Sermon

Here is the rough text of a sermon I gave on Sunday. The passage was Joshua 2 and there were only one or two ad-libs which I am sure will not be missed.

Read the passage

Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.” But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 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 Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.” “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.” So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.” Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet  in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.” “Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.” Jos 2:1-21

I have been really looking forward to preaching on this passage. It sounds like one of the spy stories that Simon was telling us how much he enjoys last week. I love spy stories too. Whenever there was a spy movie (particularly James Bond) on the TV when I lived with my parents it was always on. It’s exciting, thrilling, sometimes difficult to see what is going to happen and invariably entertaining.

This part of the book of Joshua is where the story starts to pick up. Here are the Israelites encamped at Shittim and are waiting for the opportunity to step over the Jordan and take the land that God had promised them. Not too far from them is the fortress city of Jericho. Huge, imposing and seemingly impenetrable.

What does Joshua do? He thinks back to Moses and finds an idea. He remembers what Moses did when he sent 12 spies into the land across the Jordan. Joshua remembered his time as a spy and decides that will send spies to scout out the land ‘Especially Jericho!’.

This might seem a little difficult. After all, in the previous chapter, God has told Joshua not to worry because the land was theirs.  What’s the first thing he does after this? Seemingly doubt God and send spies to see what is actually happening.

This isn’t necessarily a case of doubting though. Joshua is being wise. We, as Christians, are told to have faith but faith does not mean presuming that God will do everything. Joshua does what we need to do. He looks at the principles found in scripture, he attempts to gather information all in order to make wise decisions and plan his moves. It is a principle that Jesus recommends in Luke chapter 14 when he talks about what a good King does when facing war.

Joshua tells the spies to consider ‘especially Jericho’. This is another admirable quality that we should consider. Taking Jericho would make the whole enterprise so much easier. It would split the enemy in two and make their defences weaker. When God has told us something that He wants us to do, we need to think about what the biggest challenges are, what are the priorities God wants us to focus on?

Joshua’s actions in the early part of this chapter are wise then. He isn’t doubting, he is behaving laudably. Even in his doing so secretly. This is not an excuse for leaders to act in secret but instead he is wisely remembering what happened last time. Last time the Spies were sent out it was in public and their report caused rebellion and discord! Numbers 13 and 14 would mean that of all those who crossed the Red Sea, all but 2 would perish before they crossed the Jordan. Joshua wasn’t being sneaky, he was trying to keep the eyes of the Israelites fixed on the promise of God not the problems of the world. It was something that Nehemiah would do later when he was trying to return the Jews to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:4-17)

So, off the spies go and they meet, as do we, Rahab! Rahab has caused much difficulty for the church over the years. Look at her description. In the NIV she is called a prostitute. In others she is a harlot! Still others say she was an innkeeper. The church has tried to whitewash her history as she is hardly the sort of woman one should have as an ancestor of Christ. As early as the 1^st Century Josephus called her an innkeeper in order to remove the stain of Prostitute.

However, Prostitute she was. She is mentioned in Scripture on 8 occasions and in 5 of those she has that title. It is used in Joshua 2:1, Joshua 6:17 and 25 as well as Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25. We need to be careful that we don’t change what God is happy to call her!

So why did the spies end up in her place? Let me be clear, there is absolutely zero evidence that there was any impropriety in their decision. Where else could 2 strangers go though? Where else in town was full of people who had loose tongues and questionable morals? People who might be relied upon to give up valuable information. Remember that they are spies and they are looking for military information to help defeat the Canaanites and there is a long history of links between the military and brothels.

Maybe Rahab was looking for the men. As we see later, Rahab was thinking about God and knew that the men were in town.

What is important about this encounter with Rahab is not what she was but what God thinks of what she was. It shows that God is no respecter of status or job. He doesn’t care if someone is a pope or a prostitute, he will use whomever he decides to use. It also shows, as we will see shortly, that God in in control. He directs the steps of those who are serving him and he directs the steps of those who are seeking him. He brought the spies and Rahab together for their protection and for her blessing.

