Spies, Lies And A Harlot Saved! Series

Spies, Lies and a Harlot saved!

Welcome back to our series from the break thru book of Joshua where we learn to pursue the promises of God that He has for us. This is a new book that I’ve never preached from before but am finding it a powerful encouragement and I hope you do too! Last week was chapter 1 where we learned Moses, the legendary leader of the Exodus was dead and God’s people are to be led into the promise land by a new leader. A man who is ready for a break thru that has been 40 years in the making.

I hope this past week you asked God where you needed a break thru or who you need to help with a break thru-to get to your promise land that God has given you, as last weeks sermon title implored you, to put your foot! So where has God asked you to put your foot?

However, in chapter 2 I must tell you, that along the way to your break thru, there may be others that will need to help you and at the same time pursue God’s promises for them as well. But they may be a little strange. Not who you’d expect-but still undoubtedly a part of God’s plan, and now a part of yours too!

? While pursuing God’s promises some strange and sinful people could get saved in the process.

Now open your Bibles to Chapter 2 of this break thru book pg. 228 in your student Bibles…

2Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

2The king of Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land."

3So 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."

4But 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.

5At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them."

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.)

7So 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.

? God really can use anybody to fulfil his purposes

Do you believe that? (I struggle with this…)

Joshua is pursuing the promise with the military tactic of recon. Send in the spies, we don’t even know these spies names-they were so top secret. They infiltrate the city and go to a place we scratch our heads about-really guys?- the harlots house? Harlot means prostitute, which means someone who sells their body for sexual contact.

On one hand, it does make perfect sense. Lots of men, who probably would rather not be noticed went in and out of there. What’s done in Rahab’s house, stays in Rahab’s house. Not to mention why would anyone look for God’s people there? We have no reason to believe they went there for any other reasons but perhaps this; maybe God had prompted them to go to this house because God wanted to save someone in there. Jesus himself ministered to prostitutes as noted in the gospels (Matt.21:32, Luke 7:36)

And still today an organization called XXXchurch.org reaches out to those in the sex industry with the love of Jesus that offers freedom from the bondage they are in. It’s also an excellent resource for those who have a problem with porn-and if you have viewed porn twice in the last year you have a problem with porn. This is what these spies do for Rahab, they offer her a way out and she takes it, as we will soon see in our next section but first we need to wrestle with the other elephant in the room; namely Rahab’s big fat lies in v.4 and 5!

We all know God can’t use liars right? Really? Remember Abraham-lying about Sarah being his sister? Remember Jacob lying to Isaac to steal his brother’s blessing? Please understand I’m not here to justify anybody’s lie-rather I would simply say 2 things:

#1, God can and will use anybody-flawed as they are-to fulfil His purpose. That night his purpose was to see these men not get caught-if Rahab would not have lied I believe God would have kept them safe another way (struck the searchers with blindness, miracle them off the roof-whatever). I firmly believe her lie was not part of God’s plan but it still achieved His purpose.