Rahab: A Life Redeemed

Children’s Bible Page 242

Back in May, when I planned out the women of the Bible series, I listed out all the women I was planning to preach a sermon on throughout the summer.

And while I did not know it at the time, it is very fitting that we are going to focus on the story of Rahab today.

As some of you know, Pastor John MacArthur went to be with the Lord this week.

Many of you, like me, have a MacArthur study Bible, as well as many other books and resources from Pastor John and his Grace To You ministry.

Maybe you, like I, have listened to many of his sermons on the radio.

And back in 1988, MacArthur wrote a book entitled “The Gospel According to Jesus.”

Now, I was two years old when that book came out, so I did not read it until much later on, but the theme of that book is the theme that we are going to consider today by looking at Rahab.

What does it mean to be saved by grace through faith?

Not a week goes by that we do not say at least once in our worship service that Jesus has done everything necessary for your salvation through through the work of His cross and resurrection.

May a week never go by without us proclaiming that message!

Because it is essential to the salvation of any person that they understand that salvation is a work that God does for us in and through Jesus Christ.

We cannot do any work to earn salvation, God has done all the work, and we must trust in Him.

In other words, we are saved by God’s grace through saving faith.

Yet, in a culture where so many people have at one time walked an aisle, or raised a hand, or made a decision about Jesus or done some other ritual, only to then have no visible relationship with God, no connection to His church, and living in all the sins of the world, we must ask ourselves, “What does God’s grace affect in those who are truly saved?”

“Does it make some kind of tangible change?”

And is saving faith simply shaking your head yes to some stated facts about God and His son Jesus, or is there some other way that saving faith shows itself both to the one who is saved and to others who know that person?

We are introduced to Rahab during an extremely important time in the history of God’s people Israel.

It is the time when Moses has just died, and God raises up Joshua to lead the people into the land God had promised to them forty years before.

We will overview the story then consider our preaching points near the end.

Please follow along as I read God’s word.

Joshua 2:1–7 ESV

1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. 2 And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. 7 So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.

Rahab hides the spies

It was good military strategy for Joshua to secretly send two spies to spy out the land that they were about to attempt to conquer.

When the spies get to Jericho, they are welcomed into the house of a woman named Rahab, a prostitute.

For you kids in the room, she was doing a job that was sinful and not pleasing to God.

You may wonder why these men of Israel would choose to lodge there, but Jericho was a military outpost, so they most likely didn’t have an available hotel, also, the spies couldn’t just waltz into the nearest public place, they were trying to not be noticed.

Obviously, they didn’t do a great job of that because they had been spotted and identified as men of Israel by someone and the king sent men to Rahab’s house to find them.

But Rahab hid the men on the roof under some stalks of flax.

And she lied and told the kings men that the men had already come and gone.

So, the king’s men went out of Jericho to pursue the men.

Now, was it good for Rahab to lie to the king’s men in order to hide God’s men?

For we know:

Proverbs 12:22 ESV

22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

God is a God of truth. He cannot lie.

And God detests lying.

And we must always remember, when we are reading about historical events in the Bible, we are reading the description of what did happen, not the prescription for what should happen.

Maybe even more often than not, the people in the events in the Bible are examples of what we ought not do, not what we should do.

So, yes, I believe Rahab sinned in her lie.

We have other examples in the Bible where believers in God tell the truth at great peril to themselves or others, and God is still able to deliver them.

Now, I certainly don’t mean that harshly, we all sin in many ways, and no doubt, Rahab had very little means of knowing much about God’s law at this point.

We will see in a minute that Rahab was commended for her faith in God that was evident in her hiding the spies, but she was never commended for the lie.

Praise God that by His grace, He uses us for His glory, despite our faults and sins, and he overcomes our sins through the cross!

Once the king’s men had gone, Rahab declares her faith to the spies.

Joshua 2:8–11 ESV

8 Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof 9 and 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.

Rahab declares her faith

Once Rahab and the men were safe, she discussed with them what she knew and understood about the Israelite people and the one true God.

No doubt, word about all God had done in and through His people Israel had spread.

Rahab understood that God was giving them the land, and said that all her people are in fear of Israel, for they had heard of what God had done for them in drying the Red Sea and giving them victory against other kings.

And Rahab responds to all this truth about God she has learned with faith as she proclaims to the men that their God is the God of the heavens and the earth.

No doubt, many in Jericho had been talking about all that God had done for Israel, but Rahab seems to be one who responded to this news with genuine faith which shows itself in her declaration that the God of Israel is God over all, it shows itself in Rahab helping God’s spies at great risk to herself, and it shows itself in what we are going to read now as she requests deliverance from God and His people.

Joshua 2:12–24 ESV

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.” 14 And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the Lord gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.” 15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. 16 And she said to them, “Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.” 17 The men said to her, “We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. 19 Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. 20 But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear.” 21 And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window. 22 They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing. 23 Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them. 24 And they said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.”

Rahab requests deliverance

Rahab understood that God’s spies were in Jericho to spy out the land, because the Lord was giving it into their hand.

