Turn with me to Joshua chapter
six. Joshua chapter six. Follow along with me in your
Bible, beginning at verse 10. And Joshua had commanded the
people, saying, you shall not shout nor make any noise with
your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth
until the day I bid you shout. Then shall you shout. So the
ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about at once, and
they came into the camp and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose
early in the morning, and the priest took up the ark of the
Lord. And seven priests bearing seven
trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually
and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before
them. But the reward came after the ark of the Lord, the priests
going on and blowing with the trumpets. And the second day
they encompassed the city once and returned into the camp. So
they did six days. And it came to pass on the seventh
day that they rose up early about the dawning of the day and encompassed
the city after the same manner seven times. Only on that day
they encompassed the city seven times. And it came to pass at
the seventh time when the priest blew with the trumpets, Joshua
said unto the people, shout, for the Lord hath given you the
city, And the city shall be accursed, even it and all that are therein
to the Lord. Only Rahab the harlot shall live. She and all that were with her
in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. The city of Jericho is going
to be completely destroyed. But Rahab, Rahab the harlot,
and her family are going to live. They're going to be delivered. Rahab the harlot, nearly every
time her name's mentioned in God's word, it's clear that that's
her name, Rahab the harlot, and those who hate the sovereign
grace of God, they would describe her as a hostess. They would describe her as maybe
a hotel keeper. They would give her any name
and any description besides what she was. She was a harlot. And though
all of Jericho would be destroyed under the wrath of God, Rahab
and her house were safe. In the house where the most notorious
sinner in that town lived would be the only place of safety. Her house could not fall. And the Lord willing, I'd like
for us to look at four lessons this evening from this account
of Rahab the harlot. First is this. In this passage,
we have a picture of God's grace and mercy to sinners. This country, Jericho, listen,
it wasn't a country filled with believers. Everything in Jericho
was accursed. It was all fitted for destruction. Now imagine, if you will, walking
through this city and looking around, and if anyone would have
asked, who do you think will be spared? Will anybody be spared
in this city? Do you think there would be anyone
spared in this city? I promise you, if they would
have picked anyone, it wouldn't have been Rahab. No doubt she was, by her occupation,
she was known, she was a notorious sinner known throughout that
town. She had a reputation. But I ask you this, is that not
who the Lord came to save? Who did he come to save? Hold
your place there and turn to 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy chapter one. Sorry about that. 1 Timothy one. Look at verse 15. First Timothy 1.15, this is a
faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners. And Paul goes on to say, to whom
I am the chief. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world. He came being sent by his father. He came knowing what was going
to happen, and he came willingly. He came to a place in where he
was treated with all manner of wickedness. But he came for this reason,
to save sinners. He didn't come to save all. If that were the case, all would
be saved. He came to save sinners. All sorts of sinners. Even notorious sinners. The worst of sinners. The chief
of sinners. And the Apostle Paul has no problem
taking his place as not just a sinner, he says, I'm the chief
of sinners. Our Lord, he had, at one time,
he had gone to a publican's house, and he sat at meet in that house. And we read that there were many
publicans and sinners that came and sat with him, sat with him
and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it,
What was their reaction to it? They said, how is it? Why is
it that your master, he eats with publicans and sinners? And when the Lord Jesus Christ
heard that, he hears all things. He knows all things. There's
nothing hid from him. And he said unto him, he said,
the whole, They don't need a physician, but they that are sick. He said,
you go and learn what that means. I'll have mercy and not sacrifice. I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners. Sinners to repentance. Who did he come to call? It wasn't
the righteous, was it? No, he said, I came not to call
the righteous, but sinners. God commendeth his love toward
us in that while we were what? What were we? Sinners. While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Rahab the harlot, a cursed
woman, a cursed occupation, dwelling in a cursed city. born to a cursed
race, and yet she obtained mercy. God's grace is for the guilty,
isn't it? Who's his mercy for? For the
miserable, for sinners. Well, second, we see the electing,
distinguishing, effectual grace of Almighty God. Think about
this. I don't know how large that city
was, but of all the places in that city where those spies could
have ended up, think about that. Where did they end up, huh? The
house of Rahab the harlot. It's no accident that they stumbled
into her home, is it? They came to Rahab's house because
God had purposed it from all eternity. They were led by the
