RAHAB, A FEARLESS WOMAN OF GOD Joshua 2

 RAHAB A FEARLESS WOMAN OF GOD

Joshua 2

Joshua 2:1-2

2 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. 

You can’t control where you came from, but you can control where you end up. You can’t control your birth, but you can control how you die. Rahab was a woman with a dark past but a bright future. God defines her as a prostitute, the owner of an Inn and flax distributor. She became a key figure in the destruction of Jericho and the genealogy of Jesus.

Moses had died and was buried in the Mountain by God. Joshua 

Was commissioned by God to take the Israelites into the promised

Land. The first city in the conquest was Jericho.

Israel had been established by God as a nation to be feared. 40 years

Earlier, the entire Egyptian army had been destroyed in the Red Sea

Most recently  the Israelites had defeated the Amorites and Five Midianite Kings and their armies were killed by Israel. The Word had spread throughout the promised land that Israel was under the power of the one true living God.

GOD’S GRACE FOR REHAB

Joshua sent two spies across the Jordan River to check out Jericho.

God led the spies to the house of Rahab the harlot where they lodged.

Rehab established a relationship with two Israelites. She knew the fear of the king and the people of Jericho and she used that to her advantage. Rehab was a wealthy business woman who knew the right path to take.

The king heard that spies were in Rahab’s home and sent soldiers to

Get them. It is apparent that  Rahab had heard about Israel and their success and destruction of other kingdoms. She believed the reports

And knew her and her family was in danger. She chose to believe in God. 

You and I are given the same choice. We can chose the sin and

Darkness of the world or the power of God.

REHAB’S COMPASSION

Rahab hid the spies under flax on the roof of her home which was built

In the outer wall of the city. Flax was used to make linen cloth. It was harvested and laid on the roof to dry out. Flax grew to be three feet in length. It was an easy covering for the spies.

When the king’s men came looking for the spies she lied and said they were here, but had left the city before the gate was closed. She told the soldiers if they hurried, they could find them on the road outside the city.

Why did God lead the spies to Rehab’s house who was known to be a

Prostitute? The Canaanites worshipped Baal the god of fertility.

Israel was commanded not to be involved in prostitution.

Deuteronomy 23:17-18

No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. 18 You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of the Lord your God to pay any vow, because the Lord your God detests them both. 

Rehab house was an unlikely place for the men of God. It was probably the place where men of the city went for pleasure and confided in the women of the house, their troubles, fears and the gossip of the city

It was a place where the spies could mingle with city and gain insight

Into the strength of the army. Most of all it was a place where the men found covering and protection in a woman prepared by God.

God gave Rahab knowledge and wisdom and confidence that men of Jericho didn’t have.

Joshua 2:8-9

8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, "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.

You and I have the covering of Jesus’s blood for our salvation. It is the Lord’s compassion that saves us from our sins. Jesus has prepared many witnesses to us for His grace and mercy.

REHABS SALVATION

When the soldiers left, Rehab made a covenant with the spies; your

Life for mine. I will keep the secret that you were hear if you save me

And my family when you come to destroy the city. The spies agreed

She let them down out a window in the wall and told them to go to 

The mountain and stay there three days until the soldiers returned. The spies told Rahab to have her family in the room where the window was marked with a scarlet cloth . She told the spies that all the city feared the  Israelites.  This report was taken back to Joshua

Joshua 2:23-24

 They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, "The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us." 

You and I have covenant relationship with Lord. When we give our lives to Christ, Hebecome our covering and protection.

REHABS BELIEF

Rahab believe the word of the spies. She put her trust in the agreement made with the spies. She gathered all her family into

The room waiting on her deliver to safety. She did know the spies,

But she believed in the God that protected them. She had heard the Word, believed in the testimony of the Word and established a 

Relationship with the Word.

REHAB’S TRANSFORMATION

She believed the God of Israel. She married Salmon of the tribe

Of Judah and was the mother of Boaz and the great grandmother

Of KIng David.

Rahab was born a Cannanite woman in the city of Jericho. She did

What she knew to do to provide for her relatives. She had no say in

Her birth. But she controlled her destiny . She took advantage of the

Opportunities God presented to her. 

RAHAB’S PURPOSE

She was borned in Jericho, became a prostitute,  an inn keeper for the purpose of giving confidence to the spies that Jericho was an easy target to To defeat. She risked her life to save the lives of the spies and her relatives. Her life started out bad, but God meant it for good. Her life Started out in the dark, but God directed her to the light. 

All of us start out in the dark. All us have a past that does not please God. We can’t change the past, but we can change the future. God

Was in control of our past to direct us to the place He designed for us.

She as a prostitute , an inn keeper, a business woman but end up

Being the great grandmother of King David. 

REHAB’S REWARDS AND BLESSING

Whatever you do for God will be done for you.

Joshua 2:12-14

12 Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death." 14 "Our lives for your lives!" the men assured her.

HER INHERITANCE, THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS

Rehab’s faith is remembered by God in three scriptures in the New Testament.  People know you by what you look like and what they have heard. God knows you by what’s in your heart.

Matthew 1:5

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab (The great grandmother of King David)

HER SALVATION

Hebrews 11:9

 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. 

HER FAITH IN ACTION

James 2:25-26

25 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? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. 

SUMMARY

1. NEVER JUDGE ANYONE BY THEIR PROFESSION, YOU DON’T KNOW THEIR STORY

2. GOD PUTS US IN BAD SITUATIONS TO GROW US TO HIS GOODNESS

3. GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE THAT HE WILL MAKE KNOW TO YOU IN HIS TIME

4. THERE ARE STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT THAT GOD USES TO PREPARE YOU

5. GOD USES OTHERS TO WORK IN YOUR LIFE

6. GOD USES YOU TO WORK IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS

7. WE ALL HAVE A CHOICE, GOOD OR EVIL

8. A TEST OF YOUR FAITH IS WHAT YOU ARE WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR GOD

9. GOD HAS PREPARED A GOOD WORK FOR YOU AND YOU WILL SUCCEED

10. SALVATION IS BY FAITH THROUGH GRACE

 

MY GOD BROUGHT ME OUT Exodus 20

 

MY GOD BROUGHT ME OUT

Exodus 20

Exodus 20:1-3

20 And God spoke all these words: 

2 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  

The word GOD  is Elohiym   the supreme God

The word LORD is Jehovah  the self existence , eternal 

Jehovah Elohiym was speaking to the Israelites, just as He speaks to us today.   The supreme, self existent God speaks to us today 

The Word of God is timeless. For the believer there is no end to teaching.

There is no end to learning. Learning is for our knowledge and divine wisdom. If we hungry and thirst it must first be for the Word of God.

Sometimes the Word is exciting, other times it may seem boring. But it is

Always worth studying. Todays lesson may not be exciting, but God gave it

For our education.  I have found in my years of study, that I don’t know as

Much as I need to know. 

God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt and brought them out as a nation by

Destroying the Egyptian army in the Red Sea. They were a nation of free

People with a slave mentality.  His first order of business was to take them

To Mount Sinai where He gave them His laws. A nation must have laws to

Govern them. A nation without laws is a nation in chaos. Freedom comes with responsibility 

The first thing we must remember is it was the Lord who brought us out

Of sin city and placed on the other side, The side of His righteousness 

GOD ESTABLISHED A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU FIRST                    

He is the Lord our God. He is Lord, Jehovah, self existence and eternal

He is our God,  Elohiym, the supreme God. From the start, God established

A personal relationship with you. Before you knew God, He decided to make you His Child. He decided on you with all your faults, imperfections 

And sin. You are good enough for God.

We were slaves to sin until God stepped into our lives. We had nothing to do with our salvation. It is God’s mercy bestowed upon us each day. 

