Women’s Ministry Sunday Sermon

Sermon Title: Confident Faith Against the Odds

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1, 31 & Joshua 2

Captain Harryette O’Brien

 

Hebrews 11:31 says “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.”

It is said that prostitution is the world’s oldest occupation. Whether or not that is factual is up for debate. Rahab was a prostitute, and everyone knew it. It was common knowledge in town and was probably frequently talked about around the water well. Because of this, she lived on the edge of society – one step away from complete and total rejection – until the next man found her convenient. Her house was built right into the city wall, which provided both lodging and “favors” for travelers on their journey. Her very house would play a pivotal role in her faith journey.

In reading her story in the Bible you will see that there is no attempt to tone down, cover up or hide her occupation. She is recorded as a Harlot … a prostitute. This is noted multiple times, repeatedly. Almost as if God is saying “When you hear the name Rahab, think prostitute.”

Besides her occupation, the Bible doesn’t give us much information about her. We know that she was a prostitute in Jericho, and she lived near or on the city wall. She was well known by the people (especially the men) in town. They knew right where to go when searching for sexual favors. Also, the king of Jericho knew where she lived and what she did.

However, she is found Hebrews 11, which is known as the Heroes of Faith chapter. She is listed along with Noah – the man who listened to God’s orders and built an ark; Moses – the man who led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt; King David who is known as “A man after God’s own heart,” and many, more heroes. Rahab’s past did not hold her back, because she is in great company.

But how did she get there? How did she go from being the town gossip with a seedy reputation to standing proudly among the greatest examples of faith and part of the lineage of Jesus Christ himself? Let’s look …

Point 1) A Hopeless Beginning

In looking at the beginning of what would become the start of Rahab’s faith journey we notice a few things that make life rather difficult for her. If Rahab were to write a biography about herself, I imagine she might title it “The cards were stacked against me.”

She was a woman living in a not so “women friendly” world.

At this point in time women were treated more like property and less like people. Often animals had more rights and were shown more respect than women. Physical and emotional abuse were ordinary, and even expected.

Today women have the right to vote for whom they want to hold a political office. They are CEO’s of profitable, popular enterprises; entrepreneurs, inventors, business experts, astronauts, senators, authors, and school principals. Yes, we still have a way to go until we reach total equality with men, but we are much farther along in the process than Rahab.

How remarkable is it that the writer of Hebrews should choose to include Rahab. By including a woman like this the writer wants us to know that the ground is leveled before God. That even in that degraded age, a woman could be included on an equal basis with men in the household of faith.

Point 1) Her Occupation … Prostitute

Being a prostitute may make some people feel uncomfortable. But the Bible doesn’t try to cover up what she was, so why should we. In the end, it doesn’t matter. Her occupation is even more proof of God’s glory. God’s grace is for sinners, and Rahab was a sinner. Some might say she was the lowest of lows – with no moral compass, but that didn’t matter to God. Her occupation didn’t hinder her from being used by God or starting her beautiful life of faith in a God who loved her just the way she was.

True, she chose the path she was on, but her occupation was not a hindrance for her. Those same men who chastised her in public, sought after her in the dark. Those that condemned her publicly, made sure to visit her at their earliest convenience. If there was any kind of pole taken in her city, I believe the majority might vote that she was good for only one thing.

She was a Gentile, a foreigner, who was raised in a pagan religion. As such, she did not belong to the Israelites. Yet, by faith she was accepted by God and by His people.  When the great attack on Jericho came, she was spared while the city around her was destroyed. Her life illustrates God’s promise made to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) that through his descendants all the nations on earth would be blessed.

She took a great risk when she sheltered the spies. Why would she do it? Joshua 2:9-13 tells us that she and all the people of Jericho had heard stories about how God had delivered his people through the Red Sea and how He had given them victory over the Amorite kings. That fact means that everyone in Jericho had some understanding of the strength of the Isrealites. Rumors had spread like wildfire. But only Rahab had the foresight to believe that the Lord Himself was at work in all that had happened to the Jews. Where does such foresight come from? I believe the eyes of her heart had been opened by the Holy Spirit. When it came time to choose sides, she chose to side with God’s people.

Point 2) A Remarkable Deliverance

The spies agreed that if she tied a scarlet cord to her window, she and her family would be saved in the coming attack on Jericho. Why a scarlet cord? In the chaos of the coming battle, a scarlet cord would be easily seen by the attacking army. But there is a deeper symbolism. The scarlet cord reminds us of the blood of the Passover. The color was no coincidence. It was a scarlet cord that guaranteed her deliverance from otherwise certain death. Note that as soon as the spies left, Rahab tied the cord in the window so everyone could see it. She had no idea when the attack would come. Maybe in a few days, in several weeks. It didn’t matter. She believed the promise and acted upon it.

Rahab heard the promise and did something about it. It is never enough merely to hear the truth. Hearing the truth must move you to action. Rahab the harlot made the Hall of Fame of Faith for one reason. When the chips were down, she believed the promise and did something about it. And that simple scarlet cord saved her life and the lives of her family.

Time passed. Inside Jericho life proceeded as normal. Meanwhile two things were happening that few people knew about.

• Rahab spreads the word to her relatives. “When the attack starts, come to my house. Don’t delay. Don’t join the battle. Don’t run and hide. Come to my house and you will be safe.” Rahab became an evangelist to her own family.
• Joshua led the children of Israel across the Jordan and up toward Jericho.

That caused the men of Jericho to close the city gates in the belief that they could withstand any assault and any siege. We all know what happens next. It has been immortalized in the word of the old spiritual, “Joshua fit the battle of Jericho.” Archaeologists tell us that the city was already 1000 years old when Joshua prepared to attack it. It had enormous strategic importance because Jericho sat on a hillside guarding the central portion of Palestine. Over the centuries Jericho had been destroyed and rebuilt many times. It was so strong that the people inside felt safe. Apart from a miracle, there was no way the Jews could take the city.

You know how God instructed Joshua and the people to march around the city for six consecutive days. On the seventh day they marched around the city seven times. God promised that on the seventh day, on the seventh time around the city, when the priests blew their horns and the people shouted, the walls would come tumbling down. With the walls down, the people of Jericho were defenseless.

The Jews attacked and at God’s express command killed everything in the city. Men and women . . .  young and old . . . cattle and donkeys.  It was a total slaughter by the children of Israel. Absolute annihilation. Holy war. Nothing was left because they burned it to the ground.

Except … except for Rahab. When the soldiers saw the scarlet cord in her window, they spared her and everyone with her. They kept the promise the spies had made. And so, Rahab the harlot was secure, and her faith caused her to reach out and guarantee the salvation of her own family as well.

Point 3) A Timeless Message

For 2000 years Christian expositors have seen two major themes in Rahab’s story.

• Salvation for the worst of sinners.

This story teaches us that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace. But think of all the men she had slept with. Think of all that sin. Think of her stained reputation. Think of her past. And God says, “I know all about her past, and it doesn’t matter because she believed in me.” Not that sexual sin doesn’t matter. It matters greatly. After all, she is still called Rahab the harlot. But she is free now and forgiven.

So, what’s your sin? You may be listening to this sermon and right now you feel unworthy to go to heaven. If so, I have wonderful news for you. God has called you worthy. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross allowed you to be covered in HIS righteousness.

For the record, I would rather be Rahab the harlot on my way to heaven than to be Sally the Sunday School teacher on my way to hell.

• Salvation through the blood of Jesus.

If Rahab represents a helpless sinner, then the scarlet cord represents the blood of Jesus shed for you. One of our old gospel songs puts it in the form of a question.

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow.
No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is a message of enormous hope for all of us. And the worse you feel about yourself, the more hope you can find in Rahab. There is no pit so deep that the love of God is not deeper still. (Corrie ten Boom). There is no sin so terrible that Jesus cannot forgive it.

But what if you don’t know very much? Take heart. Rahab knew very little and yet she was saved. I have often wondered how much you have to know to be saved. We could argue that for hours. But since faith is a gift of God, we know that it’s not how much faith you have, it’s where you place your faith. It’s not the amount of faith that matters. It’s the object of faith. Rahab knew enough to know that the God of the Israelites was the one true God. Her faith caused her to welcome the spies and then send them on their way. And her faith caused her to hang the scarlet cord out of her window.

It’s not the amount of faith that matters. It’s the object of faith. “By faith Rahab!”

What happened to Rahab after the fall of Jericho? We know this much. She married a Jewish man named Salmon and together they had a son named Boaz whose name pops up in the book of Ruth. Boaz and Ruth gave birth to Obed the father of Jesse the father of David who became the king of Israel. Get the picture?

Hundreds of years later her name shows up on the first page of the New Testament. When Matthew gives the genealogy of Jesus, he includes this section: Read Matthew 1:5,6

“Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.”

Rahab the harlot made the list. She’s part of Jesus’ family tree. If you know Jesus, one day you will meet her in heaven.

The second verse of the familiar gospel song “To God Be the Glory” goes like this:

Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood.
To every believer, the promise of God.
The vilest offender who truly believes
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

How true it is. “The vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.” Rahab proves it, and you can prove it too by coming to Christ right now. Don’t let your past keep you away. Come to Jesus! Your sins will be forgiven, you will be saved, and your life will never be the same.

God loves you.