Farsighted Faith
Joshua: Pass Over and Possess • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 8 viewsNotes
Transcript
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country.
And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:
And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.
And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.
And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;
And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token:
Introduction
Introduction
This morning, we have read a passage that tells us one of the interesting personal stories of the book of Joshua. In chapter 1, we saw the Inner Courage of Joshua. He spoke with God about the coming Conquest of the land. He carried out the commands that God had given to him immediately. In chapter 2, the focus moves from the future inhabitants of Canaan to one of its current inhabitants: the Farsighted Faith of Rahab.
We need to be looking throughout the book for our theme for 2025. The central focus of the book of Joshua is that God wants us to move forward and take ahold of the blessings of our salvation.
Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.
As we saw in our study of Ephesians, God has blessed us with spiritual blessings. All the saved have access to these blessings. Do we share them with the lost? Do we live them faithfully in our lives? Do we thank God for them daily? The book of Joshua leads us along the path of living the victorious Christian life. All we need to live victoriously, we already have in Christ. We must just cross over the river of fear and take ownership of the land of Promise!
In chapter 2, there is a first test of the resolve of the people of God. The people are faced with a sinful city in Jericho. Today, we also live in a sinful world. The blessings of God are not found in isolation but in the daily walk with God among the inhabitants of this world. Sin is all around us. We choose if it will be a done by us.
The resolve of the people of God is tested by what is ahead of them. However, as we study chapter 2, we want to see what impact there was in the land by what had happened behind the Israelites. What does the working of God do in the life of those who see it? We will see this morning.
Declaration
Declaration
God's work points the lost to Him. Rahab saw the actions of God in the life of the Israelites. The lost of the world should see God work as we faithfully follow Him. Three sights brought us to a relationship with God.
1. We Saw God’s Power
1. We Saw God’s Power
And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
Two spies were commissioned by Joshua to go into the city and find out what the defenses were. There was a key word used in the description of their task: secretly. Whenever spies are sent into another country, they are successful by remaining hidden. However, here we have an immediate revelation of their task to the king. Surely, finding out that the men were in the city on a spy mission should have resulted in their immediate capture. God had a different plan. His plan was that they meet a lady lost in sin.
Enter Rahab. Rahab is much like us. She was born in a world full of sin. She lived her life in sin and rebellion against God. But, just like us, God gave her an opportunity to change her life. Today, each of us has an opportunity to walk by faith from afar or by sight up close. Rahab hid the men in her house. She lied to protect them. The pursuers chased the phantom spies to the edge of the land of Canaan. What makes this story critical? The answer is what happens next.
A. Rahab saw Victory v. 8-10
A. Rahab saw Victory v. 8-10
We see here a woman who is clearly living in sin. God does not rank or level sin. All sin is condemned and worthy of hell. Each and everyone of us is fallen in our sin. One person has said,
Exalting Jesus in Joshua Joshua 2
God does not relate to sin according to a Richter scale. For God, sin is sin. Sin is spelled s-i-n, and we all must admit the “I” is in the middle, a subtle reminder that all have sinned (
This woman who is known throughout her city as a sinner is about to make a shocking revelation. Verses 8-11 need to be read with the faces of the two spies in mind. They are about to wear shocked expressions. Rahab, the theologian, gives the truths that the two men had just heard from Moses. God has given the land to the Israelites. There is fear because of impending judgment.
When we were in sin, we saw something that made us look up from our dirt and filth. The work of God is what made us look up and take notice. Rahab says the same because the fear in the people brought about her confidence in the Jehovah of the Israelites.
Rahab lists two specific victories in the life of Israel:
The Red Sea Crossing - Two million people, unskilled in battle, watched the complete defeat of the greatest earthly empire. The crashing walls of water in the midst of the Red Sea sealed the fate of anyone who God has chosen to bring judgment on. The Israel of Joshua 1 were there as children walking beside their parents.
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
The Two Kings - Another two defensive battles were conducted just outside the land of Promise. Sihon and his army came to stop the entrance of the Israelites. God defeated him. Og came as well and was defeated.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.
B. Rahab’s faith was because of her sight v. 11
B. Rahab’s faith was because of her sight v. 11
Rahab affirms something that the spies already knew. She recognizes that God has already given the land to someone other than its inhabitants. This is the truth of the Red Sea and the Two Kings. God is a God of Victories. He is the Winner of Battles. He possesses all things and brings victories to the armies of righteousness.
David heard an echo of this same truth when he spoke to Saul in the cave. Only God lifts up rulers. Only God gives power to people. The hands of our God guide the course of history.
And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.
There is a change in the heart of Rahab. No longer does she choose to worship the idols of the land. Instead, she chooses to believe in the God who is active in the world. This changes the entire course of her life because she does the work of repentance in verse 9. She turns away from her sin and toward the Saviour. Rahab makes a statement in verse 11 that only two others make in the entirety of the Old Testament. She calls God the one in the earth and in the heaven.
