JOSHUA: GOD IS SALVATION (PART FOUR)
There is a wonderful story of faith and redemption contained in the second chapter of Joshua. It is not only a story of God's faithfulness to His people, the Jews, but it also reveals His ultimate plan to bring the Gentiles into His fold through faith.
Joshua chose two men to go to the
city of Jericho as spies and discover what they could about the city's
strengths and weaknesses. They were also
to gauge what the attitude of the people of Jericho was toward the advancing
Israelite army.
When the two spies reached Jericho
they were invited into the house of a prostitute by the name of Rahab. The name "Rahab"
is an indirect Quranic name for boys and girls that means “vast”, “spacious”,
“open-minded”, or “generous”. Rahab was
all of that and more, to be sure.
Despite her profession, she feared the LORD Who had delivered these Jews
from Egypt and across the Red Sea and was willing to shelter them despite the
fact that they were “enemies”.
Someone in the city saw the men
enter Rahab’s house and told the king of the city that they were there. Rather than give them up, however, Rahab
chose to protect the men by hiding them and telling the king's messengers that
they had already left the city and were on their way back to the Israelites'
camp. She used this kindness to bargain
with the spies for her life, and that of her family. She then helped the men escape the city by
hanging a scarlet rope from her window (which was on the city’s wall) and
letting them down to the ground. The men
agreed to save her and her family according to three conditions: first, she
would not report them to anyone in the city; second, she was to hang the
scarlet cord out of her window to mark her house on the day that the LORD would
defeat the city; and third, she was to bring all of her family into her house
in order for them to be saved also. If
any family member was found outside of Rahab's house, they would perish along
with the city - their lives would be in their own hands. This was a test of Rahab’s families’
faith. If they believed in the promises
of the spies, they would readily comply with their conditions.
It is a testament to God's great
love and mercy that Rahab and her family were saved over every other person in
Jericho. She was a Gentile first of all,
but that didn't stop God from saving her.
She was a sinner, but God saw past that to her heart. She was an enemy of Israel, but it didn't
matter. God saw the one thing in her
that set her apart: her faith. She
believed God enough to risk her own life for His people, and to do what was
necessary to see that she and her family would be saved. It wasn't her fear that saved her, though it played
a part, because all of the
Canaanites' hearts were melting from fear, but they still were determined to
fight against God and His armies. No, it
was her faith turned to action that moved God's mercies.
The scripture tells us, "Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot
justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out
another way?" (James 2:25).
There is an important relationship that exists between faith and works
which many find confusing. The Lord is
always the author of our faith. He
reveals His will to our spirits, and we then respond by acting on what we believe we have heard from Him. God told Abraham to leave his home and country;
and, as a result, he would receive the land of Canaan for an inheritance. Because Abraham believed, he acted by leaving his home and sojourning in a strange
land. God told Noah to build an ark, and
he and his family would be saved from destruction. Because Noah believed, he worked every day on
the ark. Over and over we read of men
and women whose faith was demonstrated by action and obedience. Their actions were not based on their own thoughts, intentions, or
works; but a simple response to what they believed God was saying to them. James tells us that just as the body is dead
without the spirit, so also faith without works is dead (James 2:26). It is what we do - the choices we make in
life, and our obedience to God's directives - that set us apart, and mark us as
lights in the world. Without those
actions, our professed faith becomes a dead corpse with little or no power to
influence the world for good, or to transform us into the image of Christ.
Paul, writing about the
unbelieving Jews who perished in the wilderness after wandering there for 40
years because of their disobedience, said, “For
unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with
faith in them that heard it.” (Heb 4:2). Again, it was faith that God was looking for
in His people. Faith gives power to the
Word. It becomes the substance of the
things that we hope for from God and the evidence of what we cannot yet
see. Without it, it is impossible to
please God.
Just as the Lord is the author of our faith, He also is the finisher of it. When we are willing to obey His revealed
Word, He then gives us the ability to
do what He requires. "For it is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do of His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13). "For
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
(Ephesians 2:10). It is no longer our labors, but God laboring in us. This is
what Rahab exemplifies. Her faith ultimately
required that she put herself in jeopardy in order to save herself and her
family, and she was willing to do what her faith demanded. "By
faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had
received the spies with peace." (Hebrews 11:31).
The scarlet cord that Rahab hung in her window as a
sign that her house was to be spared is a picture of the blood of Christ which
takes away the sin of the world. It is
reminiscent of the lamb's blood that was smeared on the doorposts of the
Israelite’s houses before they left Egypt.
When the death angel passed through the land of Egypt, he passed over
the houses that were marked with the blood, but destroyed the firstborn in
every other house. The same was true of
Rahab's scarlet cord. The armies of
Israel passed by her house, but destroyed all others. So it is today. It’s only the blood of Christ shed for the
world that will save souls from the destruction that lies ahead. When the Lord returns to execute judgment on
the ungodly, only those who have believed and received the atonement of
Christ's sacrifice will be saved.
Rahab had everything going against her. She was among those who God had marked for
destruction, and her profession caused her to transgress God’s law repeatedly
to make a living. Despite all that, it
was her faith that touched God’s heart.
She found the key that moves God with compassion and unlocks His grace
and mercy. She found that the just shall
live by faith. Like Abraham of old, who
was the father of the faithful, her faith was accounted as righteousness before
God.
It is the same for us today. If we believe in the cleansing power of the
blood that the Son of God shed for us on Calvary, we will be saved! The Bible says that Jesus’ blood cleanses us
from all sin. There is nothing that God’s great love will
not forgive if we have the faith to believe it and receive His measureless
mercy. It isn’t by our will power or
our natural strength that our life is changed.
It isn’t because we have worked hard to turn our life around that God
takes notice and extends His mercy. It
is by our faith in the finished work of Calvary and in all of the promises that
God has given to us who trust in Christ Jesus.
The day that Jericho fell began a brand new life for Rahab and her
family. Their old life was destroyed and
what lay ahead was a glorious opportunity to start over again and learn to
serve the true and living God.
The story of Jericho is not just one of judgment and
destruction on the ungodly, but it is also a story of redemption and
forgiveness to those who believe. Just
like the soldiers of Israel looked for the scarlet cord on Rahab’s house to
extend mercy to those within, God looks for the blood of His dear Son on the
hearts of believers to extend salvation to those who believe.
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