You can turn in your Bibles to Joshua 2. Joshua 2. I know that this is a passage that we have looked at before in our pulpit ministry. We've also looked at this passage recently in our Wednesday night Bible studies as we're going through the book of Joshua.
But it would be difficult to engage in a study of the grace of God in the Old Testament and not stop at Jericho to witness God's kindness to Rahab the harlot. So if you are in remembrance of this message before, hopefully it will be just another bit of help to you to appreciate afresh the grace of God. If you're not familiar with this portion of scripture, the grace given to Rahab by the God of Israel truly is an amazing picture of his kindness, of his mercy, and of his long-suffering. And I'll just pick up reading in chapter 2 at verse 1, and we'll read the whole chapter, and then we'll pray.
Scripture Reading: Joshua 2
Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, Go, view the land, especially Jericho. So they went and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country. So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.
And the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went, I do not know.
Pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof. Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shot the gate.
Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us. and that all the inhabitants of the land are faint-hearted because of you. For 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 the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted. Neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, For the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
Now therefore I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. So the man answered her, our lives for yours if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be when the Lord has given us the land that we will deal kindly and truly with you. And she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall.
She dwelt on the wall. And she said to them, get to the mountain lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Afterward, you may go your way.
So the men said to her, we will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household to your own home. So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.
Then she said, according to your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window. They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned.
The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them. So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over. And they came to Joshua, the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them. And they said to Joshua, truly, the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands.
For indeed, all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us. Amen. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this, your word. And we pray now for the ministry of your spirit. We pray that you would give us understanding. And again, a fresh appreciation for your graciousness, and your mercy, and your kindness, and your love.
Help us to appreciate the forgiveness of sins through our Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in His name that we pray. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as I've said, Joshua chapter 2 is a wonderful picture or a display of God's grace at Jericho. In Joshua chapter 1, we see that Joshua is identified as the leader of Israel. Just to give you a bit of the history and what is going on up to this particular point. You'll remember that God drew his people or brought his people out of the land of Egypt out of bondage.
He redeemed that. And then his people grumbled and complained and he brought judgment to bear upon that generation according to Numbers 13 and 14. It was the second generation that assemble in the plains of Moab where God repeats his law to them. This is the book of Deuteronomy.
In the midst of Deuteronomy, God selects from Israel Joshua to be the leader of his people when Moses dies. So Moses dies, Joshua assumes leadership within the covenant community, and now he is going to engage in what is called the conquest. In fact, if you look at the book of Joshua, it can be divided into four major parts. Chapters 1 to 4 concern entering the land.
Chapters 5 to 12 deal with taking the land. Chapters 13 to 21 are about possessing the land. And chapters 22 to 24 are tasked with retaining the land or keeping hold of it, maintaining faithfulness in the land so that they do not forfeit and lose this gift that God had given unto them. As we read Joshua chapter 1 and following, Jericho is the place where the children of Israel would enter into the promised land.
When they're at the plains of Moab, they're on the east side of the River Jordan. When they cross the River Jordan in Joshua chapter 3, they will be right there at Jericho. So it's absolutely crucial that they take this particular city. And one of the amazing things in Joshua is that if you read chapter 1 and then went right to chapter 3, you wouldn't miss anything.
There would be no disruption in the narrative whatsoever. The task or the purpose of chapter 2 is a bit of an interlude, a bit of a pause, a bit of a stop, a bit of a let's consider this gracious God. Let's look at the beauty of His grace. Let's look at His magnificence in display or on display here in Jericho with the saving of Rahab and her household.
Before we get into the destruction of Jericho, God has His elect there and He wants to bring them unto Himself. It truly is a wonderful depiction of the magnificence of God's grace, and I hope that you will be encouraged. I hope that you will be strengthened, and I hope that you will appreciate afresh this God whom we serve. Let's carve up the chapter in three broad sections.
First, the contact with Rahab. Secondly, the confession of Rahab. And thirdly, the agreement made with Rahab.
Contact with Rahab
So let us notice first the contact, verses 1 to 7.
