Well, you can turn in your Bibles to Joshua 2, a passage we have looked at many times, as a matter of fact, but not for several years. Thought it would be an encouragement as we participate in the supper to once again appreciate the marvelous grace of our blessed God. Joshua 2, I'll read the chapter, we'll pray, and then we'll look at it in some detail. Joshua 2 beginning in 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. 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 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 fainthearted 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. Our Father, we thank you for your word.
We thank you for what we find here concerning Rahab the harlot. We pray again that you would cause us to reflect on your graciousness, on your mercy, on your marvelous loving kindness. We pray that you would be pleased to bless the gospel as it is preached here and elsewhere. We pray that word would run swiftly and be glorified.
We pray now that the Holy Spirit would guide us and direct us and cause us to receive the word with thankful hearts and forgive us again for all of our sins. And we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well part of Rahab's confession is found in verse 11.
She says he is God in heaven and on earth beneath. And as this passage demonstrates he's also the God who saves prostitutes.
Contact with Rahab (vv. 1–7)
I want to look first at the contact with Rahab in verses 1 to 7. Then we'll look secondly at the confession of Rahab in verses 8 to 14. And then thirdly the contract with Rahab or the covenant with Rahab in verses 14 to 24. But with reference to the contact, notice the purpose for which the narrative sets this forth.
Verse 1 says, Joshua had been one of the spies in that reconnaissance mission of the promised land back in Numbers 13 and 14. Moses had dispatched leaders or representatives from each of the 12 tribes to go into the land of promise, to spy out the land, and then to bring back reconnaissance information and intel to Moses with reference to the conquest. And so here Joshua is demonstrating something of a good successor. As Moses did with reference to military matters, so does Joshua the son of Nun.
This is a means to survey the threat of Jericho's army and to assess the routes that would be necessary for them to take the city of Jericho. Richard Hess 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 verse 1 introduces the narrative, it introduces the setting, and it gives us the specific contours of the mission undertaken by these spies. Then notice they come to the house of Rahab.
So 1B tells us, so they went and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab and lodged there. So with reference to Rahab, the identification of her trade is rightly interpreted, it's rightly translated here as harlot. In other words, she had relations with men for money. And as we consider sin, as we consider the enormity of sin, we see in this particular passage the enormity of God's grace.
The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 1, 7 says, in him, in Christ, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of God's grace. And what we see on display here is the riches of God's grace. The word could also be translated as innkeeper, and some try to take that particular position. But when Rahab is mentioned in the New Testament, she is called specifically a prostitute.
She is Rahab the harlot. Those two words, the and harlot, always attach themselves to Rahab in the Holy Scriptures, like Smokey the Bear. You cannot evade, you cannot disregard, you cannot not be what you've been identified as, and that's the particularity of her calling here. Now in terms of the threat to her person, if you look again with me at verse 2. the country.
Now, spoiler alert, we all know what Rahab does in this particular passage. She lies. She deceives the king's men. But I think we need to consider as well that she's engaged in a capital crime.
Most likely, had the king been able to determine that she was being deceptive, if she was in fact hiding the spies, she would have been executed for treason. This was a wartime scenario and again we see that, go view the land, verse 1, especially Jericho. They went to view the land so they could recon the land so that they could know what they were up against when it comes to destroying the land. They're engaged in the conquest and this is a traitor.
She is engaged in treason and treachery. And with reference to her particular activity in this passage, she could have and should have been executed should she have been found by the king of Jericho. So then notice the implementation of her particular plan. So verse three, 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.
So the king is tipped off, there's Israelites here, they're reconning the land. They've got nefarious purposes in sight, to be sure. And so he dispatches his men to go ask Rahab specifically about these particular men. So notice the hiding of the spies in verse 6.
This is parenthetical. It is filling out for us and showing us the nature of her particular plan. So verse 6 says, 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. So when it comes to being questioned, we see specifically that she confirms, verses 4 and 5, that yes, the spies had been here.
But I didn't know who they were. I didn't know from whence they came, and so they departed. End of story. Tell the king I am not complicit.
