If you are our guest, you need to know that we are in a 31-week study of the entire Bible, using a book called The Story. The Story is a condensed version of the Bible in story form. If you’d like a copy we have them available in our church library for $10, or for free if you can’t afford a copy. We’d love to have you join us! We’re in week 7 of our study so it’s time for a quick review. With that in mind we’re going to take advantage of our youth curriculum for a 2-minute overview of our study thus far. Watch the screens.
Now, take your Bibles and turn to Joshua 6 and follow along as I read verses 22-25 and then Hebrews 11:31.
22 – Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.”
23 – So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
24 – Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house.
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.”
Hebrews 11:31 – By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
This Spring, Sue was able to get a group-on that got us into the D.C. Spy Museum at half price. I had always wanted to go but the cost of the ticket and the fact that the popularity of the Museum meant you had to make reservations always kept us from making the trip downtown. But with the group-on deal we decided to go for it and we had a great time. As you can see in these pictures, they had amazing stuf; everything from cameras hidden in cigarette lighters and mounted on pigeon, to the Austin Healy used in James Bond movies. I would love to go back because our time kind of ran out. I mean, there was so much to see, so many displays to read.
One reason this museum is so popular is because everyone admires spies. I think many of us secretly wish we could be one, because television and movies tell us that the life of a spy is full of excitement and glamour. Plus, as the museum displays show, spies always have those amazing gadgets and disguises that take them on adventures to far-away places where they save the world on a regular basis. I bring this all up because as you heard me read in our text, today we are going to be looking at a spy story. Our story contains all the thrills of your typical spy adventure; covert insertion behind enemy lines, a damsel in distress, a secret code, romance, a daring escape and more. And best of all, this story is not a work of fiction. It’s not the plot of a Bond or Bourne movie or a Clancy novel. No, this spy story really happened and it is recorded, not in some sealed top secret CIA file, but in the Bible. By the way, there is an exhibit that tells about this Bible Story at the D.C. Spy Museum!
Now to make sure you truly appreciate the excitement and fully understand the lessons we can learn from this true-to-life spy adventure, let me give you more information about the SETTING.
As you know from your reading in The Story this week, four decades earlier, the people of Israel had arrived at the Promised Land and Moses had sent 12 spies in to do some recon. Ten of those twelve came back saying it could not be done. The land was occupied by giants and was unconquerable. They felt like the kid in this slide…that there was no way they could win. The Canaanites were just too big! But two of the spies—Joshua and Caleb—vehemently disagreed with this hopeless assessment. They recommended an immediate attack…because they believed God would give them the victory. But the other spies had already started spreading their “it can’t be done” message throughout the community. All night long the Israelites grumbled against Moses once again longing for the “good old days of slavery” under the pharaoh. They did not want to go into the Promised Land.
Well, sometimes the best punishment is giving someone exactly what they want and this is what God did. He banished an entire generation of His people from entering the Promised Land, except for two people: Joshua and Caleb. The people wandered in the desert forty years, until the unbelieving generation had died out.
As you saw in the review, in our text for today this time of punishment has passed. Moses is dead and Joshua is in charge. He’s about to lead the people of Israel to cross the Jordan river and enter Canaan, the land promised to them by God 600 years earlier. Remember, this is occupied territory and things haven’t changed much in the past forty years. If anything the cities would have become more heavily fortified and the people would be just as big, but that’s okay because in their wanderings, the Hebrews have matured to the point that they trust God to empower them to win. So in a sense, it’s almost D-day. And, like any good commander, before the invasion begins Joshua wanted to gather information about the enemy. As it says in Joshua 2:1, “Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. [He told them] ‘Go, look over the land-especially Jericho.’”
The Hebrew nation was camped about seven miles east of the Jordan. Jericho was located about seven miles west of the Jordan almost directly opposite them. And Joshua specifically mentioned this city as the focus of this particular reconnaissance mission, because it was a formidable fortress city guarding the pass leading westward into the mountainous regions of Canaan. Conquering it would give Israel an important foothold into the Promised Land, which is no doubt the reason Jericho was so fortified in the first place. In Joshua’s mind it was important to find out as much as possible about its defensive capabilities before they mounted an attack. No doubt this brand-spanking new leader wanted these two to bring him information of Jericho’s walls and gates, its state of preparation, the number of its inhabitants, the size of its army, etc.
One thing I would point out is that the people of land had been marked for destruction way back in Genesis 15:16 when, after foretelling the exodus from Egypt, God said to Abraham, “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here [to Canaan], for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” Well, the time had now come. The Amorites had used their God-given freedom of choice to sin, to turn away from God, such that their culture had degenerated past the point of no return, degenerated to the point that it had reached God’s maximum tolerance level. Understand: our Heavenly Father didn’t cause this to happen but He knew it would, so He had promised this land to Israel.
