Joshua chapter 2. I want to look
at this this morning in our message. I want to read beginning in Joshua
chapter 2, down through verse 21. My subject
this morning is the salvation of a harlot. The salvation of
a harlot. Joshua chapter 2 and verse 1,
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 Nun Harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged
there. And it was told the king of Jericho
said, Behold, there came in here tonight of the children of Israel
to search out the land. And the king of Jericho sent
unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are coming to thee,
which are entered into thine house, for they be come to search
out all the country. And the woman took the two men,
and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I
wish 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. Whither the men went I know not. Pursue after them quickly, for
you shall overtake them. But she had brought them up upon
the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flack,
which she had laid in order upon the roof. And the men pursued
after them the way to Jordan and to the fords. And as soon
as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the
gates. 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 hath
given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us,
and that all the inhabitants of the earth, the land, do faint
because of you. But we have heard how the Lord
dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out
of Egypt, and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites
that were on the other side of Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye
utterly destroyed. And as soon as we 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. He's God in heaven above and
He's God in the earth beneath. Now, therefore, I pray you, swearing
to me by the Lord, since I have showed you kindness, that you
will 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 brother, and my sisters, and
all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.' And the
men answered her, Our lives are yours, if you utter not this
our business. And it shall be when the Lord
hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly
with thee. Then she let them down by a cord
through the window. for her house was upon the wall,
the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. And she said unto
them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you, and
hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned,
and afterward may you go your way. And the men said unto her,
We will 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 your mother, and your brother, and all thy father's
household home unto thee. And it shall be that whosoever
shall go out of the doors of the house and to the streets,
his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless. And
whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall
be on our head, if any hand be upon him. And if thou utter this
our business, then we will be quiet, we will be free of thine
oath which thou hast made us to swear. And she said, According
to your word, so be it. And she sent them away, and they
departed. And she bound the scarlet line
in the window. Now this is where the children
of Israel was coming over from the west, the east side of Jordan. They were coming into Jericho
to take over this city. This city was appointed to destruction
and everybody in it was going to be killed. The walls were
going to fall and people were going to be slaughtered. And
this harlot and her household was the only ones that were saved
out of this whole city. And that's why Wanted to entitle
this message, The Salvation of a Harlot. The Salvation of a
Whore. Now that's pretty plain, isn't
it? The Salvation of a Prostitute. There are some that don't like
this name, Harlot, or they say that we use it wrongly. There's
been two or three of the commentators down through the period of the
last two or three hundred years that said this could be interpreted
as innkeeper. As an innkeeper. James talks
about this lady and he calls her a prostitute. Listen to what
he says. Likewise also was not Rahab the
prostitute? If you look up that word harlot
there, it means prostitute or a whore. Was she not justified
by works when she had received the messengers in peace and sent
them out another way? So he translates that, we translate
that as a whore or a prostitute. Paul made this statement in 1
Corinthians 6, verse 15, and he doesn't use innkeeper. Listen
to this. Know you not that your bodies
are the members of Christ? Shall I take the members of Christ
and make them the members of an innkeeper? It wouldn't sound
too good, would it? What would be the matter with
an innkeeper? Nothing. But he said, a harlot. A harlot. That's this woman here. want to call her an innkeeper
instead of a harlot. Well, for this reason, this woman,
when she was delivered, the Scriptures tells us and Jewish history tells
us that she was married to a prince by the name of Selman. And you'll
see that in Matthew chapter 1 in verse 5, that she was married
to a prince. His name was Selman. He was a
prince in Israel. One man said, one commentator
said that this prince of Israel would have never married a harlot. Well, he didn't. He didn't marry
a harlot. He married one who used to be
a harlot. But she wasn't a harlot anymore. She was a new creature
in Jesus Christ. And Paul says, such were some
