"What's the Scoop on.....Rahab"

(Editorial note: Last year, the weekly blog post was basically a recap of Tuesday‘s teaching. This year, the weekly column has been more from my perspective on the ‘Woman of the Bible’ taught that day rather than strictly class notes.  Because many of our ‘regulars’ were not able to be here today, I think it would be helpful to give you a recap of the teaching on Rahab rather than my perspective.) 

As we looked at the full account of Rahab, we learned the answer to the following question: ‘What’s faith got to do with it???’ But before addressing this question, we were faced with a more germane one that would be foundational to this account regarding Israel’s conquest of Jericho.  Why were the Israelites attacking Jericho?  Were they just bully’s?  Were they just picking on the inhabitants of this city?

Read Psalm 105:8-11.

"He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.  He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant; ’To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.’”

Consider this time line.

In Genesis 12:2-3, the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, promising unconditionally to give a land, a posterity, and spiritual blessing to the patriarch and his descendants. 

In Genesis 13:15, the Lord said he was giving the land to Israel forever!

In Genesis 15:18-21, the boundaries of the land were then given to Abraham.

Lastly in Genesis 17:19-21, God affirmed that the rightful heirs to the promised land were Isaac (Abraham’s son) and his descendents (that would be through Jacob).

Here is a somewhat brief history starting with Jacob.  Jacob had 12 sons and they did, in fact, live in the land that God had given them.  One of Jacob’s sons, Joseph, is kidnapped and brought to Egypt.  Famine comes to the land and Jacob and his family are forced to relocate to Egypt to get food.  It isn’t long after they get into Egypt that Egypt gets into them and they stay.  Fast forward about 400 years and we find the nation of Israel is under intense oppression by the Pharaoh of that time.  The people cry out and God sends a deliverer in Moses.  Moses does deliver them through signs, wonders and the parting of the Red Sea.  They journey to the Promised land, the land that God originally gave them, and they can not enter because of unbelief.  They are forced to wander 40 years in the desert until that generation died out.  Now they are back on the precipice of the Promised land once again prepared to enter the very land that the Lord had given them and they have a new leader, Joshua.  God is giving them their inheritance but they have to fight for it. (A parallel Arlene emphasized….in the same way that the Israelites had to fight to gain what was promised, we are also in a battle. Satan wants to keep us from walking in what God has promised us.)

Looking back at Israel’s history and ahead to Rahab’s story Arlene pointed out there were decisions made that affected the course of events.  The same is true in our own lives today.  She described three resources that we too may lean on to make these decisions through this biblical account.  

1) Our confidence in making decisions can be influenced by what we see around us. 

We are introduced to Rahab in Joshua 2.  In this passage Joshua sends two spies into Jericho to get a clear picture of what they would face as they attacked the city.  Before attacking Jericho, Joshua would need to have complete intel about this fortress – it’s gates, fortified towers, military force and the morale of the people.  Surrounding Jericho were two parallel walls that were each five feet thick, 12-17 feet high with a ditch surrounding them 27 feet wide and 9 feet deep.  It would seem to anyone living within the confines of those walls that they were safe.  But listen to Rahab’s declaration to the two spies. "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….. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below” (Joshua 2:9,11). Despite the strong fortress of Jericho, she is not moved by what she sees. 

Arlene asked us what is it that we see around us in our lives today that may influence our decisions.  A few of the things might be: the strength of our country, our bank accounts, our health, our educations, or maybe what everyone else is doing.  Where do we put our confidence?

2) Our confidence in making decisions can be influenced by looking at ourselves.

As you might recall, Joshua 2 is not the first time that spies were sent into the Promised Land.  In Numbers 13 we read, “The LORD said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders." So at the LORD's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites” (Numbers 13:1-3).   Two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua came back with a favorable report.  “Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it”“(Numbers 13:30).  

The other 10 spies spread a bad report – one filled with fear. “But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them”  (Numbers 30:31-33, emphasis mine).

