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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Joshua chapter 2. Joshua chapter 2, somewhat of 
an application or extended application of this morning's message with 
reference to the grace and compassion and kindness of God toward those 
who we may not always suppose are the lawful recipients or 
targets of it. We're all familiar, I believe, 
with this section of scripture, the conversion of Rahab the harlot 
I just want to begin reading in chapter 2 at verse 1. 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. Then 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. And 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 shut 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 men 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. Then 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. Father, we thank you for your 
Word. We thank you for the ministry of your Spirit. We pray that 
even now you would send him, God, and guide us in our study 
of this section of Scripture. We thank you that all Scripture 
is given by inspiration of God, that it's profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction. and for instruction in righteousness. And we pray tonight that you 
would just help us to understand very vividly and very powerfully 
your grace and your mercy and your compassion and your kindness 
towards sinners. We thank you, Lord God, that 
there is mercy with you that you may be feared. We thank you, 
Lord God, that you have sent your Son to deal with our sin. We thank you, Lord God, that 
you have blessed us so richly, and may we tonight appreciate 
afresh that glorious grace of God Most High. Forgive us now 
for all of our sins. Cleanse us afresh in the blood 
of the Lord Jesus. For those, God, who are outside 
of your of your saving mercies. We just pray that tonight would 
be the night of salvation, that they would believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and that they would be saved. And we ask in His most 
blessed name. Amen. Well, the book of Joshua 
is taken up with four primary concerns. You'll remember after 
the book of Deuteronomy, they're being prepared on the plains 
of Moab to go into the land of Canaan and to take possession 
of the land. Moses dies according to the book 
of Deuteronomy, and then the spotlight shines upon Joshua 
as the leader in Israel. So the book is concerned with 
entering the land of Canaan, chapters 1 to 4, taking the land 
in chapters 5 to 12, possessing the land or dividing it up between 
the tribes in chapters 13 to 21, and then the book ends with 
an exhortation to retain the land. how they are to be faithful 
to God Most High and conduct themselves in the land that the 
Lord had in fact given them. And tonight, as I mentioned, 
this is a bit of an application of what we already learned this 
morning. We saw it in a corporate sense. 
Remember that Jonah was having a difficulty with God's mercy 
and compassion toward Nineveh as a whole. Well, here we have 
a lady that Ralph Davis calls the shady lady of Jericho, and 
she is the recipient of God's mercy, the recipient of God's 
grace. Again, an application or some 
more fleshing out of that principle that we learned this morning, 
that we ought to have large hearts, we ought to respect the fact 
that God, in his grace and in his mercy, saves to the uttermost 
unsavory people, people that perhaps we would feel are beyond 
the pale of redemption. And I think that Rahab illustrates 
that point in a very splendid way. Before we actually get into 
the chapter, a couple of things by way of introduction in terms 
of this particular book and this particular lady. Sometimes the 
opponents of biblical religion take exception with the conquest. They think it is unrighteous 
that God would send Israel into Canaan to utterly dispossess 
the land of the Canaanites. That seems offensive. That seems 
ungodly. It seems unholy. Interestingly 
enough, the opponents use standards they only find in God's world 
to try and indict Him. But as we've seen in our studies 
in the book of Deuteronomy, it is not as if the Canaanites were 
a bunch of innocent people just minding their own business, worshipping 
the true and living God, living and let live, as it were, in 
the land of Canaanite. No, they were an unholy, and 
ungodly and an unrighteous people. In two places in the Pentateuch, 
the Lord God specifies it is because of their wickedness that 
God sends Israel in to conquer them and to destroy them. In 
the book of Leviticus, in chapter 18, after highlighting or calling 
Israel to fidelity with reference to sexual matters. He calls them not to engage in 
adultery or in bestiality or in sodomy. He says, for this 
cause I am sending you in to dispossess the land of the Canaanites. 