Historical Precedent for the Spies
There is historical precedent for this reconnaissance mission. This is what Joshua wants these men to do. He wants them to go spy out Jericho. He wants them to survey the land.
If you remember back in the book of Numbers, Joshua was one of the 12 spies that went in to spy out the land of Canaan. There was a man each from the several tribes in Israel tasked with going into the land. Look at the roots. Look at the threat.
Look at the potential danger. Try and figure out what the enemy has and if we will be able to take them in battle. And along the way, survey the land. See if it is in fact a good land, flowing with milk and honey and grain and all those things that we need to support life.
So Joshua and Caleb and ten other spies go in to spy out the land. And when those 12 spies return, Joshua and Caleb say, the land is good. There is a threat, but we can neutralize that threat. In fact, Caleb says, let us go at once into the land.
The 10 other spies, however, grumble. They whine. They complain. They say, it's not that good of a land.
There is big people there. We are not going to be able to get it. And of course, the congregation sides with the whiners. It is an unfortunate reality that we tend to sympathize with or we tend to identify that position that does not believe God.
Remember, the Lord promised that He was giving this land. So Joshua and Caleb thought it was a no-brainer, let's go take the land. Well, it was as a result of that grumbling that that first generation was then judged by God and died in the wilderness. So there's historical precedent here for Joshua to send out spies to look at Jericho and to assess the potential threat, to survey the route of entry, and to figure out the best way to destroy it.
Because up to this point, they didn't know. They would simply march around the city and God would bring destruction upon it. One commentator says, Joshua 2 thus justified the character of Joshua as a leader concerned for his people. For he gathers intelligence before leading them into hostile territory.
So there is the precedent. Notice secondly, with reference to the reception, their contact with Rahab.
Rahab's Livelihood and Treason
You need to understand her livelihood. I don't want to get too graphic, I don't want to get too detailed, but suffice it to say that what we have translated here in the New King James is accurate. She is a harlot. That means she has relations with men for money.
We will leave it at that point. Again, I don't want to get too graphic, but you understand the nature of harlotry. In the New Testament, when Rahab is mentioned, she is there called the harlot. Literally, the pornea, the immoral one, the woman who engages in relations with men for money.
That's her particular livelihood. Notice the particular threat that is upon her. The king of Jericho hears that some men entered into Rahab's house. Now what does Rahab do?
She lies to protect these men from Israel and in so doing she commits the act of treason. She is a traitor to Jericho. She is a traitor to this Canaanite king. She is putting her neck on the line for the God of Israel and for the mission of Israel to conquer the land of Canaan.
Again, Hes says it was treason against Jericho and its king to aid these men. Rahab's helpful deeds indicate her renunciation of her allegiance to the Canaanites of Jericho. I mean, she's drawing the line in the sand here. She does not want to identify with Jericho.
She does not want to identify with these Canaanites, so much so that she will tell this lie to throw them under the bus, to use a modern parlance that we so often employ. She is throwing her city under the bus for the God of Israel. Treason is what she's engaged in. He goes on to say, Rahab's helpful deeds indicate a renunciation of allegiance to the Canaanites of Jericho and her acceptance of the rulership of Joshua and his agents.
Now we can just follow the story and see what she does. The men come, she hides them on her roof, and she covers them with flax. She camouflages them. She makes sure that nobody can see, and nobody can determine, and nobody can figure out that these spies of Israel are here in the land of Jericho." She then tells, according to verse 4, the king's agents that, yes, they did come here.
They weren't with me, but they've left. And then she tells the king's agents, why don't you pursue them so that you can catch them before they escape the city-state? She lied to the king's men. She said the spies had already left her house when she knew good and well those men were on her roof covered with the flax and breathing in God's air.
She understood the nature of the situation.
Rahab's Lie and Biblical Ethics
Now, it is just here that we oftentimes start to want to get ethical. We want to start discussing Christian ethics. And we want to ask questions, is it ever right to lie to a king? Is it ever right to engage in treachery of this nature?
Is it right to engage in being a traitor or treasonous to an ungodly state or situation? Now, I doubt I can satisfy all of your questions with reference to Rahab's lie, but let's just consider a few things the Bible does tell us with reference to her lie. The first thing is that we need to understand that the Bible oftentimes reports on things without necessarily condoning those things. In fact, several weeks ago we looked at the grace of God given to a rebellious king.
