Mark Whitcomb
Joshua 2:1-24
July 21, 2024
Hinson Baptist Church Sermons
The Hall of Faith… Rahab
I have a friend, an acquaintance that has a particular conversation, it happens most often when I get to talk to him. He loves to talk about highways and transit. Now some of you know this friend. This friend loves to talk about how highways should be built, how people should travel, how our country would be a better place if we had better roads and highways. And I know that that is actually a deep conviction of his because he talks about it all the time. I mean like every time you talk to him, it's like the first conversation of how his travel was to meet you, how bad the road was, there's potholes, the pavement's not the right material, it could be something else in that and on goes the conversation. And yet I appreciate that about this friend, you know why? Well because I know where his convictions lie. I know what he cares about. I know what he truly believes in because he talks about it. It is clearly a passion of his that we would have good transit and highways here in America. Much to his chagrin we do not and that's not going to change anytime soon. But I appreciate that this friend is willing to talk about the things that he loves most and cares about the most and shares the most conviction about. Now we all experience this at different levels, right? I mean we get to see people's passions in the ways that they talk about sports, their favorite sports team, what's happening and who's done what. Perhaps they always talk about their job, their work, what they love doing in the workplace. Or maybe it's their political opinion. And you get to hear every time you talk to this person, you just know I'm going to hear about what's happening in the world of politics today. Now we don't always appreciate those conversations on the same level. And yet if we're honest with ourselves we all want to be people who are honest about what we truly believe. What our convictions actually are. None of us likes the person who is unwilling to talk about what they care about the most. The person who is unwilling to engage in conversation, in fact, we would consider them quite the hypocrite. If we knew somebody who deeply cared about something, who was deeply convicted about something and yet I had no idea, I've known you for 40 years and I had no idea that's what you cared about. I would start to wonder, do they actually care about that thing? Does it actually matter to them? This morning I want us to think about our own actions, our own conversations, our own life. And what does it reveal about what I believe in? And so I'd want you asking this question of yourself this morning as we go through this text and this sermon this morning. I wonder what do your actions reveal you have faith in? What does your faith in? And how has it changed the way that you live? Do you believe most in and how is that seen in your life? This morning I want us to focus on one main idea coming out of the text which is to live out your faith in God's kindness because judgment is coming. Live out your faith in God's kindness because judgment is coming. I've been preaching through an occasional series on the Hall of Faith where I'm taking those who are listed in Hebrews 11 in the Hall of Faith and looking at their Old Testament context. This morning is my last sermon in this series. And so we will look at one more character but last week we talked about this man Moses and the faith that he had in the midst of no longer identifying with the Egyptians where he had power and might and all that he could want and he identified with God's people, the Israelites and yet was rejected. Well we're going to fast forward through Moses' life and actually him leading the people of Israel out of Egypt and into the wilderness as they wandered for 40 years. And we come to really the next stage. We're going to find this story in Joshua chapter 2. I would encourage you to turn in your Bibles to Joshua chapter 2. We're going to look at the whole chapter and we're going to read all these verses and so you'll be aided to look at that. In your Pew Bible if you're using the Bible in front of you it's page 184. And we pick up the story with a man named Joshua who is taking over for Moses. He's been given the authority here and we're going to pick up the story, thinking about their conquest here, the people of Israel who are going into the land of Canaan to take over the land. And what does faith look like? Oh we're going to talk about spies, we're going to talk about lies. I trust it would be an exciting story for us to think about together and how it applies to your life today. So I have two points this morning. There's going to follow really the line of the text and the first point here is have faith in the powerful God. Have faith in the powerful God. Would you follow along with me as we read Joshua chapter 2 verses 1 through 11. Joshua, son of none, secretly sent two men as spies from the acacia grove saying go and scout the land, especially Jericho. So they left and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. The king of Jericho was told, look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land. Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, bring out the men who came to you and entered your house for they came to investigate the entire land. But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, so she said, yes the men did come to me but I didn't know where they were from. At nightfall when the city gate was about to close the men went out and I don't know where they were going, chase after them quickly and you can catch up with them. But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof. The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan. As soon as they left to pursue them the city gate was shut. Before the men fell asleep she went up on the roof and said to them, I know that the Lord has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of 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 see on an og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan. When we heard this we lost heart, everyone's courage failed because of you. For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below. Here we're going to see Rahab's faith in a powerful God. It starts with Joshua sending out some men here now Joshua the new leader of Israel and he sends out two men to go spy, particularly on Jericho. I think it's helpful to note that the acacia growth here is also mentioned at the beginning of Joshua chapter three. For those of you that like kind of Israel's history and what's happening the reason this is mentioned twice specifically is this is the last stop out of the wilderness wandering before they crossed the Jordan into the promised land. And so for the people of Israel a significant place, the last place in the wilderness wanderings. As they go across the Jordan to enter into this promised land and so Joshua as a good leader sends spies to scout out the land especially Jericho. Why Jericho? Well we come to find out later on in Joshua that Jericho is quite the city. Gorge walls and closed we see even here in this text that there are gates that close at night is quite the fortress. And Joshua wants to know as the leader of Israel who's going on this conquest what are we walking into? What is this going to look like? And so these spies go out to spy on the land and they end up in the house of a prostitute named Rahab. Now I would gather for most of us that could be quite concerning to say why on earth would these guys go to a prostitute's house? And yet I would argue what other place would you find where people don't really want to talk about who's there? Perhaps a bit of anonymity. Let's not talk about who's coming and who's going. A place that you could go in town that isn't the public square, that isn't where everybody who's who is there and talking about who's shown up, they're actually quite the place of secrecy. And so to me it makes sense that spies would go and hide in this house of all houses. But it is clearly seen that this is God's kindness to these spies. Because the king of Jericho, well he wasn't unfamiliar with what was going on. Somebody had told him, right? He has folks who come to him and say, "Hey, there are Israelite spies who are here checking out our city." And so he sends some soldiers to go check on this and tell Rahab, "Hey, give us those spies." And Rahab lies. She says, "Well, they were here, I didn't know what they were doing, but I already sent them out. If you catch them, or if you leave now, maybe you'll get a chance to catch them." What do we do with Rahab's lies? I think unfortunately there are some writers and commentators who try to justify Rahab's actions to say white lies, those are okay, as long as they don't really hurt anyone. It's okay to sin as long as it's for the greater good. My friends, I would like to argue from Scripture that if God is a God of truth, there is no place in anyone's life for lies. Nor should we find it strange that a prostitute, Cain and I, who is unfamiliar with God in many ways, is lying. Would we not expect the same from perhaps those who do not know God's law? And yet here we see that Rahab is used by God even in her lies to protect these spies, to bring protection to God's people. And so I would just note that the lie here is neither condemned nor praised, it is merely observed. And yet put in context we would wonder why on earth would Rahab send these soldiers out on this wild goose chase to find these Israelite spies, and why on earth is she protecting Israelite spies that could easily end in her own, at least incarceration, if not death, for protecting spies. I mean this is not a good thing for her well-being, and yet she takes this chance, why? Well it's put in the context of her faith. See she goes up onto the roof and verse 8, "Before these men fall asleep, she goes up and she tells them, 'I know that the Lord has given you this land and that the tear of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you.'" See her reason for taking this chance for protecting spies that she doesn't know is because of what she does know. She knows that the Lord has given Israel this land. It is her faith that informs her actions. It is her faith that goes before her that causes her to respond in this way. And what has she heard about? Oh she has heard about the Lord drawing up the water of the Red Sea of helping the Israelites cross on dry land, coming out of Egypt that they would escape their captors. Oh that they would go and destroy the two greatest Amorite kings of the day. She has heard of their conquest already. She has heard of what God has accomplished. And how is she responding? She is responding knowing that God is the God in heaven and on earth. And he is powerful and that he is over all things and that if his people are sent to destroy and to conquer, then that is truly what is going to happen. And so it is Rahab's faith in what she has heard about God and she has seen what has been accomplished, that she responds in protecting these spies, keeping them safe. And this is where I want us just to settle into the idea that we are called to faith in God. But I wonder how it changes how you act day after day. Can your faith actually be seen by those around you? In the Scripture reading that Tracy read for us this morning, James 2, we see those ideas coming together of works and faith. You see a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, it wasn't Rahab the prostitute also justified by works in receiving the messengers and sending them out by a different route. Rahab took action, her faith was seen in the work that she accomplished. Oh, should it not be the same for us who truly know God, who know his power and his might, that we would be people of faith with action. Not people of faith with no action, with no evidence of that faith. And at the very least, for those of us in our context here in America, is kind of the question of even our own lifestyle. Do I live a life that is completely devoid of Jesus and of God and of faith? Do I live for the next paycheck? Do I live for the next entertainment, the