in the morning to preach in Cancun,
several other pueblos, and do the preacher's class Monday,
and I'll return Tuesday, so everybody remember me. Austin Groover is
going to go and translate for me. You'll notice in Hebrews chapter
11 the language with regard to this woman named Rahab. She's unique in Hebrews chapter
11 because you've noticed that none of the sins of the people
up to her are mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 but hers is. By faith the harlot Rahab perished
not. And notice it says, by faith
the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not. That could summarize everybody
in Jericho. They believed not, but Rahab
the harlot does. Now, not only is she used by
the writer of the Hebrews to illustrate faith, she's also
used by James to illustrate the works of faith. So she's used
to describe faith and she's used to describe the works of faith.
Let me quote that scripture from James chapter two, he says, was
not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she'd received the messengers
and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit
or breath is dead, so faith without works is dead also. If she wouldn't have received
the spies peace and hidden them and sent them out, she would
have proved by that action that she did not really have saving
faith. The faith without works, that's
the only kind of faith there is. The faith without works,
works. Always. And Rahab is a picture
of that for us. This harlot is also mentioned
in the genealogy of Christ. She would be King David's great
grandmother. And the Christ came through her. She was the mother of Boaz, who
married Ruth, who had Jesse. And Jesse was the father of David,
who was the son of David's father, yet his son was his Lord, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Joshua had succeeded, gone
before Moses to bring the children of Israel into the promised land.
Now there were 40 years they'd spent wandering in the wilderness.
Can you imagine that? 40 years. They had manna come down from
heaven every day. They had water from a rock. And 40 days they wandered in
the wilderness because they didn't believe God. That's why. They didn't believe God. When
they were getting ready to take the promised land and enter in,
they sent spies. The spies come back with a big
report even bringing clusters of grapes that were so big they
had to be carried on a staff with two men. And they said,
the land indeed is a land, just like the Lord said, filled with
milk and honey. It was a good land, but there
were walled cities, and the people there were great, and we were
in our own sight as grasshoppers. We cannot take this place. And they spent 40 years in the
wilderness. And I think this is interesting. We know from the scriptures that
there were 600,000 men of war that left Egypt. So there was at least 2 million
people, probably more than that. but at least 2 million people
that left Egypt. And because of their unbelief,
how many of those people who were over 20 years old when they
left, got into the promised land? Two. Two of the millions. Two. Joshua, and we know he's that
great type of Christ, the Savior. You see, Moses couldn't bring
him in. Your works to the law cannot bring you in. Only Joshua,
the Lord Jesus Christ, can bring you into promised land. And there
was another man who came in, Caleb. You'll remember, they
were two of the 12 spies that were sent in. 10 spies says,
we can't do it. Joshua and Caleb said, if the
Lord favors us, we can. And you know what the Lord said
about Caleb? Caleb's name means faithful dog. Who entered? The promised land,
the Savior, and the faithful dog. And you know what the Lord
said with regard to Caleb? He said he has another spirit
in him, the Holy Spirit. He hath followed me fully. Now the time to enter in has
come. And the first place of conquest
was to be the city of Jericho. We considered that last week.
So turn with me to Joshua chapter two. Verse one. And Joshua the son of Nun sent
out of Shittim two men to spy secretly saying, Go view the
land, even Jericho." And they went and came into an harlot's
house named Rahab and lodged there. There have been many attempts
to prove that she was an innkeeper and not a harlot. I don't see
where that can be backed up anywhere in the scripture. The New Testament
even calls her the harlot Rahab. She was a immoral woman. And I suppose when they entered
into Jericho, they thought this is the only safe place. She won't
turn us in. Anybody else would. And they
lodged in her home. Now, I think it's interesting.