They were engaged in that sort of wickedness. In the book of 
Deuteronomy, in chapter 18, They are being cautioned about when 
they enter the land. They're not to practice witchcraft. 
They're not to involve themselves in the occult. They're not to 
engage in spiritism. Why? It is for this cause that 
the Canaanites are being dispossessed from the land. So the biblical 
data tells us that God uses not so righteous Israel to go in 
and judge a people that were even less righteous. Now later, 
of course, when Israel does the very same sorts of sins, God 
will use other nations to then dispossess them from the land. God has a righteous standard. God has a holy rule. So that's the first thing, the 
conquest. It is good. It is right. It is ethical because 
God the Lord commanded it. But the second thing that oftentimes 
we sort of trip up on is Rahab's why. Rahab's lie. It is obvious in the reading 
of the section here that Rahab lied. If you missed that, you 
weren't paying attention. You need to listen more attentively 
in the future. You know, it's one of those things. 
When I'm in certain situations, perhaps right now, my ears just 
turn red. I don't know why it is. You know, 
I wonder at times, people say, I wonder if he knows his ears 
are red. Yeah, I know that. It's almost like people say, 
I wonder if they realize that one of their heroes of the faith 
is a liar. One of the people that is celebrated 
in the book of Hebrews in chapter 11, what we call the hall of 
faith, is a liar. How do you deal with that, Christian? Well, there are several ways 
that we can answer that. The first is the Bible often 
reports things without necessarily condoning them. Allah, David's 
adultery, and subsequent murder. We do not go thou and do likewise 
because it's reported of a hero in Israel that he did this. As 
well, though, when we come to this issue of Rahab's lie, we 
ought to remind the opponent of biblical data or the biblical 
revelation that she's not only a liar, she's a traitor. She's 
engaged in treason here. These spies are not there offering 
watches and chocolate in some sort of a peace treaty. They 
are reconning the land so that they can come in and dispossess 
the land and utterly destroy all the inhabitants. She's engaged 
in treason of the highest sort. Probably saying, you're not helping 
our case, brother. Well, you need to remember that 
Rahab is only ever treated positively in subsequent revelation. It's interesting that she finds 
herself in the genealogy of Israel's Messiah, according to Matthew 
chapter 1. and verse 5. She finds her place, 
as I've already mentioned, in that hall of faith in Hebrews 
chapter 11. And as well, she is one of James' 
examples, along with Father Abraham, of faith that issues forth in 
a lively, practical outflowing of words. So what subsequent 
revelation does is doesn't tell us how bad she was, but rather, 
on the converse, tells us how good she was. Not in and of herself, 
not inherently, not because she was necessarily a woman of virtue, 
but because she believed on the Lord God of heaven and earth. I like what Dale Ralph Davis 
says with reference to this situation. He says, 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. He says, which the writer has 
conspired to make the center of the whole narrative. It's 
kind of an interesting placement in this particular book. I already 
mentioned what Joshua is all about. You are to enter the land. You are to take the land. You 
are to possess the land. You are to retain the land. But 
prior to that, chapter 2 is a stop, pause, and understand that the 
God of heaven and earth is also the God of prostitutes. He is 
also the God of mercy, the God of compassion, the God of kindness, 
the God who can be and is entreated, the God of refuge for people 
as unsavory as this harlot named Rahab. In fact, if you read chapters 
1 to 3, chapter 2 isn't crucial to the flow in the narrative. 
You could read 1 and then read 3 without ever missing a beat. 
Now when you get to chapter 6, 22 to 25, it is helpful to have 
chapter 2 because it explains the fact that Rahab and her family 
is being spared. But before we get into conquering 
the land, it's as if Israel is reminded, behold your God. He's a God of mercy. He's a God 
of compassion. He's a God of kindness. He is 
a God of long-suffering. He is a God of grace, a God of 
mercy. Brethren, let us behold our God 
in the narrative in Joshua chapter 2 under three considerations. 
We're going to center it on her. But the hero is God. First, her 
conduct. Secondly, her confession. And 
thirdly, her blessings. Note, first of all, her conduct. The scene is very clear. Joshua 
is the military commander in Israel. He is the leader now. 
He has succeeded Moses. He is charged with going into 
the land, taking those people so that they may engage in military 
campaigns, wage holy war, and dispossess the Canaanites. So 
he does what he himself had participated in. back in Numbers 13 and 14. It was a recon mission. Verse 
1, now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia 
Grove to spy secretly saying, go view the land, especially 
Jericho. This was a means to assess the 
threat. This was a means to assess any 
potential danger. This was a means so that they 
may indeed come back and report to Joshua so that he could then 
strategize the best possible way to penetrate that city and 
to take it from them. So that's the context. Notice 
that Rahab receives the spies. Verses 1B all the way down to 
verse 7. She is identified as a harlot. She is identified here as a very 
unsavory person. to be mindful of the age differences 
and the mixed audience and all of that sort of thing, but it 
is important for us to understand that Rahab made her money by 
having relations with men. Sometimes people try and soften 
the blow. They try and explain that Rahab 
was an innkeeper. Well, it doesn't say she was 
an innkeeper. And when the author to the Hebrews 
writes in Hebrews 11.31, and when James writes in James 2.25, 
they don't call her Rahab the innkeeper. They call her Rahab 
the porne, the harlot, the immoral woman, the ungodly one. I mean, 
that is her claim to fame, brethren. She is the harlot. That's how 
she's identified. That's how she's known. Again, 
what is the underlying message in this chapter? It is, behold, 
your God. It's conspicuous. These would 
be some foolish spies if they checked into the inn. These would 
be some very foolish spies if they went to the crazy eight. 
They went to the motel or the hotel. They would go to that 
place where they would be least likely to be found. More than 
likely, person saw them enter into her house and word got back 
to the king. So her profession is simply one 
of harlotry. Notice the threat involved in 
this particular endeavor. Verse 3, 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." Again, we need to understand people 
in other contexts. We heard this morning about Turkey. People in Iran. People in other 
Arab nations. People in India. People in places 
where the cross of Jesus Christ is looked upon even more disfavorably 
than it is here in North America, it is costly and it is risky 
to identify with the living and the true God. In this instance, 
the king of Jericho threatens or tells this woman to produce 
these spines. Now, if it is found out that 
she is lying, if it is found out that she is committing treason, 
if it is found out that she is a traitor to the city-state of 
Jericho, she will most certainly die. You see, what we find in 
this particular narrative is faith. Faith in the living and 
true God. She hid the spies on her roof 
among the stalks of flax. She confirmed that the men had 
come to her house. She lies to the king's men. She 
says the spies already left her house. The king's men believe 
her. They depart from her house in 
search of the spies. then she gives them very particular 
instruction, she gives them very particular direction on how they 
may evade escape. But before she does that, notice 
we see her confession. And her confession is beautiful 
in its simplicity, but beautiful in its power. Notice first she 
highlights the fear of God. The Scripture sets that forth 
throughout the Old Testament. The fear of the Lord is the beginning 
of knowledge. You want to see if someone is 
rightly related to God the Lord? There ought to be the fear of 
the Lord in their heart. You know, the Christian life 
isn't just bouncing around, engaged in frivolity, levity. There is 
a right reverence or an awe before the living and the true God. 
She manifests that. Notice in verse 8, now before 
they lay down, she came up to them on that 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 fainthearted because of you. There is this 
fear. Again, it's not as developed, 
say, as a Hebrews 12 godly fear, and acceptable worship, and those 
things that we are more prone to and more in tuned with. But 
here's a pagan. Here's a harlot. Here's a woman 
who makes her money in a very unsavory way, living amongst 
idolaters, and what is pervading her soul? There's a fear of God. There's an understanding of who 
he is. There's the realization that he has to be treated with 
reverence, that he is not like the deities of the land, that 
he is not like Baal, that he's not like Asherah. Later on, when 
she makes that central confession of faith, she highlights something 
again that we take for granted. In the mouth of a pagan, in the 
mouth of an idolater, in the mouth of a polytheist, the confession 
that God, the God of Israel, is the God of heaven and earth 
is biblical religion. This woman is meeting Yahweh 
of Israel. She has fear in her heart. Notice 
she highlights the might, the power, the glory, the magnificence 
of Yahweh in verse 10. She says, 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." 