I don't think any Christian would ever conclude that I can commit adultery and murder like King David of Israel did because God the Lord will forgive me. No, Paul counters such a mindset in Romans 6, 1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin?
That grace may abound? Certainly not. May it never be. God forbid it.
You don't knowingly engage in sin and say, well, I know that the Lord is going to be gracious and forgive me. We need to approach this that way, at least in a generic sense. Not everything the Bible reports is necessarily condone. Now, however, those who dwell on the lie fail to reckon with treason.
I mean, that's a big crime, isn't it? When countries are at war and somebody engages in treason, usually the penalty for that is capital offense. I'm certain that the King of Jericho wouldn't have taken kindly to Rahab's activity here. Had one of those agents of the king shimmied up the stairs and looked under that flax and saw those men from Israel, I don't think she would have been tried in the sense of a North American trial.
It wouldn't have been a big spectator event. You wouldn't have seen all the crack attorneys. You wouldn't have to have all the legal analysis. And then if she was convicted and given capital punishment, there would be no appeal process.
I think in the States, it's an automatic 12-year appeal process. If you get told, sentenced with the death penalty, it's an automatic 12-year appeal process. That wouldn't have happened to her. They would have killed her.
She committed treason. But let me just take this one step further. The Bible never condemns Rahab. The Bible never speaks ill of Rahab.
The Bible never says that she was a bad person. The Bible tells us she was the harlot. The Bible tells us she lied to these agents of the king. The Bible tells us that she engaged in treason.
The same Bible shows her as a champion of faith in the book of Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 11. The act that she engages in here, in Joshua chapter 2, is fodder for the saints, in Hebrews 11, to glorify the God who preserves his faithful ones. Rahab the harlot, when she hit the spies, was doing so by faith, according to Hebrews 11. But the other New Testament reference to Rahab the harlot is James, James chapter 2.
Now in James chapter 2, the brother is dealing with a demonstration of our justification to others. He is not dealing with justification in the legal forensic sense of God justifying his people on the basis of the work of Christ alone. He's dealing with what men see, with what men observe, with what you can show. And he uses two Old Testament examples for faith demonstrated by specific works.
He, of course, goes to Abraham. I mean, Abraham is the father of faith, isn't he? In Genesis chapter 15, Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. It's not for seven chapters later that that is evidenced or demonstrated or manifested in Genesis 22.
When Abraham takes Isaac up to Mount Moriah to tie him up and bury a knife in him at the behest of God Almighty, we see his faith. We see demonstrably that Abraham did in Genesis 15 believe God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. The Genesis 22 evidences or demonstrates that Abraham possessed biblical saving faith. Well, not only does he appeal to Abraham, he also goes to the Shady Lady of Jericho.
That's Dr. Dale Ralph Davis's way of identifying her, the Shady Lady of Jericho. And he says that when you see Rahab functioning here in Joshua 2, hiding spies, lying to the king's agents, that is a manifestation, a demonstration, an evidence that she has faith in the living and true God. So I am not going to tell you this morning, go out and lie for Jesus.
The Bible forbids such a conclusion. But we ought not to condemn Rahab when the Bible itself doesn't condemn Rahab. David says it this way, it is tragic when people snag their pants on the nail of Rahab's lie, quibble endlessly about the matter, and never get around to hearing Rahab's truth. Remember we saw that last week in Jonah.
People get hung up on the great fish and they miss the great God. People get hung up on her lie and they miss the truth. Do you know what the central portion of this chapter is? It's her confession in verses 8 to 14.
Davis says, they quibble endlessly about the matter and never get around to hearing Rahab's truth, which the writer has conspired. to make the center of the whole narrative structurally. All points, all things lead to this confession in verses 8 to 14. So that's a bit of a treatment dealing with our lie. Do not go home today and say, I can lie for Jesus because Pastor Butler said so.
Pastor Butler did not say so, and if you say that, that is a violation of the ninth word. You are lying, and that's bad, and that's wrong. Okay? But when we come to Rahab, let's not miss the point.