Everything is hunky-dory on my end. But of course she lies, of course she deceives, of course she tells them a non-truth. And this is particularly the problem with many interpreters when it comes to this passage. Now as I now shall mention the nature of biblical narrative.
The Bible reports things without necessarily condoning them. The Bible, for instance, reports that David committed adultery and that he committed murder or conspiracy to murder in order to cover up that adultery. Now nobody ever thinks that therefore it's okay that I go out and commit adultery and cover it up with conspiracy to murder. So the Bible can report things without necessarily condoning them.
As I mentioned though, this is also connected to the larger crime of treason or treachery against a nation's state. But when it comes to the New Testament, It's only ever positive toward her. It is only ever positive with reference to what she does in this particular passage. And in the close of the sermon this evening, we will notice the specific New Testament witness concerning Rahab the harlot.
Again, Richard Hess says, the ethical issue is not the concern of the narrative. It stresses the deception, not in order to condemn Rahab, but to magnify her personal risk in hiding the spies. Again, the personal risk of committing treason against a state. And Davis makes this observation, 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, which the writer has conspired to make the center of the whole narrative.
It is her confession of the glory and the majesty and the mercy and excellence of God Almighty. In fact, brethren, a bit of a spoiler alert again, you don't need Joshua 2 in the Bible. You could move from Joshua 1 to Joshua 3 without ever missing a step. It's almost as if the divine spirit says to the human author, let's take an aside to magnify the grace of Yahweh before we get back into the conquest.
Yeah, you're going to go into the land. You're going to kill people and you're going to break things. But we need to understand that this Yahweh of Israel isn't just the God of a warring people that goes in and kills people and breaks things. He's the God of grace.
He's the God of mercy. He's the God of salvation. He's the God not only of heaven and of earth, but also of prostitutes like Rahab the harlot. So the bottom line with reference to this narrative, it's to magnify God's graciousness.
It's to show us His mercy. It's to give us a peek at those infinite riches of His grace, and it's through the foil or the vehicle of Rahab the harlot. So she deceives the king's men, and then we notice in verse seven, 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. So, her plan works.
She gets rid of the king's men, she has the spies safely hidden away, and now she moves to contact them.
Confession of Rahab (vv. 8–14)
And that brings us to the confession of Rahab in verses 8 to 14. Now just a bit about the confession of Rahab. It doesn't sound exactly like the Ordo Salutis in Romans chapter 8 in verses 29 and 30. Those whom God called, these he also justified, and ones he justified, these he also glorified.
But I submit it is the order of salvation from Romans 8, 29 and 30. In other words, the Spirit speaking through the New Covenant apostles teaches us how to read the Old Testament scriptures. Somebody rightly pointed out to me this morning that if you read the Psalms as an unconverted Jew, you would get the feeling or the impression that it's all about your Torah keeping, your law keeping, your obedience. And if you are actually successful in one degree or other, it would breed a self-righteousness.
And I said, exactly. That's why we don't read the Psalms as unconverted Jews. We read the Psalms as blood-bought children of the Most High God who have the spirit of truth, who gave us the Old Testament, and He gave us inspired interpreters of the Old Testament to lead us by the hand and appreciate that in Joshua 2, At verses 8 to 14, you've got an ordo salutis. You've got a confession of faith.
You've got effectual calling. You've got out of darkness into marvelous light by the grace of God in this person of Rahab the harlot. It is most excellent. It is most glorious.
It is most wondrous. Richard Hess again says this, this speech of Rahab's in verses 8 to 13, it represents one of the longest, the longest being Abigail in 1 Samuel 25, it represents one of the longest uninterrupted statements by a woman in biblical narrative. Now, I know that's offensive to modern women because, you know, equal time, equal pay, equal everything. But in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, you don't get large sections of narrative from women.
But you do from Rahab the harlot. Again, why? Because it's ultimately about Rahab the harlot's God. It's ultimately about there's mercy to be had in you.
Rahab the harlot could say with David, if you, Lord, should pardon iniquities, if you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who can stand? But there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared. Rahab the harlot came to confess several things concerning the true God. I see a few.
