid for our sin on the cross and if you accept this payment you too can be saved.