Let us not miss what's going on. And to that we turn. The king's men believe her. They depart from her house in search of the spies.
Confession of Rahab
Now notice the confession in verses 8 to 14.
Rahab's Fear of God
The first thing she expresses is the fear of God. That's a good thing. You see, the Apostle Paul in Romans 3, when citing and highlighting the reality that all men everywhere are under sin, all men everywhere have rebelled against God and rejected God, he underscores this whole section by saying, there is no fear of God before their eyes. You see, it is good and it is right and it is meet that men fear God.
God made us. God governs us. God rules us. God gives us food.
God gives us drink. God gives us air. God gives us all things. It is an offense.
It is rebellion. It is rejection. It is ungodly to not fear Him. To fear the Lord is a good thing, and we see that penetrating, or we see that evidence in the harlot's heart.
Notice in verse 8, I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. We have seen the God of Israel. We have witnessed His mighty power. We have witnessed His majesty.
We have witnessed His works. And instead of saying to so many, well, well, you know, that's just the way it works. That's just what happens in this world. That's just the way things sort of tumble out.
No, they knew it was the personal God of Israel that was functioning and acting on behalf of His people. And they feared Him. They feared Him. That's one of the challenges in our day.
People are naturalists. People just try to find an explanation in the created order for everything that happens. Earthquakes are because of shifting plates. And I know there is a degree to which that is true.
But they neglect the God who shifts the plates. Naturalism is an offense against the living and true God. Anything that happens, any tragedy, any trial, it had to be this, it had to be that. We can never conclude there's a sovereign God in heaven who does whatever he pleases.
That's offensive to man. Man would rather reject the thought of God altogether. He'd rather throw God out of his mind and out of his heart, lest he ever ascribe power and magnificence and majesty to this God. If man entertains the thought of God, he likes a God he can tame.
He likes a God he can cuddle. He likes a God he can put on the shelf. He likes a God he can put into a box. You know, brethren, one of the best testimonies, just subjectively speaking, to the inspiration of Scripture, is what man, what fallen son of Adam, would design this God?
Would you design this God? This God who's intolerant? You shall have no other gods besides me. I, the Lord, am a jealous God.
Would you design a God who is holy, holy, holy? A God whose eye is too pure to look upon any evil approvingly? No man would design this God. This God reveals Himself in the pages of Holy Writ, and the good response from His creatures is to fear Him, to fear the Lord.
This is what is penetrated Rahab's heart. We know the Lord has given you the land. This is a recurring theme throughout the Pentateuch. God graciously gave them the land.
This harlot confesses His grace. This harlot realizes that this is a gift deposit from God. Whether she had a covenant theology of Abraham receiving the promise, we don't know. But she does know this.
We know that the Lord has given you the land. And we know that our hearts are fearful. The terror of you has fallen on us, and all the inhabitants of the land are faint-hearted because of you." She has the fear of God.
Rahab's Recognition of God's Power
Notice, secondly, she recognizes the power of God. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt. She acknowledges that fact. She recognizes that reality.
The great redemptive event of the Old Testament is the Exodus. How many times is that doctrine, how many times is that event, how many times is that issue rehearsed and celebrated both among the people of God and here those, at least technically, outside of the people of God. It is an amazing thing when God the Lord causes the waters To pile up on either side. And for his community to walk through without even getting their feet wet.
And then, for Pharaoh and his armies to give chase. And while they're in the midst of that situation, their chariot wheels fell off. I know it's probably not the best thing, but I try to put myself into their position. I much prefer putting myself into the position of the community of Israel as they're marching through on dry ground looking at the fish.
These walls of water, probably you'd see fish in there. It'd be pretty cool, I think. But imagine when those chariot wheels started to fall off. You know, Pharaoh, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.
Maybe we shouldn't give chase to the people of God. Maybe Yahweh of Israel is the true and living God, and maybe He's going to destroy us. Well, we know that He does because He collapses the water and destroys them. Their bodies populate the seashore, according to the narrative.