The Israelites knew about God but had not established a relationship with

Him.   The Egyptians worshiped over 2000 gods. Israel grew to be nation

In the presence of idol god temples.  Each of the 10 plagues God used to

Release Israel from slavery were related to Egyptian idol gods 

10 Plagues and the Corresponding Egyptian God

1. Water Turned to Blood (Hapi)

2. Frogs Coming From the Nile (Heket)

3. Lice From the Earth's Dust (Geb)

4. Swarms of Flies (Khepri)

5. Death of Cattle and Livestock (Hathor)

6. Ashes Turned to Boils and Sores (Isis)

7. Hail in the Form of Fire (Nut)

8. Locus Sent From the Sky (Seth)

9. Three Days of Complete Darkness (Ra)

10. Death of the Firstborn (Pharaoh)

It was the Lord who kept Himself in grained in the mind of the Israelites through four hundred years of slavery. God has a relationship with you. Do you have a relationship with Him that is established through faith?

FREEDOM COMES WITH RESPONSIBILITY                                         God’s first order of business for His nation was to give them His law. The same law exists for believers today. The ten commandments written on stone tables were just a part of God’s law. Moses spent 40 days and nights on Mount Sinai  with God and came down with a book. Exodus 24:7-12

The first four commandments are Godward. Who God is and how we are to worship Him.  The last six are manward, our relationship with each other. With freedom comes responsibility first to God and second to each other.

RECOGNIZING THE ONE TRUE GOD                                                          Exodus 20:3  1ST COMMANDMENT                                                                                    "You shall have no other gods before me.”                                                       This primary command is our first problem . Adam loved Eve. She was his friend, his soul mate. The one he spent all his time with. Adam deliberately disobeyed God to satisfy his desire.  For the first time God was in the backseat

This is common today. We put something else before God’s commands. We love our family, our pets, our jobs and our assets. Oftentimes, God takes a back seat until we have a problem. We can praise all day long, but family and  wants come first. 

The Israelites had the Egyptian pharaoh as their master and he ruled with an iron fist. They had the gods as their center of worship. They had gods to worship for every aspect of their lives. God separated Israel from the gods of Egypt to worship Him only. 

1 Timothy 1:17                                                                                   Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

John 4:24                                                                                                 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

WORSHIP ONLY THE LORD   Command 2                               

Exodus 20:4-7 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand [ generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments. 

We may come close to violating this second command when we buy Statues of Mary and Jesus and place them in our homes and cars. They are graven or carved images of God in heaven. We are never told to worship Mary the mother of Jesus. 

No one has seen God at any time. We have no actual pictures of Jesus. Every carved image  or picture is subject to man's imagination. God is to be worshipped in our hearts and minds. We can get confused that these figurines are the God we worship. They are no substitute for the true and living God. 

Pictures and carved images minimize the God we serve as something we can see. They are lifeless images that do not display the power, majesty, love, and character of God. A picture of Jesus on the cross does not display the pain, grief, disappointment and anguish He felt as He shed His blood for you and me. He is bigger and more powerful than our minds can comprehend. No picture or image can show God everywhere all the time.

1 John 5:3-4                                                                                              This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world

HONORING GOD’S NAME  Command 3                                     Exodus 20:7   "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” 

We are often guilty of violating this command.  How often have you been in a conversation with someone and remarked “My God” or “Jesus” as a casual expression? You were not in prayer or meditation to the Lord. Why would you bring God into your gossip?

 Matthew 6:9                                                                                    "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 

Philippians 2:9-11                                                                                 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

HONORING THE SABBATH Command 4. Exodus 20:8-11 

 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 

God rested on the seventh day of creation and reflected on the goodness of His work. He set the example for us to live by. It is important for us to take care of our obligations. It is equally important for us to give God a day of reflection. It is important to rest from our labors to relax and give the body time to rejuvenate’

Have you ever been able to keep this command?  We give God several hours on Sunday and then it is back to cooking, running and getting prepared for Monday. If we don’t cook we cause others to cook for us to buy.  We have a style of religion, that is not religious to God.  This command is not repeated in the New Testament, but observed.  1 Corinthians 16:2 

