Okay, this evening now we're
going to take a look at Joshua chapter 2. Joshua chapter 2,
and I'm entitling the message from this very, very well-known
story. Everybody knows about the harlot
Rahab. I'm entitling the message, God
Saved a Harlot. A harlot. A harlot is kind of
a kind word for saying she was a prostitute. She sold her body
to men to get money. God saved a harlot, a sinner,
and he did so by his purpose, by his grace, given in Christ
Jesus before the foundation of the world. There's no sin too
great that God cannot put away by the blood sacrifice of Christ. Woman, Rahab, was chosen of God
in eternity and justified in the Lord Jesus Christ. We see
in this chapter the glorious redemption of a harlot. Her name is Rahab. The Lord told
those Pharisees in his day, Matthew 21, 31, verily I say unto you
that the publicans and harlots The harlots go into the kingdom
of God before you. That's strong. He came to save
sinners, didn't he? We see in this story the Lord
Jesus Christ came to save sinners. We see in this story that salvation
is for sinners. He said, I didn't come to call
the righteous. I came to call sinners to repentance. That is
why the Lord Jesus Christ took to himself our humanity, born
of a woman, born under the law to redeem them that were under
the law, to redeem his people. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth His Son made of a woman, made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. God sending His own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, by the sacrifice for
sin, condemned sin in the flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
seek and to save the lost. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that the Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. Like this harlot, I'm the chief
one. I'm the chief one. Now, one of the most interesting
facts about Rahab is that she's included in the genealogy of
the Lord's humanity. You remember that? You turn to
Matthew chapter one, don't turn, but if you turn over there and
read that genealogy all the way from Adam through Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Judah, all the way down to Jesse, you'll find David. Now here's what we read in Matthew
one, verse five and six, Salmon beget Boaz of Rahab, Rahab. Salmon, a Jew, chose this harlot
and said, I want you to be my wife. Boaz beget Obed of Ruth. You remember Ruth, the Moabitess? There's two women who were Gentiles. And Obed beget Jesse. Jesse beget
David, the king. And David begets Solomon. The
Lord Jesus Christ is called the son of David. He's called the
son of man many times. He's called the son of man, but
he's also, thank God, he's a son of God. He's a God-man mediator,
isn't he? Rahab is also mentioned in Hebrews
chapter 11, you remember from our study, as an example of God
given faith. Without faith, you remember,
it is impossible to please God. And Rahab, of all the people
that God would choose as an example of faith, like Abel, like Abraham,
like Moses, David, God singled out this harlot named Rahab. And here is the scripture, Hebrews
11.31, By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed
not when she had received the spies with peace. She received
them. And then Rahab is also mentioned
in the book of James where we read earlier, Likewise also was
not Rahab the harlot justified by works. when she had received
the messengers and had sent them out another way. I like how it
doesn't call them there in that case spies, but rather messengers
of God. Now we're going to see how the
Lord in his sovereign providence finds this woman, grants her
faith, and how she became a blessing not only to Joshua and all the
children of Israel, And even through her faith, we have been
blessed also. Right? Through the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord's humanity came through
this woman. That's amazing, is it not? God
will use even harlots to accomplish his purpose. Even sinful men
to accomplish his purpose. In verse 1, down through verse
7, we see the good providence, the good and sovereign providence
of the Lord. Joshua, the son of Nun, verse
1, sent out of Shittim, this is Joshua chapter 2, verse 1,
two men to spy secretly saying, go view the land, even Jericho. And they went and came into a
harlot's house. named Rahab, and they lodged
there. Now, there wasn't a big flashing
sign over the door of Rahab's house saying, you men of Israel,
you two spies, come in here. But somehow, by the secret impulse
and moving of God, he led them to this particular house. How these men, these two spies
are called in Joshua chapter six verse 23, these two spies
were called young men. Now the old Jewish historians,
it's their Jewish tradition that one of these two men was Caleb.