Rahab understands the power of God displayed in the Exodus. She understands that it's the God of Israel that is God of heaven and earth. She not only cites victory in Egypt and thus sounds like the children of Israel in their song of Moses in Exodus 15, the people will hear and be afraid. This is what they sang.
Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed, the mighty men of Moab. Trembling will take hold of them. All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.
Fear and dread will fall on them. By the greatness of your arm they will be as still as a stone, till your people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over whom you have purchased." You see, this was stated, this was prophesied. They understood that this effect would be had amongst the Canaanites. And here it is displayed in Rahab the harlot.
She understands the power of God. and his victory in Egypt. But also these skirmishes with these two kings, Sihon and Og, king of Bashan. You see, as they penetrate northward into the land of the Moabites and Ammonites, they have to do some battle. And God delivers Sihon and God delivers Og right into their hands so that they are poised then to take the land of Canaan.
Every step of the way, God is there. Every step of the way, God is with them. What is it in Liverpool? You'll never walk alone.
That's what these children of Israel learned. You will never walk alone as the people of God. You may at times think that, you may at times consider that, but it's not true. You'll never walk alone.
If it's Sihon and Og, God will give you victory. If it is Egypt, God will give you victory. If you're David and you're standing out there facing that giant from Gath, He will give you victory. The Lord God will never cause His people to walk alone.
He is faithful. He is with them. He is present. And the Canaanite here understands that.
She recognizes the power of God. Again, I'm so convinced that we see God's power in the big things. We see God's power displayed in the Egyptian deliverance. We see God's power displayed in the destruction of Sihon and Og.
We see God's power displayed when He spares us from some calamity. Do we see that power displayed each and every day of our lives? That He has not allowed us to perish? That He has preserved us?
That He has kept us from hell? That He has kept us from suffering? We need to look with the eye of faith and search the power of God as this Canaanite woman, this harlot, this woman of disrepute, this woman that wouldn't be welcomed into society. This woman that probably us would look down upon, she is teaching us theology in this passage.
We have seen, we have heard, and it promotes in us the fear of the Lord.
Rahab's Confession of God's Majesty
Notice she highlights the majesty of God in verse 11. As soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted. Neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you. Notice, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
This is an amazing testimony from a Canaanite. This is theology proper, preached by a Canaanite, who had everything but theology proper in her Canaanite days. They had a God for everything, didn't they? They had a God for heaven, they had a God for earth, they had a God for rain, they had a God for rivers, they had a God for you name it.
You see what she's doing now? She's taking Israel's confession of faith and she's making it her own. Calvin says it this way. Well, just before Calvin, this was to be Israel's confession and hope.
Deuteronomy 4.39, therefore know this day and consider it in your heart that the Lord himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath there is no other. Calvin says, here the image of Rahab's faith appears as if reflected in a mirror. When casting down all idols, she ascribes the government of heaven and earth to the God of Israel alone. For it is perfectly clear that when heaven and earth are declared subject to the God of Israel, there is a repudiation, that means a getting rid of. a casting away, a disassociation with.
Calvin says there is a repudiation of all the pagan fictions by which the majesty and power and glory of God are portioned out among different deities. You see, that's what Paganism is all about. That's what idolatry is all about. Portioning out among the various gods a particular task.
There was even a daytime god and a nighttime god. She's done. It's over. She has turned her back on those gods.
She confesses Yahweh of Israel to be the true and living God. He goes on to say, and hence we see that it is not without cause that two apostles have honored Rahab's conduct with the title of faith. You see, I don't know that we've come to grips with how blessed we really are. You know that every time in the scripture that it says, and God spoke, and God spoke, and God spoke, we ought to be thankful.
Do you think these various deities revealed themselves to the worshippers? No, because they had mouths that could not talk. They had eyes that could not see. They had ears that could not hear.
They don't deliver a revelatory word to the worshipper. They don't instruct the people on how to approach them. That is why the worshipper concocts worship. He throws his children into the fire.