You know, just read through that, you know. We can all say, we've 
heard that, we've heard about the Exodus, haven't we? We attend 
the Wednesday night Bible study. We're going through the book 
of Deuteronomy. We reviewed in that historical review on the 
plains of Moab the data, the reality that God gave them victory 
over Sion and Og. We are brought up in this. We 
are reared in this. This is what we do in Sunday 
school. But on the mouth of a heathen, 
the mouth of an idolater, the mouth of a harlot, we have to 
appreciate the grace of God at work. You see, total depravity 
was true of her as well. For her to mouth this, for her 
to express this, for her to communicate this, for her to tell these spies 
this, is an evidence and an indicator that God the Lord is at work 
in her heart. You see, it isn't by our strength 
alone. It isn't by nature alone. As our brother read this morning 
or highlighted in Romans 9.16, it does not depend upon him who 
wills or him who runs, but on God who shows mercy. We don't 
look at this text and say, isn't Rahab a marvelous specimen of 
a human being? We look at this text and we say, 
isn't God a marvelous being that is working on this heathen, that 
is working on this harlot, that is changing her, that is bringing 
her out of darkness into marvelous light? I don't think she just 
recited this in the manner of historical review. I like to 
think she had it this way. We have heard how Yahweh dried 
up the water of the Red Sea for you. Imagine that. Baal never 
did that for the Canaanites. Asherah never delivered for the 
Canaanites. The deities of the land didn't 
dry up the Red Sea. The deities of the land didn't 
provide such so that that many people could walk through water 
that had been walled up on either side without even getting their 
feet wet. You see, the deities of the land 
never, once Israel passed through those waters, then collapsed 
the water on Pharaoh and his armies. I think this woman is 
excited about what God Almighty has accomplished. We have heard 
how Yahweh 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." Brethren, if we could stop for just a moment, 
if we could pause for just a second, based on what we heard this morning, 
based on what we've seen in the Song of Solomon, How should we 
as God's people communicate His work to others? Well, you know, there's this 
God and He sent His Son and, you know, you just ask Him into 
your heart and everything will be okay. It's one way of doing it. Or 
we could get a little Rahabian fire going. We serve the living 
and true God, the God of heaven and earth. The God who is holy, 
holy, holy. The God whose eye is too pure 
to approve of any evil. This God who rightly and justly 
should punish every last one of us in hell. But oh, the blessings! He sent His Son. He didn't just 
come to part the Red Sea and lead Israel out of Egypt. He 
came to go to the cross. He came to lead His Israel out 
of the Egypt of sin. He didn't just deal with Sihon 
and Og. He dealt with the devil. He dealt 
with sin. He dealt with all those enemies. 
You see, if this pagan is rehearsing the mighty works of God with 
earnest, how should the people of God, in their witness and 
testimony, approach these things? Remember in the Song of Solomon, 
how the bride describes the bridegroom. She said, you know, he's okay. 
He's all right. He's decent. No, she gives this 
glowing description, which we probably can't relate to most 
of those things. You know, noses like towers of 
Lebanon. That just doesn't communicate 
a lot to us in 21st century North America. She's describing him 
in his beauty. She says that he is chief among 
10,000 and altogether lovely. What did the daughters of Jerusalem 
then say? Where is your beloved that we 
may follow him to? Right? We preach a little Savior 
and people are going to respond in a little way. We preach blood 
atonement. We preach reconciliation by the 
cross. We preach the power of God unto 
salvation. And under God's blessing, hopefully 
they respond in more than a little way. Where is your beloved that 
we may follow him to? Rahab here is expressing the 
mighty works of God Most High, His victory in Egypt, His victory 
over Sihon and Og. We jump into the New Covenant. 
