God wants to save someone through you
Hebrews 11:31; Joshua 2:1, 6:25 (Pastor Heo)
Hebrews 11:31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
Joshua 2:1 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.
Joshua 6:25 But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho-and she lives among the Israelites to this day.
We have faith in Jesus – the power to see the unseen. God is spirit – this means he is a person, alive, eternal, but not material. God is anywhere, everywhere at the same time.
If you can see God by faith, where you are, then God is there because he is the most holy God. God bless us all with his peace and joy.
Last Sunday we saw the demonstration of faith by Joshua and his people. They entered Jericho and circled it 13 times. The last time, they shouted the shout of faith – crying the cry of faith to God. With the shouting and trumpet blast, the wall of Jericho collapsed totally by the power of God.
In this complete destruction, there was one person, saved from this destruction – Rahab (and her family).
Her background is in Joshua 2.
We know Exodus – in the early stages:
- Moses sent 12 spies into the Promised Land.
- Then 40 years passed and they entered the entrance of the Promised Land, Canaan.
- They needed to spy it out again because the whole older generation was gone and Moses was no longer with them.
- So the new leader, Joshua – one of the original 12 spies, sent out 2 new spies to investigate the fortifications of Jericho.
- Only 2 men went Jericho and entered a hotel – the house of Rahab. The king there heard this and sent soldiers to arrest the spies.
Rahab hid the spies on her roof and later said to them, “I know God has given this land to you – the whole land is in fear because of you. Your God is the real God of heaven and earth.” This means Rahab saw the unseen.
Rahab asked them, “Swear to me to show me and my family kindness because I have shown you kindness.” They said, “OK, put a scarlet cord on the window of your house. When we destroy the city, we will spare you and your family when we see the scarlet cord. But remember, if anyone goes outside your house, we will not be responsible for their destruction. But anyone inside your house, we will be responsible for their deliverance.”
Joshua 2:1 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.
Joshua 6:25 But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho-and she lives among the Israelites to this day.
This means, Rahab saw the unseen – she demonstrated her faith in God by welcoming the spies. She trusted herself and her family to God when Jericho was destroyed completely. We don’t know how many nor who exactly were inside the house of Rahab, but what is sure is that everybody who was inside the house of Rahab was spared from total destruction – due to the scarlet cord hanging over her window.
Scarlet = blood color
This scarlet cord reminds us of the blood of the Passover Lamb which had happened 40 years earlier when they left Egypt. Also, that night, anyone inside the house with the blood of the Passover Lamb was saved from the destruction of the first born.
This means, what happened with Rahab compares with the Passover Lamb. This is a symbol of the blood of Jesus Christ – shed on the cross for us – who takes away the sin of the world.
1 Cor 5:7 “Jesus Christ is our Passover Lamb who has been sacrificed for our sin, justification, salvation.”
This means, through the story and action of Rahab, we can know that true faith must always show itself in good works.
Remember the book of James – this book makes it clear that true faith produces works. It uses 2 people as examples of true faith: Abraham and Rahab. This is amazing.
This means that Abraham and Rahab are presented as parallels in the same level of faith.
“Abraham was justified by works when he offered up his son on the altar. Like this, Rahab was justified by faith when she received the spies and sent them away safely.”
The point: Abraham’s faith was costly – Rahab’s faith was costly. True faith shows up in action – even when it costs.
Simple question: Is our faith real? Can it be seen in our action? Are we willing to let it cost us something? We can, we will if our faith is real.
Also true faith helps us to turn around and do what is right regardless of our past or what others may think.
Yes, we are now studying the great chapter of faith. Until now, we have seen individual persons “by faith…” Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abram, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Rahab…
Among all of them, Rahab is the ONLY woman: a Gentile, pagan, prostitute. She is the LAST listed “by faith.”
This means that God’s works are not limited by people’s limitations. He can do GREAT things through people who are not great. He is doing extraordinary things through ordinary people. He uses all kinds of people to accomplish his job, his purpose, his design. He wants to use you and me because God is great.
Through this story of Rahab, remember: nobody can give an excuse for not believing in Jesus Christ.
Yes, in this story we can know who was Rahab, so we must know the sentence, “I don’t know very much about the Bible can NOT be an excuse for not knowing Christ. She knew very little spiritual truth, but she acted on what she knew.”
Romans “From the beginning of the world, God’s divine powers and eternal attributes can be seen, so that no one can boast.”
In my experience, I’ve met so many people who said, “I’m too bad to be saved.” But no one is too bad. This woman was a prostitute, but delivered by her faith through God.
1 Tim “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinner, of whom I’m the worst.”
“The son of God did not come into the world for the healthy, but for the sick.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he saved his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish.”
There is no one in this world who cannot be saved. God wants everyone to come to him and be saved.
Also, we can get a great lesson from this story to enjoy and apply in our lives.
Rahab received not only salvation from this destruction, but also glorification.
You know, Joshua 6:25 “…She lives [present tense] among the Israelites to this day.” What does this mean? In the church history, Rahab became an ancestor of Jesus Christ. She married an Israelite named Salmon – the father of Boaz, father of Obed, father of Jesse, father of David. This means, she is the great great grandmother of King David.
In Matthew 1, we can also see her name in the genealogy of Jesus.
Imagine, a prostitute becoming an ancestor of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. That’s what faith can do.
In our story, sin, just like Rahab’s story – if we have faith, it will be rewarded in glory.
Romans 8:18 “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that awaits.”
Romans 8:30 “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”
Cols 3 “When Jesus Christ appears, you also will appear will him in Jesus Christ….”
God is working his purposes through his people, but he does not expect perfection from us because he knows how weak we are. He gives grace, mercy, wisdom, compassion, even faith. But he does expect us to take action because of our faith. He expects us to hang a scarlet cord over our windows in faith. Still today, he wants to save our families.
Acts “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you and your household will be saved.” Still today, God wants to save our family, our household, our neighbors, our friends, through us.
God bless us as a heavenly channel of salvation, justification, and glorification.
Let’s pray.