The writer of the Hebrews calls them spies, but James calls them
messengers or angels. These two men, these two men
actually represent gospel preachers to her. She heard the gospel
through them and they stayed in her home. Verse two. And it was told the king of Jericho
saying, behold, there came men in hither to tonight of the children
of Israel to search out the land, the country. And the king of
Jericho sent under Rahab saying, bring forth the men that are
come to thee, which are entered into that house. For they become
to search out all the country. Now, remember these people had
heard. of God parting the Red Sea for this group. And they
knew that God had parted the River Jordan and they marched
in and were very close. They were no doubt very alarmed
because of what has been taking place with these people. And
there were maybe several million outside of the city. And they
wanted to find out about these spies. And the woman took the
two men and hid them and said thus, There came men unto me,
but I wist not whence they were. And it came to pass about the
time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men
went out. Whether the men went out, I want not. Pursue after
them quickly, for you shall overtake them. But she had brought them
up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks
of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. And the
men pursued after them the way to Jordan and to the forge, and
as soon as that which pursued, after they were gone out, they
shut the gate." Now here they are hidden, and Rahab lies. She lies. She said, I don't know
who they are, and they left. Go out and pursue them. You'll
find them. Believe it or not, people have
used this to say, how could she be used as an example of faith
or the works of faith when she told a lie like this? Well, my
thought toward this objection is you sanctimonious hypocrite.
What else can you say? I suppose you would have criticized
the Lord for sending strong delusions that they should believe a lie,
that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but
had pleasure in unrighteousness. But someone is probably thinking,
why did she hide them? Why did she hide them? Well,
she hid them because of something she'd previously heard. Let's go on reading in verse
eight. And before they were laid down,
she came up unto them upon the roof. And she said unto the men,
I know that the Lord has given you the land and that your terror
is fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the land faint
because of you." Now, there's something she knew, she knew
the Lord had given them the land. There is no faith apart from
knowledge, there is something she knew. I think of Paul's words, brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they
might be saved for I bear them record. They have a zeal of God,
but not according to what? Knowledge. Talking about saving
knowledge for they being ignorant of God's righteousness. That's what they were ignorant
of. and going about to establish their own righteousness have
not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. They lacked
saving knowledge, very zealous, zealous of the God of the Bible,
but they lacked saving knowledge. Paul said in Romans 3, 19, we
know, we know. That whatsoever the law saith,
it saith to them that are under the law, that every mouth may
be stopped and all the world become guilty before God. We know. And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are called according to his purpose. Somebody says, I don't
know that. Paul says, I do. We know. Paul said, I know whom
I have believed. Now she knew something about
the sovereignty of His grace. Look at her language. She said
unto the men, I know the Lord hath given you the land. Not
us. We're being dispossessed. We're
being kicked out. We're going to be destroyed.
I know that the Lord hath given you The land, Jericho is now
yours because the Lord has given it to you." She didn't complain
about this. She didn't say, well, we were
here first. It's not right for us to get kicked out. She said,
I know that the Lord has given you the land. Now, why didn't
she complain? Let me tell you why. She knew
she was a sinner, and she knew that whatever God did was right.
Now that's what everybody that knows him knows. They are not
gonna complain with what he does. Whatever he does is right. I'm
the guilty party. She didn't say, this is not fair,
this is not right, we were here first. No, she said, the Lord
hath given you the city. Whatever he does is right. Now all who know the Lord know
that. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? Isn't it wonderful to know that?
You know, he never acts contrary to any of his attributes. Shall
not the judge of the earth do right? She realized that and
she said, we're all scared to death. We know we can't stand
before the God of glory. Then verse 10, for we have heard
Faith cometh by hearing, doesn't it? For we have heard how that
the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you. She understood
sovereign grace. Anybody that knows the Lord does.