next excitement, the next thing down the line? Is my life consumed with all of these other things in the world? Do I have any sense of commitment to God himself, to God's people in the church? Being simply seen even at the smallest level that I would show up consistently on Sundays to worship with God's people, to fellowship with them? To find my life wrapped up in the lies of other Christians who love God as well. I wonder what our family members, or our co-workers, or our neighbors see in our faith? Or do we seem to live just like them? Do we pursue the same things they're pursuing? Do we love the same things that they love? No, our faith should have deep changes in our life. It should affect our choices. I mean, sometimes it affects my choice of career, that I wouldn't take a job that's going to pull me away from God in the church, that I wouldn't be content to work in a place that is fighting against my own spiritual well-being. Perhaps it's a life choice of where I live, that I would choose to live near a people of God that I could find consistent fellowship with, that I'm not going to go just live out on the top of a mountain because it's beautiful and it's away from everybody, but to recognize, "No, I need God's people in that fellowship, and so I'm going to make a choice because my faith informs that choice." Maybe it's as simple as how I spend my money or how I think about my retirement. How is my faith in God informing those decisions? You get to see this all the time in everyday life. I think about those athletes who train so hard. They narrow in their diet, they're working hard, they're exercising, they're careful about what they do, they protect their bodies so they can perform at the highest level. They are making decisions about their life because of something that they believe in, something that they're committed to. When you think about a student who's going to set aside time to study, they're going to sleep well, so they're better prepared for that test or for that exam or writing that paper, or the employee who gets to work early and he's applying himself, or she's really working hard at what has been given, taking on extra responsibilities. We see this in the practical choices that each and every one of us make. Because of what we love or we care about the most or what is kind of our greatest conviction, I could say that I have faith in God, but if no one else can see that, I should have a little bit of concern. What does that faith actually mean? What do I actually believe about God? My life should give glaring evidence to my faith that God is powerful, that he was in control, that he rules and reigns. Now, listen, I'm not saying that we all have to go buy Jesus' t-shirts and little Bibles and throw them at everyone as we walk down the sidewalk, but I am saying that your everyday life should be defined by your faith in God, not just one day a week, not just two minutes in the morning. But the decisions that I make, the desires that I have, and so I think to start at the very point that every day I would settle my heart in God's words and in prayer with God. Say God, if you are creator, if you are sustainer, if you are indeed all powerful, overall creation, and God of heaven, and God of earth, oh, I want to start my day dwelling on you, that I would be compelled throughout my day to live with every thought, indeed an action in light of you, that others would see the gospel. That is what I want my faith to look like, that it is tied to the actions that I take throughout the day. And so friends in this room, consider your faith this week. What does it look like? But I wonder, what about God compels us to have faith? Yes, that he is powerful, God of heaven and earth. What does that power actually mean, because, as we all know, corrupted power is not a good thing. None of us want to live under that. Rahab had faith in God's power that what he had set out to accomplish was going to be accomplished through his people. But she is about to understand and see and know the full extent of God's power. She is going to find out that there are greater reasons to have faith in God. And so as we seek to live out our faith, point two, I want to challenge us that this is because God shows kindness and brings judgment. We live out our faith in God's kindness because judgment is coming. And so follow along as I read verses 12 through 24, as we kind of pick up the end of Rahab's conversation. Verse 12. "Now please swear to me by the Lord that you will also show kindness to my father's family because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them and save us from death." The men answered her, "We will give our lives for yours. If you don't report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the Lord gives us the land." Then she let them down by a rope through the window, since she lived in a house that was built into the wall of the city. Go to the hill country so that the men pursuing you won't find you. She said to them, "Hide there for three days until they return, afterward, go on your way." The men said to her, "We'll be free from this oath you made us swear, unless, when we enter the land, you tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your father's family into your house. If anyone goes out the doors of your house, his death will be his own fault, and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house should be harmed, his death will be our fault. And if you report our mission, we are free from the oath you made us swear. Let it be as you say," she replied, and she sent them away. After they had gone, she tied this scarlet cord to the window. So the two men went into the hill country and stayed there three days until the pursuers had returned. They searched all along the way but did not find them. Then the men returned, came down from the hill country and crossed the Jordan. They went to Joshua's son of none and reported everything that had happened to them. They told Joshua, "The Lord has handed over the entire land to us. Everyone who lives in the land is also panicking because of