She knew that the destruction of her people was imminent.

These nations that inhabited the land that God promised Israel were exceedingly wicked people.

When you consider any actions you read about done from ninety nine percent of the people outside of God’s chosen people in the Old Testament, they are absolutely the most deplorable kinds of acts we can conceive of.

The world of the Old Testament was a brutal, ruthless, and immoral society outside of very few exceptions.

God revealed to Abraham back in Genesis 15 that the he would only send his chosen people in to take the land when the sins of these wicked nations was complete.

In other words, the time of God’s final judgment one these wicked had come.

Rahab understood that by faith.

And because her faith had been demonstrated in hiding God’s spies at great risk to herself, she requests deliverance for her and her family when they come to destroy the city.

It was a request that was right in line with God’s promise to Abraham’s people when he promised, “I will bless those who bless you, and of him who dishonors you I will curse.”

So, God’s spies promise that if she does not tell of there business to others, then they will deal kindly with Rahab and her family.

It’s interesting, after God’s spies make this promise to Rahab, they mention three different times how they could be guiltless of this promise they have made, if she tells their business to others, or if her family does not shelter themselves in her home, or if she does not tie a certain scarlet colored cord to the outside of her window.

It is as if God’s spies are saying, “It is really not in our power or authority to grant you deliverance from God’s coming wrath, but we know the God with whom all the power and authority is held.”

So, what you need to do is dwell in, stay in, and abide in this house that is marked and covered by this red colored cord.

A Bible minded reader cannot help but see in this picture, Israel’s own deliverance from Egypt that God had brought about over forty years prior.

When the death angel would come and bring judgment on Egypt by killing all the firstborn sons, God’s people were to cover their doorposts with blood from a lamb and stay in their homes, and God will pass by and deliver them from his wrath.

The great story of the whole Bible is that while we are all sinners who fall far short of God’s glory and righteousness, God sent His son Jesus, fully God, fully man, fully righteous, and Jesus died on the cross in our place for our sin, he took the punishment, wrath, and destruction that we deserved onto himself.

He shed his blood for us, and if we would in faith dwell in, abide in, stay in, and trust in the blood of Jesus shed for us, we would be delivered from the wrath of God that is coming due our sin.

It’s amazing because when we are saved, we are not only saved from God’s wrath due our sin, but we are also saved into God’s family, God’s people, the church.

As we move forward in the story to Joshua 6, where God’s wrath through His people comes on Jericho, we read this:

Joshua 6:24–25 ESV

24 And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. 25 But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

Not only were Rahab and her father’s household who stayed in the house under the scarlet cord saved from the wrath of God upon the city, but they lived in Israel with God’s people the rest of their days.

They, who were not Israel, became a part of Israel because of their faith.

This reality has come to greater fruition for all who dwell under the blood of Christ by faith.

Ephesians 2:12–22 ESV

12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

This is what God does in those who experience His grace and trust in His work through faith.

So, what does Rahab’s story teach us about a true saving response to God’s work through Jesus’ death and resurrection which is the gospel?

Well, Rahab and her story is mentioned three different times in the New Testament, and they help us understand the true nature of God’s grace and saving faith.

1. Being Saved By Grace Empowers A Believer To Fulfill God’s Purposes And Obey God’s Commands

Think about it: Rahab placed herself in a very precarious position by hiding God’s spies.

This was not a game.

The people of Jericho knew the Israelites were coming closer and closer to their land, and they knew they were on a mission of conquest and destruction.

Housing and hiding Israelite spies would have certainly come with a sentence of death if Rahab were found out.

So, Rahab’s experience of God’s grace in responding rightly to the truth about God that she knew did a lot more than just make her believe that she would be saved from God’s wrath, it also caused her to sacrificially go all in on being a part of God’s mission in the world by taking the huge risk of hiding God’s spies.

Let me quote from MacArthur’s book that I mentioned earlier:

“God’s grace is not a static attribute whereby He passively accepts hardened, unrepentant sinners. Grace does not change a person’s standing before God yet leave his character untouched. Real grace is not the Christian’s liberty to do precisely as he chooses. True grace, according to Scripture, teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in this present age. Grace is the power of God to fulfill our New Covenant duties, however inconsistent we may be at times. Clearly, grace does not grant permission to live in the flesh; it supplies power to live in the Spirit.”

You see, God’s gospel is the power of God for salvation.

And God’s grace is the power of God to cause us to be born again to a new life in which the Spirit of God brings spiritual life to our dead hearts.

And God’s grace empowers us to follow and obey God because we have come to love God from the heart.

And no matter how many times we stumble and fall in our sin, just as Rahab did in her lie, God in His grace is redeeming us, growing us, and in the long run making us more and more like Him.

Living in the grace of God is a lifelong process of saying more no’s to the flesh, and more yes’s to the Spirit of God over a lifetime, no matter the ups and downs of walking in our flesh versus our spirit.

Now, some would say, if grace comes with some kind of expectation, then it isn’t grace.