We as believers have so much to testify. We can point to the 
same God of heaven and earth. He brought His people out of 
Egypt. He destroyed Sihon. He destroyed Og. He engaged in 
faithfulness and fidelity and kindness to His people. And in 
the fullness of the time, He sent forth His Son, born of a 
woman and born under the law, to redeem those under the law. 
We get to bask in the privilege of telling people about that 
King of kings and Lord of lords that Pastor Kamrat of in Revelation 
chapter 19. I mean, that's a beautiful description 
of our mighty Lord. It's a beautiful description 
of our sovereign King. Let's go out and preach Him. 
Let's go out and testify. Let's go out and witness. We 
should see that by way of a sideline note that this woman is expressing 
something concerning who God is. Now notice the majesty, excuse 
me, in verse 11. 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." Again, that 
is the equivalent of Acts 16.31. And that Philippian jailer said, 
sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Remember that central 
confession of Israel's faith in Deuteronomy 6.4. Hear, O Israel, 
the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and you shall love the Lord 
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all 
your strength. Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 39, 
this was the emphasis upon the covenant community. Therefore 
know this day and consider it in your heart that the Lord himself 
is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. There is no other. That she is confessing this means 
that God Almighty is at work in her heart. It means that the 
new birth has transpired. It means that she's been born 
again. She has been regenerated. That reality that Jesus speaks 
of in John 3, that reality prophesied in Ezekiel 36, is happening to 
the shady lady at Jericho. John Calvin said it this way, 
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 of all the pagan fictions by which the 
majesty and power and glory of God are portioned out among different 
deities." You see what Calvin says. In her statement, in this 
confession, she is throwing off the deities of Canaan. She is 
making a clean break. She's not adding Yahweh to her 
pantheon. She's not adding Yahweh to her 
polytheistic approach to the gods. In this confession of the 
majesty of the God of Israel, she is throwing those out. She is repenting. She is forsaking. She is repudiating all false 
claimants to the throne. He says, and hence we see that 
it is not without cause that two apostles have honored Rahab's 
conduct with the title of faith. Beautiful ascription that this 
prostitute makes in the city of Jericho. And then notice fourthly, 
with reference to her confession, she highlights his mercy. Again, 
it's not as well developed as you and I might declare it. You 
know, Lord Jesus, wash me in your blood and cleanse me from 
my sins. That's an acknowledgment of the 
mercy of God. Remember the psalmist in Psalm 
130? If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could 
stand? But there is forgiveness with 
you that you may be feared. That's an acknowledgment of mercy. 
That's the realization there's grace. That is the acknowledgment 
that there is kindness to be had with God. and the casting 
of oneself upon Him. Well, she does that. Again, it's 
not as developed in terms of 1 Corinthians 6 or Romans chapter 
10, but notice in verse 12. 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 brother, my sisters, 
and all that they have and deliver our lives from death. She's casting 
herself upon the mercy of Yahweh. She's made the central confession. 
She's sided with Him as an exhibition, as a demonstration, as an application. She now throws herself upon Him 
for temporal mercy. Again, Ralph Davis says, genuine 
faith never rests content with being convinced of the reality 
of God, but presses on to take refuge in God. Let's just say 
that one more time. Genuine faith never rests content 
with being convinced of the reality of God, but presses on to take 
refuge in God. She's got the understanding, 
she throws herself on His mercy. You know, I've been saying that 
her faith perhaps isn't as developed in the sense of a Romans 10 1 
Corinthians 6 faith, I think her faith outdoes my faith. I 
think her faith is stellar. She would join in with David, 
say, bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless 
his holy name. He forgives all your iniquities, 
doesn't he? But he also protects you. He 
protects your father. He protects your mother. He protects 
your brothers. He protects your sisters. He 
enters into temporal treaties. He enters into covenant mercy. 