I don't think they're right because Caleb was 85 years old. at this
time and it says in Joshua chapter 6 verse 23 that these were two
young men. Now how they got over the river
Jordan is not given us, evidently they came by the way of the ford
as it says there in verse 7, but the Lord did provide for
them however they got over, however they made their way there, without
harm The Lord protected them. Exactly how they came to this
particular house is not given to us, but we know the rest of
the story, don't we? It certainly was not by accident. They didn't just stumble into
this woman's house. We know the rest of the story.
It was by purpose. God saves every sinner whom he
wisely saves by his purpose and his grace given us in Christ
Jesus before the foundation of the world. Now this verse helped
me a little bit on how those two men ended up on her doorstep. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord, he delighteth in his way. God ordered their steps,
ordained their steps at Psalm 37 verse 23. Likewise, the Lord also in these
spies that were sent out, likewise the Lord sends out His messengers
with the gospel. These two men were gospel messengers,
son of God, son of Jehovah, son of Joshua. That's why we're told
to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And they came across the path
of this woman with the message of God. Had they ended up in
some other house, may have been death, but that's not gonna happen,
is it? Rahab believed God and was protective
of them. She put her life on the line
to protect these two men. She took them up on the roof
and hid them in the corn stalks. God brought about the salvation
of this harlot and her house by the good and sovereign providence
of God and by the purpose of God. You see, this woman believed
God and was obedient. That's why we read, faith without
works is dead. The Apostle Paul said, faith
works by love. She had a fear instilled in her
heart. The Lord had already been working
upon her heart and her conscience before those men of God came
with the message of God to meet her. Now, you know, these men
told her, judgment's coming. God's going to destroy this city. She believed their record. She believed their testimony. But before they got there, God
was already working upon her heart. We call that, and the
old timers have a term for that, and I've used it before and given
it to you before. You remember the term called
pervenient grace? Pervenient grace? That is grace
before grace. Psalm 21.3 said thou preventest
him with blessings of goodness or with pervenient grace. God has given blessing. Now one
preacher said this about the pervenient grace of God. The
Lord God precedes the entrance of Christ into the hearts of
his chosen redeemed sinner with an unknown secret works of goodness. Prevenient grace is preparatory
grace. God was preparing her heart.
It is that grace that prepares the chosen redeemed sinner to
receive God's saving grace by pervenient grace. And then by
the inward secret work of God the Holy Spirit in the heart,
God makes the heart of His chosen. He gives them a new heart and
a good heart, good soil to receive the Word of God sown in the heart. I'm reminded of a story in Acts
16 where Paul met Lydia. Remember? And God opened her heart to receive
the things that Paul had spoken. That again is an example of pervenient
grace. Let me read it to you in Acts
16, 14. And a certain woman named Lydia,
seller of purple, the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God,
heard us whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto
things that were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, her
and her household, she brought us, besought us, saying, if you
judge me faithful to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house
and abide there. And she constrained us. There
we see an example of God's pervenient, preparatory grace. So it is with
us. and all the elect of God whom
he wisely saved, the Lord by a special working of his good
providence so arranges everything in our lives that the Lord would
cause his servants with the gospel to cross our path with the word
of truth and give us an interest and ears to hear it. And he prepares
our heart to receive the word preached, and then he grants
us faith to believe it. And then he raises us from the
dead that we might believe the gospel. God always saves sinners
by his sovereign purpose and grace, never by accident. It's no accident. You think about
your life. No accident that you ran into
the gospel. God saves every sinner whom he
wisely saves by purpose. I moved to Ashland, Kentucky
in 1975, all the way from the Rocky Mountains
of Idaho and Utah. Moved all the way in 1975, moved
all the way across the Mississippi River up to the state of Ohio,
where I met my dear wife, who was from Her hometown was Ashland,
Kentucky. No accident that we ended up
in Ashland, Kentucky in 1975. God had a gospel preacher there. And one day, after we'd been
there about five years, I heard the gospel. Now, we can make
a personal application of this to ourselves, can't we? For who
maketh you to differ from another? What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? And if you did receive it, why
do you glory as if you have not received it? Who made you to
differ? You see, it's God in his purpose and his grace has
caused us to hear the gospel, and he brought the gospel to
us. The Lord's grace made us to differ from others who have
no interest in the gospel. It was his electing grace that
chose us, Chose us in him before the foundation of the world.