us." So Rahab had already proclaimed her faith that she believed that what God was accomplishing was going to truly be accomplished. But how does she respond? She responds in request, asking these men to swear an oath. She wants her family's safety guaranteed. She wants to know that they'll be all right, that she will be saved from certain death as we see at the end of verse 13. And so the men agree to this on the condition that she doesn't report their mission. She lets the men down and they follow up with a further expectation. Yeah, bring all your family into the household and they'll be safe. But you need to hang this cord out of your window as a sign that this is the place that we are to protect. These are the people who will be saved and kept safe. So the men depart, Rahab hangs the scarlet cord and they go back to camp and they report to Joshua. Oh, yes, this land is ours. Very different than spies back in Exodus who came back and reported, "Nah, we shouldn't do this." No, these spies are very different. They come back with all the confidence of God behind them. The Lord has handed over the entire land to us. These people are panicking. We will win this victory. You know, why does Rahab want to be shown kindness? Why is that her response to say, "Show me kindness"? Well because she is well aware by her own admission in verse 13 that death is eminent, that judgment is coming. And even the men confirm this when they go back and report and they say, "Oh yeah, God's giving us this land. We are going to go and conquer." Because judgment is happening. Friends, God's judgment is sure. It is going to happen. Do you believe that? Friends, if you believe that God's judgment is sure, surely you're going to respond to that. Surely you respond in your own heart of, "I want to be safe from that. I don't want to experience that judgment, that conquering." You might say, "Well, mark in this text. They're Canaanites." In a conquest by Israel, that has little to do with me in Portland, Oregon. And in some ways, sure, you are right. But what's interesting is how there's even this idea of conquering Jericho and the Canaanite people. Why is this even a thing? Well, back in Genesis 15, in Abraham, God's covenant to Abraham. God tells Abraham, "These people, the Canaanites that are under judgment at this point, told generations before," God said, "They're going to be conquered. My wrath will be poured out on them. Because generation after generation, they are going to continue to reject me and turn away from me." The judgment had been foretold for generations. And now it's finally coming about. It's really interesting in Rahab's request. The word kindness is used three times. Where she is asking, "Be kind to me and my family and the men respond, we will show kindness to you in faithfulness." This word kindness in the Hebrew is the word has said. I trust many of us who have spent time here have heard and thought about the idea of covenant love of kindness. See Rahab is asking for a very specific thing that there would be this commitment, this oath, this covenant to protect her. She wants this commitment in the face of judgment. And friends, we desperately need the same type of kindness. Because God's judgment is against all those who've rebelled against Him, all those who live in sin. And in Genesis 3, we're told that is all mankind. As Adam and Eve sinned against God, they brought all mankind into judgment because our sin is in offense to the Almighty God. But the God who has power to bring judgment on all sin and rebellion has power to bring kindness and offer kindness and a covenant commitment to those who have faith in Him. He has the power to bring judgment, He has the power to save us. And that is what we all desperately need, is to be saved from God's judgment against our sin, to know God's kindness. And He promised that kindness to us, but it came at a cost. And it didn't come at a cost for you and me because there's nothing that you can do to win, to earn, to do enough good to get God's kindness. God's kindness came at a cost to His own Son, Jesus Christ. That covenant love and care to us only comes through Jesus Christ, His own Son, because God had promised I will send a deliver and He sent, not just any deliver, but His own Son, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lived a perfect life, who was void of all sin. And yet, the punishment was His own death on the cross. And this kindness came at the cost of the shedding of blood. Hebrews 9, 22 reminds us that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. It was a sacrifice that had to be made for the penalty of our own sin. And Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sin, defeating and conquering sin and raising from the grave three days later, conquering death. This is the work that Jesus Christ accomplished for you and for me, that we would know and experience God's kindness, that we would be free from God's judgment, and that we would rest assured that God is faithful to His covenant. And so as much as Rahab's response to impending judgment is to ask these men, "Show me kindness, protect my family, save us." It is the blood of Jesus Christ that is that sign of salvation. Even here, illustrated in a scarlet rope hanging from the window. Just like back in the Exodus, when all the families were brought into the house and which families were protected, the households that spread blood on the doorposts, the Passover. Now here, represented yet again, what is required for salvation? It is to be covered in the blood. Friends it is no work of mine or yours that brings salvation. It is truly the kindness and work of Jesus Christ who sacrificed Himself for us to die on the cross for our sin, that we would know salvation. And if you are here this morning and you are looking for any other way out of God's judgment of your sin, there is no other hope except Christ alone, it is through Him. He is the way of salvation. And so we cry out, we request God show kindness to me, that I would know your salvation. And it is that faith that God is the one who can save us, that