Moses
Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
Solomon
And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: And he said,
Lord God of Israel, There is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:
In my own life, I had to come to a point that I saw the power of God. I remember when I was four years old placing my complete trust in the finished work of the Cross. The ultimate power of God, the saving work, was completed on a cross and in an empty tomb almost 2000 years ago. The work of God is finished and our faith is secure in Him. What power is there in the cross!
Have you see the power of God? Have you experienced the cross for yourself? Rahab saw something that made her change her entire life because of the power of God!
2. We Saw God’s Promise
2. We Saw God’s Promise
Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee.
A. Rahab saw the Promise of Covenant Mercy v. 12-13
A. Rahab saw the Promise of Covenant Mercy v. 12-13
Rahab shows us our true self. We are unfaithful to God. But we also see in her example a decision to save the spies. Despite the risk to her own safety, she hid them. Despite the risk to her credibility, she lied to protect them. She showed kindness to them that they did not deserve. Such are the conditions that we find in the Covenant with Israel.
God promises the land to the Israelites for His own glory. He promises to give them the land because of the sin of those inside the land. Never did God promise to give the land because of the righteousness of Israel.
Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee. Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.
God loves His creation unconditionally. God shows mercy toward our sin and establishes it based on His covenants. In the Abrahamic Covenant, we see that God has promised the blessing of salvation to everyone who believes. Jesus is the Seed of Abraham that blesses the world with salvation.
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
This is the same unconditional offer of mercy that Rahab gave when she showed hesed to the spies and spared their lives.
In verse 12, Rahab asks for something of the two spies. The true token that Rahab asks for is a proof or signal that what the men would offer is going to come to past. What would be a proof that could be leaned upon? How could she know if they were going to give her covenant mercy with the children of Israel? The kindness here is the covenant mercy of a God who keeps His promises. Rahab is asking for the mercy of God to be extended by these men to herself.
B. Become the Promise of Substitutionary Grace v. 14-18
B. Become the Promise of Substitutionary Grace v. 14-18
The “true token” of covenant mercy is the offer of the lives of spies in her place. This is an oath that they would save her alive. During the coming battle, they will protect her and her family. They pledge their life in the place of Rahab’s.
It is critical to see the importance of the conversion of Rahab. Only two women are found in Hebrews 11 by name. They are Rahab and Sarah.
By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
The men give a clear command to place the cord and then bring in all of her family. This was a clear indication of her faith and her choice to follow the God of Israel. The color scarlet is not interpreted in the New Testament as reflective of anything in particular. However, Clement of Rome, a close associate of the Apostles, connected the color with the blood of Christ. We have a sign of the Substitutionary Grace in the cross of Christ.
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Rahab saw the promise of mercy and she asked for it. All mankind has been given this same Promise. There is mercy for sin at the foot of the cross for all who may come!
3. We Saw God’s Possession
3. We Saw God’s Possession
So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.
The passage tells us the flight of the spies and the faith of Rahab. In verse 21, Rahab obeys the command and places the scarlet thread in her window. All who saw it, though they may not have known its significance, were able to see this sinner living by faith.
The chapter ends with two final verses that connect the story of Rahab to the bigger picture of God’s plan for Israel. This verse sums up the chapter. The men affirm that God has done the work and has gone before them into the land. God is always ahead of us.
God has chosen to give the blessings to us who believe. We see that truth in verses 23-24. God promised fear in the hearts of the people.
Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed;
The mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them;
All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.
Rahab is a picture of each and every person that is alive today. Everyone of us has been unfaithful to the God who created us. We have been born in sin. But she also can be a picture of every believer today. She is a person who, without personal merit, experienced the mercy and grace of God. The blessings of God are the possessions of the victorious believer, just as they will be for Rahab.
And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
The acts of Rahab and the Israelites in the book of Joshua show forth their faith in God. How is your faith? Where are you eyes looking? Are they doubting as they look down or are they believing as they look up?
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Rahab saw the blessings of God. The spies saw the blessings of God. When we believed in Christ, we saw the promised blessings of pardon for sin and God’s presence forever!
Conclusion
Conclusion
God's work points the lost to Him. Rahab saw the actions of God in the life of the Israelites. The lost of the world should see God work as we faithfully follow Him.
Often I miss the truth in this chapter of the Bible. Instead of an opportunity to practice ethics, it is a story of conversion. Rahab has seen the truth. She believes the truth of who God is. She shows a sign of her faith in hanging the cord outside the window.
What will be our actions today? Do we believe the truth that is placed before us? We have challenges ahead this year. We need Inner Courage. We also need Farsighted Faith.
The faith of Rahab stands as a testament to the witness of God to who He is. People around us each day need the Gospel. They need to see the Power, Promise and Possession of God. We have been commissioned to show them. We have been challenged to live them by faith.
Christian, how is your Farsighted Faith? Is it weak through disuse? Is it missing through fear? Is it strengthened by trials?
Unbeliever, when will you believe? What greater Power can God show then the removal of all sin ever committed? What more do you expect? Rahab believed and her faith was rewarded. You can believe too!
Paul speaking of Abraham gives us the application for those who have not yet believed,
Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
