Temple Baptist Church - 5-20-2020
Hebrews 11:31; Joshua 2:1-21
Introduction:
A. Last week, we saw, by the power of God, that the wall of Jericho “fell down flat!”
Joshua 6:20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
B. “Flat” – to depress or the bottom. For the wall to become “flat,” there could not be one stone left upon another. This is what our Lord spoke of in the Book of Matthew.
Matthew 24:1-2 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. (2) And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
C. Rahab “lodged” upon the wall.
D. Tonight, we will look at one of my favorite Bible characters, Rahab. I once preached a message titled “Whatever Happened To The Prostitute Who Lived On Wall Street.” It was a Mother’s Day message about women with a sordid past who got saved, their lives changed, and they became good mothers. My message was that good mothers are not born, they are made.
E. Rahab was such a woman.
1. Rahab’s Character – Verse 1 – “an harlot’s house”
a. Her Person – Rahab was a harlot! A woman of ill-repute. “Harlot” means an adulteress, a whore, or to be wanton. I had a man try to convince me that the word harlot meant a shopkeeper. “Harlot” 42x in 40 verses and the word means the same in each instance.
Deuteronomy 23:17-18 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. (18) Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
b. Her Pride – “Rahab” means “Proud.” Rahab was proud of her sinfulness as she lived in open sin upon the wall of the city, running a house of ill-repute. She did not care what anyone thought about her.
Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
2. Rahab’s Condemnation – Verse 1
a. Rahab was condemned by Birth. Rahab lived on the wall of Jericho. She was a Canaanite and, therefore, an enemy of God’s people
Romans 5:12a “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin (a sinner by birth);”
b. Rahab was condemned by Choice. Rahab lived as a harlot. Therefore, she was a sinner by choice.
3. Rahab’s Courage - Verses 1-7
a. She housed the spies, knowing who they were. Verse 1 – “lodged there”
b. She hid the spies, knowing the penalty of doing so. Verses 4-6 – “hid them”
4. Rahab’s Convincing – Verses 8-10
a. Rahab heard who the Lord of Israel was. Verse 9 – “I know that the Lord hath given you the land”
b. Rahab heard what the Lord of Israel did. Verse 10 – “For we have heard how the LORD … dried up the waters of the Red Sea for you … what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. ”
5. Rahab’s Choice – Verses 11-17
a. The Choice of God’s Person – Verse 11 – “for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
b. The Choice of God’s People – Verses 12-13 – “Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.
Ephesians 3:14-15 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (15) Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
c. The Choice of God’s Payment. Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (“this line of scarlet thread” Typical of the blood of Christ that was to be shed. From Genesis, chapter 3, throughout the Bible—this line of scarlet thread is the precious blood of Christ that purchased our redemption.)
6. Rahab’s Conversion – Verses 18-21
a. Rahab’s Testimony. Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
b. Rahab’s Toil. James_2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
c. Rahab’s Transformation. Matthew 1:5a And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; (In the genealogy of our Lord, the word “harlot” is not associated with Rachab!)
7. Rahab’s Contribution - Matthew 1:5-6 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; (6) And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; (Rachab-Rahab, was the Great-Great Grandmother of David through which was established the throne of David and the everlasting throne of Christ.)
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