Spirit of God. She walked up on the roof and
talked to those spies. Look, turn back just a few pages
in Joshua to Joshua 2. Joshua. Chapter 2, beginning with verse 8. Before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the
roof, and she said to the men, I know the Lord hath given you
the land. and your terror has fallen upon
us and all, not just us, but all the inhabitants of the land
faint because of you." She says, listen to what she says, I know,
I know. Rahab believed God. You see that? She said, we heard
how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea. And when you
came out of Egypt and what you did unto the two kings of the
Amorites that were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and
Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we'd 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, listen to this, in heaven above and in earth beneath. In heaven above and in earth
beneath. Isn't that what King Nebuchadnezzar
said? What did he say? He doeth according to his will
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth,
and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? He's God in heaven above. He's
God in earth beneath. He's God in all places. She knew something of God's sovereignty,
didn't she? Rahab the harlot is one of God's
elect. You know, I've heard men speak
foolishly and say things like, well, if you believe in election,
you shouldn't have any interest in preaching to the lost. I tell you, the account of Rahab
the harlot here should, and many others in God's word, but this
one alone should just put foolish talk like that to rest. Rahab had been, listen, she'd
been taught of God. Her faith, her faith is just
like every other believer's faith. It's the gift of Almighty God. What we read in scripture, for
by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. What is it? It is the gift of
God. She's a chosen vessel, one of
God's elect, one of his own. And her testimony is proof of
her knowledge of the true God, her faith in him. She believes. Our Lord spake these words. He
said, no man can come unto me except the Father which hath
Sent him, sent me, draw him. And I'll raise him up at the
last day. It's written in the prophets,
they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father, what's he do? He comes
unto me. And she doesn't, listen, she
doesn't come blindly, she doesn't come ignorantly. She's been taught
of God. She's been taught by the Spirit
of God. Rahab the harlot. The Lord loved
her and chose her as an object of his grace from before the
foundation of the world. Third, that scarlet cord. Why is it scarlet? It couldn't
be any other color, could it? Scarlet. Rahab the harlot. That scarlet cord points to the
blood of Christ. She hung that scarlet thread
in the window just as she had been instructed. She hung it
there, evidence of her faith. They said, you hang that thread
there and you'll be safe. She believed that, didn't she?
Why else would she have hung it in the window? Listen, it points to the blood
of Christ. And throughout the scriptures,
we see the blood. What did Abel bring? He brought
the blood of a lamb. He brought a blood sacrifice.
And scripture says God had respect to Abel's offering. Children
of Israel, they slew that Passover lamb and they took the blood. The blood of that Passover lamb
and they put it on the side post and on the door post of the house,
the upper door post of the house. What was the result of that? When the Lord saw that blood,
He passed over their houses. Pictures, all these pictures
of the blood of Christ, all these things pointing to the blood
of the crucified one. It's by his blood that we're
redeemed. Turn to Revelation 5. Revelation 5, look at verse 9.
They sung a new song, saying thou art worthy to take the book
and to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain and has redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, tongue, people,
and nation, and has made us unto our God kings and priests, and
we shall reign on the earth. We sing that hymn, redeemed,
redeemed, how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by. What? The blood of the lamb. Take heed
therefore unto yourselves and unto the flock of which the Holy
Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church of God which
he hath purchased with his own blood. It's by his blood that
we have forgiveness. Ephesians 1, 7 says this, in
whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of
sins according to the riches of His grace. All the forgiveness
of sin, all sin, original sin, actual sin, past sin, present
sin, future sin, all through the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ, that blood which He shed. And listen, it's
that blood. the shed blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ that points to the work of substitution. I don't know that there's any
sweeter word in scripture than substitution. The wages of sin
is death. That's what we've all earned.
That's what we all have coming to us. The wages of sin is death. We read this, without the shedding
of blood, there is no remission. And listen, not any blood will
do. It has to be perfect blood. Substitution, listen, it's the
heart of the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of God himself, assuming my human nature, God became a man. And in that nature, he bled as a man would bleed. He died
as a man could die. And he did so in the place instead,
in the room instead of his people. Is there any greater revelation?
Is there any greater wonder? Oh, that I might know this, that
I might rejoice, that we might all rejoice in these truths.
He was wounded from my transgressions. He was bruised. for my iniquities. The chastisement of my peace,
where was that? It was upon him. By his stripes we're healed. He was made sin. I was thinking about this earlier,
he was made sin. And this thought crossed my head
that men have debated that fact. There is no debating it. We either
speak the truth or we don't. What's scripture say? He was
made sin. He was made sin for us. He who knew no sin. Scripture
says He bore our sins in His body on the tree. And when that sin was found on
Him, what happened? God slew His Son. And He was just in doing it. God's holy law must be satisfied. and sin must be punished even
when it's found on the Son of God. I must be righteous, but that
righteousness can only be found in the Son of God. God's justice
cannot put away sin without the debt being paid. We do that,
don't we? We do that sometimes. Somebody
owes us $6, and they say, well, all I got is $5. And you say,
well, that's close enough. I'll take it. God's holy. His justice demands
perfection. That debt must be paid. That
death must be suffered. And the Lord Jesus Christ came
into this world to bear our sins, and in doing so, God is holy,
he's just, and he's righteous. He's just and he's the justifier.
The Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. He was made a man, he came to
this earth, he was made a man, not an example, He became a man to give us a
righteousness that only he could. And he died on the cross, his
blood being a propitiation, a sin offering, a sacrifice, allowing
God to forgive sin. God can't pardon a sinner without,
again, without there being death. Dying under the law. Christ died
under the law. And it's by his blood that we're
cleansed. Scripture declares that it's
the blood of Jesus Christ. Who is he? God's son that cleanseth
us from all sin. Unto him that loved us and washed
us from his sin. washed us from our sin in his
own blood. Can we make too much of that
scarlet cord? Can we make too much of the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ? Fourth, Rahab the harlot and
her family They hung out that scarlet cord and they went into
their house and they stayed there. And it's there and there only
that they were safe and secure. The command, hang that scarlet
cord in the window and abide in the house. Go in the house.
Look at Joshua 2 verse 18. Just a few more scriptures here.
Joshua 2. Verse 18. Behold, this was the
command. 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. Thou shalt bring thy father
and thy mother and thy brethren and all thy father's household home unto thee. This message is the same message
found throughout the scriptures. What did the children of Israel
do? They put that blood on the door and they went in the house, abide in the house. Paul was
on that ship, I think it was over in Acts 27. What did he
tell those men? He said, you cannot be saved
except you abide in the ship. Our Lord said this, abide in
me. There's only one, only one refuge. Joshua 2.19, follow along with
me here. It shall be, whosoever shall
go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall
be upon his head. And will be guiltless. And whosoever
shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be upon our head,
if any hand be upon him." Listen, to leave, to be anywhere but
inside that house was death and destruction. The days of Noah,
was that any different? Come into the ark, shut the door. God put them in
that ark and shut the door and they were safe. and secure. No
matter how much that storm raged on the outside, no matter how
high the water got, no matter how heavy those waves were, they
were safe, safe in the heart. And we love the promises of God. John 10, 28, let me just read
these for sake of time, but John 10, 28 says, I give unto them
eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand. Romans 8, verse 38, I am persuaded
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Philippians 1 verse 6, being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good
work in you, he'll complete it, he'll finish it, he'll perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ First Thessalonians, we read
this. Faithful is he that calleth you who will also do it. Well, what happened? What happened
to Rahab the harlot and her family? Paul Harvey used to talk about
the rest of the story. Well, here it is. Joshua 6, beginning
with verse 22. Joshua had said unto the two
men that had spied out the country, go into the harlot's house and
bring out thence the woman and all that she hath, as you swear
unto her. And the young men that were spies,
they did what they were commanded, didn't they? They went in and
they 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
to spy out Jericho. Joshua sent two men. Two men to spy out that country
and to go and rescue her. And they did it. But who saved
her? Was it those two men? This is
a test of the gospel. Who gets the glory? Who gets
the glory? What's it say? Does it say that
the two men saved her? Look there again. Joshua saved
Rahab the harlot. And Joshua, listen, that name,
it means this. It means the Lord saves. It has another meaning. The Lord
will save. And it has a third meaning. The
Lord is salvation. Only he, only he can deliver. I pray the Lord would make that
a blessing. Isaac, you come lead us in a
closing.