You see, God could have made the spies invisible. He could have made the people of Jericho blind. Instead he chose to work with three people who were prepared to walk in faith. Are we doing that in our lives? Are we waiting for God to give us miracles? Are we asking him for out of the ordinary experiences? Or are we prepared out in our normal lives trusting that God will bring us to the right place and the right people?

Rahab is more than just a prostitute though. She is an out and out heroine! Some people think that she wasn’t in much danger. We know that the ancient world put a lot of trust in the sanctity of hospitality. A person was supposed to respect their guests and this was accepted. This was especially true of women whose rooms were held in the highest of esteem. This must partially explain why the guards didn’t just kick the door in and ransack the place in their search for the men they knew were in there.

However, the situation for Rahab was dangerous. The whole city was on alert. The Guards would have been heavily armed and the men had been seen in Rahab’s house. Rahab had the guts to say no. The oldest of all ancient codes of law, that of Hammurabi said ‘If felons are banded together in an ale-wife’s (prostitutes) house and she has not haled them to the palace, that fish-wife is to be put to death’. If the men were found in her house she faced death so Rahab told a big fat lie!

Was she allowed to do so? Doesn’t the Bible say we can’t lie? Yes, yes it does. In the 10 Commandments it’s clear and Paul points out in Romans 3:7 and 8 that we are not even allowed to lie in order to further God’s glory.

Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just! Rom 3:7-8

So was Rahab right? This passage does not condone the lying. It merely reports it (this is something many opponents of Christianity don’t get, they see something distasteful in the Bible and assume that God condones it). Had she told them the spies were inside, God may have protected them but she did what she thought was best. She had faith and she acted upon it.

Rahab did what many other Christians (and others) have done through the years. Remember that this was a time of war and that the men’s lives were in danger. The situation was similar to those many ordinary people who sheltered Jews in World War 2. People like Corrie Ten Boon or Miep Gies who told lies to the Nazis to preserve the lives of the Jews.

In the middle of this passage is a remarkable declaration of faith from Rahab. Let’s look at verses 9 to 13 of the chapter.

We see that Rahab had a lot of confidence and conviction. She had confidence and conviction in God’s power. She knew what had happened at the Red Sea all those years before. She also knew what had happened to King Og and to Sihon. (Perhaps she found out about it at work from some loose lipped soldiers!). She knew that the Israelites served a powerful God. It shows that we need to be the same. We need, as Christians, to be pointing people towards God. We are his Red Sea moments! We are the only mighty works of God that some people will see. How can we do this? Going to church and not being ashamed of it is one thing. Being willing to give a testimony as Peter commands us in 1 Peter 3:15 is another. Being God’s hands and feet out in the community is another!

Rahab also had confidence and conviction in the fact that Yahweh was the 1 True God. She knew that he was more than one of the feeble gods worshipped in Jericho. She was convinced enough to give up her existing faith and move towards following Yahweh.

This is what God wants of us, he wants us to leave the other things that we may worship in order to follow him.

More than this though, she knew that God was going to bring judgement on her people and this was another reason for her to change her allegiance. She was right, just a couple of chapters later her city would fall. We might know people in this position, people who are on the edge looking for God. Maybe that’s us who are looking for God. We need to be quick and follow the leading God gives us. One day he’s coming back and it could be soon!

Rahab’s confession of faith shows her confidence and conviction but it shows a lot more besides. It shows that even in her terrified state she had others on her mind. In V 12 she asks for kindness to her family. This wasn’t easy. She was living apart from her family, it was the House of Rahab the men went to after all, not to the house of Rahab’s father. There is a good chance that her family were ashamed of her. Most people today would be if their daughter set up a brothel. She may not have had much to do with them and yet, when push came to shove she was prepared to do her best to save them.

This is part of God’s plan for our lives. He has put us in the middle of a network of friends and family that should be a top priority for us. Their finding God and salvation should be the focus of our prayer. It is great to want to pray for others far away and God loves that but we need to focus on those closest to us as well. Even if some people don’t like us (or we don’t like them), even if they’re ashamed of us for some reason, we need to be like Rahab and be prepared to ask God to save them as well!

