Joshua 2:1b-6 NKJV
James 2:25-26 NKJV
Joshua 3
Joshua 6:17-23 NKJV
Matthew 1:2-7 NKJV
Joshua 2:11c NKJV
James Series
Another great example of faith is found in the second chapter of Joshua. As the Israelites faced taking the Promised Land Moses had told them to take for Israel, Joshua sent two spies out to Jericho.
We learn in Joshua 2:1b-3, “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 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 spies from Israel found a prostitute (harlot) and they stayed with her. When the King of Jericho found out the men were staying with Rahab, he sent word to her 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” (Joshua 2:3).
What Rahab did next is shocking.
In Joshua 2:4-6 we read, “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 stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof).”
So, local girl lies to her own King’s men, hides the Israelites ON her rooftop, and cooks up a story about how the men of Jericho (her hometown boys) could chase after the Israelites. The men of Jericho then left to go chase down the Israelites. Oh, and did I mention they were still on her rooftop?
After the men of Jericho left, Rahab went back to the rooftop. In Joshua 2:9-13, “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.”
And the men of Israel promised protection for Rahab and her family. She then made a way for them to escape Jericho and go to the mountains to meet up with Joshua and the other Israelites. The two men who Rahab protected reported to Joshua in Joshua 2:24, “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.”
Then in Chapter 3, Joshua prepared to enter Jericho with the Priests of Israel carrying the Ark of the Covenant before them. The children of Israel did everything Joshua commanded and in Joshua 6, the Israelites marched around the city of Jericho for six days and on the 7th day they marched around the city seven times. Joshua told the Israelites all the people of Jericho would perish, save Rahab and her house (Joshua 6:17). In Joshua 6:21-23 the city was completely destroyed except for Rahab and her family. Joshua and the Israelites did all the men had promised Rahab the Harlot.
All because Rahab BELIEVED God was THE one true God.
In James 2:25-26 he used Rahab as an example of faith and the words she did in Jericho:“Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Notice it didn’t matter to God that Rahab was a harlot. It didn’t matter that she lied to her own people. It didn’t matter that everyone in Jericho died because of her. What matters is that she chose God. She believed.
Her faith mattered so much to God that He did an incredibly remarkable thing!
As a result of Rahab’s faith…read this Genealogy list from Abraham to King David:
Matthew 1:2-7
“Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, Jacob begot Judah and his brothers (the 12 tribes of Israel), Judah begot Perez and Zerah of Tamar; and Perez begot Hebron, and Hezron begot Ram; and Ram begot Amminabad; and Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; and Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab; and Boaz begot Obed of Ruth; and Obed begot Jesse; and Jesse begot David the King and David the King begot Solomon or her that had been the wife of Uriah” (Bathsheba). Several generations later, in Matthew 2:16 we learn that “Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary who was born Jesus who is called Christ.”
Do you know what it means that “Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab” in Matthew 1:5?
It means that Rahab the Harlot was in the line of Jesus the Christ.
Because she believed.
She received.
Today’s Spiritual Practice is: Believe
Voice your belief for God to God in prayer. If you aren’t sure what to say, say something similar to what Rahab said in Joshua 2:11c, Lord God, You are God in heaven above and on earth below. You are MY God, and I believe in You.
In God, Deborah
acrazyjourney.com
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