But, the Bible does say God’s grace comes with an expectation.

It says God’s grace comes with an empowerment.

God’s grace doesn’t say, “You better obey!”

God’s grace says, “I will empower you so you joyfully get to obey!”

Being saved by God’s grace empowers a believer to fulfill God’s purposes and obey God’s commands.

2. Being Saved Through Faith Is Evidenced By Good Works In The Life Of A Believer

In the New Testament book of James, James mentions Rahab as an example of saving faith evidencing itself by good works.

Now, do not throw stones as I read these verses, please give me a moment to explain.

James 2:24–26 ESV

24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

What in the world?

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Is there a biblically faithful way to reconcile these two texts, or must we resign ourselves to saying that God’s word has contradicted itself?

Listen to John MacArthur one more time:

“Faith, like grace, is not static. Saving faith is more than just understanding the facts and mentally acquiescing. It is inseparable from repentance, surrender, and a supernatural eagerness to obey. The biblical concept of faith includes all those elements. None of them can be classified exclusively as a human work, anymore than believing itself is a mere human effort.”

I was born in Oklahoma a place known for its wind.

But I have never seen wind.

I’ve never seen it, but you would never be able to convince me that it does not exist.

Why? Because I have felt the gust on my face. I have seen the trees lean and the leaves shake all over the place.

Wind is obviously there, even though I can’t see it, because their is such clear evidences of the wind.

Now, the nerves on my face that feel it are not the wind.

The leaning tree and the leaves are not the wind.

The wind is the wind totally apart from the nerves in my face, the trees, and the leaves.

But, we can be 100% certain that the wind is going to evidence itself through our nerves, leaning trees, and shaking leaves.

Faith is actively trusting that what God has said and done is true.

And that faith is present, real, and saving totally apart from any good works that you and I could ever do.

But, we can be 100% certain that saving faith is going to evidence itself in some kind of good work.

Rahab was saved by God’s grace alone through faith in God alone apart from any of her works.

But, James can be 100% certain that Rahab had saving faith because it evidenced itself when we received God’s spies at a great risk to herself and sent them out another way.

Hebrews 11:31 ESV

31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Rahab did not earn salvation by doing the good work of welcoming God’s spies.

Rahab welcomed God’s spies because she had already graciously received the salvation of God by grace through faith, and the good work was evidence of it.

Saving faith will absolutely produce good fruit.

Some will produce much more and more frequent good works than others.

Some true believers will sin much more than others.

But true saving faith will produce good works of whatever quantity of degree.

A good work that comes by saving faith yet is not perfect, is better than a perfect looking work on the outside, while inside it has nothing to do with faith in God and has everything to do with selfish motives.

We already saw that Rahab sinned in the midst of her good work, yet the good work is still pointed out as evidence of saving faith.

Being saved through faith is evidenced by good works in the life of a believer.

You don’t have to count them up, you can simply rest in the fact that God’s grace through saving faith will produce good in and through you.

Finally,

3. Being Saved By Grace Through Faith Can Happen To Anyone

Rahab did not grow up in church.

Rahab didn’t know any Bible verses.

Rahab did not know any biblical principles of anything.

Rahab was a grown woman living a godless life in the middle of a godless people.

But when she heard the news about God’s promise and God’s people, God by His grace opened her heart to receive it with repentance and faith.

Her life wasn’t cleaned up at all yet. She didn’t know much about God’s word or his commands yet.

And she was living in the midst of the Old Testament and God still saved her by his grace and allowed her to live amongst Him, His word, and as a part of his people for the rest of her life.

There is one more time Rahab is mentioned in the New Testament, and it has to be the most shocking time.

You see, throughout the whole Old Testament, we watch generation after generation come and go while looking for the one who would come to crush Satan’s head and offer a blessing to all peoples.

And when we get to the first chapter of the New Testament, we read the genealogy that led us to the birth of our Lord Jesus,

And in the midst of it, we read:

Matthew 1:5 ESV

5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,

God sovereignly chose to have a Gentile prostitute named Rahab have a son, who would have a son and a son and a son, who would finally have a son named Joseph, the father of our Lord Jesus.

You may be here today and think: what does any of this have to do with me?

My life is a wreck, my family is a mess, I’m caught up in a lot of darkness, I’m certainly not like a lot of these put together people sitting around me.

I don’t know anything about the Bible, or church, or religion. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything good.

Listen, Jesus didn’t come to save religious people, Jesus came to save sinners,

And Jesus loved you enough to take the punishment of all your sin on himself,

And by His grace you can trust that Jesus has done everything necessary for your salvation.

And like Rahab, you will never be the same, because God will awaken you to spiritual life by His Holy Spirit and will produce good in you.

Did you notice in the James and the Hebrews passage, that both are about Rahab’s saving faith, that they still call her Rahab the prostitute?

That seems odd, because we know as believers that God has forgiven all of our sins from our past.

But even better than just trying to act like you have never had a past, is to be able to lean into your past as a way to say, “Look how good and gracious God is that He would save a sinner like me!”

Let’s pray.