He dances around and he cuts himself. He does all these things to try to gain the favor of the deity, but not Israel. Not new covenant Christianity, the Lord spoke, the Lord reveals, the Lord tells, the Lord redeems, the Lord instructs, the Lord gives His word. It truly is a blessing to have the Bible that is in your lap, treasure it, prize it, and praise God Almighty that He spoke it for your benefit and for your instruction.
Rahab's Appeal to God's Mercy
Now notice finally, She's confessed the fear of God, the power of God, the majesty of God. Now, notice the mercy of God in verses 12 and 13. Now, therefore, she says, I beg you, you need to pay attention. You need to listen to this.
You need to learn from this harlot this morning. Now, therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death." Now, when we set this text against Acts 16 for a moment, you know, when Paul and Silas are in the prison, And the jailer wants to kill himself, and Paul says, don't do that, we're still here. And he comes and he falls down before them and he says, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And then they say, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
That's a bit of a different approach than what Rahab manifests here. See, Rahab doesn't say, I want to ask Jesus into my heart. I want to walk the aisle, I want to sign the card, I want to raise my hand, I want to follow him. It's a bit of a different confession covenantally.
It's a bit of a different approach than perhaps what we're used to in the New Covenant. But this is legit. She is expressing her faith in the mercy of the God of Israel. See, he is one to be feared.
He is one that manifests great power. He is one that displays great majesty. But he's also one who is entreated. He's also one upon whom we flee.
He's also one we take refuge in. That's the point of her confession. Now, therefore, she says, I beg you. Entreat this God.
Appeal to your God. Let me cast myself upon your God's mercy. That's moving from confession to adoration. This moves from theology to doxology.
This moves from bare ascent to a trust of the living and true God. You see, sometimes people make the good confession. They understand with the head that the Lord God is the God of Israel. In fact, Deuteronomy 6, verse 4, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
But the text doesn't stop there. That is a great confession of monotheistic theology that we must confess, that we must possess, that we must own, that we must make our own. But it doesn't stop there. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
You see, confess the theology and rest in His being. Confess the theology and seek mercy at His hand. Confess the truth and find comfort for your soul. Confess the reality and take hiding under his wing.
That's what Rahab does. Now, therefore, I beg you, she says, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you will also show kindness to my father's house and give me a true token. Spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sister, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. That's what sinners need to do.
We've heard of you with our ears. We've heard the gospel preached. We've heard the cross. We've heard that great story.
By story, I don't mean something untrue. I mean the facts, the narrative, the reality that Christ came in this world, sinners to save. And the means by which He did this was being made like us. by obeying the law for us, by dying as a sacrifice in our place, rising again on the third day, so that everyone who believes in Him will have everlasting life. You see, if you've heard that truth, flee.
If you've heard that truth, seek refuge. If you've heard that truth, run. If you've heard that truth, go to Calvary, go to the cross, go to the bloody Savior, go to the one who's died and risen again so that sinners like us might have everlasting life. You've got to understand, people don't become Christians because they memorize their Bibles.
People don't become Christians because they go to church. People don't become Christians because they go to Bible study or they go to sermonaudio.com or they have a feed or a podcast, and every time you see them, they got sermons pumped into their head. That's not what makes Christians Christians. It is the grace of God.
It is through belief in the Savior. It is through repentance unto life. Look and live, says the scripture, and you will find everlasting life. Truly, it's amazing.
This harlot ought to instruct you today. If you've heard of God, you understand something about why you should fear Him, you understand something about His power, you understand something about His majesty, then do what she does. Now, therefore, I beg you, entreat Him. I beg you, spare us.
I beg you, watch over us, keep us, protect us, provide for us quarter. That's what this woman does. She casts herself upon the God of Israel. We have heard, we know, we understand His judgment.
And instead of just waiting around for that day, she says, please, please, please. This is the Old Covenant equivalent to, foul I to the fountain fly, wash me, Savior, or I die. This is the Old Covenant equivalent of that blessed hymn. It is the Old Covenant equivalent to what we just sang there in 582.
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood. righteousness. Mote nails that hymn. He says, I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name. What's he saying there?
Some days we don't have sweet frames. Some days our hearts are hard. Some days we're cold. Some days we're like dead fish at the best.