He was his redeeming grace that bought us. He said you no more
your own, you're bought with a price. It was his sovereign
grace that sought us out. not of him that willeth or of
him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. It was his
effectual grace that brought us to himself, that people shall
be willing in the day of his power. Blessed is the man whom
God hath chosen and causes him to approach unto the Lord, Psalm
65, four. And it is certainly the sustaining
grace of God that keeps us. All that's true of every sinner
God saves by His purpose and grace given in Christ before
the foundation of the world. Now, the second thing I want
us to look at in this story is the Rahab's profession of faith. Look at verse 8-11. And before they were laid down,
that is, the messengers, the messengers of God, 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 on upon us, and all the inhabitants of the land, they faint because
of you. We have heard how the Lord dried
up the water of the Red Sea for you." Now this happened 40 years
ago, but it was such a big tremendous event and she heard about this. Dried up the Red Sea for you
when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings
of the Amorites. on the other side of Jordan,
Sihon Nog, whom you utterly destroyed. 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 in heaven above and in earth beneath." That's a pretty good
confession. That's her confession of faith.
Your God, He is God in heaven above and in earth beneath. Remember, David was asked that
question one time. Remember? David, where is your
God? Remember what he said? Our God
is in the heavens. He has done whatsoever He had
pleased. And then he wrote this in Psalm
135. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did He in heaven, earth, sea, and all deep places. Then
I think of another pagan king named Nebuchadnezzar, whom the
Lord singled out and taught him who is God. And after that experience,
he said this, Daniel chapter four, I prayed and honor him
that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion. His
kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing. And they do it according to his
will in the army of heaven. among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What are
you doing? Whatever he wants, that's what
he does. Saving faith is not born of ignorance. This woman heard these things. Saving faith confesses God is
God. The faith of God's elect acknowledges
God is God. Saving faith is not born of ignorance,
but rather the truth of God. Her faith came by hearing of
the mighty power of God. Not a God who failed, but a God
who is absolute in power, sovereignty, and glory. You see, great sinners,
like you and me, great sinners desperately need a great and
almighty Savior, and that's exactly what we have in Christ. He's
able to save them to the uttermost all that come to God by him.
I love this scripture in Isaiah 63 where it says, who is this
that cometh from Edom with dyed garments from Basra? This that
is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength.
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. He's the Almighty
Savior. This is exactly what we have
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Do we not? Remember John 17,
he prayed, Father, you've given me power over all flesh that
I should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given to
me. And then Isaiah 59 verse 1 says,
Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that he cannot save.
Remember, none can stay his hand, or say unto him, Lord God, what
doest thou? The Lord's hand is not shortened,
his power is not diminished, that he cannot save. He has all
power to raise dead men to life. You have the quickened who were
dead in trespasses and sin. His sacrifice has all power to
put away our sin by the sacrifice of himself. By the one offering
has perfected forever them that are sanctified. The Lord says of that blood atonement
of the Lord Jesus Christ, it's so powerful and prevailing and
cleansing. He said, their sins will I remember
no more. They do not exist. Look down at verse 12 and verse
13. Rahab's one desire is to be delivered
from death. Deliver our lives from certain
death. Now therefore, verse 12, I pray
you, swearing to me by the Lord that I've showed you kindness,
that you will also show kindness in my father's house and give
me a true token, that you will save the life of my father, my
mother, my brethren, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver
our lives." And the man answered her, our lives are yours if you
utter not this business. And it shall be when the Lord,
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
to a window, for a house was upon the town wall and she dwelt
upon the wall. Rahab's one desire was to be
delivered from certain destruction. Delivered our lives from Death
is not that what salvation is, being delivered from our sin
that is a cause of death. But she's not only interested
in her own salvation, she's also interested, vitally so, in the
salvation of all those in her house. She keeps mentioning my
father, and my mother, and my brother, and my sister. She wanted
all her family to believe what she believed. She knows if that's
going to happen, God must do it. And we know that salvation
is of the Lord. It's much like, you remember
Paul's desire to see Israel come to know the true and living God.
