DIGGING DEEP NO. 1042 July 02, 2024 A CONVERT IN CANAAN Joshua.2: 1- 24.

Only two women are personally named in Hebrews chapter 11, “The Hall of Fame of Faith”: Sarah, the wife of Abraham, and Rahab, the harlot of Jericho.

 Sarah was a godly woman, the wife of the founder of the Hebrew race; and God used her dedicated body to bring Isaac into the world. But Rahab was an ungodly Gentile who worshiped pagan gods and sold her body for money. Humanity speaking, Sarah and Rahab had nothing in common. But from the divine viewpoint, Sarah and Rahab shared the most important thing in life: They both had exercised saving faith in the true and living God. Not only does the Bible associate Rahab with Sarah; but in Jam.2: 21- 26, it also associates her with Abraham. James used both Abraham and Rahab to illustrate the fact that true saving faith always proves itself by good works. The Bible associates Rahab with the Messiah Matt.1: 5. She has certainly come a long way from being a pagan prostitute to being an ancestress of the Messiah! The most important thing about Rahab was her faith. That’s the most important thing about any person, “without faith it is impossible to please Him” Heb.11: 6. What kind of faith did Rahab have?

1. courageous faith – Josh.2: 1- 7. BothHeb.11: 31and Jam.2: 25 indicate that Rahab had put her faith in Jehovah God before the spies ever arrived in Jericho. Like the people in Thessalonica, she had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” 1Thess.1: 9. She wasn’t like the people of Samaria who feared the LORD, and at the same time served their own gods 2Kgs.17: 13. It is remarkable how God in His grace uses people we might think could never become His servants 1 Cor.1: 27- 29. Jesus was the friend of publicans and sinners and He wasn’t ashamed to have a former prostitute in His family tree Lk.7: 34.
2. Confident faith – Josh.2: 8- 11.D. Martyn Lloyd- Jones reminds us that “faith shows itself in the whole personality.” True saving faith involves the whole personality: The mind is instructed, the emotions are stirred, and the will then acts in obedience to God. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet [the intellect], moved with fear [the emotions], prepared an ark [the will] Heb.11: 7. Rahab’s experience was similar to that of Noah: She knew Jehovah was the true God [the mind]; she feared for herself and her family when she heard about the great wonders He had performed [the emotions]; and she received the spies and pleaded for the salvation of her family [the will]. Rahab showed more faith in the LORD THAN THE ten spies had exhibited forty years before, when she said, “I know the Lord has given you the land.” Josh.2: 9. Since the report of the Lord’s power had travelled to the people of Canaan, they were afraid; but this is what Israel expected their God to do Ex.15: 14- 16. “The Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath Josh.2: 11. What a confession of faith from a pagan woman! She believed in one God. She believed He is God who would work on behalf of those who trusted Him. She believed He is the God of heaven and earth. She believed in a great and awesome God. Our confidence that we are God’s children comes from the witness of the Word of God before us and the witness of the Spirit of God within us 1Jh.5: 9- 13.

However, the assurance of salvation isn’t based only on what we know from the Bible or how we feel in our hearts. It’s also based on how we live; for if there hasn’t been a change in our behavior, then it’s doubtful that we ‘ve truly been born again 2Cor.5: 21; Jam.2: 14- 26, Matt.7: 21- 27. Rahab’s obedience gave evidence of a changed life. Rahab’s conversion was truly an act of God’s grace. Like all the citizens of Canaan, Rahab was under condemnation and destined to die, but God had mercy on her.

3. Concerned faith – Josh.2: 12- 14Rahab wasn’t concerned only about her own welfare; she was burdened to rescue her family. After Andrew met the Lord Jesus, he shared the good news with his brother Simon and brought him to JesusJh.1: 35- 42. The cleansed leper went home and told everybody he met what Jesus had done for him Mk.1: 40- 45; Prov.11: 30.  
4. Covenant faith – Josh.2: 15- 24A covenant is simply an agreement, a contract between two or more parties, with certain conditions laid down for all parties to obey. Before the two spies left Rahab’s house, they reaffirmed their covenant with her. Often in biblical covenants, God appointed some physical or material token to remind the people of what had been promised. His covenant with Abraham was sealed by the rite of circumcisionGen.17: 9- 14; Rom.4: 11. When God established His covenant with Israel at Sinai, both the covenant book and the covenant people were sprinkled with blood Ex.24: 3- 8; Heb.9: 16- 22. God gave the rainbow as the token of the covenant with Noah Gen.9: 12- 17, and the Lord Jesus Christ used the broken bread and the cup of wine as tokens of the New Covenant Lk.22: 19-20; 1Cor.11: 23-26.

In the case of Rahab, the spies instructed her to hang a scarlet rope out of the window of her house, which was built into the wall Josh.2: 18. This scarlet rope would identify the house to the army of Israel when they came to take the city. The color of the rope is significant for it reminds us of blood. Just as the blood on the door posts in Egypt marked a house that the angel of death was to pass over Ex.12: 1- 13; so, the scarlet rope marked a house on the Jericho wall whose occupants the Jewish soldiers were to protect.

It’s important to note that Rahab and her family were saved by faith in the God of Israel and not by faith in the rope hanging out the window. The fact that she hung the rope from the window was proof that she had faith, just as the blood of the slain lamb put on the door posts in Egypt proved that the Jews believed God’s Word. Faith in the living God means salvation, and faith in His covenant gives assurance; but faith in the token of the covenant is religious superstition and can give neither salvation or assurance.

In Conclusion – Rahab was a woman of great courage. She had to tell all her relatives about the coming judgment and the promise of salvation, and this was a dangerous thing to do. Suppose one of those relatives told the king what was going on.