You trust that sweetest frame and here's going to be your assurance. You trust that solid name. You trust the blood. You trust the righteousness.
You trust covenant. You trust Christ with your soul. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but holy lead on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid rock I've found.
All other ground is sinking sand. That's what she's doing. She casts herself. on the mercy of God Almighty. That's what you should do.
If you're not a Christian here this morning, I don't know. There's no lights above everybody's head. Hey, there's a Christian, there's a Christian, there's a Christian. But this much I do know.
If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved. I can say that with absolute certainty. If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you shall be saved. What about predestination, Pastor Jim?
I affirm that. What about election, Pastor Jim? I affirm that. What about the eternal decree of God?
I affirm that 100%. And I affirm that if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you shall be saved. Don't let the eternal decree keep you from Jesus Christ. You know, I've heard it in the church before that unless I'm predestined, I can't flee to Christ.
Flee to Christ. I've heard it before that if I'm not elect, I can't flee to Christ. Run. Don't walk.
Run to Christ. All that the Father gives me will come to me. There's your election, there's your predestination, there's your eternal decree. You know what you need?
And the one who comes to me, I will certainly not cast out. The decree, election, predestination is God's work. You are called with Rahab to renounce your pagan deities. You are called with Rahab to renounce your dependence on that which is not God. you are called to throw yourself on the mercy of God Almighty.
And when by God's grace you do that, you'll realize it was by God's grace. And he'll receive all the glory and all the praise and all the adoration from his worshiping saint. Truly is gracious. Davis with reference to Rahab throwing herself upon the mercy of God here says, genuine faith never rests content with being convinced of the reality of God, but presses on to take refuge in God.
Let me just read that again. Genuine faith never rests content with being convinced of the reality of God, but presses on to take refuge in God. Yes, He is to be feared. Yes, He is powerful.
Yes, He is majestic. Yes, I must run to Him and throw myself upon His mercy, trusting in His Son alone. That's what Rahab teaches us this morning.
The Agreement with Rahab
And then notice, thirdly and finally, the agreement made with Rahab. Does the God of Israel deliver? Yes. Does Yahweh of Israel hear this harlot's cry?
Yes. Does the God of Israel provide for her safe haven? Yes! Absolutely!
This is 637 of John's Gospel, and the one who comes to me, I will certainly not cast out. Rahab has come, Rahab has confessed, Rahab has cast herself upon the mercy of God, and he doesn't cast her out! The spies make an arrangement with her. They make the promise, they give her the requirements, put the scarlet cord in the window, all her family gathered in her house, Absolute secrecy.
Do not let the King of Jericho know what we're doing, because that will compromise the entire mission, and as far as we know, all Israel will die. So you need to uphold your end of this. Again, it's not a direct correlation, one-to-one, with the way sinners come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe, and you shall be saved.
But we see here, God's faithfulness in handing over to her the mercy that she has sought, and the protection that she desires. She provides escape. She agrees to their requirements. The narrative then ends in verse 24 with, and they said to Joshua, truly the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are faint hearted because of us.
You say, well, whatever became of Rahab, this shady lady of Jericho and her family? Turn to chapter six. Chapter 6 verse 22 but Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country go into the harlot's house and From there bring out a woman and all that she has as you swore to her And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel, but they burned the city and all that was in it with fire.
Only the silver and gold and the vessels of bronze and iron they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father's household, and all that she had, So she dwells in Israel to this day because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. I mentioned two places in the New Testament where Rahab the harlot is referred to. The book of Hebrews, the Hall of Faith, the book of James, as an example.
Whether you're a patriarch like Abraham or a prostitute like Rahab, Biblical saving faith manifests itself, evidences itself to those around. You know where else she is? You all know. You've been here for a little while.
You've sat under the sermons in Matthew. She's in a particular genealogy. The shady lady of Jericho is an ancestress to the Messiah of Israel. Rahab is in Matthew chapter one and verse five.
With reference to her conversion, she heard of Yahweh. She was convicted by Yahweh. She flees to the mercy of Yahweh and therein demonstrates, by God's grace, commitment to the God of Israel. That is absolutely similar to what we find in the New Covenant.