of you. You were fornicators, you were
idolaters and adulterers, but you were washed. That's what
Christ does when He saves somebody. All their former life is gone. The sins are washed away and
they're justified. Saul of Tarsus, look what kind
of man he was. He killed Christians, didn't
he? He murdered the Lord's little flock. He was a blasphemer and
injurious. I think some would have liked
it better if Salmon would have married Pharisaic woman. But who would have been the greater
sinner? A Pharisee or a harlot? You know the Lord saved the harlots
when He was here, didn't He? The publicans and sinners went
first into the Kingdom of God. The Pharisees didn't. Who's the
worst sinners after all? The Lord Jesus hates sin. He
loves righteousness. But I tell you, He come to save
sinners, didn't He? He come to save sinners. The
salvation of Rahab and her family is very precious and it's very
encouraging for the fact that this Jericho was appointed to
destruction. Nobody else was to be saved but
her and her family. Ain't it the same way with this
world right now? Isn't this world appointed to destruction? It's
appointed to fire, isn't it? I mean, it's coming down, brothers
and sisters. God's coming back. And He's going
to punish the inhabitants of this world. And I tell you, salvation
to this world may not seem precious now, but it'll seem precious
in that day. It'll be precious when the sky
rolls back and fire falls from heaven and burns up this world
and everything that we know in this life. It's going to burn
it up. The day of God is coming. He's coming to punish the inhabitants
of the world. I'm glad that Jesus receives
sinners, aren't you? And He's receiving sinners today. He is receiving sinners. We sang
that old song sometime. Sinners Jesus will receive. Sound
the word of grace to all. Those who heavenly pathway lead,
all who linger. all who follow. And the Course
says this, sing it over and over again. Just keep on singing it. Depths of mercy, can there be? Sing it over and over again. What? Christ receiveth sinful
men. And make the message loud. Make
it plain. Make it plain. This wasn't an
innkeeper. Let's just tell it like it is.
Let's just get down and be plain about it. This was a harlot.
This was a public prostitute. How embarrassing, how awful that
is. How she had degenerated in her
morals to become a prostitute. But that's what makes her salvation
so wonderful. She was an awful sinner, but
the Lord Jesus Savior There's another reason that man, that
son, doesn't want to call her a prostitute but an innkeeper.
In Matthew chapter 1 and verse 5, the scripture says this, Salomon,
this prince, begat Boaz of Rahab, of Rahab the harlot. And Boaz
begat Obed of Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat
David the king. And you remember who came out
of David? Christ. Christ. This woman was in the
lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me read you what Adam Clark,
he's the chieftain of the Armenians, they love to read after this
man. Listen to what he said about Rahab being an innkeeper and
not a harlot. He said, Our blessed Lord came
through the lineage of this woman. It cannot be a matter of little
consequence to know what moral character she sustained. As an innkeeper she might be
respectable if not honorable, but as a public prostitute she
could be neither. It is not very likely that the
providence of God would have suffered such a person of such
a notoriously bad character to have entered unto the line of
Christ's theology, Christ's genealogy. Ain't that amazing? Ain't that
amazing? You know what kind of lineage
we find Christ coming out of? Incest. You remember Judah? Jacob's son? He had a son by
the name of Phares. Christ came out of that lineage.
Why do I mention that? That was Judah's daughter-in-law. And she played the harlot. You've
read that account. Christ came out of that lineage.
That's bad, isn't it? And David. The Scripture says
in Matthew 1 that Solomon came of her that had been the wife
of Uriah. Murder, adultery, lying, hypocrisy,
and yet the Lord Jesus came out of that lineage. Why would He
even put that in there? To let us know even before He
came to this world. He was willing to be identified
with sinners. That's where His chief glory
lies in saving sinners. It's sinners that need Him, ain't
it? I came not to call the righteous. That's not my purpose being here.
I came to call sinners to repentance. He identified with them while
He was here, didn't He? This man receiveth sinners, and
eateth with them. This is a friend of publicans
and sinners. And now that he's back in heaven,
he's still identifying with sinners, isn't he? Still is. Aren't you
glad for that? I'm glad that the first woman
that was saved when the children of Israel came over into the
land of promise was a harlot. She was a harlot. That gives
me some hope. That gives me some courage. There's
some hope for this poor sinner. Look at the mindset of this city. There in verse 7 it says they
had shut the gate. In chapter 6 verse 1 it said
Jericho was straightly shut up. They were securely shut up because
of the children of Israel. Nobody was coming out and nobody
was going in that city but under strict supervision. And we're
told why. Boy, they had a sense, didn't
they? They had this fear. They had this dread. This place
was about to be invaded. Our way of life as we know it,
even our life itself is coming to an end. They were afraid. And they had locked the doors.