There is an interesting part towards the end of the passage that we read. Rahab has been speaking with the Spies when the guards had gone. She had asked them to swear an oath and the did so. They promised her that as long as her family were in her house when the Israelites attacked they would be safe; if they put the scarlet cord in their window. Rahab did, at once!

This scarlet cord doesn’t seem that useful. Surely it would have given something away. However, as her house was in the city walls, it seems likely that the cord could only be seen by those outside the city.

There is a lot more to this simple piece of rope though. It has long been seen to symbolise the redeeming nature of Jesus. There is a scarlet cord that is interwoven through the Bible leading up to the death of Jesus on the cross.

The Bible is all about Jesus and all about God’s plan for him. From the very first promise of a Serpent Crusher in Genesis 3:16, through the Passover lamb, through the use of a scapegoat on the day of Atonement, through the promised offspring of a virgin in Isaiah 7, through the story of the Suffering Servant later in Isaiah, through Jonah’s time in the whale and through the death of the Shepherd in Zechariah 13:7. All of these passages (and so many more) point to the Jesus who would come into the world at the first Christmas. The very same Jesus who would be a descendant of David who was a descendant of the pagan Prostitute saved by hanging a Scarlet cord in the window of her home in hope that Yahweh would fulfil his promise.

So what does this all tell us about Rahab? Rahab was a prostitute, a liar and a traitor. She does not sound like someone who deserves to be called a hero. However she is recorded as one of the great heroes of the faith. She is in the list with Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Gideon, Barack, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets! And she goes further than most of those. She is one of the ancestors of Christ!

She knew who God was and she was earnestly seeking to know more. She knew who she was and she wanted to change. She had heard about God and she listened to what he was saying. There is a great little verse quoted in Hebrews 3:7 but I prefer the version in Psalm 95:8

Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah Psa 95:7-8

God is speaking in this world. He speaks to people in many different ways but when he does we need to be ready to listen. Sometimes it might be hard but we mustn’t harden our hearts. There may sometimes be another voice whispering ‘not good enough, too bad for him, unlovable’. That’s the voice we need to ignore. God will never say that.

You see, God can take anyone and completely redeem them. No matter what their past God can make them clean and make them special again. God can take a prostitute and a liar and make her a princess! Rahab went on to marry a prominent Israelite and in Matthew chapter 1 we see her among the list of Jesus’ descendants. Even though many in the church have tried to hide Rahab’s true nature in order to protect God’s reputation, knowing her true story enhances the magnificence of God.

This isn’t an isolated one off type of thing though. It is something that God does daily. One of my favourite hymn is the ‘To God be the Glory’ which contains the line

The vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

What we read today opens with a secret mission. Joshua needs military information to help him capture a city. The spies leave hoping to come back with the right amount of classified information to help their people win a great victory.

Their mission is a bust though. They don’t get any other information other than ‘we are scared of you!’ They found out that the people of Jericho were terrified. Their hearts had melted and they were terrified. The problem was that this piece of information was not very helpful. They learned so little about how to get into Jericho that Joshua had to totally rely on God when the opportunity finally came.

The thing is, it wasn’t their mission. It was God’s mission. Where the spies failed, God succeeded. He had a different mission. His mission was to find a way to save the apparently un-saveable. He stooped down into the heart of an enemy city and into the life of a prostitute and a pagan. He took steps to save her. He brought himself to her attention and made it possible for her to come to him.

This has always been God's mission. Ever since the first time we sinned. He was always going to send someone to save us. He was always going to take steps to bring us back to him. It always was his mission, it is his mission and it always will be his mission. 

Sometimes it might seem that the mission God has given us isn’t going right but that doesn’t mean God’s purposes are being thwarted. Sometimes God is using us to achieve things we don’t know about. Sometimes though, just sometimes, God will guide us into the life of someone who might seem equally un-saveable. If that’s the case we need to be ready to be take tips from a former prostitute and never give up!