The Fear of God (vv. 8–9)
First, the fear of God, verses 8 and 9, the power of God, verse 10, the majesty of God in verse 11, and then the mercy of God in verses 12 to 13. So look first with me at the fear of God in verses 8 and 9. 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 fainthearted because of you. This is a recurring theme in the Pentateuch and a recurring theme in the book of Joshua that God graciously gave the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
They didn't earn it, they didn't merit it, they didn't win it in a contest, but God in grace gave it to them. He reminds them, God, to the children of Israel through Moses in the book of Deuteronomy, it's not because you're more numerous than the other nations, and it's certainly not because you're more righteous than the other nations, but it's because I've set my love upon you that I'm giving it to you. Well, Rahab understood the gift character of this particular land. 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.
That fear of God that she confesses, or that fear of God that she acknowledges, that she readily acquiesces to, was foretold by God through Moses on the plains of Moab. Deuteronomy 11, 25, No man shall be able to stand against you. The Lord your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you, So she is been affected by the reality of the power of God Most High to which she now moves.
The Power of God (v. 10)
Notice in verse 10 in Joshua chapter 2. 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." So with reference to God's power, she acknowledges the Exodus. There's an evangelism or an evangelistic element to the Exodus. There's an evangelistic element with reference to the destruction of Sihon and Og. This melted her heart, and we know it's by the Holy Spirit.
Again, we think as New Covenant Christians, we know she didn't just wake up one morning from her harlotry and say, you know what? I'm going to choose for Yahweh today. No, God the Spirit is working upon her heart, showing her these things, and making it good in her soul, such that she reflects on that power. seen in the Exodus, seen in the liberation or deliverance of God's people from the house of bondage and in the destruction with reference to Sihon and Og. Again, Exodus chapter 15, the people will hear and be afraid.
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." God knew the remedial effect on the nations, remedial with reference to the Rahab the harlots, but destruction to the enemies of Yahweh. But nevertheless, in the midst of this, as I said, before they embark on the conquest, let's stop for a moment and reflect on God's grace. It's a good thing, isn't it?
It's a good thing to sing Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see. It's a good thing for us to come to the supper and reflect on God's grace. It's a good thing for us to reflect upon the reality that we're not going to eat this bread and drink this cup because we performed well this week.
We dotted all the I's, we crossed all the T's, we read our Bible 17.5 minutes a day, we disciplined our children, we did everything, so this is my reward. No, that's not how we ought to approach the table. We come to the table and say, bless God most high that he hasn't cut me off. that he keeps me, that he is going to continue to keep me, that he can't not keep me once he has entered into that saving covenant. The table is a reflection upon God's power.
The Majesty of God (v. 11)
It's a reflection as well upon God's majesty. And I think that's another thing that she confesses specifically 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." And in terms of her confession proper, notice that statement that I led off with in verse 11.
He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. You find the same thing in Deuteronomy chapter 4 at verse 39 with reference to the covenant nation of Israel. Deuteronomy 439, 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. For this woman, who was a pagan, likely an idolater and a trafficker in relations for money, for her to make this confession was huge.
It's glorious. It's not only affirming allegiance to this God who is the God of heaven and of the earth, but it's turning her back on all the false gods that perhaps at one time she subscribed. In fact, Calvin sees it thus. 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. And hence we see that it is not without cause that two apostles have honored Rahab's conduct with the title of faith. So positively confessing this is an expression of faith.
Positively confessing this is a repudiation of idols. Sounds just like faith and repentance as we find it in New Covenant theology.
The Mercy of God (vv. 12–13)
She then moves to the mercy of God. Just imagine, you understand God is to be feared, you understand that God is powerful, and you understand that God is majestic. Well, according to our confession, men know that by the light of nature. Men know that inherently.
God made them to know that. But that doesn't save them. In fact, in Romans 1, it tells us that it renders them without a defense. It renders them without an apologetic.
