Sermon Tone Analysis

Leader Guide ESV, Unit 8, Session 2

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Edited by Rev. Lex DeLong, M.A.

Summary and Goal

The Israelites prepared for their conquest of the promised land, and first up was the fortified city of Jericho.

God’s works and power had gone before the Israelites, and the people of Jericho were terrified, just like God had promised.

Yet the awareness of that terror did not prevent everyone in the city from retreating behind their city walls for what they thought or at least hoped was safety, hoping they could hold out against the advancing Israelites, everyone except for a woman named Rahab.

We will see that Rahab alone, among the people of Jericho, believed that God would be victorious and appealed to Him and His people for an act of kindness: to spare her and her family from the coming destruction.

Session Outline

++God’s power and Godhead can be seen by all (Rom.

1:20), but it is accepted by few (Josh.

2:8-13).

++God’s justice and power is unstoppable (2 Thess.

1:6-8), but He is faithful to the few who surrender to Him (Josh.

6:15-17,20-21).

++God’s pardon is irreversible (Isa.

55:7), and His blessings last forever (Josh.

6:22-25).

Session in a Sentence

God responds to whoever accepts His mercy and provides salvation to them that cannot be taken away.

Christ Connection

Rahab recognized God’s future victory and appealed to the spies for mercy so she would be spared from the coming destruction.

When Jericho fell, Rahab received mercy and was brought in to become part of the people of God.

God’s future plan for her descendents was accomplished according to God’s eternal decree, she believed the promise in faith, and was saved.

Missional Application

Are we willing to recognize, like Rahab, God’s future victory in our lives and appeal to Him in faith to protect us and fulfill His promises to us? Are we willing to trust God in where He leads us while at the same time being open to what He may be doing in others?

Group Time

Introduction

DDG (p.

57)

If your car has ever run out of gas, had a flat tire, or broken down, especially in an unfamiliar area, you probably understand what it is like to feel vulnerable and helpless.

Perhaps you even needed to rely on the mercy and kindness of a stranger to call a tow truck, give you a ride to a gas station, or help you repair your vehicle.

Ask the following question.

What have you felt when you found yourself at the mercy of others?

Why do you think you had that response?

(be prepared to give an answer of your own to jump-start the conversation)

Relying on the help of others can make us fell like a failure, weak, or vulnerable.

· Times like these can be challenging, even frightening.

Many of us want to be strong on our own.

We want to be able to handle ourselves, to provide for ourselves, to make our own way in life.

We don’t want to be a burden to others, and we don’t want to be viewed as weak.

And so, relying on the kindness, generosity, and mercy of someone else makes us feel like a failure.

· Times of needing others can actually be good for us, however.

God can use them to chip away at our pride and independence, both of which are antithetical to the gospel.

Relying on the kindness, generosity, and mercy of another is at the very heart of the gospel.

We cannot come to God in any other way than in a posture of humility, submission, and neediness.

As has often been said, no one comes to the cross standing; we can only come on our knees.

Our idea of strength is actually weakness, and it is only through our weakness that we are able to find true strength.

The news of God’s works and power had gone before the Israelites, and the people of Jericho were terrified.

Yet that did not prevent everyone in the city from retreating behind their city walls, hoping they could hold out against the advancing Israelites, everyone except for a woman named Rahab.

Rahab alone, among the people of Jericho, believed that God would be victorious and appealed to Him and His people for an act of kindness: to spare her and her family from the coming destruction.

Point 1: God’s power and Godhead can be seen by all (Rom.

1:20), but it is accepted by only a few (Josh.

2:8-13).

Original Point 1: An enemy recognizes God’s future victory and appeals for mercy (Josh.

2:8-13).

At the command of Joshua, two Israelite spies infiltrated the walls of Jericho and scouted out the city.

They took shelter with a woman whose reputation was tarnished but whose profession would provide them with cover and anonymity: Rahab the prostitute.

When their purpose was discovered by the city authorities, she hid them and protected them from arrest, and then she made an important request of these spies.

Read Joshua 2:8-13 (DDG p. 58).

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.

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.”

DDG (p.

58)

Rahab, along with all the people of Jericho, had heard about the God of the Israelites.

They heard the stories of their escape from Egypt and their victories over their enemies, stories they accepted as fact, and they were so afraid.

But there was something different about Rahab from all the other residents of her city—she knew the Lord would be victorious for His people and she put her faith in the only One who could save her.

· Rahab had heard of God’s mighty acts (v.

10), but she also knew what was coming (v.

9): God would be victorious and the Israelites would conquer the land and destroy the peoples of the land.

She found herself on the losing side with no weapon that could withstand such power.

· Rahab followed her understanding with a statement of faith that the God of the Israelites is God alone in heaven and on earth (v.

11).

Though she had only heard about Him secondhand, she called on Yahweh Elohim, the Creator God, through His representatives, the spies, to show mercy to her and her family.

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Faith and hope are intertwined.

We see in Rahab’s conversation with the spies that her hope and faith were not in herself, her city, or her people but in God because He alone is all-powerful.

When all the others of her city were without hope, she could hope because she put her faith in the only One who could save.

Next thing in DDG (p.

58).

WHY DID RAHAB DESERVE JUDGMENT?

++She was a Canaanite of Jericho

++She was a prostitute

++She was a sinner

· Why Did Rahab Deserve Judgment?

It might be tempting to look at Rahab and wonder why she would be spared.

First, she was of the wrong people: a Canaanite, numbered among the enemies of God and His people.

Second, she was of the wrong profession: a prostitute.

Third, and in summary, she was a dreadful sinner, an enemy in open rebellion against God.

But here’s a key point of Scripture: All sinners deserve God’s judgment.

If we are honest, we will be able to see ourselves in Rahab, for none of us are the right people.

Therefore, equally so, although we are numbered among the, “all sinners,” of that statement--all sinners and any sinner can repent and turn to God for forgiveness.

WHY COULD RAHAB HOPE TO RECEIVE MERCY?

++She believed in the Israelites’ God

++She asked for mercy

++She acted on her faith and hid the spies

Why Could Rahab Hope to Receive Mercy?

Rahab knew God’s reputation, and she took the next step and acted on what she knew, placing her life in the hands of this all-powerful God in whom she believed.

Were Rahab’s knowledge and faith rough around the edges?

Without a doubt.

Did she understand God’s law?

Most likely not.

But did she understand that God was a God of mercy, a God who had rescued His people time and time again?

This she understood, and this was what she clung to in her fledgling faith.

This was the basis of her request for the Israelites to show kindness and mercy to her and her family and to spare them from the coming destruction—not because of who they were but because of who their God is.

She hid the Israelite spies: Faith is distinct from actions with respect to salvation from God—we are saved by grace through faith alone (Eph.

2:8-9)—but actions are tied closely to faith in that faith without works is dead (Jas.