I also want you to note that the activities of these two spies were absolutely top secret. Unlike the 12 spies who had entered Canaan 40 years ago, the work of these two was known only to Joshua.
In my mind they were similar to television’s Mission Impossible teams—only the highest level of government knew of their assignment. Perhaps they received their orders on a special scroll designed to self-destruct after telling them that if they were captured Joshua would disavow any knowledge of their actions! That’s stretching things a bit but Joshua did have them go secretly. None of the Israelites knew of their assignment. These two were to report back to Joshua and Joshua only. And understand: He wasn’t asking them for feedback, just to gather the information and get it back to him. He wasn’t going to give them a press conference when they returned so the people could discuss what they found out among themselves and then decide whether to cross over the Jordan or not. No, only Joshua knew they were going, and only he would hear their report when they returned. John MacArthur writes:
“Israel had traveled down the dead-end road of popular opinion already and it cost them almost forty years’ time. Joshua was taking the role of a decisive commander. He would assess the spies’ report personally and decide (with the Lord’s help, not a vote of the populace) how his armies would proceed.”
So these two men probably left camp under the cover of darkness in the wee hours of the morning while everyone was asleep, and after a brisk two-hour walk they arrived at the Jordan. I imagine that after swimming across they changed into clothing similar to the residents of this area, “Jericho outfits” they had carefully assembled and kept dry holding them above their heads.
Then after changing they had another two hour walk before arriving at the gates of Jericho in time to blend in with the morning rush hour.
Now, in those days there was no centralized government in Canaan. Instead, each city ran its own affairs. Jericho was sort of like D.C. in that it was independent from other states around it.
Actually, it was more of a “city-state” than a city. It had its own army and king or “kinglet.”
Well, apparently the spies were able to at least enter Jericho undetected. It was a large city and people came and went all the time. Perhaps they posed as traveling merchants or traders. Verse 1 says that once they were within the city’s thick walls, they entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and they stayed there. This sounds like something James Bond would do, but not two Jewish spies. So why would two members of God’s chosen nation enter a house of ill repute? There are several potential reasons. First, the presence of strangers in this kind of establishment would not arouse undue suspicion. Traveling foreigners were common there so they wouldn’t stand out. Plus, someone in Rahab’s line of work would be knowledgeable of public affairs, no pun intended. I mean a house of ill repute was a good place to gather information. And then, the fact that the house was located on the top of the wall would make it a great place to complete their assignment. They could look out over the city and monitor troop movements and defenses. Another reason to choose her house was that it offered a method of escape since it was located on the exterior city wall which meant its windows faced outward.
But, you know, I think the main reason they went to Rahab’s house was that God led them there.
We’ll talk more about this later, but for now suffice it to say that God sent them there because He knew the desires of her heart. He knew Rahab yearned to know Him and serve Him.
Well, unfortunately the spies failed in their efforts to remain undetected. Perhaps their disguises weren’t good enough or maybe a client overheard as they identified themselves to Rahab. But someone found them out and told the king, perhaps hoping to claim a reward for finding spies of the huge Jewish nation that everyone knew was camped directly across the river. And the king immediately dispatched soldiers to Rahab’s house, no doubt expecting Rahab to do her patriotic duty and turn the spies in. But instead she committed the capital offense of treason! She hid the men under stalks of flax which she had laid on her roof, stalks that were probably always kept there in case a client needed to be hidden from his jealous wife. When the guards came looking for these to agents Rahab said they weren’t there and sent the soldiers on a wild goose chase.
After the soldiers left, Rahab asked the spies to spare her life and the lives of her family when the city was destroyed. And the spies agreed. As a secret code, they instructed her to leave a scarlet rope hanging in the window of her home so that the Jewish army would know not to destroy it. Then she helped them escape via a rope from a window on the wall giving them instructions so that they could avoid capture and return to Joshua and the rest of the army. Okay, that is basically the story. What can we learn from it, or, keeping with our spy theme: What vital information did these Israeli agents uncover in their covert operation?
(1) First, they discovered that lost people NOTICE when God is at work in His people.
After the soldiers left on their wild goose chase, Rahab spoke to those two spies. She told them that she had heard of the miracles God had been doing with and for the people of Israel. Perhaps her customers, travelers from afar, had brought her news of how God had dried up the Red Sea so that the entire nation could cross on dry ground and that He had led them to conquer the Amorite Kings Og and Sihon, including the total destruction of their walled cities. But somehow this lost, pagan woman had heard of the mighty works of the God of Israel and it made her believe in His power. In fact she spoke of the takeover of all Canaan by the Hebrew people as if it were already an accomplished fact. In Joshua 9:2 she says to them, “I know that the Lord has given this land to you.”Rahab also said that all of Jericho was afraid of the people of Israel. Listen to her words: “…a great fear has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.”