He comes. He aids. He rescues. He saves. He spares. Every good thing is 
to be had in the God of Israel. And then, finally, her blessing. 
Spies make this promise. The Lord responds. And they take 
encouragement when they depart on their way that God Almighty 
has, in fact, delivered all the land into their hands. Turn over 
to Joshua 6, so you can see God's response or God's making good 
on this particular promise made to Rahab. Joshua 6 at 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 the woman and all that she has as you swore 
to her. And the young man 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." Isn't that glorious? I wonder about the annals of 
great military commanders, you know? Men who have led troops 
into battle. Men who have done mighty exploits 
for their country. Do they stop and write a chapter 
about mercy demonstrated to one particular woman and her family? 
God does. You see, when you finish the 
book of Joshua, what should stand out to you? When God makes promises, 
they don't fail. When God speaks His truth, it 
comes to pass. When God promises mercy, He delivers. When God says He's gracious, 
He makes good. In fact, you can turn for just 
a moment to Joshua 21. If you understand Joshua 21, 
you got the whole book. I'm not saying all of Joshua 
21, just 21, 43 to 45. Oftentimes, when we write papers, 
we put our outline or our thesis statement right at the beginning 
so everybody knows where we're going. Well, this particular 
thesis or this particular outline is found here in chapter 21, 
verses 43 to 45. So the Lord gave to Israel all 
the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and 
they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The Lord gave them 
rest all around according to all that He had sworn to their 
fathers, and not a man of all their enemies stood against them. 
The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. Here 
it is. Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had 
spoken to the house of Israel all came to pass. That's the 
theology of the book of Joshua right there. And the shady lady 
of Jericho is included in God's gracious dealings to his people, 
Israel. Well, with reference to her conversion, 
a couple of things I think that we can just see in this passage. 
about the works of Yahweh. She wasn't standing there at 
the Red Sea when Israel marched through. She heard this. Somebody told her. A brother 
reminded us this morning in Romans chapter 10. How shall they hear 
without a preacher? You know, there's this idea that 
if we just be holy, we can win people to Christ. You better 
be really holy. We need to shine as lights in 
a crooked and perverse generation, according to the Apostle in Philippians 
2, holding forth the word of truth. The way we rear our children 
will never save anyone. The way we smile at unbelievers 
will never save anyone. The way we manicure our lawn 
will never save anyone. Now, these are good things. Being 
kind, absolutely. What our brother reminded us 
this morning, absolutely. Conviction in my heart, I need 
to love my neighbors, I need to make a way for the truth. You see, we need to set before 
them Christ. In this context, she needed to 
hear of the exodus. She needed to hear of Sihon and 
on. She needed to hear redemptive fact, so that she could lay hold 
of Yahweh of Israel. Reverend, we need to testify, 
we need to declare, we need to tell people, even if it's as 
simple as that man in John 9. All I know is that I was blind, 
and now I see. Isn't that beautiful? They're 
having this discourse with this man, they're trying to trip him 
up, and he basically does just that. All I know is that I was 
blind, and this Jesus made me see. Oh, you're a man born in 
sin, a total sinner, just get away, what can you tell us? He 
can tell you the truth. We need to declare. We need to 
communicate. If you don't have it in terms 
of doing it, then pray to God for courage or pray to God for 
those who are engaged. Pray for those who are evangelists. Pray for those who are preachers. 
Pray that on Sunday, when we come to church, yes, the edification 
of the saints is in view, but I hope and I assume and I presuppose 
that you are praying that the Spirit comes and that we see 
this as a vehicle of evangelism. That when sinners come into this 
place, they'll hear the Gospel, the Spirit will attend, they 
will hear those revelatory facts, and by God's grace, lay hold 
of Jesus Christ the Lord. She heard of Yahweh, the Word 
was communicated. She confesses the majesty of 
Yahweh. She was convinced. Again, we 
give God all the glory for that. Any power, any change that takes 
place in the heart of sinner, all goes to God the Lord. Every single bit. We see it displayed 
here. She fled to the mercy of Yahweh. 
