The Transformation of Rahab

We are going through the Book of Joshua. Last week we looked at how the book is a book about victory! God wants us to possess our possessions that He has given us.

God’s people had been slaves. They were now on their way to Canaan, the Promised Land, but they were delayed, they wandered for 40 years, and a whole generation passed.

God was preparing them, testing them, for his plan. He had work for them to do.

So we pick up where we left off last week. The army and the people were gathered at the Jordan river, ready to enter.

Joshua 1:10–11 NKJV

Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ”

So the first city that was on their path was Jericho. So Joshua secretly sends out two spies to spy on the land and especially Jericho. They get in the city, and come to Rahab’s house. Rahab was a prostitute so maybe they thought they could come and go there without notice. But they were noticed.

Joshua 2:2–4 NKJV

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 sent 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.” 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.

Joshua 2:4–7 (NKJV)

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 the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.

So why on earth would she help them? This army was about to destroy her city.

Something changed in her. Jericho, which is near the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth. And, she took one of the lowest professions—that of prostitution. And yet, this woman puts her trust in God. And, when you think about it, remember that she was a pagan. She was living in spiritual darkness.

But God was about to do an amazing thing in her life and use her in ways NO ONE would ever imagine. This story is just the beginning of how God used her.

I think we need to understand how this happened, how it took place. Now, there are three basic things I want you to see.

I. The Providence That Confronted Rahab

First of all, I want you to see the providence that confronted her. How did she ever even hear about God? It was providential that she was confronted with the gospel. So we know she was covering for the men, sending the men from Jericho on a wild goose chase.

Now, very interesting—think of all of the people in the city of Jericho. Here is this city—great in iniquity, great in antiquity, great in enormity—and in all of the city two men go to one house. Do you think that was an accident? Do you think that it just happened by chance? No! They were divinely directed. We’re going to see that this woman was already under deep spiritual conviction. We’re going to come to that. It was not by mere chance that they went there. They were sent—guided—by the Holy Spirit of God. It was the providence of God that confronted her. I’m going to show you that a little bit more later—how she was under deep conviction. And, do you know, that’s the way the Holy Spirit of God works.

The way the Holy Spirit of God works is this— that He begins, by many, many ways, to work in the hearts and minds of people, softening them up, getting them ready for a work of God, getting them ready to be saved. And, He begins to get that person in the right stream of His will; and then, by divine providence, He brings them together. Here’s someone under conviction, and here’s a servant ready to be used; and God the Holy Spirit gets them together.

You can find that all the way through the Bible. Other examples of God’s providence, bringing people together…

For example, Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch—you remember that story? There was a eunuch. He’d been to Jerusalem to worship. And, he was hungry for God, or he would not have been to Jerusalem. He had come all the way from Northern Africa, from Ethiopia, all the way to Jerusalem, the most religious city on the face of the earth. He’d been there to worship. And, on the way back, this man of affluence and wealth—he’s sitting in his chariot, riding along. He’s got a parchment, a scroll, of the Book of Isaiah. He’s reading the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. You talk about a man that is ready—he’s ready! But, he’d been to Jerusalem. He didn’t get saved in Jerusalem. He’d been to the most religious city on the face of the earth, and the wells of religion were dry. And, he’s riding along there.

Now, there’s another man, Philip, who’s in Samaria, and he’s in the middle of a great revival. I mean, souls are being saved everywhere. But, God the Holy Spirit says to Philip, “Come, I want you to go down to the desert.” Now, would it make sense for Billy Graham to leave a great revival crusade just to go out in a desert somewhere? Well, if he’s obeying the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God is leading him, yes, it would. And so, here is Philip. He leaves this revival. He goes out there in the desert. And what do you know, he runs into this one man reading the prophet Isaiah. And, the Spirit said, “Go…join [yourself] to [that] chariot” (Acts 8:29). And, the Bible says, “And [he] ran” (Acts 8:30). He had to run. The guy was on wheels. I mean, here’s a passing opportunity. Thank God he saw this opportunity on wheels. He went. The Bible says he joined himself to that man. He asked him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” (Acts 8:30). He said, “No, how can I understand, except some man guide me?” (Acts 8:31). And, he opened at the same scripture preached unto him Jesus. That Ethiopian got saved, and history tells us that that important man opened up all North Africa to the gospel of Jesus Christ. A pretty good story—and it’s a true story. But, you notice how God was working in the heart of the Ethiopian, and how God was working in the heart of Philip.

I could give you another example of this—Peter and Cornelius. Now, Cornelius was a Gentile. The Bible tells us about him in Acts 10. He was a centurion, and he was an army officer. And, he was a pagan, but he believed in God. He knew there was a God. Now, I don’t know how he knew there was a God. There was a deep longing in his heart.

