RAHAB A FEARLESS WOMAN OF GOD
Joshua 2
Joshua 2:1-2
2 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
You can’t control where you came from, but you can control where you end up. You can’t control your birth, but you can control how you die. Rahab was a woman with a dark past but a bright future. God defines her as a prostitute, the owner of an Inn and flax distributor. She became a key figure in the destruction of Jericho and the genealogy of Jesus.
Moses had died and was buried in the Mountain by God. Joshua
Was commissioned by God to take the Israelites into the promised
Land. The first city in the conquest was Jericho.
Israel had been established by God as a nation to be feared. 40 years
Earlier, the entire Egyptian army had been destroyed in the Red Sea
Most recently the Israelites had defeated the Amorites and Five Midianite Kings and their armies were killed by Israel. The Word had spread throughout the promised land that Israel was under the power of the one true living God.
GOD’S GRACE FOR REHAB
Joshua sent two spies across the Jordan River to check out Jericho.
God led the spies to the house of Rahab the harlot where they lodged.
Rehab established a relationship with two Israelites. She knew the fear of the king and the people of Jericho and she used that to her advantage. Rehab was a wealthy business woman who knew the right path to take.
The king heard that spies were in Rahab’s home and sent soldiers to
Get them. It is apparent that Rahab had heard about Israel and their success and destruction of other kingdoms. She believed the reports
And knew her and her family was in danger. She chose to believe in God.
You and I are given the same choice. We can chose the sin and
Darkness of the world or the power of God.
REHAB’S COMPASSION
Rahab hid the spies under flax on the roof of her home which was built
In the outer wall of the city. Flax was used to make linen cloth. It was harvested and laid on the roof to dry out. Flax grew to be three feet in length. It was an easy covering for the spies.
When the king’s men came looking for the spies she lied and said they were here, but had left the city before the gate was closed. She told the soldiers if they hurried, they could find them on the road outside the city.
Why did God lead the spies to Rehab’s house who was known to be a
Prostitute? The Canaanites worshipped Baal the god of fertility.
Israel was commanded not to be involved in prostitution.
Deuteronomy 23:17-18
No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. 18 You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of the Lord your God to pay any vow, because the Lord your God detests them both.
Rehab house was an unlikely place for the men of God. It was probably the place where men of the city went for pleasure and confided in the women of the house, their troubles, fears and the gossip of the city
It was a place where the spies could mingle with city and gain insight
Into the strength of the army. Most of all it was a place where the men found covering and protection in a woman prepared by God.
God gave Rahab knowledge and wisdom and confidence that men of Jericho didn’t have.
Joshua 2:8-9
8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.
You and I have the covering of Jesus’s blood for our salvation. It is the Lord’s compassion that saves us from our sins. Jesus has prepared many witnesses to us for His grace and mercy.
REHABS SALVATION
When the soldiers left, Rehab made a covenant with the spies; your
Life for mine. I will keep the secret that you were hear if you save me
And my family when you come to destroy the city. The spies agreed
She let them down out a window in the wall and told them to go to
The mountain and stay there three days until the soldiers returned. The spies told Rahab to have her family in the room where the window was marked with a scarlet cloth . She told the spies that all the city feared the Israelites. This report was taken back to Joshua
Joshua 2:23-24
They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.”
You and I have covenant relationship with Lord. When we give our lives to Christ, Hebecome our covering and protection.
REHABS BELIEF
Rahab believe the word of the spies. She put her trust in the agreement made with the spies. She gathered all her family into
The room waiting on her deliver to safety. She did know the spies,
But she believed in the God that protected them. She had heard the Word, believed in the testimony of the Word and established a
Relationship with the Word.
REHAB’S TRANSFORMATION
She believed the God of Israel. She married Salmon of the tribe
Of Judah and was the mother of Boaz and the great grandmother
Of KIng David.
Rahab was born a Cannanite woman in the city of Jericho. She did
What she knew to do to provide for her relatives. She had no say in
Her birth. But she controlled her destiny . She took advantage of the
Opportunities God presented to her.
RAHAB’S PURPOSE
She was borned in Jericho, became a prostitute, an inn keeper for the purpose of giving confidence to the spies that Jericho was an easy target to To defeat. She risked her life to save the lives of the spies and her relatives. Her life started out bad, but God meant it for good. Her life Started out in the dark, but God directed her to the light.
All of us start out in the dark. All us have a past that does not please God. We can’t change the past, but we can change the future. God
Was in control of our past to direct us to the place He designed for us.
She as a prostitute , an inn keeper, a business woman but end up
Being the great grandmother of King David.
REHAB’S REWARDS AND BLESSING
Whatever you do for God will be done for you.
Joshua 2:12-14
12 Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death.” 14 “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her.
HER INHERITANCE, THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS
Rehab’s faith is remembered by God in three scriptures in the New Testament. People know you by what you look like and what they have heard. God knows you by what’s in your heart.
Matthew 1:5
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab (The great grandmother of King David)
HER SALVATION
Hebrews 11:9
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
HER FAITH IN ACTION
James 2:25-26
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
SUMMARY
NEVER JUDGE ANYONE BY THEIR PROFESSION, YOU DON’T KNOW THEIR STORY
GOD PUTS US IN BAD SITUATIONS TO GROW US TO HIS GOODNESS
GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE THAT HE WILL MAKE KNOW TO YOU IN HIS TIME
THERE ARE STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT THAT GOD USES TO PREPARE YOU
GOD USES OTHERS TO WORK IN YOUR LIFE
GOD USES YOU TO WORK IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS
WE ALL HAVE A CHOICE, GOOD OR EVIL
A TEST OF YOUR FAITH IS WHAT YOU ARE WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR GOD
GOD HAS PREPARED A GOOD WORK FOR YOU AND YOU WILL SUCCEED
SALVATION IS BY FAITH THROUGH GRACE