In short, Rahab and her countrymen saw God at work in and through His people! But, unlike her fellow Amorites, Rahab’s response was to leave her sinful lifestyle and embrace a personal faith in God. In essence Rahab said, I believe “the Lord your God is God in Heaven above and on the earth below.”
Now, in this statement she referred to God as “YAHWEH.” She didn’t use a Canaanite name for God, but the covenant name that the Hebrew people used for their personal God. And this reminds us that, even today, when people like Rahab see things happening in the lives of other people that can only be explained by their relationship with God, well it makes them yearn to have that kind of covenant relationship with God as well. They believe that God really is God because they see His people doing things that could only be explained by His presence and power. And you know, if Rahab thought that what she had heard about God’s power was something she need only wait a few more chapters to see firsthand His power flowing through His people. You remember the story: acting on God’s instructions the people of Israel marched around the huge, impregnable walls of Jericho for seven days. And on the seventh day they marched around it not once but seven times and on the seventh time they gave a loud shout and a miracle happened. Just as God said, the mighty walls fell down…all of the walls that is, except the portion containing Rahab’s home. All the residents of Jericho were destroyed, except Rahab and her family. Rahab heard with her own ears and then saw with her own eyes the power of God working in and through His people. This made her long to know Him even more.
So, the investigative work of these spies helps us to see that a genuine, deep, faith-relationship with God involves an individual or group of individuals, trusting God enough to allow Him to use them to do things, things they could not do on their own. When we foster this kind of co-laborer relationship with God the world pays attention. It makes them hunger to know our wonder-working God as well.
Now, how many of you have heard someone say, “God will never ask me to do something I can’t do?” I have. I have even said it myself a time or two. And I wish I hadn’t—because this statement is simply not true! If I have real faith in God, He will definitely ask me to do things I can’t do! We’ll see this in The Story over and over again because throughout Scripture God continually gives people tasks that they cannot accomplish on their own strength.
- He ordered Gideon to reduce the size of his army from 32,000 to 300 so that it would be obvious that victory had God’s power as it’s source.
- He empowered Samson to defeat an entire Philistine army using only the jaw bone of a mule as a weapon.
- Jesus commissioned His first followers, a handful of men and women, to turn the world upside down and then empowered them to do exactly that.
2 Corinthians 4:7 says God does this kind of thing, “to show that the power is from Him and not from us.” Henry Blackaby writes,
“The kind of assignments God gives are always God-sized. They are always beyond what people can do, because He wants to demonstrate His nature, His strength, His provision, and His kindness to His people and to a watching world.”
Christian, people are watching. And when they see us doing things that can only be explained by the power of God, it awakens their hunger for faith as it did in the heart of Rahab. The world pays attention when we let God use us to accomplish God-sized tasks, whether it be building a three million dollar family life center, or responding to illness or hardship or the death of a loved one with an incomprehensible faith-fueled hope, or whatever. I mean a genuine faith relationship with our living God is one in which people look at the way you live your life and say, “God is in that. God is doing something in that person’s life.” Now think about it Redlander. What kind of faith relationship do you have with God? Is it a safe but shallow one in which you only do what you can do? I hope not because the sad fact is so often our world is not attracted to the Christ we serve because they cannot see Him at work. They only see us at work.
But, if we have enough faith to let the world see God at work in us, He will attract people to Himself. Remember Jesus said, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to Me.” (John 12:32) Rahab’s faith story shows that if we lift God up by allowing Him to do impossible things through us, our peers will notice, and they will be drawn to Jesus! Romans 10:17 says that “faith comes by hearing…” Well, what are people hearing about you and your faith? What God-sized thing is God doing in your life?
(2) The second thing these spies discovered is that God REVEALS Himself to all people who seek Him.
I mean, they learned the amazing fact that God’s love wasn’t limited to the Hebrew nation. They learned—even before Peter penned these words—that “God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) They saw that God loved even the Amorites, that it was they who rejected Him, not the other way around. They discovered this because when this Amorite woman sought God, He answered. When she reached out to God, she found Him reaching back to her! These spies learned that as God says in Jeremiah 29:13,
“You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” They found that as Isaiah 30:18 says, “The Lord longs to be gracious…He rises to show compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him.”
