READ: Hebrews 11:31 "By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient."
READ: James 2:23-26 "And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
TEXT: Joshua 2:1-21
OPEN: There are some people you just don’t want to spend any time with. For example: telephone solicitors.
How many of you have had at least one phone call from a phone solicitor in past month? (there was a multitude of hands). Now, how many of you enjoyed spending time on the phone with them? (no one raised their hands).
Recently I ran across some suggested responses for fed up home dwellers:
“I’m sorry, but I’m really busy right now. Give me your home # and I’ll call you back later tonight.”
During the pitch, begin to use your touch tone phone to play “Mary had a little lamb”: 6546 666 555 666 6545 6666 5565 4444444444
When someone asks whether a spouse is at home: “Yes, but I never allow her to talk to strangers.”
(to a insurance salesman)“You want to sell me insurance? I’ve been trying to get insurance for years, but nobody will sell me any!”
(To a salesperson hawking a rug-cleaning service), whisper: “Really? Tell me… can you get out goat’s blood? How about identifiable fibers and DNA stuff?”
Now, this is all in fun. As Christians, we know that these telemarketers are just people trying to make a living and we shouldn’t treat them this way. However, the point is, there are some people that we’d just as soon not spend time with.
I. In our text today, we find Joshua sending 2 spies to scout the land.
These spies come to Jericho and go into the house of a prostitute…
(Pause) They went into the house of prostitute?
(another pause) … Frankly, if I had been a spy FOR GOD it would seem that the last person I’d want to spend time with would be a prostitute!
In fact, there are some commentators who are also apparently uncomfortable with this situation. Several scholars have attempted to paint this woman as an innkeeper - not a prostitute. They speak of her as a proprietor of a public house in Jericho which offered food and lodging.
I suppose that would be a viable argument - except Hebrews 11:31 & James 2:25 both tell us that Rahab was a prostitute. That was her primary stock in trade.
Now, in OUR society, a prostitute can have an almost celebrity status. She’ll often get her picture taken in Playboy or Penthouse. She’ll become a television celebrity or a movie queen. She can become popular on MTV or the internet.
BUT as far as God was concerned:
Deuteronomy. 23:17 – No Israelite woman was to become a prostitute
Deuteronomy 23:18 – A prostitute’s offering was rejected by God
Leviticus 21:19 – If a Priest’s daughter became a harlot – she was burned.
IN FACT – Leviticus 18 tells us that the loose morals of the Canaanites was what led to their destruction at the hands of the Israelite armies.
GOD DID NOT SMILE UPON THE PROFESSION OF PROSTITUTION
AND YET… the spies went into the home of a prostitute. But why? Why would these spies even dare to go into the house of a prostitute?
The evilness of men’s minds suggest all kinds of possibilities… But, when we’re dealing with men of God who were being sent on a divine mission, there’s probably only one reason why this would happen. BECAUSE...that’s where God wanted them to go!
II. Now, I want you put on what one of my Bible Prof’s called your sanctified imaginators (use your Holy Imagination) AND visualize with me what might have happened that day in Jericho.
Bear in mind that Jericho is about 7 miles from the Jordan. I can imagine, one day, someone went down to the river to fish. Just across the river is this vast encampment (the Israelites numbered in the millions). Their’s was a tent city that went on for miles - seemingly on into the horizon.
I can visualize that man dropping his fishing gear and running back to Jericho shouting: "THE ISRAELITES HAVE COME!"
The city goes into a furor. Fear spreads like a disease thru the streets. And the residents of Jericho have good reason to be scared.
Joshua 2:9-11 tells us:
"(Rahab) said to them, ’I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 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. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.’"
In other words, the citizens of Jericho knew who the Israelites were…. And when the spies came to town - people began to talk. Rumors began to spread and eventually word got to the king: “The Israelites have sent spies amongst us.”
Word not only got to the King. I believe word had gotten to Rahab the harlot even before the King heard it. And when the word got to Rahab that spies for the people of God had come to Jericho, Rahab knew God’s judgment had come to Jericho.
Rahab knew HOW she was living was wrong… and she knew WHERE she was living was wrong… and (I believe) that Rahab was tired of living the life of a prostitute. I think Rahab was tired of living in a society that approved of her lifestyle. I don’t think that she wanted to live like that anymore. AND I don’t think she wanted to face the prospect of raising her kids in that kind of atmosphere. AND SO SHE MADE A DECISION.
When the spies came to Jericho, I don’t think they went looking for a prostitute… I think the prostitute went looking for them.
And when she found them she got them in off the streets and she hid them on the roof of her house. And when the king’s soldiers asked her about them – she lied…
Obviously she did all this to protect these spies. But there seems to have been a deeper motivation. Joshua 2:10-13 tells us that Rahab told the spies:
"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. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
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 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."
Rahab’s motivation was this: She wanted to be rescued from God’s judgment. His judgment was coming and she didn’t want to get in His way.
III. When Jesus was on the earth critics accused him of spending too much time with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus responded by telling them that tax collectors and PROSTITUTES would make it into heaven ahead of “righteous”.
Why would these people get into heaven ahead of the so-called "righteous?" Because, people like prostitutes knew they were sinners. They knew they were subject to the judgment of God.
Now, Rahab was a harlot. She was a sinner. (Did anybody not catch that fact yet?)
But, God honored her anyway:
In Matthew she’s listed as one of only 3 women in Jesus’ ancestry
In Hebrews – she’s held up as an example of faith
In James – she is shown as example of righteousness
OBVIOUSLY, there’s something about this woman that God wanted us to see! What was it?
It was the fact that she was a sinner… and SHE KNEW she was a sinner.
It is an often overlooked fact that you cannot become a Christian without acknowledging this fact about yourself. You cannot “repent” without saying “I am a sinner!”
I John 1:10 "If we claim we have not sinned – we make (Jesus) out to be a liar."
ILLUS: I once talked to a man about becoming a Christian who tried to convince me that he “wasn’t really a bad person." He didn’t think he had really sinned all that much.
Sensing that he was trying to avoid accepting his sinfulness I gave him this illustration:
I told him to imagine I had invited him over to my house and offered him a cold Pepsi. I asked him "would you drink it?" "Of course," he replied.
Then I asked to imagine I had poured that sparkling Pepsi into a filthy glass. Would he drink it then? Even if it had only a ring of old milk at the bottom of it?
Of course not. Then I explained that when we sin - even just a little - and presume that God will accept us without our accepting His cleansing of "glass" (or soul) we were, in essence, asking God to accept any good deeds we might do in a glass
Rahab KNEW she was a sinner.
And now, she had heard about the power of God. And she believed in the power of God. And so she acted… so she could have that power in her life.
In order for you to become a Christian – you need to act upon what you’ve heard. You need to
· believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s only Son
· recognize that you are a sinner and need to repent
· confess Jesus as your Lord and surrender your life to Him
· and be buried in the waters of Christian baptism to accept His gift of grace.
Rahab was saved because she trusted in a promise. Her faith hung upon (if you will) a scarlet thread. But without that relying on that promise, she would not have been saved.
Similarly, our salvation hangs upon a scarlet thread as well – the blood of Jesus Christ. You will be saved only by relying on that promise - that His blood has the power to set you free and change your life.
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES
The Woman Who Impressed God = Ruth 1:1-1:22
A Prostitute For God = Joshua 2:1-2:21