You hear the gospel. You hear the truth. You hear of a crucified and risen Savior. Conviction comes.
Now, some places, some people teach, well, unless you've been convicted for, you know, two years, you can't come to Jesus. You just can't see that in the Bible. There's a man by the name of Matthew who happened to pen the first gospel, and he was sitting in his tax office, with his money, his fat stacks, as my kids would say, Jesus says, follow me, and he follows him. Yes, there had to have been some sort of conviction.
He's holy, and I'm not, and I need him. But conviction is not quantifiable in the scripture. If you are convinced that you are a sinner and that Jesus alone saves, then go. flee, seek refuge in him, fly to him by the grace of God. A second practical concluding observation from the passage is there is at this juncture God's grace displayed at Jericho.
As I mentioned, if you compare chapters 1 and 3, you will see that chapter 2 is not vital to the flow of thought. It's an interlude. It's a sideline note. It's very valuable and very important.
I'm not suggesting it's not supposed to be there by the inspiration of the Spirit. But it's there in a book that is tasked with teaching us about how Israel goes in and conquers Canaan. It's almost as if to say, before we get into the conquest, never forget God's mercy, never forget God's grace, never forget that the promise made to Abraham is going to come true, and that in Christ all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Certainly when you get to chapter 6, verses 22 to 25, if you didn't have chapter 2, you might scratch your head and say, who is this Rahab character?
The point is, brothers and sisters, it is a narrative designed to display for us the grace and the mercy and the kindness of our God. If, as we argued last week, Jonah serves the same purpose, you need to realize that as you bounce around in the Old Testament, there are some passages that aren't necessarily calls to action. They're not necessarily calls to Christian ethics. They're calls to worship.
They're calls to prize. There are calls to adore. There are calls to consider. Before we get to the conquest, it's as if we're told, sit back, relax for a moment, and watch God save.
That's what Joshua 2 is all about. Hess says in one of the most nationalistic books in the Hebrew Bible, does it not serve the purposes of the promise to Abraham that all peoples on earth will be blessed through you? To play side by side with the choice of a military leader and his initial preparations for battle, the story of a foreign woman who believed and was saved without arms or blood shed. Don't take my word for it, read through Joshua later.
What do they do? What's war all about? One country goes to another and kills people and breaks things. That's what war is.
Killing people and breaking things. That's what's going to populate the book of Joshua. But before we go in and kill people and break things, let us remember God on high is merciful to people like Rahab the harlot. God demonstrates his compassion his power, his salvation, toward this Gentile prostitute in order for us to worship, praise, and adore him, and for us, if we have not, to realize that if God saves Rahab the harlot, there may be mercy and grace enough there to save me as well.
Concluding with a statement by Davis again, so Rahab is a harlot, a pagan and a disreputable one at that, yet she is welcomed into the church, But Rahab the harlot Joshua saved alive, and she dwelt in Israel to this day." 625. He says, now that can be offensive. We say that we can't have that. The church is only for respectable, clean, middle-class folks.
But that is like saying that hospitals are only for doctors, nurses, and x-ray machines instead of sick people. Or it is like saying that only morticians and coroners belong in morgues instead of dead people. Who then should be in the church but sinners? The church is not a club, but a refuge for sinners who have been touched by the grace of God.
Apparently, Rahab's past did not bother the writer of the first gospel. Rather, Matthew seemed to see in Rahab a trophy of divine grace. Astounding, isn't it, that the shady lady of Jericho should be the ancestress of Jesus, the Messiah. Christians, behold your God and worship. and thank Him and praise Him for the grace that has been displayed.
If you're not a Christian, behold, you're God. Come, through the Lord Jesus Christ, believe on Him, and the scripture says you will have everlasting life. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for this wonderful account in our Bibles. And we praise you that you are a God of mercy. You are a God of great grace and loving kindness and forgiveness of sin. Thank you for the way you dealt so graciously with Rahab.
Thank you for including this in your word to instruct us. May you indeed cause us to worship you and to adore you. And may you indeed cause sinners to flee to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. and we pray in his most blessed name, amen. We'll close with a brief time of meditation.