They had shut up the doors. And the terms that they use here
tells us the frame of mind that they were in. Your terror is
falling upon us. And the inhabitants faint because
of you. And she said, when we heard these
things, our hearts did melt. What? You've seen wax melt. block
of wax and it just runs and becomes unstable, doesn't it? She said,
that's the way our hearts are. We've become so melted and fainted
and unstable. There is no more courage in any
man because of you. For the Lord your God, He is
God in heaven above. Boy, there's something about
this, isn't there? And I can hardly explain it,
but I felt it. I felt it in my conscience. When
you find out that God is God, when you begin to find out that
God is God, He's not somebody that you can manipulate. He's
not somebody that you can deceive. He's God. He's God in heaven
and He's God in this earth and He comes in judgment. He's irresistible. He's almighty. He's powerful.
She said, we heard how He divided the Red Sea. What kind of impression
would that make upon you if you were there in that day? And God
is so great that He can divide the depths of the sea. He's God. And these two kings, these giants,
He utterly slew. He come irresistible, didn't
He? There's just something about when a sinful mind comes to the
knowledge of God, who He is. Boy, I tell you what, it convicts,
doesn't it? It brings fear, it brings terror,
it strips up the energy. They tried to secure themselves
by hiding. They shut the gates. Can you
see them? See them doing this? Boy, they've
got... Got some men on the wall looking out and they holler,
shut the gates! Lock the gates! Get in your houses! Lock your doors! And you see
them going in and pulling the bolts down. And the mother gets
hold of the blinds and shuts the blinds. They don't want to
hear and they don't want to see what's going on. Why? The guilt, the fear, the terror
that God is coming. God is coming in judgment. And
they became afraid. This not only happened here,
but this happens over and over again in man's consciences. Paul
was preaching to Felix the governor. And listen, the Scripture says
he reasoned with him of righteousness and temperance and judgment to
come. He reasoned with him of righteousness. In other words, he said, Felix,
God is righteous. God is a holy God. And here's
what He requires of you, perfect righteousness. And Felix began
to think, I don't have it. And temperance, self-control. Why, this was an open and profane
man. And of judgment to come. God is bringing me to judgment. And the Scripture says, Felix
trembled. He trembled. He was just like
these men here. His heart became weak. He melted
as wax. He trembled. And he said, Paul,
go your way. Go your way. But I bet he didn't
say it like that. I bet he said it like an old
feeble man. Go your way right now. Go your
way right now. Don't say another word. Don't
say another word. Can you see him shutting the
doors of his conscience? Shutting all the gates? Old Bunyan
used to talk about shutting your gate. When Immanuel made war
against Mansoul, they shut all the gates. And here old Felix
was. He was shutting your gate. I
can't hear that anymore. Shutting our gate. I don't even
want to look at this man. I can't stand it. Why? He was
filled with terror. He was filled with terror. When
the Scripture says there's no fear of God before man's eyes,
that's speaking that there's no gracious fear. There's no
reverence of God before their eyes. But you know there is often
a tormented fear. Well, there's often a fear of
the judgment. If you could look in the men's
minds, you would see so often when they hear of sickness, or
when they feel it in themselves, or somebody has died, or they
think of the judgment to come, they think of God, and God sort
of reaches in and opens a window and lets a little bit of light
in. They fear then. They're afraid then. This city
said, God's coming in judgment. Boy, they were afraid. The reason
I say that, Revelation 6, chapter 6, verse 15 says this, the kings
of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the captains,
and the mighty, and the slaves, and the free men, they hid themselves. They hid in the dens of the earth.