And then, at the same time, there was a man of God whose name was Peter. Peter was down at the seashore. And, God visited Peter with an angel, and God said to Peter, “Peter, I want you to go to the household of Cornelius, and I want you to tell him how to be saved.” And, God gave Peter a vision. Then, the angel visited Cornelius and said, “Someone’s going to tell you how you and your house can be saved.” And, here was a man with a hungry heart. Here was the servant of God. And, God got the servant and God got the hungry man together, and Cornelius was saved (Acts 10). And, this was the beginning of the Gentile Pentecost, as the gospel was opened up to the Gentiles. I mean, you can see God working both sides of the street.

There are lots of examples of this happening. And I’ll bet you if we went around the room, you would have some stories of God’s providence. You just happened to bump into your spouse somehow. You just happened to meet someone who knew someone who… Do you think it was happenstance that those spies just simply went to that one house in all of that city? No, friend.

This is why it’s so important to listen to those prompts from the Holy Spirit! That is him telling you, I need you to be a part of what i’m about to do. You be that person that just happens to speak to someone at WalMart or the doctor’s office. If you’re like me, you’ve probably regretted not doing what God was putting on your heart. not interacting with those people “he just so happens” to put in your path…

Let me tell you something, folks: if God is not bringing you—if God is not bringing you face-to-face with people who need the gospel, maybe you ought to ask yourself, “Why? Why? Why am I not having these opportunities?” May it be that you’re not steerable, useable, and guidable?

Here was the providence that confronted her. This meeting was providential.

II. The Evidence That Convicted Rahab

Second thing I want you to see: not only the providence that confronted her, but I want you to see the evidence that convicted her. I told you that she was under conviction. Now, how would a prostitute, a harlot, living in a Canaanite city—how would she be under Holy Spirit conviction? How did this happen?

Well, let’s continue to read. Look in verse 8:

Joshua 2:8–11 (NKJV)

Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men: “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 fainthearted 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.

She’s under conviction. And, what brought this conviction? How could she say, How is it that she can see that her only hope is Him? Why is it that she lined up with these men? Where did a pagan get such conviction? Want me to tell you? She had seen what God was doing for His people! and it brought conviction upon her. You see, listen, folks—what was the evidence that convicted her? The moving of God in the hearts, and lives, and victory of His people!

Not only are we to be witnesses—we ought to be part of the evidence. I mean, what is there about your life that is unexplainable? I mean, if you’re just like everybody else… If the Israelites, coming across the desert, had just been like everybody else, there would have been no conviction in the heart of this pagan. But, you see, you could not deny God had opened the Red Sea for them. God had given them victory over mighty armies. God had marched before them. And, she said, “Hey, when we heard what your God was doing for you, our hearts did melt.”

The world is watching us. This world has tried everything, and one more time, they’re looking at us. Do these people have what they say they have?” Is there enough evidence in the working of God in our lives to truly convict that person who lives next door, that person who works in the next office, Can they see a difference? Do they see the hand of God?

One of the mightiest revivals was on the day of Pentecost, was it not? But, do you know what caused that revival? Well, the people had been loving God. They were praising God. They believed, as we heard sung, as Tara sung tonight, “Were you there when He raised up from the dead?” (“Where You There?”). They had seen Him. Their hearts were on fire. They were listening to Him. They were obeying Him. “Tarry [at] Jerusalem, until [you] be endued with power from on high” (Luke 29:49). And, suddenly, like a cyclone, the Holy Spirit came. A mighty rushing wind filled the house. There set upon every head cloven tongues of fire. They spoke with languages they had never learned. There were people there from every nation under Heaven; they were amazed. And, the Bible says, in Acts 2, they asked a question: “What meaneth this?” (Acts 2:12)—“How do you explain this? What does this mean?” They couldn’t explain it. “What does this mean?” And, they preached Jesus. And then, they said in Acts 2: “Men and brethren, what [must] we do?” (Acts 2:37).

Does your next-door neighbor know that you’re saved? Is there a miraculous element in your life? Is your life supernatural, or is your life superficial? Why should they want your God? Have they heard—have they seen—what your God has done for you, and has it put them under conviction?

Dr. Rogers tell this story… In another city where I used to pastor, there was a town drunk. I mean, he was a drunk. He wasn’t an alcoholic; he was a drunk. He’d get his money, put it on the counter, buy whiskey until he fell off the bar stool, when he got his paycheck. He’d wake up, stagger home bleary-eyed. His name was Al Cross—town drunk, hopeless drunk. God gave me the joy and the privilege of leading Al Cross to Jesus Christ. Al Cross got saved, and when he got saved, it was his last drink. Now, God doesn’t always do it that way, but He did it for Al Cross. I mean, he was miraculously saved, transformed. He finally became a deacon in our church—But, everybody in the city of Fort Pierce knew that Al had been saved.

