In case some of you are wondering, my voice has changed. I'm okay. Our scripture reading this morning is from Joshua chapter 2. The book of Joshua, of course, records the great things God did in conquering the Canaanites so that God's people could take over the land, the land that He gave and promised to our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Joshua chapter 2. And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies saying, go view the land, especially Jericho. And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. And it was told to the king of Jericho, behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land. Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab saying, bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come out to search out all the land. But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, true, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords, and the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out. Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you. For the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death. And the men said to her, Our life for yours, even to death. If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the Lord gives us the land, we will deal kindly and faithfully with you. Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall so that she lived in the wall. And she said to them, Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way." The men said to her, we will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's household. Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you made us swear. And she said, according to your words, so be it. Then she sent them away and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window. They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing. Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them. And they said to Joshua, truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands, and also all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us. This truly is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Gracious God, our Father, this is a familiar story. We have learned it in Sunday school, at home, in Christian school perhaps. But gracious God, we ask that you will help us to reflect on its message. and why you want us to know this story, and so that we might be encouraged by the great grace that you have shown to us, your people, even in the times of the Old Testament, and now confirm with greater light with the coming of Jesus Christ our Lord. In his name we pray, amen. We will be looking at these verses in context, verses 9 through 11, perhaps starting verse 8 for better context. Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land and that the fear of you has fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we've heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you. For the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath." The Congregation of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, when the writer to the Hebrews lists the great heroes and heroines of faith, he includes in that list two women, Sarah, the wife of Abraham, and Rahab, the harlot. Now Rahab is remembered because of her tremendous act of faith in receiving and hiding these two Israelite spies. And it's because of that act of faith she is then engrafted into the nation of Israel and in fact becomes honored as one of the ancestors not only of David, King David, but she is an ancestress of the Lord Jesus Christ, the great Savior of sinners. That's why when you read the genealogy of Matthew 1, you'll notice that Matthew lists four women of the Old Testament who were significant in the coming of the kingdom of God, in the advent of God's kingdom. There's Tamar, Genesis 38. There is Rahab. There's Ruth, the Moabitess. And then there is the wife of Uriah, whom we know as Bathsheba. These four women, in their own particular way, took unusual actions. But in those unusual actions, they actually further the advance of the kingdom of God. Now whatever sins these women had, and they had many, they are not mentioned by Matthew at all. For instance, the Jews of Matthew's day considered Tamar and Rahab to be great women. Why? Because these are Canaanites who are proselyte converts to Judaism. What could be better in a Jew's mind? We have Canaanites who are converting to our Judaistic faith. Tamar's sexual seduction of Judah had furthered the covenant line in Genesis 38. And Rahab was considered so honorable that some Jewish rabbi said that she married Joshua and she became the mother of eight sons who all were prophets. But all of that is not mentioned in scripture at all. Now, Rahab is frequently called a harlot, a prostitute. Although, please notice, the biblical text never goes into any detail about that whatsoever. And so neither do we. Sure, she was a sinner. So are you. So am I. Sure, she should have been stoned to death. for that was the penalty that the Torah prescribes for prostitutes. But if any of you this morning have no sins, I invite you to be the first one to cast a stone at Rahab. The Bible is concerned with much more than her harlotry, much, much more. Now, her livelihood, now this is where a lot of discussion occurs, some suggest that she was perhaps the keeper of the local Jericho Inn, sort of a Motel 6 on the edge of Jericho, for she would take in to her home visitors, travelers. Jericho was very strategically located, very close to caravans, trading caravans, but She supplemented her income of flax and linen weaving perhaps with prostitution. Yes, she was a lady of the night. And yet, the Bible does not focus on her harlotry at all. It is her act of faith, as recorded here in Joshua 2, that causes her to be engrafted into the covenant line and she is an ancestress of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. And so I want us to focus this morning on Joshua 2. verses 9 through 11 under the theme, by a fearful faith Rahab lives. Notice first of all her fear, secondly her faith, thirdly her works, and finally her Redeemer. Jericho was the key city. Jericho is the key city that is just west of the Jordan River. It was large and it was powerful. Archaeology has clearly proven that. And Jericho at this moment is suffering from a case of the jitters. There's war talk in the air. The residents of Jericho know that on the east side of the Jordan, of the Jordan River is a very large nomadic people who have won some very important victories throughout their history and now they seem poised to cross the river and attack Jericho. Now, perhaps some of the residents of Jericho would try to persuade their co-citizens, don't worry. Look, we have time to build up our forces. The Jordan River is at flood stage. No army can cross the Jordan when it's flooding. Besides, our walls are thick and strong. Don't worry. But I think our boys and girls who know this story so well knows what God can do to a river, a body of water. He can cut right through it. And His people can walk on dry ground. And our boys and girls know what happens to the walls of Jericho after the Israelites circle around it for a week. They came tumbling down. And so the Security that the Canaanites might have had, the citizens of Jericho may have thought that they possessed is just not security at all. We know that as followers of the Lord. Jericho has the jitters and secretly into the city come two spies. from Israel. They are spotted and identified as going to Rahab's home. Her house was built possibly on the west or northwest side of the city. That's where she lived. And the King of Jericho would try to use this harlot, or any harlot, to gather information from spies, especially to hand them over. You see, throughout all of history, and this is done by governments to this very day, Kings and rulers often use prostitutes to gather information that they can use against another nation. Now, she tells a lie. Let's put it right out there on the table. She tells a lie. And all kinds of gallons of ink have been spilled in discussion of this lie. And the scripture makes no comment on it at this point. It does not. Yes, it is wrong, it is a sin to lie. Yes, liars go to hell. But also bear in mind that in Oriental culture, if you receive a guest into your home, you then become responsible for protecting those guests. And that was a sign of great importance, a great virtue. You protect your guests, no matter what. Now Rahab was following, at least at one level, the social customs of the day, but there's much, much more to it than that. She's not simply following Oriental culture, custom. Because let me ask you this, why should she give any more assistance to the King of Jericho when her own allegiance is transferring to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Her loyalty is turning towards Yahweh as her confession in verses 9 and following indicate. Why should she help the King of Jericho anymore? No help for him. Jericho has the jitters. It's nervous. But Rahab also has the jitters. Before the two men go to sleep on the roof, she comes up to talk with them. And really in verses nine through 13, she just pours out her heart. We're afraid. We heard what happened when you left Egypt 40 years ago. That story still lives in our circles. But we remember it. The Lord, your God, dried up the Red Sea so that you came out of Egypt. We've heard of what you did more recently when you defeated and devoted to destruction those Amorite kings on the east side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og. And when we heard these reports, our courage melted. It's like turning from ice, which is a firm, object to water. We melted. Our hearts melted. There was no courage left within us at all. And so if you cross this Jordan, I know we are all going to die. I don't want to die. I don't want my mom and dad to die. I don't want my family members to die. Please, please spare us from death. It's interesting, isn't it? that Rahab, at least on one level, is typical of the whole city of Jericho. It's typical for the Canaanites to be afraid when they see the kingdom of God advancing. Yes, the nation of Israel is poised on the east side of the Jordan. There it is. And so fear grips the Canaanites. It paralyzes them. Later on in the book of Joshua, it will say that they lock their gates. Once the Israelites cross the river, they lock their gates. You know, if a society is paralyzed by fear, people grab for whatever they can to alleviate that fear. You know, we can talk about pandemics, the fear that that can create. We can talk about climate warming and the fear that that creates with other people. We can talk about how the atom, the nuclear atom, is split, and the potential for energy to take care of our energy needs is there, but it also, in splitting the atom, we have the potential of turning the world into a burned-out cinder. There are economic fears. There are all kinds of fears. And what do the nations do? They argue. They call a summit. Their leaders talk. They come to agreements. They withdraw from agreements. They agree, but then don't do what they agreed to do. Let me ask you, how are the gods of gold and silver, of grain and oil doing for you? You know, we Americans prize the individual. I did it my way. But individualism, destroys a nation in the end. It really does. Because if everything revolves around me, I really don't care what I do to you unless you serve me. Can these phony gods of gold and silver and oil, grain, me, bring in the kingdom of God? And then comes the Christian church with its message that says, God has sent a savior into this world, and before him we must all give an account someday, whatever we have done in the body, good or evil. We are sinners. And when we press that message home, people either react in fear or they get really, really angry. The advance of the kingdom of God causes fear among those who do not know God. The advance of the kingdom of God causes fear among those who do not know God. And so Rahab is scared, but she admits it. Yet instead of locking up the gates of her own heart, as her Canaanite neighbors will do, and keep God out, she opens up her life to an expression of faith. Listen to what she says in verse 9. I know that the Lord has given you the land, for the Lord your God. He is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. Wow, that's her confession of faith. It's very simple, it's to the point. I know you're going to win, I know that. I know that because of all the gods in heaven and on earth, your God is the true God. It's a confession that is so simple, it sounds like a confession someone would make just as they are coming out of paganism. She's confessing this on the basis of what? Now think, think well about this. She said, we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you came out of Egypt. How long ago did that happen? That was 40 years ago, 40 years. We heard this all the way over there in Jericho. And they remember it. Was she there? Did she walk out of Egypt on dry ground as the other Israelites did? No. She heard it. We heard what you did to the Amorite kings, Sihon and Og. You demolished them. You destroyed them. She heard and knew some truth stories about what the Lord had done for his people, leading them to victory. And she believed. And she believed. I know that the Lord has given you the land and the word, the verb in the original language, has given is a verb that indicates it's a done deal. It's done. Yahweh has given you this land. It's over. I know that. Now that forces us to reflect for a few moments this morning on congregation. What do you know? Young people, what do you know? Rahab did not have the blessing of a Christian home. She didn't go to Sunday school, catechism classes. She was never enrolled as a student in a Christian day school. What have you heard that God has done? What do you know? What do you believe? You know, that is always something that is forced upon us when we make a profession of faith. Indeed, whenever we come to church, whenever we come to the Lord's table, do you believe these truths? Do you embrace them? Let me put it this way. Where do Christian homes and Sunday school and catechism and Christian day education pay off in your life. You've heard the stories of the gospel. Christ was born of the Virgin, the second person of the Holy Trinity, entered time and space, taking upon himself our nature, and then lived a perfect life. He goes to the cross and he dies there. He suffers hell. Why? Because your sins and mine, the sins of all God's elect, are reckoned to be his, and then he must suffer. He must be devoted to destruction. But God receives that and then vindicates him on resurrection morning. Christ is risen from the dead, the first fruits of the resurrection. This is good news. You've heard these things. Do we change? Do we believe that? Is our life different because of the things we have learned and know? You know, we could come with all kinds of excuses about, well, my faith isn't perfect. Now, neither is mine. We don't have enough knowledge. There's certainly more to be learned indeed. But the question is, do we believe in God and the Lord Jesus Christ with what we already know? Look how wonderful the work of the Holy Spirit is in her life, in her heart, in her confession of faith. Rahab the Canaanite believed more in God with less knowledge than did the ten Israelite spies. Remember those guys? They walked out of Egypt on dry ground through the Red Sea. They ate manna that mysteriously appeared every morning, the bread of heaven. They drank water that flowed from the rock. But when they walked through Canaan to spy it out, they came back with a wimpy, wimpy report. And this was the majority report. Ten grown men who saw what God had done. Oh, we'll never conquer these Canaanites. They're giants. We're like little grasshoppers. Girly men. Wimps. Rahab believed more with never seeing it than they did who saw and experienced it. You know, they say seeing is believing. No, believing is seeing. Believing is seeing. Listen to what Rahab says. I know that the Lord has given you the land. We're all scared and I'm scared to die, but I know that the Lord, your God, he is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. Now, she had a fearful faith. But she acted on the basis of that fearful faith. This is why James in the New Testament can hold her up as an example of faith that produces works. Yes, she worked. What did she do? She hid the two spies. Now again, brothers and sisters, I challenge you to reflect on what that meant in that culture. Had the Jericho king found out that she was actually hiding spies in her home, that she lied to him, what would he have done? You know, occasionally we hear of people in our government or in our military or wherever, they are spying for foreign governments. For money, they will give information, important information to sometimes our enemies who want our destruction. And they're found guilty perhaps in a court of law, and we sentence them to, I heard this one time, 20 years in prison. 20 years in prison? Are you kidding me? selling valuable information to our enemies, and you get 20 years in prison, three square meals a day. The Jericho King would have executed her and her family, no second thoughts, no mercy accorded. And therefore, when she hid those spies, she was risking everything, everything. But that's what faith does. I know that the Lord has given you this land. He is God above in heaven and on earth beneath. I know that. This is one example of her work. She brought her whole family. This is another example. She brought her whole family into the covenant. Her mom, her dad, her brothers, her sisters, their families. Because it was true in the Old Testament as it was true when Paul and Silas say to the Philippian jailer, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household. Rahab the Canaanite harlot, Rahab of such fearful faith, brought life to her whole family. We praise God for his mercy. Praise God. And that's the end result of this whole episode. By this faith that is mixed with fear, scared to death, Rahab lives. But you know why she lives? She lives by the mercy of her own son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For the Son of God is so in control of all the events that are going on here that not one of God's elect perishes. God loses not one of his children, including Canaanite prostitutes. Jesus came to save, but he saves some very interesting and colorful people, like you and me, like Tamar and Judah and Rahab and Ruth and a thief on the cross. If you look ahead to Joshua 6, verse 25, it will say that Joshua saved her and her household alive, but he's able to do that only because of what, later in history, the Lord Jesus Christ would do on the cross and in the resurrection. Jesus Christ is redeeming this Canaanite, taking her into his people, into his kingdom, and she would thus become one of his mothers. Later on, she does marry a prince of Judah, and in that way she becomes an ancestress of David and the Lord, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now remember now, she is a fallen woman. She was scheduled, like all of the citizens of Jericho, to be annihilated and destroyed. She should have died. That's what the law said. but instead she was saved by grace, grace through faith, a faith that still had a long ways to go, but by faith she believed what she knew. She grew up outside of the church, that's true, and yet God's first action in conquering the promised land is to subdue the heart of this woman. God's first action before he brings down the walls of Jericho is to open up her life through an action of grace, not destruction. Who says that the God of the Old Testament is a cruel and bloodthirsty deity? Rahab is a kind of first fruits, isn't she? The first fruits of a harvest that will bring in Canaanites and people from Latin America and Africa and Asia and Europe and North America and Lansing, Illinois. His grace will reach them and they will be brought in to his kingdom. My God, how wonderful thou art. You see, Joshua 2, therefore, becomes another Advent story, isn't it, that tells the world that the kingdom of God is coming because its king is coming. But Joshua 2 also reveals what kind of a king is he. Cruel and distant, or a king who stoops down to come in our midst, whose grace is able to take hold of the vilest sinners. That's the kind of king we have, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness. Oh, how I fear thee, living God, with deepest, tenderest fears, and worship thee with trembling hope and penitential tears. Do we fear God, trembling, maybe sometimes with tears? Or has God become so comfortable That a worship service, Bible reading, communion, all of those become just things we do. Are we looking forward to having our faith pressed even deeper into Christ? Yet I may love thee too, O Lord, almighty as thou art, for thou hast stooped to ask of me the love of my poor heart. How can I love him more? How will you, brothers and sisters, love him more? What will bring the world to Jesus Christ? What will bring the world to Jesus Christ? An impressive story will, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the story of the gospel. And so then, what do we bring to this world? An impressive story, the story of the gospel, of a God who stoops down to reach sinners, even Canaanite prostitutes, and save them by grace alone, through faith alone. and they have life, and that life is abundant life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Remember and believe that by a fearful faith, even a person like Rahab lives. Praise God. Amen. Let us pray. Well, Lord our God, we thank you and stand amazed at this story of grace recorded in the book of Joshua to remind its readers that you are the victor and that the confession of your victory even comes from the lips of Canaanite prostitutes. We thank you Heavenly Father that that confession now can come from the lives and lips of people around the world, from all kinds of backgrounds, all kinds of gifts and talents and understandings, but that we at the body of Christ confess the truth. You are the winner in history and someday we will be gathered with all your people to celebrate that great victory of your grace in our lives. Thank you, Father, for coming, for sending your Son to live the life we could never live, to die in our place, and to rise again in victory. And so we ask that you'll hear our prayers, receive our praise, for Jesus' sake. Amen.