That's who he is. We have heard how the Lord dried
up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt
and what you did unto the two kings of the Amorites that were
on the other side of Jordan, Sihon and Ob, whom you utterly
destroyed. Now they'd heard. About the parting of the Red
Sea, I love that scripture where Moses says to the children of
Israel, fear not, stand still and see the salvation of the
Lord, which he will show you today. For the Egyptians you
have seen today, you'll see no more for the Lord will fight
for you. If God be for us, who can be
against us? The Lord will fight for you and you will hold your
peace." They knew about the bodies of the Egyptians dead on the
seashore. They knew about the military
might of Israel and what they did to these two kings. I have
no doubt that she and all Jericho knew about the parting of the
River Jordan and they marched in. Now look in verse 11. 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 the earth beneath. She knew. By his revelation, she knew that
God is God and all other so-called gods are nothing more than non-existent
figments of man's imagination, false deities. She knew the same
thing Nebuchadnezzar did when the Lord taught him who he was. She knew. that God is God. He doeth according to his will
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
That's what she's saying. And all the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing, grasshoppers. None can stay his hand or say
unto him, what doest thou? She knew that God is God, and
he does whatsoever he's pleased to do, he has absolute power. He's given the land to you. Once
again, she wasn't complaining. She wasn't saying this is not
fair. She knew she was a sinner, and if God sent her to hell,
it would be fair. Anybody that knows God knows
that so with regard to themselves. She knew that. You know, somebody
once said to Barnard, he gives this story anyway, they said,
He talked about how God saves whom he will. He can save you
or he can pass you by. And somebody said, well, your
God is a monster. He said, well, prepare to meet a monster to
him because that's the God of the Bible. That's who he is. And
he does not act in any way contrary to his attributes. He's glorious.
I mean, it's only a monster that considers him a monster when
it comes right down to it. But this is who he is. And she was made to see that. Now look what she asks for in
verse 12. The Lord your God, he is God
in heaven above and in earth beneath. Now, therefore, I pray
you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I've showed you kindness,
that you'll also show kindness unto my father's house and give
me a true token and that you 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. Now, she asked for two
things. Number one, kindness. That word is generally translated
mercy. I need for God to not give me
what I deserve. I need mercy. This woman needed, oh Lord, I
need mercy. Don't give me what I deserve. And not only did she ask for
mercy, you know, when your sin is all your fault, that's when
you need mercy. If it's not your fault, you don't
need mercy. You need justice. You need to be treated right.
But if your sin is all your fault, you need mercy. And what else did she ask for?
Verse 12, now therefore I pray you swearing to me by the Lord
since I've showed you kindness or mercy that you'll show me
kindness, mercy into my father's house and give me a true token. A true sign, not a false sign
about false promises that aren't going to be kept. I need a true
token. Now these men had heard that
word used before. You know when? And the blood, these are the
words of God. And the blood shall be a token upon the houses where
you are when I pass through the blood, when I pass through the
land. And when I see the blood, I will. pass over you." What
was the token? The blood. Give me a true token,
not a false token of an empty promise, but give me a true token
and save us alive and deliver us from death. And the men answered,
verse 14, and the men answered her, our
life for years, if you utter not this our business, we'll
save you. And it shall be when the Lord
hath given us the land that we will deal kindly and truly with
you. We'll deal in mercy and we'll
deal in truth with you. Then she left them down by a
cord through the window. For her house was upon the town
wall and she dwelt upon the wall. And she said unto them, get ye
to the mountains, lest the pursuers meet you, and hide yourselves
there three days, until the pursuers be returned, and afterwards may
you go your way. And the men said unto her, we'll
be blameless of this thine oath, which thou hast made us swear.
Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line
of scarlet thread in the window, which thou didst let us down
by. And thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy
brethren, and all thy father's household home unto thee. And it shall be, whosoever shall
go out of the doors of the house into the street, his blood shall
be upon his own head, and will be guiltless. And whosoever shall
be with thee in the house, his blood shall be upon our hand,
if any hand be upon him. And if thou utter this our business,
then we will be quit of thine oath, which thou hast made us
to swear." Now here's the true token. Now notice he says it's
a line, a line of scarlet thread. Do you know that word line is
almost every other time translated hope? Hope. Here's our hope. And it's called
a scarlet thread. I remember when I was
a kid, all I knew about threads was spools of thread. It's a
rope. a rope, a scarlet collared rope,
the collar of blood. And what I think is so interesting,
this rope was in her house all along. She didn't know it. It
had always been there. Now the true token has always
been the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was already there
and she didn't know it. She knows now and said you take
that rope you let us down by the house and you keep it at
the window and this is going to be the sign this Scarlet rope
this blood-colored rope And it was there And it was the sign
You know this Line this rope this thread is woven through
every scripture in the Bible The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. What can wash away my sin? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my hope and plea. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my righteousness. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This runs through every scripture. This is the gospel message. Now, verse 19. It should be that whosoever should
go out of the doors of thy house in the street, his blood will
be upon his own head. Now, remember when God passed
through the land of Egypt to destroy the firstborn? Where'd
you have to be? In the house with the blood over
the door. Would you have gone outside?