God knew that Joshua didn’t really need to know the city’s defenses. God knew how He was going to enable them to conquer that fortified city. But He didn’t stop Joshua from sending the spies, did He? Why? Why did he let Joshua send those men on an unnecessary and potentially dangerous mission? God did it because their mission (unbeknownst to even them) was not to scout the city’s defenses but rather to get to Rahab, this woman God knew longed to know Him.
The situation here is similar to that in John 4:4 where we are told that Jesus, “had to go through Samaria.” Well, Jesus didn’t have to take the Samaritan road because it was the only road to Galilee; it was not. Usually another way was taken. No, He had to take that road because there was a seeker, a lonely woman thirsty for God, residing there. And so Jesus entered Samaria to save that woman and the rest of her village who would respond to His message. Well, in a similar way these two spies were sent to Jericho to save Rahab. This is why they had to go to Jericho.
At this point, let me remind you of a very important principle, something all Christians should never forget. In a very real sense you are a stranger here on this fallen world! You live in a dangerous, fallen world as an alien behind enemy lines. This isn’t your real home; you’re just here on temporary assignment. You may think you are here to make a living. You may think you are here to enjoy your leisure time. But the real reason you are here is to make an eternal difference in the lives of lost people by telling them about the love of Jesus. And the best agents, the most mature Christians, know this. So they are always listening for the Spirit’s call to go and witness to a seeker, a co-worker, perhaps someone who came to the ROC to play basketball or volleyball. They know that they could get orders at any moment, orders to minister to a friend, or a co-worker or a neighbor, someone who yearns to know God.
So, as Peter puts it, they are always prepared, “to give an answer to everyone who asks them to give the reason for the hope that they have.” (1 Peter 3:15) Do you get my drift here? We don’t have to WISH we were secret agents, because in a very real sense, we already are! Well, fellow agent, let me urge you to be ready, be attentive, because you could get orders any day and every day because this world is full of Rahabs, lost people, people who have heard of God and want to know Him but don’t know how.
(3) One final thing this spy adventure can teach us is that our salvation is based on the GRACE alone.
Think of it. Rahab had nothing going for her, humanly speaking. She didn’t deserve to know God.
- She was a Gentile—a foreigner to the covenant between God and the Hebrew people.
- She was an Amorite, part of a corrupt and vile nation that had been marked for destruction, people who sacrificed children in their depraved religious practices.
- She was a prostitute, someone who made their living by breaking God’s law.
Yet when she reached out to God, in His amazing grace our Holy God reached back and not only saved her but went on to use her life in a powerful way.
You see, after the literal fall of Jericho, Rahab was taken back to live with the people of Israel. She married a Jewish man named Salmon whom tradition says was one of those two spies (this is the romance aspect of this story) and together they had a son named Boaz. Boaz was the husband of Ruth and the father of Obed which would make him Rahab’s grandson. And Obed was the father of Jesse, who was her great grandson. And Jesse was the father of David—yes, the King David—who was her great, great grandson. And not only that, but as Matthew Chapter 1 reminds us, out of the line and lineage of David and his great great grandmom, came Jesus, the Christ, the only Son of God. So in His amazing grace God used Rahab, in spite of her sin. She’s a perfect example of the principle of grace that we find in 1stCorinthians 1:27-29 where Paul says,
“God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised.”
Rahab’s life shows that we don’t receive God’s gift because we deserve it. We aren’t given eternal, abundant life because of what we do, but because of our faith in what He has done. We are saved because of our faith in His grace, His power. Do you remember the secret code that the spies gave Rahab to prevent her home from destruction when the city fell? She was to hang a scarlet chord out her window, and if she did her life would be spared. In my mind this is a symbol of the fact that we too are saved from destruction by our faith in the crimson blood of Jesus. As 1 John 1:7 says, “The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.”
This table, communion, reminds us that, like Rahab, we are saved by the grace of God. As we come to this table, I invite all Christians present to partake with us because even if you are not a member of this church, If you are a Christian, if you are His, this is Yours.
THE ORDINANCE OF COMMUNION
This morning if you’ve never responded to God’s grace. If you’ve never confessed your faith in Jesus, then do so. Come, just as you are and ask God to forgive you of your sin and help you start over in life. Rahab would tell you that He longs to do so! Maybe you are a Christian here and you want to start over in your walk with God. You realize that you’ve been playing it safe and now you want to have enough faith to let God do God-sized tasks through your life. Why not make that commitment right now by saying, “God I want people to look at my life and see You at work. Give me the faith I need to make this happen.” That commitment might involve your deciding to move your letter and join this church in the work God gives us to do here at Redland.
We invite you to make these or any decisions public as we stand and sing. Won’t you come as God leads?