Now, in that same city, there was another man. I want to tell you about him. I would meet some men at the church for prayer, and we were praying for revival in our city. And, Al was one of those men. And, we were talking about having revival and how would we have revival in that city, and somebody said, “You know, I’ve read that one way to have revival is to have some miracle conversions—to find the meanest man in the city and get him saved.” Well, we said, “Well, who is the meanest man in the city?” So, we had an election. There were nominations, and there were votes. And, finally, there was a man who was elected “the meanest man in the city,” and he was a mean man. I mean, he was a barroom brawler. He was a moonshiner. He was a gunfighter and adulterer. He was brazen. So, we said, “Well, let’s begin to pray for him. Let’s begin to pray that he’ll get saved.” So, morning after morning after morning, we prayed for this man who’d won the election. Then, after we prayed long enough, they said, “Well, we believe, Pastor, you’re the one that needs to go see him.” I’d never met him. I went up and knocked on the door of his house. His wife came to the door. I said, “I’m here to see thus-and-such-a-person. Is he here?” She said, “Well, they’re in the back room back there. They’re gambling, fighting, and drinking.” And, she said, “They’re mean. I wouldn’t go back there if I were you.” So, I didn’t. I just went off (chicken).

Then, later on, I decided I’d go back. I went back to see this man. By then, he’d been shot. He was shot after my first visit. He was in the hospital. I went to the hospital. I decided I wouldn’t beat around the bush; I wouldn’t try to be cute. I went to his bedside. I said, I’m a Baptist preacher. I have been praying for you. I want you to be saved. Do you want to be saved?” He said, “If God could do for me what He did for Al Cross, I’d surely want to be saved.” And, I said, “He can do it.”

Now, what was it? What convicted him? He saw his old drinking buddy, his pal, Al, changed. He saw what God could do. the greatest argument for Christianity and the greatest argument against Christianity is the life of a Christian. It all depends on how he’s living.

III. The Confidence That Converted Rahab

Well, continue to read here in chapter 2, now, and verse 12. She’s under conviction; she wants to be delivered…:

Joshua 2:14–15 NKJV

So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the Lord has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.” Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall.

Joshua 2:16–17 NKJV

And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.” So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear,

Joshua 2:17–18 (NKJV)

So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home.

Joshua 2:19–21 NKJV

So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.” Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.

And, what is the significance of this? I mean, is this all just happenstance? The Bible tells us in the Book of Hebrews that she was justified by faith (Hebrews 11:31)— I mean, justified. Now, we’re not just talking about somebody coming out of danger, not just that her physical life was spared —but she was saved by faith!

The scarlet thread in the window—well, what does that remind you of? Remember that these spies had come out of the land of Egypt before they entered into the land of Jericho. And, when they came out of Egypt, God said, “I want you to take a lamb. I want you to slay that lamb, and I want you to put the blood of that lamb upon the doorposts and the lintel of the house. And, when I see that scarlet blood—when I see the blood,” God said, “I will pass over you.” You can read that in Exodus 12:13: Put the scarlet thread in the window”—scarlet (the color of blood)— “Let it stand for the blood of the Lamb. You will come into covenant with those people who are under the blood.”

You see, from Genesis to Revelation, there’s what he calls, “a scarlet thread through the Bible.” I mean, you see it when God covered Adam with animal skin in the Garden of Eden. Adam wore a garment from an animal that had been slain to cover his nakedness, and blood was shed. When Noah came out of the ark, he offered a blood sacrifice. Abraham saw a ram there that took the place of Isaac there upon Mount Moriah. Before the Jews came out of Egypt, there was the Passover lamb. All of the temple sacrifices were sacrifices of blood, And, when you get to the Book of Revelation, you see the redeemed singing, “You have redeemed us with Your blood” (Revelation 5:9). From Genesis to Revelation there is this scarlet thread. Why? Because Hebrews 9:22 says, “Without shedding of blood [there] is no remission of sin.”

What was the confidence that converted her? It was confidence in the blood. You see, listen—Hebrews 11:31 says,

Hebrews 11:31 NKJV

By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

There’s a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains

Now, she was made pure. She’s no longer a harlot. She’s a princess in Israel. She’s the great, great grandmother of King David. She’s in the house and lineage of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She has been changed.

We want to be ready so God can use us. We want to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God and get in the stream of the Spirit so when God, over here, is working to soften up a heart, God, over here, is working on us to get us together. We want that to be true in our lives. And, we want to be living such lives that our lives will be an evidence of the gospel that we preach.

But, I tell you, there’s another message tonight if you’re not a Christian. If you’re not a Christian, tonight, I want to tell you something: the God that saved the meanest man in that city that I told you about, the God that saved the man Al Cross that I told you about, and me, and the God who can do anything is the God who’ll save you.

You say, “Well, Pastor, I’m not like that prostitute!” It doesn’t make any difference. In John 3, Nicodemus—a very religious, a very cultured man—got saved. In John 4, the woman at the well, who had been married five times and was living with a man who was not her husband, got saved— no one so bad they cannot be saved and no one so good they need not be saved.

There was the providence that confronted her. And, by providence, you’re here today. There was the evidence that convicted her, and there was the confidence that converted her. She put her faith in Jesus.