And they said, fall on us. Can you imagine that? Imagine
how desperate they got. Fall on us and hide us from what? the face of Him that sits on
the throne. Why? Because the great dead,
His wrath has come. And who can stand? That is what Adam did, wasn't
it? When the Lord spoke in the cool of the evening and said,
Adam, where are you? What did he do? Boy, he ran,
didn't he? He ran and hid himself behind
the trees in the garden. Conviction can be a heart-wrenching
thing to the sinful mind, can't it? And conviction is no more
than this. It's just letting the conscience
share the truth of who God is. And boy, that can just wrench
the life out, the strength out of the heart just to hear that.
It's because I'm against Him. I'm contrary to Him. His judgment
is coming, and I can't stand. I can't stand. He's God in heaven,
and He's God in this earth. And that's what they had heard
here. Boy, this God, He divided the Red Sea. He's drowned in
Pharaoh's army. And now we've heard that He's
killed these two giants. And we can't resist Him. He's God. He's God. And this
is the question that must face every man and woman and boy and
girl this morning in this world. If God is who the Bible says
He is, the eternal, all-powerful, holy, irresistible judge of all
the earth that loves righteousness and hates iniquity, before whose
eyes all hearts are naked and open, And if this God is coming
to judge the world in righteousness, and if you and I are, as the
Bible says we are, poor fallen sinners, here's the question
that must be asked. Where does this leave us? Where
does this leave us? If God is like the Bible says
He is, and we're like the Bible says we are, where does this
leave us? And that's the question that
everybody should answer in this world. Where does that leave
us? Oh, there was a time, I imagine,
when these inhabitants of Jericho could dance in the street. They
could climb up on the top of the walls and sing, and they
could sleep calmly in their beds at night. But now, boy, now,
this conviction had filled their hearts. This terror, their hearts
had melted. God was coming in judgment. He's coming in judgment. They
had this king among them. They had this king over them.
And he had this plan to stop this. He said he was going
to catch these men that had come in and probably prosecute them,
try to get some information from them. But he failed in his plot,
didn't he? And when they got away, don't you imagine this
brought more anxiety on this city? The king said, hey, I can
handle this. Leave it to me. I'll catch them.
We'll settle everything down. Don't worry about anything. But
then they heard. They got away. They got away. Oh, they're coming. They're coming. I'll tell you, there's a king
too. The Bible calls him the God of this world. And he's trying
to stifle the conviction. He's trying to give men a false
peace. Trying to quieten their conscience
down by making excuses or making war on the Lord's people. But there's but one way of true
peace, isn't there? One way of true peace. And this
woman here found it. And let's look at it for just
a second, just a few minutes. And I'm going to keep it for
just a few minutes. There was something different about this
Rahab. Not different by nature. She was just as bad as anything.
But something had happened in this woman's heart. And this
made it completely different than everybody else. Everybody
else had this awful conviction in their heart. But it went no
farther than that. They despaired. They melted. But nobody sent any white flags
up, did they? They hid out. Ran and hid. Boy,
but this woman here. Faith had set up in her heart.
Don't ask me how. I don't know what had happened.
I don't know. It's so secret. Faith is such a secret thing.
I don't know when, and I doubt if she knew when, it was first
given to her. The Holy Ghost first began to
work in her. I don't know when she heard that
the Lord had delivered the children of Israel and she thought there
must be some mercy with them. When He brought them through
the land, through the sea, she thought, boy, His power can save
His people. I don't know what brought her.
The blood on the doorpost that she heard about, I don't know
what it was. But James tells us that she received these spies
by faith. By faith the harlot Rahab perished
not with them that believed not. Some way or another. God in His
greatness had begun a work of grace in her heart. And she receives
these spies, she hides them, she talks with them, she listens
to them, and she believes them. And she was the only one there
in that city that did. Ain't faith a mysterious thing?
I used to just about know when I believed, when I first believed.
But the more I've thought about it, I don't know. I know when
I first got the assurance of faith, but I don't know really,
really I don't know when God first began to work a grace in
my heart to really believe Him. Do you? I know not how. And I know not when. And I don't
know when it began in her. But this is what made the difference
in her and all of these ungodly people in this town. She believed. She believed the Lord. And the
reason she did what she did here was because she believed. Here
is the language of faith. She asked these three things.