See, she moves from the confession of the fear of God, the power of God, and the majesty of God, to throwing herself upon the mercy of God. In other words, yeah, you need to know that God made the earth. You need to know that God reigns in the heavens. You need to know that God, through His people, or with His people, destroyed Sihon and Og.
You need to know that God, through His mighty right arm, delivered Israel out of Egyptian bondage. You need to know all that, but you need to come to Him. You need to seek the mercy of God. You need to come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He says on that great day of the feast, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me. The apostle says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. She sees mercy to be had in this Yahweh of Israel. And again, I think it's the faith put in her by the Holy Spirit that gives her a boldness with reference to the throne of grace.
She's not going to let these fellows go until they promise. She's not going to let these fellows go until they promise, they covenant, that she and her entire household is going to be safe. There's a boldness and a courage to her faith that I think far exceeds the boldness and the courage that at times we see in our own lives. 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 brothers, my sisters and all that they have and deliver our lives from death.
The conviction of Rahab concerning his might, his majesty, and his fear was good, but one then casts themselves upon mercy. Davis again says, genuine faith never rests content with being convinced of the reality of God, but presses on to take refuge in God. We believe that He is, Hebrews 11, 6, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Confessing the blessed perfections of God is great.
God is spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable. It is holiness, righteousness, justice, goodness, and truth. That's great. You cast yourself by the grace of God upon that mercy to receive gospel blessing and benefit from the Lord of glory.
Perhaps you've heard gospel preaching that basically told you never to come. Perhaps you've heard gospel preaching that set forth the perfections of God, even talked about the mercy of God, even talked about the grace of God, and then wagged its finger at you and said, but beware, beware. Brethren, there's no beware. The grace and the mercy of God says, come, not beware.
Stay away. Why do you think Joshua 2's in there? So you can reason in your head, yeah, he's full of mercy to Rahab the harlot. There'd never be mercy for a wretch like me.
Well, there was mercy for a wretch like her. God expects you to use your noggin a little bit here. God expects you to conclude thusly. Well, if there's mercy for Rahab and there's mercy for Paul, the chief of sinners, There could be mercy for me.
I'd point you back to Ephesians 1, 7, in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to what? The riches of his grace. You see, the Bible doesn't traffic in stinginess on the part of God. The Bible doesn't traffic in miserliness on the part of God.
The Bible doesn't depict God as Ebenezer Scrooge. The Bible shows God as the father of the prodigal who runs to the prodigal, falls on the prodigal, kisses the prodigal, brings the prodigal back to the house, puts a ring on his finger, and then puts a robe on his back. Everything in Holy Scripture converges upon this grand reality. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
Why is there a Psalm 130 verse 4? But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. So sinners won't seek forgiveness. Why is there these emphases on God's abundant mercy over and over and over again in Holy Scripture, if the take-home lesson is, but don't come?
No, that's bad satanic logic. The logic of the Scriptures is, come immediately. Come right now. Look and live.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. And for those of us, by God's grace, who have been saved, It's going to be great to see Rahab the harlot in heaven. It's going to be great to see the saints who've gone before us. That brother that Bonner quotes, was it Alexander Hume, that sang from scaffold to glory, Psalm 17, 15.
Isn't it going to be wonderful to sit at the marriage supper of the Lamb? And you know what's not going to be the subject of the discourse at the table? Well, it was me that got me here. It was me that, you know, did this.
It was me that performed. It's all about Christ. It's all about the altogether lovely. It's all about the chief among 10,000.
It's all about the Redeemer of God's elect. It's all about the one who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, who assumed our humanity with all the essential properties and all the common infirmities thereof and yet without sin. It's going to be all about the one who had clean hands. the one who never deceived with his tongue, the one who never transgressed the law, the one who always did what was pleasing to the Father, and the one who was set up on that cross as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Rahab the harlot is Exhibit A as to why you should come immediately.
Don't resist. Don't listen to the devil. God says, come. The devil says, stay.
Don't listen to the devil. Don't give him that. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ, who stretches out His arms, as the prophet says, to needy sinners. It is most blessed, and this is what Rahab is finding with reference to Yahweh of Israel.