gives us all the assurance in the world that who God is, the ruler, the powerful one of this world, would show you and me kindness and His love towards us to keep us safe and to protect us from His judgment. This is the salvation that we need more than anything else in this world. If you have never believed this message to the gospel, I would love to tell you more about what it means to follow Jesus Christ, to trust in Him for salvation. I would love to meet with you even this morning and tell you more about this hope. It is the greatest, most important decision any of us will make in our lives, to trust in God, to have faith in God, not just because He's powerful, but His power is represented in His judgment, in His kindness that I would rest in Him. But if you're here this morning and you've already trusted in this message of the gospel, you're already encouraged in your walk with the Lord to say, "Ah, I believe that message. I can say my own heart, Amen. Well, then I rejoice with you, but I want to encourage you, what does that look like? How does it compel you to change how you live?" So God's kindness to us should lead us to love Him more, to worship Him more, to love others more. And so is your faith in God because of His promise, kindness towards you and you just want to kind of get something out of it? Or is your faith represented because you are changed? You are different in your heart that God has affected a work in your own heart that would love Him more, desire Him more, and it is seen by everyone around you? Because none of us wants to be the person who receives a kind gift and that's all we want from that person is that gift. Makes me think of some small children who are often offered to go with their father, to run errands and have a good time, and the question is always, "What do I get? What are you going to buy me? What are you going to give me?" That's an understandable question. And yet, would we not want to spend time with the one who loved us so because we know their love and we want to be loved and cherished by them and spend time with them because of the depth of our relationship, not because of what I'm going to get out of it, but because I love them dearly. Shouldn't God's love for us compel us in our love for Him to know Him more, to walk with Him daily and to fellowship with Him? God's kindness towards us compels us in our love for others. And I think even here, to think of the example of judgment that is being brought, I mean, the men here, the spies, they don't deny it. They don't say, "No, no, no, we're just kind of checking out the land and don't worry about that judgment thing. That's not going to happen. God's not going to conquer this land." No, they don't deny that. They say, "Yeah, you need to be saved. You need to be safe." Should that not be our message to the watching world if we are truly saved and have faith in God, that we would go and tell others to warn them of what God is accomplishing, that He will judge sin, and that we would point them to the hope of the gospel, as the greatest way that we can love anyone else. So in this text, as we see faith lived out, the challenge to us is to think about how has God's faithfulness, love, and kindness to give you salvation, to save you, to redeem you from the penalty of death because of our sin. How has that changed your life? If there is no effect, then I challenge you, go back to the gospel, read the gospel, focus on Christ. But if there's a small effect, oh, friend, stoke that flame, that your faith would grow. This whole series, as we've thought about those in the Hall of Faith, has challenged us. What does faith look like in trying times, in times that we don't know what's going to happen in times of conflict? But it all comes back to the same point. It is the gospel at work in our hearts, friends, it is the gospel that changes us day after day that compels us to live in a way that others around us would say, what is your hope? How do you endure this crazy world with unknowns and conflicts and concern over God's judgment? How do you live the way that you live? Would we be so bold to continue to proclaim it is because of my faith in what God has done? It isn't in my faith in what God has promised through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the challenge to us in our walk of faith, not just that we would do more actions and go through the checklist. Even what we confess in our statement of faith this morning, it is the work of God in our hearts to bring us not to a point of going through the checklist, but that we would lovingly follow after Him and live in a way that displays His grace and His love in our own lives. And so for us to walk out of here, to be bold with the gospel, to orient our lives around our faith, because without it we have nothing. It is a reminder that our faith has to be lived out and be seen by those around us. And that faith just isn't nebulous, it isn't just in anything. No, that faith is in the powerful God who's shown us kindness and love, even in light of His coming judgment. So my friends, go out this week and your own heart convinced of God's work on your behalf that changes how you live, that impacts everyday decisions. So you think about, God has saved me, I am a new person and it was with great joy that I follow after Him and I proclaim His work in my life. To go and live out our faith, would you pray with me? God we sing your praises because you have saved us. You have shown kindness to us, even though we were separate from you and our sin. You have kept us safe in Jesus Christ, your Son. And so God we confess with our own mouths that we desire to live that out, if it has changed us so significantly that we would go out and proclaim your goodness, your mercy, your grace that no matter what situation we face we would live out our faith to tell others that you are the holy and righteous judge who has power over all things. And yet to us you have shown your love through your Son Jesus Christ and that we would be faithful, proclaimers of the gospel. We pray these things in Christ's name, amen.