They are in verse 12. Look what she said in verse 12.
Here is what she asked. Now therefore I pray you, swern
to me by the Lord, since I have showed you kindness, that you
will also show kindness unto my Father's house and give me
a true token. There's two words here. Our translators used them the
same, and that's kindness. But the first kindness, she said,
I've showed you kindness, simply means a good deed. I've done a good deed to you.
I've hid you. But this second word, kindness, it's altogether
a different word. Our translators translated them
the same. The more I read and the more
I find out about are translators. Translating out of the Hebrew
and the Greek into the English, the more I admire those men.
Because the Hebrew language, one word, means so much. It has such a depth of meaning.
And our English isn't that way. Let me tell you some places,
other places in the Scripture, where this word, kindness, is
translated differently. In Exodus chapter 34, verse 6,
where Moses said, Lord, show me your glory. The Lord passed
by before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful
and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness. That's that word kindness. The
very same word that's here. The Lord is abundant in goodness. He's good. That's what she said. I want you to swear that you'll
show me the goodness of the Lord. And listen to Psalms chapter
6 verse 4. Return, O Lord, deliver my soul,
O save me for Thy mercies' sake. That's the same word, kindness.
For Thy mercies' sake. When you return, when you come
in to destroy this city, I want to obtain the mercies of the
Lord. Listen to Psalm 17, 7. O Lord,
show me Thy marvelous lovingkindness. That's that word, kindness. Thy
marvelous lovingkindness. O Thou that saveth by Thy right
hand them that put their trust in Thee. Listen to Job 6, 14.
It's translated pity. Pity. To him that is afflicted,
pity should be shown from his friend. Pity. When you return,
let me obtain pity. And listen to Esther 2.17, The
king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained favor,
that's that word, favor in his sight. So you see this word kindness,
it goes deeper than just when you return, I want you to show
me a kind act. Boy, that could stop her way
short of what this woman desired. When you return, she said, I
want to obtain the goodness of the Lord. I want to obtain saving
mercies, His marvelous love and kindness, His pity, His special
favor. Brothers and sisters, do we feel
that this morning? Do we earnestly feel what this
woman felt? How bad do we need to be saved? You say, Bruce, I'm already saved.
How bad do you need to be saved? Was Him just saving you ten years
ago or twenty years ago? Is that enough? Don't you feel
your need of Him now? This woman believed and she said,
listen, I want the assurance of this pity, this favor. But
when we get where we don't feel our need, We get so high and
we get so mighty and we get so perfect and we've arrived and
we don't feel our need of the Gospel anymore. We don't need
to hear it anymore. This grace for poor sinners through
Jesus Christ, we've got a problem haven't we? She felt her need
and the very language that she uses tells us that she felt her
need. She requested it beforehand.
How many times have you heard And you're just like I am. How
many times have you prayed since the Lord saved you to find mercy
in that day? Lord, when you come, and I know
you're coming, you're coming to burn this world. You're going
to destroy men. You're going to damn men's souls.
You're going to put men in torment. You're going to bind them hand
and foot and without any mercy because of their sins, you're
going to consign them to eternal lake of fire for all eternity.
I know you're going to do that. Let me find pity. Let me find
mercy. Manifest your favor and your
love and kindness to me in that day. Isn't that your prayer? She is so serious about this,
boy, because of the situation she was in. She said, nothing
is going to satisfy me but that you will swear. I want you to
swear. Not enough just to promise me.
I want you to swear. She had some knowledge of what
an oath meant to these men. Because boy, when they swore,
they were helped to. Swear to me that when you come,
you will show me the kindness of the Lord. God hasn't swore
very much, but He has swore. Two of the places that He swore
in the Scriptures is Psalm 110, verse 4. Listen to this. God
swore and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. That's what He says to His Son,
Jesus Christ. He said, My Son, I swear to You
that You are a priest forever. after the order of Melchizedek.