She demonstrates commitment. Yes, she's believed. Yes, she's 
confessed. I believe that's justification. Sanctification is that commitment, 
that following, that going after, that holding on to, that never 
letting go. All the elements, all the spiritual 
blessings with which God puts on his people are here demonstrated 
in this conversion of Rahab. Secondly, we need to understand 
the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You've got to appreciate that 
God doesn't take sort of a scouring pad to the scripture. I can't 
tell people that she was a harlot. I can't tell people that David, 
their hero, the king in Israel, actually committed adultery. You might be like me. Every time 
you get to 2 Samuel 11 and 12, you're saying, no, don't do it, 
David. You know he does it. You know the Bible's not going 
to magically change right before your eyes. Reading the history 
of David, he's consolidated power. He's made Jerusalem the political 
capital in chapter 5. He's made it the religious capital 
in chapter 6. 2 Samuel 7, God makes that promise 
of the Davidic covenant to him that from his seed one will sit 
upon his throne. one who will reign forever and 
ever. You see David exhibiting kindness, 
grace. We see that in 8, 9, see it in 
10, and then we get to 11 and David becomes just another thug, 
just another king, just another renegade, taking power, exploiting 
it, taking someone else's wife, covering it by killing him. You 
see, God doesn't hide those unsavory facts. God doesn't scour that 
away. When we get to Luke chapter 7, 
this woman, which was a sinner, that's not sanitized for the 
reader. Because as I've already tried 
to point out, the hero in each of these instances is the God 
of heaven and earth. the God of glory, the God of 
grace, the God who saves Rahab the harlot, the God who forgives 
David, king of Israel, the God who allows that woman, which 
was a sinner, to wipe his feet with her own tears and her own 
hair and then chides the Pharisee for his wicked heart. You see, 
the Bible sets forth the glorious grace of God. We need to understand 
that. Again, a lengthy quote, but a 
powerful quote from Dale Ralph Davis. He says, so Rahab is a 
harlot, a pagan and a disreputable one at that. Yet she is welcomed 
into the church. Rahab the harlot. Joshua saved 
a life and she dwelt in Israel to this day. He says, now that 
can be offensive. He says, we say we can't have 
that. The church is only for respectable, clean, middle-class 
folks. As a brother pointed out this 
morning, perhaps we don't voice our prejudice. Perhaps we don't 
voice the unsavory things in our heart, but that doesn't mean 
they're not present. We've just become good at masking. 
We've just become good at hiding. We've just become good at camouflage. But really, is there a one of 
us who this morning wasn't a little bit convicted that there are 
some persons that make us uncomfortable? You can say, not me. Praise God 
for you. I'm so glad that there are specimens 
like you in the church to teach the rest of us. But the rest 
of us struggle. The rest of us have difficulty, 
and I think Davis is making that point. We say, but 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? He says, the church is not a 
club, but a refuge for sinners who have been touched by the 
grace of God. He says, 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. Beautiful. He's right on. And in conclusion, as I was listening 
to that message this morning, I was thinking, if we bear that 
attitude like Jonah, if we look down our noses on the Rahab's, 
if we separate ourselves and we distance ourselves, we have 
betrayed our calling as followers of Christ. Because this man receives 
sinners and eats with them, right? And that was the complaint of 
the Pharisees and scribes. That was their grumble. That 
was their murmur. That was their whining. But they 
were actually declaring the truth of the gospel. In fact, Jesus 
answers that with a three-pronged parable. You're right, I do receive 
sinners. I receive them like a shepherd. 