My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that he
might save them. That's our prayer, is it not,
for our loved ones, our family, that God would have mercy upon
them? You see, a belief in sovereign grace does not diminish our zeal
to pray and to preach to our families and to pray for the
Lord to save them, does it? Back in 1954 and 55, when they
were going through the split there in Pauler Baptist Church,
where Brother Henry was the pastor, One of the charges that were
railed against him when he took a stand for the gospel of God's
sovereign grace, that God will have mercy on whom He will, one
of the charges against him was this, well, that'll kill evangelism. We believe God has an elect and
Christ died for them, He's gonna save them, we won't send out
missionaries or support missionaries. That's not so. There's not a
church in Ashland, Kentucky, when Brother Henry was pastor
in that church from 1955 to 2003, that supported mission work more
than any church in that whole city. They gave more to foreign
mission than any church in that whole city. Now it's interesting,
when that church split in 1955 and Brother Henry Doris and about
150 men left, and went over to 13th Street
and started that ministry there. It's interesting, all these years
later, at one time, that church had 1,500 people. Pauler Baptist Church. You know
what they have today? Five. You know what's going to
happen on May 1st, 2018? They're going to shut the doors. Don't quit. There's an article
in the Kentucky Baptist News. If you want to read it, it's
on the internet. I printed it out and sent a copy of it to
Brother Henry. One of the things they kept saying
in that article was they kept giving reasons for the diminishing
of the ministry, the numbers just dwindling and dwindling
and dwindling. They even mentioned in 1955 the
split Brother Henry and the men left and went over to 13th Street
and started a new work there. And they kept saying, well, this
happened and this happened, but they kept coming back to this
thing of not modernizing to meet the needs of the people in the
community and the young people. We've got to have basketball
games and we've got to have this event, that event, this gymnasium.
See, we didn't keep up with the times. That's not the reason they're
shutting the doors. The reason they shut the doors
is because they shut God's gospel out of that building. That's
what happened. Judgment. Judgment fell on that
work. But my point being made, a belief
in sovereign grace does not diminish our zeal for evangelism. If I believed that, when the
folks in Kingsport called up here about hearing the gospel
in that city, I just could have said, nah, God's going to do
it. You don't need me or anybody
else. That's not the attitude. We're to make full proof of our
ministry, even evangelizing. God's people are evangelists.
God's preachers are evangelists. We know the rest of the story,
what happened there, don't we? The Lord has raised up a faithful
pastor. He's been there now going on
six years. And the Lord has added to that
ministry. I just heard this week that some
more families from Lexington have moved up there. They're
gonna have to build a bigger building pretty soon. That place
is packed out. It's amazing. You see, the Lord
will bless the preaching of the gospel. And we know that the
Lord Jesus Christ is the only Savior that can deliver us. That
was her desire. Lord, deliver us. Deliver our
lives from death. We know the Lord Jesus Christ
is the only Savior that can deliver us. We're going to see in our
study in Romans chapter 11. So all Israel shall be saved,
as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer,
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. The messenger from
heaven said, call his name Jesus for he shall deliver his people,
save his people from their sin. It's recorded in Job 33, deliver
him from going down to the pit. I found a ransom. He had delivered
us from the wrath to come. God is faithful to his word that
all whom Christ stood as surety, sacrifice, savior cannot perish
because his blood prevails to put away all their sin. Who can
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God who justifies. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, ye brethren, is risen again, who is even at
the right hand of God. Now, the next point I want us
to look at is verse 15. Then she let them down by a cord
through a window, for her house was upon the town wall, and she
dwelt upon the wall. And then verse 18, Behold, when
we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread. Now, why does it have to be,
why not black thread? Why not brown thread? Why not
white thread? Why is it scarlet thread? Well,
because this is a symbol, type, and picture of the blood atonement
of Christ. Bind this line of scarlet thread
in the window which thou didst let us down by, and thou shalt
bring thy father, thy mother, thy brother, and all the father's
household home to thee. And it shall be that whosoever
shall go out of the doors of the 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 them. Verse 21, according to your word
so be it. As she sent them away they departed
and she bound a scarlet line in the window. She couldn't wait
