Last week we introduced the character Joshua by looking into the history of Joshua. We looked specifically at his experiences with God and how those experiences built him to be the natural successor of Moses, and being strong and courageous was part of his leadership DNA. We also explored how being faithful, strong, and courageous would be the theme we can look for in the rest of the book. My prayer that is in the study tonight we can experience God’s presence through the truth of His Word. I pray that as you read and discuss in your homes that this study brings you closer to God and each other.

Joshua 2 begins with Joshua sending spies into the land and into the city of Jericho to see what they are up against. This time, unlike when he was a spy, he only sent two men. This is reminiscent of his venture where he and Caleb were the only two of the twelve spies to have confidence in God. Maybe he did this because he felt he had a better chance of getting a courageous report from two people. Also, Joshua did it in secret so that it may not worry the people. The two men come across Rahab the prostitute. This woman lived in the city wall. This means she was of lower class as those who lived in city walls would be put in harms way of attacking enemies. 

As the sheltered in her place, someone must have spotted the spies because the king of Jericho sent troops to raid her house and root out the spies. But in an act of courage, Rahab not only hid the soldiers, but also lied on their behalf. She said that they had visited her, but she sent the spies on their way and they were fleeing the city. So she told the soldiers to go one way, but when the spies left she told the spies to go the opposite. Hiding spies and making friends with the enemy not only put her life on the line but also her entire families. 

So why would she commit treason for the sake of strangers who were looking to destroy her home? We see the answer in verses 9-13.

9 And [Rahab] said to the men, “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. 10 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. 11 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 on the earth beneath. 12 Now then, please 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 13 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.”

The reason for going against her home for people she did not know was out of Fear for the Lord. This was the reason that God had a chosen nation to begin with: so that other people may see them and come to know the God of Israel. We see that the heart of Jericho had melted, yet only one was humble enough to realize that it was not the people of Israel that Jericho needed to fear, but their God. So while the people of Jericho cried out to their gods, only one of the lowliest of women was able to be humble enough to recognize our God as her own. 

Humility, then, is key to the development of this story. This is seen as Rahab will actually come to be spared, her and her family (spoiler, sorry; Josh. 6:25). And it is because her willingness to give up all she knew and was comfortable with in order to cry out to a God she believed could save her from the coming judgement on the city.

And lastly, I want you to recognize the Symbol of the Scarlet Cord. That cord was the lasting reminder of hope that she had in a God that she only knew faintly and the word of two enemies she had met only once. She ultimately holds up her end of the bargain by not giving the Israelites away and therefore sparing her life. In turn her hope and faithfulness is rewarded by her life being spared. The spies return safely to camp and give a joyful report that the Israelites surely can be courageous going to battle with Jericho, as God has granted them victory and the land.

To conclude this study, let’s take a look at our three main points and discover how this story of the prostitute Rahab can impact our faith today:

Fear the Lord- It is evident in the story of Rahab how the fear of the Lord plays a role. We see that fearing the Lord pushes Rahab to place her faith in God who has the power to save her life. The same is true for us today. God is a God of love, there is no doubt. But it is also true that he is righteous, and judgement comes on those who are unrighteous. Christ came to draw people to himself, to take those who are the most broken and cast out of society and make them whole and part of a family. And the chosen group who are heirs with him are no longer a people that align themselves with a single nations, but rather a hodgepodge of people from every tribe, language, and color, all under the hope in the power of Christ resurrected from the dead. Listen to how wonderfully Paul’s writing in Romans 5:1-11 fits not only Rahab’s story, but our own.

5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Surely, it was faith that saved Rahab. And it is faith that will save us today. And we, like Rahab, have every reason to rejoice in the hope that our Lord saves because he was willing to die for the ungodly so that we could be brought into a reconciled relationship to him. Amen!

Humility- It is one of those key themes throughout Scripture that you run into over and over. James 4:6 reminds us that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” and that is certainly the case for Rahab. Grace was poured out on her in spite of her profession. It was not that she had her life fixed but her humility before the Lord that saved her. I want to share this as an encouragement to those who feel like God cannot accept them for the things they have done. Or maybe you live in fear, not respect for the Lord but fear of hell. God does not want you to live in that fear or cycle of self judgement. God knows we will not be perfect, that was the point of the cross! We could never be justified through the Law,  that is through acts purifying our selves. We would never fulfill it. Only God is able and so God came in flesh to fulfill the Law and be an all-atoning sacrifice. Through Christ we are able to take him as our covering by humbling ourselves, dying to our own desires and trading it for his own. So, take on humility and take on Christ.

Symbol of the Scarlet Cord- Clearly this is a reference to the angel of death that passed over Egypt. Those who covered the post of their doors in the blood of a lamb were spared. This scarlet cord symbolized the same hope: that by the symbol their life would be spared. Christ will direct us to that same story except he will declare that he was that lamb all along. The hope that the Israelites had that they will be spared that night; the same one Rahab has that the night of the attack she will be spared though she were in harm’s way; that hope is now poured out for all times. That all men may have hope in Christ whose blood can cover every soul and wash them white as snow before the coming judgement of all humanity. Rahab’s story is a beautiful testimony that reflects the Gospel story at large that runs through all Scripture. It is my prayer that by reading this story you reflect on your own. How has the Gospel of Christ been written over your life? When did you decide to hang up that scarlet cord, to take on Christ, and say “I need you”? When did Christ come to you, reveal that you are in harms way, and save you by taking you into relationship with him? It is beautiful that the Bible is not words on a page, but a living story written over and over of the saving, loving power of Christ on the lives of so many people. To Him be the Glory.