Joshua 2:1-22

Joshua 2:1-21 Rahab

Throughout the Bible, we encounter many different people who lived that some of them lived their life for the Lord, others were wicked individuals who were only out for themselves, and then we encounter some that have an unsavory background and are changed after meeting the Lord.

Tonight, we find one of those individuals where God moved on her and her life was changed, not for the worse, but for the better.

[Read Scripture]

Rahab, the harlot; that is how many of us recognize this woman of the Bible. A name that seems so unfitting for a woman that we fine in the lineage of Christ. In fact, Rahab had changed her life after meeting the spies of Israel, yet, the name seems to remain. Well, I would like to say Rahab should not be called a harlot, but I believe a more befitting name should be, Rahab the Honorable. Think about what God did in this woman’s heart. How he changed her from a sinful woman, into a saintly lady. God can do that in all of our lives, if we are willing to come to him and turn our lives over to him. Let’s see how God did that in her life.

The Providence that Confronted Rahab (1-7)

· With the nation of Israel coming to the promised land, many foreign groups had settled in the land. Out of these groups, the city of Jericho stood to be a formidable foe. With its imposing walls, and specific location, it made the city more of a fortress rather than a dwelling place.

· But the nation of Israel came to claim that which God had given to them, and here was the first place to be dealt with. So, to prepare for the coming battle, Joshua sent two spies into the city. Their purpose, to find weaknesses, to scout out the defense, and to bring the information back to Joshua, so a plan could be formulated.

· Now, Joshua had sent spies, but what the spies didn’t realize was that they were about to become the first missionary team to other people.

· God had planned to use these men to reach a woman for the Lord.

· Now, consider this before we move on, that you never know how the Lord may use you in someone’s life. These two men didn’t have any clue that the Lord was going to use them to bring this woman in a relationship with the Lord. And just like them, you may never know who the Lord is going to put in your path to share the Gospel as well.

· These men, are going to seek out the city, and they are seen by some of the people in the city and they have to find some cover, so they end up going to Rahab the Harlot’s home. Now a lot of people came in and out of her home, she had an unsavory business going on, and strangers most likely came and went from her home. But these men, weren’t there for that, they were there to seek cover.

· Now here was a woman, who had men come and go in her life, but here were two men, who came to her in the spirit of the Lord and she saw that in them and in the nation.

· God had an appointment with this woman, she realized that there was something special about these men, about these people, she saw that the Lord’s hand was on their lives and she wanted that for her life as well.

· Listen, God has a divine appointment with every person that has and will ever live. It is the knock of opportunity on a person’s life. It is that moment, when the decision needs to be made, will you follow the Lord or will you stay seated.

· Now God’s providence had confronted Rahab, she could just sit and allow these men to be captured, or she could do something about it and join with the Lord’s people.

· How sad, when people think that it is better with the life they have than with the Lord, but how wonderful when a person is under conviction by the spirit of God and they come to recognize him as Lord.

· Its important that we remember, that the Lord is going to bring us face to face with people who need the Lord, it is our job to be faithful in presenting Him to them.

The Evidence that Convicted Rahab (8-11)

· The Lord was moving on Rahab’s life, she had had this unusual encounter with God’s people, and her mind was already on the Lord. It was in this moment, that she begins to see all of it lining up, the picture is becoming clear. She needs the Lord in her life.

· In verse 9 she makes a true statement, where she says “I know that the LORD hath given you the land.” Now how did she know this? Well, she had been seeing what God was doing for His people.

· People had been talking about this nation, here was a pagan city that had heard about God. Now I must confess, I would love to hear the community talking about our congregation for what the Lord is doing with us. Not bad, but the good that the Lord can do through a people who follow him!

· Rahab had heard how God had brought the nation out of the clutches of Egypt, how God had dried the Red sea, how they were able to have victory over the pagan kings of the land. God was using these people and she knew that God was real by what God had done through them.

· Listen, the best way you can reach people for the Lord is to live a life that is loving and serving the Lord. These two witnesses became part of the evidence for Rahab’s life. She had only heard the stories up to this point, but now here are the people.

· Folks, they have their eyes on us. This world has tried everything, and one more time, they’re looking at us.[1]

· I want you to know that this world is looking to see if God is real, and we need to be a people that lives for the Lord that shows this world the evidence.

· There are people who can see the evidence when a person has truly accepted the Lord. I have heard about people who have changed when the Lord saved them from their sins, and had the blessed privilege of knowing one, a man named Larry Creech, before he knew the Lord, he would curse, and what some would say was a hateful man, but the Lord came to save Bro Larry and he changed, no longer shouting obscenity he was now singing for Jesus, and because of that another man, who was just as bad came to know the Lord because he saw the evidence in Larry’s life.

· Listen the best sermons are lived not preached from a pulpit.

The Confidence that Converted Rahab (12-21)

· Now Rahab has had an experience here with these two men coming to her, she has been confronted, she has been convicted, and now she wants to be delivered.

· She is asking for them to be saved!

· Now what did the men tell her? They didn’t say no. But they told her that she needed to hang a rope of scarlet and that when the Lord’s people came, she would be spared. This red rope was symbolic of what the Lord was going to do for all who would believe. He was going to allow that scarlet blood to flow from his life to make a way that we can be spared.

· Well, we say that sounds silly, all she had to do was hang a red cord? That’s it? Listen, it wasn’t suppose to be complicated, and Christ never made it complicated for us. All we need to do is have faith, and take it as it is.

· Rahab hung the cord, because she believed these men and their word. She understood that she needed the Lord in her life, and she chose to go against the rest of the people of that city and choose God’s people. Let me ask you, do you have the same confidence in the Lord as Rahab did?

[1] Rogers, A. (2017). The Transforming Power of Faith. In Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Jos 2). Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust.