Rahab’s Faith
November 29, 2009
• Exodus 15:14 The people shall hear, and
be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the
inhabitants of Palestina.
• 15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be
amazed; the mighty men of Moab,
trembling shall take hold upon them; all
the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away
• Exodus 23:27 I will send my fear before
thee, and will destroy all the people to
whom thou shalt come, and I will make all
thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
• Deuteronomy 2:25 This day will I begin to
put the dread of thee and the fear of thee
upon the nations that are under the whole
heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and
shall tremble, and be in anguish because
of thee.
• Deuteronomy 11:25 There shall no man
be able to stand before you: for the LORD
your God shall lay the fear of you and the
dread of you upon all the land that ye shall
tread upon, as he hath said unto you.
Joshua 2 Brings Confirmation
• The two spies sent out were
to confirm the effect of God’s
promise to Israel how the nations
were to respond to the knowledge of God.
• Their heart melted 2:9 “And she said unto the
men, I know that the LORD hath given you the
land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and
that all the inhabitants of the land faint because
of you.”
They were shaking in their boots
• 2:11 “And as soon as we had heard these
things, our hearts did melt, neither did
there remain any more courage in any
man, because of you: for the LORD your
God, he is God in heaven above, and in
earth beneath.”
• There was fear in their hearts.
• No nation could oppose Israel
successfully. (Sihon and Og)
Why does the Bible record the
conversion of an harlot?
• Hebrews 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down,
after they had been compassed about for seven days.
• 31 By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that
were disobedient, having received the spies with peace.
• James 2:25 And in like manner was not also Rahab the
harlot justified by works, in that she received the
messengers, and sent them out another way?
• Some have had difficulty in accepting the
record of Rahab’s conversion being a
former harlot.
• Some have attempted to edit the Bible by
changing her status to “inn-keeper”
• Leviticus 18:3 After the doings of the land
of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do:
and after the doings of the land of Canaan,
whither I bring you, shall ye not do; neither
shall ye walk in their statutes.
• Leviticus 18:24 Defile not ye yourselves in
any of these things: for in all these the
nations are defiled which I cast out from
before you;
• 25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do
visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the
land vomiteth out her inhabitants.
• Rahab is a symbol of the
immoral practices that was
characteristic of the Canaanites.
• This helps us understand how and
why God was now bringing judgment
against the inhabitants of Canaan.
• To further substantiate this fact, Genesis
15:16 reveals God telling Abraham, “the
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”
• Sin is the reason why the inhabitants of
Canaan is losing the land.
Some argue over the fact Rahab
lied when questioned by the King’s
Servants
• We should not conclude that God
approved or overlooked her lie.
• God never approves of sin
• Remember that even Abraham lied
• The Bible tells us what they did
,
• It is interesting that before the Israelites
take possession of the land of Canaan a
non Jew is blessed
• A failure to grasp this leads to thinking that
God favored the Israelites above others
because they were fleshly descendents of
Abraham.
• The blessing from God is a result of one’s
faith whether one was a
Jew or a Canaanite
(Rahab)
• Rahab’s faith was based on revelation,
(Romans 10:17)
• Joshua 2:10 “For we have heard how
Jehovah dried up the water of the Red
Sea before you, when ye came out of
Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings
of the Amorites, that were beyond the
Jordan, unto Sihon and to Og, whom ye
utterly destroyed.”
• It is a mistake to misread the Bible to think
that because God gave the Jews the Law
that the rest of the world was unable to
come to faith in God.
• While it is true that the nation of Israel had
the law there still were other ways to
receive revelation or
that God made
Himself known to
the rest of the world.
Was Rahab’s faith genuine?
• Exodus 9:16 And in very deed for this
cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in
thee my power; and that my name may be
declared throughout all the earth.
• Deuteronomy 28:10 And all people of the
earth shall see that thou art called by the
name of the LORD; and they shall be
afraid of thee.
• 1 Samuel 17:46 This day will the LORD deliver
thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and
take thine head from thee; and I will give the
carcases of the host of the Philistines this day
unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts
of the earth; that all the earth may know that
there is a God in Israel.
• 2 Kings 5:15 ¶And he returned to the man of
God, he and all his company, and came, and
stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I
know that there is no God in all the earth, but in
Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing
of thy servant.
• Daniel 3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the
burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come
hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the
midst of the fire.
• 27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's
counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose
bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed,
neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed
on them.
• 28 ¶Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and
delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the
king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor
worship any god, except their own God.
• 29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and
language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their
houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that
can deliver after this sort.
• Daniel 6:24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men
which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions,
them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery
of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the
bottom of the den.
• 25 ¶Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and
languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
• 26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men
tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God,
and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.
• 27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders
in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of
the lions.
• 28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign
of Cyrus the Persian.
Faith
• Faith isn’t something thoughtless or foolish. It
must be genuine in the face of difficulty.
• The spies
• Rahab’s faith stood despite the difficulty
• Rahab's faith was one of courage for she
risked her life.
• Influence of faith is seen in leading her family to
faith. They were not saved by her faith because
they were given the challenge to stay in her
house.
Was Rahab’s faith obedient?
• Brought her family to her home.
• Kept secret the purpose and
position of the spies.
Let the two spies down.
Identified her house by a
scarlet thread.
• They had to remain in the house.
• They were all willing to go through the
present risk for future preservation.