What does that mean to you and me this morning? Every time we,
by faith, approach unto God, we can be assured this, that
on God's right hand is a priest, one to make intercessions for
those who come to God by Him. He's a faithful and merciful
high priest over the house of God that opens the door of God
the Father wide open, continually. for all of those who approach
unto God by him. Isn't that wonderful? He is a
high priest made so by the oath of God. And then something else,
and it pertains to God's blessings. When God made promise to Abraham
because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself
saying, Blessing, I will bless thee. I swear. That blessing, I will bless you. It would have been enough for
God to say, Abraham, I'll bless you. I'll bless you. That would be enough for Him
to tell us that, wouldn't it? This is the promise that He has
promised us, even eternal life. But you know what God knows about
this world and the man in it? He knows they're liars. They
say things and won't keep the Word. So when He tells us this,
He wants us to know and be satisfied in our heart that He won't do
that. He says, all my blessings rest
upon this foundation. I swear. I promise you eternal
life. I swear. I love that, don't you? I'm going to bless you. All the
blessings of God in Jesus Christ are yea and amen because He swore
to it. God puts an oath to it. I swear. I swear. That's what I want too.
And it's you. I want him to swear. I want him
to swear. Swear you'll bless me. Why? Man,
look where I'm at. Look who I am. I want your blessings
to be sure, your promises to be sure. Well, he said, I'll
swear to it. How much did this oath mean to
these two men? Well, they said in verse 14,
our lives for yours, our lives for yours. Verse 19, whosoever
shall be with you in the house, his blood shall be on our heads
if there is a hand laid upon him. Boy, this oath meant something. You know what they said? This
oath, if we don't perform our oath, then we're dead men. These were such men of character. Joshua, remember when Moses sent
the twelve spies and ten of them were bad characters? Joshua was
one of the good characters. Him and Caleb went over two of
them that were good men and brought back a faithful report. And Joshua
picked these two men out and he said, I want two men of character.
I don't want these liars coming back like those fellows did with
me and my dear brother, Caleb. He sent these two men over there.
They were honest. They were good character. And
they said, we swear to you, when we come back, if we don't take
you and your family and all that's in your house and deliver them
outside the city, then we'll die. We'll die. You know, they couldn't go on
in the land of promise and enjoy it over there if they hadn't
delivered this woman, could they? We make some promises sometimes
and we forget, don't we? And we can't fulfill those promises?
Boy, when these men said, we swear, they said, our life depends
on it. That's why she got an oath out
of it. And then the third thing she wanted was this. She wanted
a true token in verse 12. Give me a true token. And we know what that was. In verse 18, it was this scarlet
thread. This scarlet thread. This blood
red crimson thread. And we know what that is. I don't
have to even comment on that. You know what that is, don't
you? That's the blood of Christ. That's what that was symbolic
of. All the way from Genesis when God killed those two little
animals, if it was lambs, which it probably was, to give coats
to Adam and Eve. All the way when Abraham offered
that ram upon Mount Moriah. All the blood on those Jewish
altars. And then we come to the New Testament
and what did the Lord Jesus say? This is my blood of the new covenant
which is shed for many for the remission of their sins. And
He stands in heaven today, doesn't He? As a lamb slain. This line,
this blood red line runs from Genesis all the way through the
Revelation. The blood of Christ, redeeming
blood. And they said bind this crimson,
this red line in your window. How strong was it? We think of
this sometimes. I used to think of it as just
some kind of a little ribbon, a little red ribbon, you know,
she put outside her window and fastened in the window. But it
says here that they said, which you, in verse 18, which thou
didst let us down by. That's a strong rope, wasn't
it? That wasn't no little thread. probably woven it out of small
threads and made one huge rope out of it that held the weight
of these men. And some suggest that when these
men come back, they came up that same rope. And when all her family
was delivered, they climbed down that same rope. What I'm saying
is, the blood of Jesus Christ will hold the weight of everybody
that climbs on it and cleaves to it. It will hold the way to
me and you and our families and everybody that depends upon it.
I tell you, it's a strong cord, isn't it? It's a strong cord,
the blood of Jesus Christ. And when these men went down
this cord and took off, the Bible says there in verse 22, I think
it is, that she bound, she bound this cord in the wind. That was
her assurance. Give me a true token. They said,
here it is, this scarlet line. And boy, can you see her tying
it? And boy, she tied it again another knot. And get up the
next morning and she goes out there and she's somewhat doubtful
in what she does. She peeps out that window and
she gets hold of that twine. Here it is. And she looks at
it and she thinks upon it. She keeps it in her mind and
her thoughts. This is the token. This is the
token. Oh, brothers and sisters, keep
the blood of Christ in your thoughts. Let it be your hope and your
help. Look to it and cleave to it the precious blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Can you do that? Is your faith
in His blood? Then the Holy Spirit has given
you that for a true token. And when He comes back again,
if He takes you home, what He's going to look for is that token.
That blood, that's what he's looking for. As soon as they departed, she
bounded in the window. Look over in chapter 6 in closing.
I heard Paul Mahan preach a wonderful message on this not long ago.
If you have time and would like to, look at it. Look what was going on here behind
the scenes that poor Rahab knew nothing about. She was living
by faith and hope. But here in verse 17, this was
back in the camp of the Israelites that Joshua was talking to. And
he says here in chapter 6 verse 17, 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 are with her in the house, because
she hid the messengers that we sent. And look in verse 22, And
Joshua 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 has, as we swear unto her. That's going on behind
the scenes. She didn't know a thing. But
they were thinking on her. They were securing her deliverance
from this city. She didn't know it. But that's
what's going on. And look in verse 25, And Joshua
saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and
all that she had. And she dwelleth in Israel, look
at this, even unto this day she dwelleth. I don't know when the
book of Joshua was written. And the point here may have been
she dwells there in her descendants. Why is this so important? Can't you see? And Brother Paul
Mayhead made this observation. He said, Can't you see Boaz? When Boaz, remember Ruth, that
Gentile Moabite that came back with her mother and Boaz fell
in love? Can't you see Boaz taking Ruth
and introducing her to his mother, Rahab. Can you imagine that? And can you imagine Ruth saying,
Oh, Mrs. Rahab, it's just so wonderful
to meet you. And I just can't express unto
you, oh, what a humble privilege it is, what a blessing it is
that I'm going to be among this family. I'm going to be among
Israel." There's no way, Mrs. Rahab, that you can understand
what this means. And she said, oh, she's your
daughter. I know. I know. I know. I know. She did know, didn't she? Because
look where she was delivered from. And she dwells there unto
this day. And Jesus Christ came out of
this woman's lineage. Oh, He come to save sinners,
didn't He? I'm not going to despair. I'm
just not going to despair. I'm just going to hope in Him
and believe in Him and trust in Him and wait on Him. Because
He came into this world to save sinners. And I feel like I'm
chief, but He came to save the chief of sinners. And He saved
this woman. And she's in heaven today, isn't
she? This woman's in heaven. Oh, blessed Savior, we do thank
You. Thank You that You've left this wonderful example of how
that You can save such a person as this woman. What hope it gives
us to seek You. What hope it gives us to seek
You for assurance that was given to this woman. And we know, Lord,
our situation is so much like hers, even worse. And if you were willing to give
her such assurance, then surely you'd be willing to give it to
us. Assurance that comes from your Word. Oh, give us grace. Give us this, Lord. Give us grace
to always be looking to your precious blood. Oh, that sign and seal of the
blessed covenant. Give us grace to keep our eyes
looking to your precious blood. Thank You for swearing, for condescending
to swear to us. We need it, Lord. We're living in a world full
of liars. We need to know that You're true. You've not put anything
in the fine print that will negate Your blessed promises. Oh, You
deal faithfully and true with us. We bless You for it. Thank You for those who are gathered
here this morning who have a desire to hear Your Word, know it is
so fabulously delivered, and thank You for the food we are
about to receive. Receive our worship this afternoon
as we for a few minutes open Your Word. Watch over the little
children. Be pitiful, Lord, to them. In
Christ's name, Amen.