2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 

Honor God with the first fruits of your labor

HONORING YOUR PARENTS                                                        Command 5. Exodus 20:12                                                                      "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 

This command comes with a promise of a long and prosperous life. God’s prime and most loved creation is family. All other creations God spoke into existence. But man was made in His own image and likeness. Throughout Biblical history God has disciplined man to bring about righteousness.  The command requires obedience and submission to the parents

Unfortunately in today's society, home discipline  is largely ignored. It is the parents responsibility to train a child to be respectful of them and themselves. We are in the generation where discipline is thought to be cruel and not necessary. We don’t discipline our children and dare anyone else to do it. 

As a result we set the stage for a shorter disastrous life for our children.  They either learn discipline at home or pay the price in the streets. God has commanded us to honor Him and out of love honor our parents. And out of love we must discipline our children.

HONORING HUMAN LIFE  Command 6. Exodus 20:13                    "You shall not murder. 

The verse does not deny justice for the legal system  for a criminal act. It is not about killing.  God had just killed the entire Egyptian army. It was punishment for their sin. Only God can punish sin. God created man in His own image. A crime against man is a crime against God. Murder here is defined as to slay with premeditation or malice. It includes every act to harm or endanger the life of another human being.  

You can kill the spirit of a person with damaging discouraging words. With the proliferation of the internet, many have committed suicide because of posts that destroyed their will to live. We must be careful to encourage others with our conversation. We commit a sin against God when we intentionally destroy the reputation of another person.

Matthew 5:21-22                                                                                      "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.

HONORING MARRIAGE                                                Commandment 7 Exodus 20:14                                                        "You shall not commit adultery. 

God defined marriage between a man a woman as two becoming one flesh. Marriage is defined as a permanent relationship until death departs them. Adultery robs the affection of the faithful partner. One who lust after another person outside of marriage has committed adultery in his or her heart. Out of the heart flows the issues of life. God looks at the heart before the physical act.

Matthew 15:19-20                                                                                     For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.'"

Adultery occurs  in two ways. When both the man and the woman are married having sex outside of their marriages. The second is when one person is married have sex out side of marriage. Adultery weaken and destroys the family unit. God hates adultery 

There is physical adultery and spiritual adultery Spiritual adultery is abandoning the true and living God for idol gods created with the human mind. The first spiritual adultery occurred in the angelic realm when Satan a Cherb abandoned his position with the intent on ruling heaven. Instead of worshipping the creator, he wanted to be worshipped. 

RESPECTING PERSONAL PROPERTY                                    Commandment 8. Exodus 15:15                                                                                                    "You shall not steal. From birth, God has ingrained in us, whats mine is mine and whats yours is yours.  Our selfish attitude enforces that principle.  We don’t have to be taught that about our personal property.

Malachi 3:8-11                                                                                 8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse — the whole nation of you — because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 

We rob ourselves of future blessing when we rob God. 

SPEAKING THE TRUTH                                                                       Command 9  Verse 16                                                                              "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 

One of our major problems is gossip. We love some juicy gossip. It is often someones opinion that is not supported by facts. Someone says “I heard” and we want to hear. 

God is truth. Knowing the word is knowing the truth. You will know the and the truth will set you free. Free from gossip, free from lying, free from harming someones reputation. Free from the sin that destroys us.                                                                                                 Proverbs 10:18                                                                                                     18 He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool. 

CONTROLLING DESIRE                                                               Command 10 Verse 17                                                                                     17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." 

God has given all of us enough to be peaceful, joyful, and content. To covet what someone else has is an insult to God. It is a selfish attitude. It is a complaint against God. 

Any time we  want what someone else has is devaluing what God has done us. Not only that, we devalue our own worth,

Ephesians 5:3-4                                                                                    3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving

A pastor once said; the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence because that where the sewage is. The sewage of your mind

IT IS OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S COMMANDS THAT KEEP US FREE