The Spies Who Saved Me

Joshua 2:1–24 NLT

Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night. But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.” Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut. Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. “Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.” “We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety,” the men agreed. “If you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when the Lord gives us the land.” Then, since Rahab’s house was built into the town wall, she let them down by a rope through the window. “Escape to the hill country,” she told them. “Hide there for three days from the men searching for you. Then, when they have returned, you can go on your way.” Before they left, the men told her, “We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions. When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members—your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives—must be here inside the house. If they go out into the street and are killed, it will not be our fault. But if anyone lays a hand on people inside this house, we will accept the responsibility for their death. If you betray us, however, we are not bound by this oath in any way.” “I accept your terms,” she replied. And she sent them on their way, leaving the scarlet rope hanging from the window. The spies went up into the hill country and stayed there three days. The men who were chasing them searched everywhere along the road, but they finally returned without success. Then the two spies came down from the hill country, crossed the Jordan River, and reported to Joshua all that had happened to them. “The Lord has given us the whole land,” they said, “for all the people in the land are terrified of us.”

Introduction: A James Bond Movie, way before there was a James Bond. Two Spies and there informant is a Prostitute.

I can’t help but wonder if this story inspired Rapunzel as well with lowering not her hair, but a scarlet rope.

What does this Story of Rahab Teach us about who can serve? Every once in a while I will hear someone say, “I am not worthy to serve?” Share the story of almost every person I orient towards serving in Consistory. There is a sense of unworthiness based on the qualifications.

31-Is Perfection the Qualification for Fulfilling God’s Purpose?

Israel was saved from slavery in Egypt

God entered into a covenant with them to be their God and if they lived according to his will they would be a showcase of the blessing that God wants to share with the world.

God wants to showcase his blessing in the most central land of the known world, modern day Israel, and it was called the promised land.

After failing to receive the promised land, because they did not Trust God to fight with them, they had to wander the dessert for 40 years and till a new generation rose up that Trusted God’s power to fight for them.

Their Goal, was to kick out the Canaanites who were living in the promised land and take it over. Not, as some have charged God with, for the purpose of Genoside, but because the Evil and the Injustice of the Canaanites had come to completion. In other words the Evil was so great, that God’s patience had run out on them. It had to be delt with. God’s wrath was coming in the form of His chosen people Israel.

You might say, they were unworthy to steward the land any longer.

Rahab enters the story as one of these Canaanites, who is participating in the Evil structures of her society as a Prostitute.

Let’s give her the benefit of the doubt. It is possible that she did not chose her profession. Even today, there are women who chose that profession, and there are women who are captured and/or sold into that profession.

Rahab the prostitute might have been the least likely person to help God’s people. Prostitution was not something that the Hebrew people practiced and did not line up with God’s sexual ethics in the Law. either way she is in her position because of the evil in her society, She is “Unworthy,” especially as we look at God’s covenant with Israel.

Yet, she is listed in the book of Hebrews in the Hall of Faith as someone who is an example of both great saving Faith, and a Faith the led to action.

Testimony of a gentlemen at the retreat. Did some bad stuff, then gave his life over to Christ, God let him get caught. He did jail time - which allowed him to spend more time with God, and Yada, Yada, Yada, he is doing amazing ministry for God today.

The Gentlemen who got his degree in Calvin's Prison program and is now starting a ministry to help ex-prisoners re-engage in the community.

So if it is not worthiness or perfection that is the qualification for serving, what is?

32-God Uses the Loyal Not the Perfect.

1. The small act of faith by a minor character named Rahab had an important ripple effect in the Bible. God showed his power to his people at the battle of Jericho and in the conquest of the promised land. And Rahab would become a part of God’s people. “Rahab’s bold act of hiding the Israelite spies is interpreted by the NT as evidence of saving faith (Heb 11:31; James 2:25). We may call this her conversion experience because she turned from her pagan gods and from her people to identify with Israel and Israel’s God. There are a number of ‘negative’ points about her conversion: She was a prostitute by profession; she lied to protect the spies; she was motivated by fear; and she struck a shrewd bargain with the spies. Nevertheless, the glorious outcome of it all is indicated by the inclusion of her name in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1:5)” (Madvig, “Joshua,” 264).

1. Rahab lied to the king’s guards who came looking for the spies, saying she was not hiding them. Her house was a safe place to hide, since it was an inn and on the city’s wall. Rahab took a risk and placed her faith in the God of the Israelites. “When Rahab hid the spies, she sided with Israel against her own people. It was an act of treason!” (Donald H. Madvig, “Joshua,” in Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary 3 [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992], 260). Paul Brown notes, “In the mouth of a non-Israelite, this speech is all the more impressive. Her foreignness also emphasizes the theme that Israel’s relationship with God blesses peoples beyond their ethnic group” (Paul R. House, Old Testament Theology [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1998], 203).

1. In other words she was more loyal to God than she was to her own people.

Why? What was motivating Rahab to act this way?

We see it in her speech to the Spies. She had heard of all the powerful things God had done for Israel. And now that God was at her footstep, knocking on her door, literally through His two spies. She believed in God’s Power, that He was coming with Wrath, That God was real, and was blessing those loyal to him, “ie. Israel” and so she wanted to be Saved. Saved from God’s rath and to be a part of His people.

This desire to be saved and to be on God’s side and His will is what oriented her actions to hide the spies, to help the spies, to receive her salvation. Because of her Belief and Desire to be Loyal to God, He used her actions for His redemptive purposes.

Is God at your doorstep, is he knocking at your door. Do you have a sense of your unworthiness. - Ask Him to Save you. Don’t fight him, you will not win. Instead join him.

It is loyalty and allegience to God, not our pefection that God uses.

Application Point: Don’t let your past dictate whether you will serve the Lord or not.

But that is not the whole Biblical Picture. How do we Encourage Loyal Service?

33-Encouraging the Loyal.

Wisdom: All are able to serve, but not all should serve everywhere.

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 3

6 not newly converted, lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 But he must also have a good testimony from those outside, in order that he may not fall into disgrace and the trap of the devil.

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 6

3 So, brothers, select from among you seven men ⌊of good reputation⌋, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we will put in charge of this need. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

Leadershift:

Seeker - available 1-2 hours/week, gifts/passion, style are untested/uncertain. - Rahab falls here - not being called to lead, but she simply served, The Demoniac - Wanted to follow Jesus - He says no go share your testimony.

New/Young believer - available 2-4 hours/week, gifts/passion/style need to generally fit the person and the position.

Stable/Growing believer - available 5-7 hours/week, gifts/passion/style need to specifically reflect the position.

Leading/Equipping believer - avalaible 7+ hours/week, gifts/passion/style are proven/affirmed, able to lead and develop people. - The Spies, Joshua, The Deacons, the Elders, the Apostles

Application Point: Be wise about your spiritual growth and what roles are appropriate for you to serve.

Process - 2 Timothy 2:2

2 Timothy 2:2 LEB

and the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these things to faithful people who will be competent to teach others also.

Conclusion: We are all on a journey of Growth. No one has arrived, but we are all called to serve in some capacity as a statement of Faith and Loyatly to our God who has saved us.