When he loses one sheep, he leaves the 99, he goes and he finds 
the one, he puts it on his shoulders and he goes home rejoicing. I'm 
like that woman who loses a coin. She doesn't just write it off, 
she doesn't just report it to Revenue Canada as a loss. Rather, 
she moves the furniture, she gets the broom out, she searches 
and she finds that coin and she rejoices. And Jesus says, I receive 
sinners like that father of the prodigal. When he was a long 
way off, the father ran to him and fell on him and kissed him 
and put a ring on his finger and slayed the fatted calf and 
received him back into his own arms. So you see, if we are not, 
or if we aren't like Jonah, or we look down on people, we're 
not like our Savior. But I think it does evidence 
at least three things about us. This will be quick. This isn't 
a three things that's gonna take 30 minutes. First, I believe 
it is an implicit denial of our own sinfulness. An implicit denial of our own 
sinfulness. Jonah, do you really want to 
go there? Jonah, do you understand that 
you deserve the wrath and fury of God Most High for a million 
eternities? Jonah, do you think that your 
performance, your conduct, your place is any better than these 
Ninevites? You ever read through Hosea? 
Hosea is told to marry a harlot. I think a lot of readers identify 
with Hosea. We're the victim hero. People 
wrong us all the time, but we're big enough to overlook it and 
we'll come to the rescue. We're Gomer in Hosea. You haven't 
figured that out, you need to reread that Minor Prophet. We 
are Gomer. We are the defiled one. We are 
the wretched one. When we fail or when we refuse 
to show God's grace to sinners because we think they're a little 
bit worse than we are, there is in that an implicit denial 
of our own depravity. As well, it is a failure to comprehend 
the power of the gospel. What's Paul say in Romans chapter 
1, verses 16 and 17? I am not ashamed of the gospel. 
I'm not. Why aren't you ashamed, Paul? 
For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. Everyone includes, dare I say 
it, harlots, wicked kings, drug addicts, people who have had 
abortions. For everyone who believes, to 
the Jew first and also to the Greek, for in that gospel the 
righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, that, as 
it is written, the just shall live by faith." When we think 
that we are not going to spend our time evangelizing them, it 
is a failure to comprehend the power of the gospel. And lastly, 
and very closely conjoined with that second one, it is a lack 
of appreciation for the mercy and grace of God. The next time 
you're feeling a little bit Jonah-ish, may I encourage you to look in 
the mirror. May I encourage you to reflect upon where you were. My brother described it as BC 
days. If we're honest with ourselves, 
we need the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from the sins that 
we've committed in the last two seconds. Not even going back to the BC 
days, right? Why do we think we're better 
than people? Why do we get proud? Why are 
we arrogant? Why are everybody else's sins 
so much worse than ours? How can we, with pinpoint precision, 
see the nastiness and the wretchedness and the evil and the vileness 
of those people and not explode with our hypocrisy? The best Christian is terrible. Isn't that something you learn 
as you grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord 
Jesus Christ? how much you constantly stand 
in need of Jesus, that's what you should be learning as you 
grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. You should 
be understanding. You should be appreciative. You 
should realize there's grace and mercy to be had in Him. And if God was able to save Rahab 
the harlot, if He is able to save David, king of Israel, if 
He is able to save the chief of sinners, Paul himself, and 
He's able to save wretches like us, shouldn't we go out and preach, 
Jesus saves? Jesus saves. Brethren, I hope 
Rahab the harlot teaches us about God, the Lord, the king, the 
maker of heaven and earth, and the one who sent his son into 
this world to die for sinners and to rise again. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for your 
word and we thank you for this account and for what it teaches 
us concerning your character, concerning your majesty, and 
concerning your graciousness. How we bless you and how we praise 
you and how we thank you for the forgiveness of sins, how 
we bless you and praise you for your grace that brought us out 
of darkness into marvelous light. And we pray that you would send 
forth your gospel, conquering and to conquer. And we pray that 
you would let the nations be glad, that you would cause your 
face to shine upon the peoples, and that the way of God Most 
High would be made known throughout this world. And we pray in Jesus' 
name, amen.