I wouldn't have. Would you even stuck a finger
out the window? I wouldn't have. The only place
of safety, and it's the same here, the only place of safety
is this house with this token, the blood token, the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 20, and if thou utter this
our business, then we'll be quit of thine oath, and thou hast
made us to swear. And she said, according unto
your word, so be it. And she sent them away, and they
departed, and she bound the scarlet line in the window. I like the
way it says she bound it. She was going to make sure that
that is not going to move. They're going to see that. And they went and came into the
mountains and abode there three days until the pursuers were
returned, and the pursuers sought Them threw out all the way, but
found them not. So the two men returned and descended
from the mountain and passed over and came to Joshua, the
son of Dan, and told him all the things that befell them. Y'all like that language, don't
you? Everything that happened has fallen out of heaven. God
is in absolute control of every event. And they said unto Joshua,
truly the Lord has delivered into our hands, all the land
for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because
of us. Now turn to chapter six. And Jericho was straightly shut
up because of the children of Israel. None went out, none came
in. And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given, I have given,
not I will give, I have given unto thine hand Jericho, and
the king thereof, and the mighty men of Valor. And you know the
story. They marched around the city six days, one time. with the trumps of God, the trumpet,
the ram's horn, the seven priests before the Ark of the Covenant,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And they marched around seven
times, six times on the seventh day, they marched around seven
times, they blew the trumpet, they shouted, and the walls collapsed. And let me remind you, They didn't
collapse because of the vibration of the mighty shout. They collapsed
because of the power of God. And that shout represents faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now look in verse 20 of chapter
six. So the people shouted when the
priests blew with their trumpets. And it came to pass when the
people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted
with great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people
went up into the city. Every man straight before him,
they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all
that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox
and sheep and ass with the edge of the sword. But Joshua said
unto the two men that had spied out the country, go ye into the
harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that
she hath, as you swear to her." Now I love this, he doesn't say,
ask her if she wants to come out, she still wouldn't know,
bring her out. That's salvation. Bring her out. And that's exactly what they
did. Verse 23, and the young men that were spies went in and
brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren,
and all that she had, and they brought out all her kindred and
left them without the camp of Israel. And they burnt the city
with fire, and all that was therein, only the silver and the gold
and the vessels of brass and iron, they put into the treasury
of the house of the Lord. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot
alive. And her father's household and
all that she had, and she dwelleth in Israel even to this day, because
she hid the messengers which Joshua sent out to Jericho. Now what I love thinking about
this heathen city, God had an elect sinner there. Maybe more
as far as her family, I don't know, but I know he had one elect
sinner, Rahab the harlot. And she would remain in Israel
and she would marry a man. And they would have a son, the
man she married, his name was Salmon. Salmon or S-A-L-M-O-N,
I don't know how to pronounce it. But they would have a son
whose name was Boaz. Boaz, you read about him in the
book of Ruth, the kinsman redeemer that would marry Ruth the Moabitess. And they would have a son named
Jesse. And Jesse would have a son named
David. David the man after God's own
heart. David the one Christ has called
the son of David and David's Lord. Now, while it's true that
the Old Testament mainly is for the Jews, You can't deny that. He still saved Gentiles. And we have an example of his
glorious salvation in this passage of scripture. And what was that
true token? The scarlet hope, the scarlet
line, the scarlet thread. That was the difference. Let's pray. Lord, how we're amazed at the
power and the glory of your word, how we're amazed at the simplicity
and clearness and clarity that you present to us who you are
and the hope that's found in thy son. And Lord, we ask that
we might be in that house with the scarlet hope, the scarlet
line, that we might look to Christ only. And Lord, how we thank
you for this glorious salvation that's in your son. And Lord,
we confess he is everything in our salvation. Enable us simply
to rest in and to trust him. In his name we pray, amen.