She has this confession of faith. She throws herself upon the mercy of God, and she's others-minded. It's a blessed reality, isn't it? She's others-minded.
Can you spare my father? Can you spare my mother? Can you spare my brothers? Can you spare my sisters?
Not kidding, as I'm reading the narrative, and it mentioned, tonight, I wish I had the wherewithal to have done this in the study, but as I'm reading it, I'm wondering, man, I wonder what her dad thought of her. A woman that turns out to be a harlot, it's a sad and pathetic thing. It probably brings a lot of pain to her parents. But her confession in Yahweh Most High, her understanding of the mercy of God that is to be had in God, is the means by which dad, mom, brothers, sisters are going to be spared when the city of Jericho is razed, when it is destroyed.
There's only one family that makes it, and it's the family of Rahab the harlot. Dad probably went from, yeah, that's sad that she's in that line of work, to this is a blessed gift from God, my daughter, in whom I am very well pleased and happy.
Covenant with Rahab (vv. 14–24)
Notice then thirdly, the covenant with Rahab in verses 14 to 24. We won't spend too much time here, but notice the spies make a promise. Verse 14, so the men answered her, our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours, of ours, rather, and it shall be when the Lord has given us the land that we will deal kindly and truly with you." In other words, what you have said is good. What you have said is right.
What you have done is blessed. She could have ratted them out. Yeah, Kingsmen, they're up on the roof. They're hidden under the stalks of flax.
No treason, no deception, right? She could have done that. In fact, in James 2.25, the argument is not she was saved by this work. The argument is that the work, the hiding of the spies, was an evidence that she had been saved by grace through faith.
That's the whole section there in James chapter 2. It's not supporting this notion that it's a combination of faith plus works. No, it has to do with deadbeats that have no works that are saying or suggesting that they're saved. James is saying, no, if you've got true saving faith, if God has justified you freely by His grace, there will be sanctification.
Our confession says the same thing. We are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone, but it's ever accompanied with all other saving graces. And who's the other one in James chapter 2? It's Abraham.
And in the chronology set forth by James, it fits perfectly into his argument. Abraham is justified in Genesis 15, 6. He believed in God and it was accounted unto him for righteousness. What James then hinges upon is Genesis chapter 22.
When God says, take your son, your only son, the son of your love up to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him to me. What's James's point? The sacrifice of Isaac was the demonstration of the justifying grace of God in Genesis chapter 15. The hiding of the spies by Rahab is the evidence or the demonstration of the justifying grace of God through faith.
That's James's point in James 2, 14 to 25. And what the emphasis there is, is whether you're a patriarch or you're a prostitute. Salvation is only and ever alone by God's grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And that faith is not alone, but it's always accompanied by all other saving graces.
Rahab makes it into James 2. Rahab makes it into what we call the Hall of Faith in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 31. I don't want to say, and even more significantly, because that sounds like Hebrews and James aren't as important, she makes it into Matthew chapter 1. which of course is the genealogy of our blessed Savior. So the spies are quite happy to enter into this arrangement.
The harlot then responds in verses 15 and 16. Truly 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. And then again in verses 21 and 23, 21 to 23, 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. So Rahab responds. They enter into this covenant, this arrangement, this agreement, this contract that when the Israelites come to raise the city, Rahab and her family will indeed be safe. So she provides all that they stand in need of, and then the spies confess and understand the goodness of God.
Rahab in Joshua 6 and the Lineage of Christ
Notice in verse 24, 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. And then one final text with a couple of other texts. That sounded weird, but notice in Joshua chapter 6, Joshua chapter 6, beginning in 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 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 all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day because she hid the messengers from or whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. Now, there's two links or one link to get us to Matthew one, Ruth, chapter four, verses 18 to 22, which I submit is.
The sum and substance of Ruth Ruth is a wonderful love story. It's beautiful, it's glorious, it's wondrous, awesome, powerful, evocative, well-crafted narrative. to get us to 4, 18 to 22. Now this is the genealogy of Perez. Perez begot Hezron, Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Aminadab.