“We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” ?   Really?  They looked like grasshoppers to them.  Who told them that?  Arlene pointed out that we tend to think other people see us the way that we see ourselves.  If I think a certain way about myself, I perceive that that is probably the way everyone else sees it as well.  The ten spies were dealing with the one thing, that all of us face, that was going to keep them from their inheritance…insecurities.  Arlene spoke about ‘trash talk’ – this is how we talk to ourselves about ourselves (i.e. ‘you’re weak, you’re going to blow it’).  Satan can also use trash talk by putting thoughts in our head that prey on our insecurities.  Satan knows the very things that will trip our insecurity button and he isn’t bashful about filling our heads with them.  Arlene gave us several reasons why it is imperative that we deal with our insecurities:

A) We make bad decisions based on them.  How many bad decisions did we make in our pasts that were driven along by our own insecurities?  It keeps the focus on us and our weaknesses instead of on the greatness of God.

B)  Our insecurities affect others. In Numbers 14:1-4 we see that these insecurities caused them to dissuade all the Israelites from entering in.  Commentators tell us that the Israelite population had swollen to roughly a million strong at this point.  That is some hefty negative influence. 

C) The promised land is an Old Testament picture of what is often referred to as the abundant life in our New Testament theology. These insecurities will keep us from the abundant life God has for us.  Arlene described this life as one meant to be lived to the full…a life devoted to God and overflowing with the power of His presence.   It is our natural life with a spiritual component added to it. 

  

D) Lastly, and probably the most sobering reason to deal with our insecurities, is that God does not take them lightly. They are not an excuse for unbelief.  “Not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times-- not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it” (Numbers 14:22-23).

Going back to the story of Rahab, she certainly did not let her insecurities get in the way of her actions. 

3) Our confidence in making decisions can rest on God.

This is the place where we all want to be. Clearly Rahab’s confidence was in the Lord. “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient” (Heb. 11:31).  ‘By faith’ – believing that the God of the Israelites was God Almighty – she hid the spies and directed their escape route for the promise of deliverance for her and her entire family.  Her focus was on who God was and not on who she wasn’t.  She says in Joshua 2:9a, “I know that the LORD has given this land to you”.

In Hebrews 11:31 ‘by faith’ is contrasted with ‘disobedience’.   Arlene brought us to Hebrews 3:12-19 to clarify what is meant by ‘disobedience’ regarding the Israelites who followed Moses out of Egypt.  God calls an unbelieving heart ‘sinful’.  “And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed.  So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief” (Hebrews 3:18-19).

While the people of Jericho were looking to their own defenses, here is a youtube clip that Arlene played that portrays what Rahab was looking at.  Take a moment to watch it.  While they were like the baby bear looking at the mountain lion, Rahab had her eyes fixed on momma bear. 

Arlene pointed out that our actions will reflect what we believe.  Rahab’s actions were the proof of her faith.  “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? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:25-26).  Arlene gave us six evidences of Rahab’s faith: she hid the spies and lied for them, she gave them good ‘intel’, she verbalized her faith (Joshua 2:9a), she put out the scarlet cord, she had her family join her, and finally she aligned herself with Israel.

The final outcome of Rahab’s actions are found in Joshua 6.  “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." 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. 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. 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” (Joshua 6:22-25).

Arlene pointed out the following verse in regard to Rahab: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Heb. 11:6).  She asked the class how Rahab was rewarded.  The answer can be found in Matthew 1:5a “Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab”.  The family of Rahab was saved and grafted into the Israelite community. She was the grandmother of King David and the ancestor of Jesus.

Arlene closed by asking us if it was ok for Joshua to send the two spies into Jericho.  Was Joshua acting in unbelief by sending them to scout out the situation?  After all, God didn’t tell him to do that as He had in the first account under Moses’ leadership.  So what gives?  If we are learning about faith and God’s word is consistent why didn’t God deal with Joshua the way that He dealt with the first group? 

Could it be that God saw the heart of one woman who given the opportunity would follow God with everything that she had?  Could it be that God sent the spies into Jericho whose sole purpose was really to rescue this one woman and her family?  Would God really do that?   While the spies were seemingly sent to secure valuable information regarding the city’s fortifications, in God’s mysterious ways maybe they were sent to rescue a sinful woman who had a heart of faith. How awesome is that!!  Consider the lengths that God would go to rescue one woman today who would have the courage enough to believe Him.

Arlene concluded her lesson by asking us if we have the faith to believe God in whatever our current situation might be.  She also pointed out that sometimes God is asking us to do something and sometimes He is asking us not to do something but to just trust Him.  Each one of us has something that we need to believe God for and we were each given a scarlet cord to tie around our wrist to a remind us that faith has EVERYTHING to do with it.  Will you do the same?

"With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:11-12).