to get it out. That identified that house under the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. God provided a distinguishing
mark upon her house Put out this scarlet thread, this scarlet
line, and then stay in the house. Don't go out of the house. If
you go out of the house, it's death. Very similar to the children
of Israel when they were in Egypt. Remember the story of the Passover
lamb? Put the blood on the lintel and
the doorpost. Go inside and sit down and rest. God said, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. Both this scarlet blood, scarlet
thread rather, and the blood on the door are types and pictures
of salvation in Christ through His precious blood. We are redeemed
with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ called precious
blood. The scarlet thread put a distinguishing
mark upon the house of Rahab. Christ our Passover is sacrificed
for us. It is only the blood atonement
of Christ that puts away our sin, that distinguishes God's
elect from the rest of mankind. What distinguishes us? The blood. Blood of Christ, it's redeeming
blood of Christ that was shed for us that caused us to believe
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why faith is called
precious. 2 Peter 1, 1, Simon Peter, a
servant and apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained
like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and
our Savior Jesus Christ. The only difference between Cain
and Abel was the blood of Christ. The only difference between Isaac
and Ishmael? The blood of Christ. How about
Jacob and Esau? The blood of Christ. How about
Judas, who betrayed the Lord, and Paul? Excuse me, Judas and
John? The blood of Christ. How about
the Apostle Paul and Demas? Demas hath forsaken me, having
loved this present world. What made the difference? Who
made the difference? The blood atonement of Christ. Faith never
makes the blood atonement effectual. Now hear this, hear this. A lot of people think Christ
made salvation a possibility for all. His blood avails for
all if you believe. That's what this whole religious
world says. Make the blood atonement effectual by what you bring and
add to it. That's what Paul called another
gospel, you know that? Faith never makes the blood atonement
effectual, does it? True faith acknowledges that
Christ is all of our salvation and that it's his blood that
put away our sin. We believe because we've been
born of God. Rahab did exactly as she was
told to do. They told her to take that line,
tie it up, throw it out the window, so your house will be distinctly
marked. When judgment comes through,
it'll pass over you. Now what if she decided to do
something else? And she said, according unto
your word, so be it. You see, faith acts upon the
promise and word of God. And she sent them away, and they
departed, and she bound that scarlet line in the window. I
mean, she tied a double square knot so it wouldn't get away. I bet she checked it every day,
don't you think? Well, make sure that line's there. I bet she wouldn't let anybody
mess with that line either. Oh, that blood's got to be the
mark. Now, let me give you this in
closing. The two men, verse 23, here's
the last thing. The two men returned and descended
from the mountain, passed over Jordan, came to Joshua, told
him all things that befell them, And they said to Joshua, we believe the Lord. Truly, the
Lord hath, notice, hath delivered into our hands all the land. For even all the inhabitants
of the country, they do faint because of us. The men returned with a good
report. The Lord's given us the land,
the Lord delivered into our hands, and they spoke it as it was already
done. Game over. The Lord hath delivered. Already done. Accomplished. That's exactly what the Lord
Jesus Christ had done for us. Game over. It's finished. It's
done. When He by Himself purged our
sin, sat down on the right hand of God. You see, it's not presumption. To believe God. It's not presumption
to take God at His word. They just didn't presume they
believed the promise, I'm going to give you the land. And they found it to be so. All
the promises of God in him are yes. and in Him. And we know
that the Scriptures teach that salvation is of the Lord. This
is the Lord's doing and it's marvelous in our eyes. Now we
know the rest of the story. I want you to turn and read one
verse with me. Turn to chapter 6. Chapter 6. One verse. Chapter 6, verse 25. We know what's going to happen,
don't we? You reckon Rahab is going to be spared, her family,
her house? You know, all the others in that
city were destroyed, young and old, women and children. Joshua saved Rahab the harlot
alive. Isn't that our story? Joshua, our Jesus, the Lord Jesus
Christ, saved sinners. Saved this harlot and her father's household and
all that she had and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day
because she hid the messengers. These men were messengers of
God which Joshua sent to spy out the land. Rahab and her whole
house were saved. The rest of the people in Jericho
were destroyed. The law entered that the offense
might abound, but where sin abounded, grace does much more abound.
That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign
through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Isn't that a beautiful story
of redemption?