Aminadab begot Nashon, and Nashon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed. Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David. Again, that's the sum and substance of the book of Ruth.
I know that's not typically how we approach the book of Ruth, but it shows Gentile inclusion in the covenant of grace. It shows, again, a wonderful love story. but it shows the genealogy of the Messiah. Matthew 1.5, Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. Praise God most high.
So I guess there's more rationale for Joshua 2 than just to stand in awe at God's grace and mercy. It explains who this woman is in Joshua chapter 6. who this woman is, at least indirectly in Ruth chapter four, and who this woman is explicitly in Matthew chapter one, in terms of the lineage of the son of David. Well,
Concluding Applications
in terms of some concluding thoughts, we see with reference to the conversion of Rahab, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The same is true in the new covenant. The same was true in the old covenant. She had heard.
She had listened. She knew the mighty exploits of the Israelites, not in their own savvy and strength, but because of their God. She confessed faith in this blessed God. She showed allegiance to this blessed God.
And she confirmed this confession by her actions with reference to the spies of Joshua. As I mentioned, James chapter two, I'll just quote Gil there. He says, this instance in James 2, 25 is produced with the other, Abraham, to show that wherever there is true faith, whether in Jew or Gentile, in man or woman, in greater or lesser believers, or in such who have been greater or lesser sinners, there will be good works. And the argument is not good works, no good works.
The argument is the place, the theological category, and whether they are causal or consequence. Listen to Manton as he comments on Rahab the harlot. Believers, though they justify their profession, that means their works demonstrate they've been justified freely by God's grace. Believers, though they justify their profession, are still monuments of free grace.
It is Rahab the harlot, though justified by works in the sense that James is speaking of. He says, the scars and marks of old sins remain, not to our dishonor, but to God's glory. When she's Rahab the harlot, brethren, I do not mean to denigrate. I am not putting her down.
I am magnifying the awesome grace of God, the way that Paul does when he says, of whom I am chief. That shines the light upon grace. in terms of the mercy of Almighty God. I already mentioned the narrative flows from chapters 1 to 3 without dependence on chapter 2, and then the narrative displays the mercy of God toward a sinful Gentile, a sinful Gentile. You see, the New Covenant explanation of the mystery of Christ in Ephesians 2 and 3, mystery isn't something that was just developed by Paul.
It was always there. It wasn't as clearly seen, though, as it is in the New Covenant. But all the way back to the oracles of Noah, you've got Gentile inclusion in the covenant of grace. all throughout the Old Testament. In fact, we're going to end our worship service tonight singing Psalm 117.
What's Psalm 117 about? Gentiles and the covenant of grace. You see, the glory of God is seen that in this covenant nation of Israel, God's free to pick off others along the way. And Rahab the harlot is one of them.
Richard Hess, 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, Genesis 12, 3, 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 bloodshed? It's another thing. I mean, here we are, if we're reading the narrative, we're on board with Joshua, he gets his commission in chapter one, be of good courage, meditate on my word, I will bless and I will prosper you. All right, Joshua, let's go conquer the land.
We're yearning for chapter three. Wait a minute, chapter two. I want you to see how I'm gonna deal with this pagan harlot and how I'm gonna include her in the covenant promises of God Almighty. One final quote, Dale Ralph Davis, Now that can be offensive.
We say, 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. Praise God that He is God of heaven, He is God of earth, and He is the God of sinful pagan harlots. May the Lord encourage our hearts as we sup tonight, as we are reminded that we do this in remembrance of Him and not of us. It's not our hands that are pure in the sight of our holy God.
It's his, imputed to us and received by faith alone.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this wonderful display of your amazing grace. We see it in our own lives.
We see it in our own hearts. We see it all around us, and it does truly cause us to stand in awe. We ask God that you would bless the preaching of your word all over the earth. We pray that many Rahabs would find their way into the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, that many sinners from all different walks of life would find themselves one day at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
We bless you for your goodness. We bless you for your mercy. We bless you now that we can remember in a special way our Lord's death. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen.