Joshua 2 & 6

Good morning, Saylorville! Glad you’re here with us this morning. My name is Kyhl and I am the Men’s Ministries Pastor here, and it’s a joy to open up the Word of God with you this morning.

If you’re joining us for the first time, welcome. Today we conclude the series we’ve been in this summer: Unsung: In Praise of Everyday Faithfulness. We’ve studied those individuals who’ve shown incredible faithfulness through their prayers, their service, their vocation and today we’re going to look at someone who was faithful in their faith.

As we get started this morning, I’m curious. Does anyone here love words?

Maybe some of you were the kids who read the dictionary for fun.

I love words.

Charity and I have a banner above our dining room table with a sort of family mantra, and in there it says (Picture), “We will use our words carefully and intentionally because terminology is theology.”

Now, we’re not perfect. This is what we aspire to be. Words matter.

How many of you have ever been labeled by someone because of something in your past?

For example, I love words and the stories they make.

…To the extent that some have called me a book worm. Or Chuck when I was in high school, which is another story for another time.

Maybe it’s more ominous: Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic?

Sometimes there are individuals in the Bible and we remember them because of their actions. Like Stephen – the martyr. Or Judas – the betrayer. Or Thomas – the doubter.

Rahab the _________________.

We’re going to be in Joshua 2 this morning, so if you have your Bibles you can turn there.

As you turn there, I need to remind you of Caleb, whom Randy preached on a couple weeks ago. Caleb and Joshua, 2 of 12 spies who went into the promised land during the time of Moses and returned with a profitable scouting report. However the Israelites cowered in fear, and were made to wander in the desert for 40 years…until that generation had died out.

Now, that generation has died out. Joshua is at the helm, and Israel is getting ready to enter the promised land. Again, Israel sends out spies, this time 2, unnamed, into Jericho. It is here, within the walls of Jericho that these spies encounter Rahab.

Rahab the _________________.

However, today, we’re not focusing on Rahab’s vocation, we’re focusing on her faith.

Hebrews 11:31 (NKJV), “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

Remember, I love words, so we’re about to get real nerdy up in the Lord’s house today so buckle up.

Words have meaning, so just so we’re on the same page. Faith is defined in Hebrews as: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Rahab has unforgettable faith.

Courageous Faith – v1-4

In verse 3 of Joshua 2 we see, “Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab saying, ‘Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.’”

Last week Pastor Jerrod preached on Mordecai and the book of Esther. There we see first hand what happens when someone disregards the king’s decrees. Queen Vashti was deposed as queen for refusing to act obediently to the king’s request. With Esther we saw the fear of approaching the king without being requested.

The long and short of it is: you annoy the king and you’re dead.

Rahab is dealing with an earthly ruler who has both the power and authority to blot her from the face of the planet.

Rahab’s response is recorded for us in verses 4-7, “but the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, ‘True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.’ But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.”

So, both in word and deed, Rahab turns her back on the king and her people.

One commentator puts it this way, “The king expected Rahab to do her patriotic duty and turn the spies in…When Rahab hid the spies, she sided with Israel against her own people. It was an act of treason.”

Rahab’s faith is not a faith of opportunity.

There is no silver lining for her at this point. The options are this: surrender and survive or lie and die.

…I’m going to be honest with you, I struggle with this passage, and have lost sleep over it.

Anyone else?

What we say matters. How we describe sin matters. Words have meaning.

So I wrestle with passages like this. With passages like Exodus 1 where the Hebrew midwives are called to kill the male Hebrew children and they don’t. And it says in Exodus 1:20, “God dealt well with the midwives.”

It would be really easy to get up here and say “God’s glorified so it’s justified.”

But I can’t in good conscience say that and roll on because it seems contrary to what we read throughout the rest of Scripture. By God’s grace, we’re not about “easy” at Saylorville Church. We wrestle…

“Most okayest sport of all time”

We read passages like Romans 13:1 (v1) Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established…

Then you have the words of Peter in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than men.”

In Hebrews 11, it doesn’t say by faith Rahab lied. It says by faith Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe.

Rahab, lied. That’s a sin, 100% and we’re all guilty.

This is not a justification of sin, and God could 100% have saved the spies without Rahab lying.

Rahab’s faith compelled her to imperfect action.

God, who does not change, used a sinful woman to accomplish his good purposes.

And He used a sinful human being, because none of us are perfect. And he’s still using sinful people today.

Rahab’s courageous faith led her to respond in a manner that would protect God’s people while surrendering her own life.

Unlike Abraham, who told a king his wife was his sister, to spare his own life. Not once, but twice. He threw his wife under the bus, pushed the king (and his wife) towards sin, all to save his own skin.

Again, Rahab’s courageous faith led her to respond in a manner that would protect God’s people while surrendering her own life.

Jesus tells the disciples in Matthew 16, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Does your faith compel you to such courage?

Do you trust so much in the living God that you would lay your life on the line instead of throwing someone else under the bus?

Maybe that’s too big a question…or maybe it’s too easy, because we don’t face decisions like that.

What about this? Do you have faith courageous enough to walk away from a job, trusting that God will provide and be glorified when it no longer “depends on you”?

Are you willing to lose everything?

Rahab was. She’s not jewish. She’s not reputable. She’s not promised anything. Yet she is willing to be alienated by everyone she knows and lay her life on the line to protect God’s people.

Courageous faith sees heart change before behavior modification. Rahab heard, and her affections were drawn from her people to the Lord.

Not only did Rahab display courageous faith, but convicted faith.

Convicted Faith – v8-11

Look at verses 8-11.

After sending the guards away, Rahab goes up to the roof where these spies are hidden, and says (v8-11), “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God he is God in the heavens above and the earth beneath.”

Did you catch it?

Rahab’s first recorded words to the spies are, “I know that the LORD has given you the land…”

Like I said, we’re gonna get nerdy.

Rahab says, “I know” – y?da which is the same used of Adam and Eve in Genesis 4, when Adam knew his wife.

Rahab’s job was to know people. But Rahab’s encounters wouldn’t have used this term. We see this in Genesis 38 when Judah interacts with Tamar. The Hebrew term yada is used, but in recognition of Tamar as an individual, their encounter is described with a different, more transactional word, bo.

“I know.”

Resolved.

Resolute.

Committed.

Confident.

“I know.”

“I know the Lord.”

She uses YHWH. The Israelite word for God. The name God uses of himself at the burning bush.

It wouldn’t have been uncommon for non-jews to know the name YHWH.

For example, the Mesha Stele (Picture), is a Moabite tablet that dates back to the 9th century BC. That tablet that outlines the conquests of King Mesha of Moab…clearly describes altars of YHWH.

However, the difference between this historical reference and the reference of Rahab is the personal connection. The Mesha Stele talks about YHWH…

Rahab confesses YHWH.

I KNOW THE LORD.

I KNOW THE LORD HAS GIVEN YOU THE LAND!

We, the people, myself, my family. We have heard. We know what God has done and we are left dumbfounded. We can’t defend against seas split in two. We can’t fight or defend through a pillar of fire or smoke. We are ruined if God is for you.

The city. The people. I am terrified!

But I would rather be for Him than against Him.

“I know that the Lord has given you the land.”

Rahab, the harlot. The non-jew. The outsider. The outcast. The forgettable has just displayed the faith that 10 out of the 12 spies failed to display 40 years earlier.

They had seen the mighty acts of God.

Rahab had heard. Heard and believed.

I think Jesus is talking about Rahab when he says to Thomas in John 20:29, Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Is there uncertainty about her outcome, absolutely. We see that in her response.

Our hearts melted…

But Rahab’s fear is eclipsed by her belief. Her fear turns to fear…and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Convicted.

Rahab’s conviction convicts me.

It reminds me of the best piece of advice I’ve ever read… a piece of advice that has put me in situations where I could have lost my job multiple times…one that I eventually left because of this advice.

And I read it on a bathroom wall.

SPEAK THE TRUTH…even when your voice shakes. (Picture)

I love that line. In fact, it hangs in my office, next to my desk…much neater than it was in the bathroom stall.

In the years since I’ve read that line, very few days go by where my voice doesn’t shake in some context. And I have been forced to learn that my confidence comes from the LORD, not from myself.

Pastor Pat, despite often being referred to as the hammer, had a feather like moment when he graciously pointed me to a Scripture regarding this very thing when I became a Deacon in January of 2022. He charged me to memorize 1 Timothy 3:13, “Those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves…

…and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus!”

Rahab’s faith has confidence.

She’s played all her cards.

*** I know baptists don’t play cards, but I think prostitutes probably do.***

She’s played all her cards; Rahab is showing her hand.

Her hand is this: that Yahweh is Lord. He is God over heaven. He is God over earth. And He is God over me…I KNOW YHWH.

Are you so convicted in your faith?

Are you so willing to lay everything on the line, simply because HE is?

Rahab was. Rahab did.

Convicted faith speaks up, even when it’s voice shakes.

Rahab’s courageous faith acted. Rahab’s convicted faith knew why it acted.

And her courageous, convicted faith led her to a

Enduring Faith – v15-22

Rahab has placed her life on the line, to save the spies. She has made personal the declaration of Yahweh as Lord, and she remains full of faith.

Joshua 2:12 – “Swear to me BY THE LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death…”

She has reached out to these men, laid her knowledge of God on the table and then entreaties them, in the name of the Lord that she just professed to deal kindly with her.

This is no small thing.

As I have dealt kindly (hesed) – steadfast love and faithfulness with you. Deal (hesed) with my father’s house.

This is the same word the Lord uses to describe himself to Moses in Exodus 34 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Hesed), ⁷ keeping steadfast love (hesed) for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Rahab is saying. God is able to deliver me. The victory is his. I have full confidence in that, but I’m asking.

She is acknowledging that God can save her. She has faith that HE will, but she asks.

Have you asked the Lord to save you?

I love that she poses this request through the spies; it shows the struggle of enduring faith. 

JOD… I was praying in a Discipleship Team meeting and Randy Charlton was praying and he prayed, “You’ll need to give us victory more than once” – Randy

That struck me like a sack of bricks. That’s what Rahab is saying.

Rahab is praying the same prayer, and that of the father in Mark 9:24, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Graciously, the Lord responds through these spies, “Our life for yours even to death!”

Verse 15, she let them down by a rope through the window for her house was built into the city wall.

You see, at this point, Rahab could easily be forgotten.

The spies could go home.

Rahab could be used and forgotten like so many have done to her before.

Yet Rahab’s faith is unwavering…because it’s not in people it’s in the Lord.

Before leaving, these spies tell her to tie a scarlett cord in her window, “when we come into the land.”

Rahab doesn’t know the plan. She doesn’t know when the people are coming. Is it today? Tomorrow. Next week. Next year.

Yet her faith endures.

She stays.

Remember Rahab has treason hanging over her head. Constant stress. Constant fear of being found out. Easy to doubt. Easy to return to old ways.

Yet her faith endures.

She hangs that scarlet cord in the window. And they are saved. Look at Joshua 6:25, “But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.”

Rahab, a prostitute, steps out in courageous, convicted, enduring faith and the Lord knows her. He brings her out of Jericho. HE brings her to the people of Israel and He gives her a new family.

The family of King David, which in turn is the family of Jesus.

She is known by God.

But we remember her because of her past, and I think that is a means of God’s grace to us.

This was Rahab’s lively hood. Her sin was public.

But ours often isn’t.

But the result is the same, we sell ourselves to lesser things.

One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture is Isaiah 52:2-3, “Shake yourself from the dust and arise. Be seated O Jerusalem. Loose the bonds from your neck O captive daughter of Zion. For thus says the Lord, you were sold for nothing, and shall be redeemed without money.”

It doesn’t matter what your past is, it matters where your faith is.

***PAUSE***

Faith doesn’t save because it’s powerful enough. Faith saves because of the one in whom your faith rests.

Redemption is found in Christ alone.

Rahab didn’t know the name of Jesus, but she had faith in the God who had promised redemption.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice and I KNOW them and they follow me.

Enduring faith rests – in the assurance of things not seen.

Throughout the Old Testament God repeatedly displays his power to save, clothing Adam & Eve in the Garden, Noah in the Ark, through the Exodus, His provision in the wilderness, and even through Rahab’s deliverance (both of the spies and her family). But all of this…

The animals for clothing, the blood on the door at Passover, the sacrificial system, the scarlet cord…

points toward the ultimate redeemer: Jesus Christ.

Who came humbly. Lived perfectly. Died sacrificially. Was buried unceremoniously. And rose victoriously 3 days later, conquering sin and death for those who have faith in him.

“If you confess with your mouth, Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”

Rahab heard.

Rahab believed.

Rahab confessed.

While not knowing the name of Jesus, she trusted the promise. Christians stand on the other side, trusting the promise fulfilled.

Same God. Same Grace. Same Savior. Different perspectives. Both Known.

Do you know God? Or just about him?

…more importantly, are you known by Him?