Courage to Follow God’s Instructions – Joshua 6 – Part 2

Posted on March 11, 2023 by dkoop

How many marriages do you think ended because a husband or a wife gave up too soon? They obeyed God, but not long enough.

How many Christians have not become all that God wanted them to be simply because they stopped trying? How many of us have failed to defeat our own “Jerichos” because we gave up?

How many lost people have not become Christians because their believer friends stopped praying for them, stopped looking for ways to share the gospel with them, stopped obeying the Great Commission too soon?

In his commentary on Joshua Dr. Alan Redpath suggests that “many people don’t see the answers to their prayers simply because they have stopped one round short in their conquest of their personal Jericho.” We may have been doing the right things but we simply stop doing them.  This leads to our second basic training point for following Christ.

  1. I must be persistent in obedience.

Careful reading of the text seems to indicate that Joshua did not tell the people how many times they were going to have to circle the city or even exactly what was going to happen at the end of their seven days’ marching. No, the people were given their instructions one day at a time. At the end of their assignment for that day, having encircled the walls, they were directed back to their camp, and nothing happened. They had obeyed Joshua, who had been obeying God. They had encircled the walls, but when they returned to camp, the walls were still standing, no one had surrendered, and the Jewish armies seemed to be no closer to the final conquest of Canaan than they had been the day before.

This is how it was at the end of the second day and the third and the fourth and the fifth and the sixth. This is what things looked like after the sixth lap on day seven. Absolutely nothing appeared to have changed. Jericho’s walls stood intact and its ramparts were still full of soldiers bristling with weapons.

It was only after the seventh lap on the seventh day and the shout that followed, that Jericho’s walls collapsed. The victory was won only after the people obeyed and continued to obey God.

We need to learn to practice this same strategy in our own struggles because there is no substitute for continued obedience to God. Even when we can’t see success we must obey and obey and obey and obey. Remember, the kind of faith that pleases God is an obedient faith, obedience in spite of the results.

We tried, we made a couple “laps” around its walls, but we weren’t persistent enough in our obedience. That old saying is true, quitters never win. And remember you’re not a failure until you quit so hang in there! To deal with the Jericho’s of life requires consistent and persistent obedience.

How many times do problems look impossible but really aren’t?

George Danzig was a senior at Stanford University during the Depression. All the seniors that year knew they’d be joining unemployment lines when their class graduated. There was a slim chance that the top person in the class might get a teaching job. George was not at the head of his class, but he hoped that if he were able to achieve a perfect score on the final exam, he might be given a job. He studied so hard for the exam that he arrived late to class. When he got to class, the others were already hard at work. He was embarrassed and just picked up his paper and slunk into his desk. He sat down and worked the eight problems on the test paper; then he started on the two written on the board. Try as he might, he couldn’t solve either of them.

He was devastated. Out of the ten problems, he had missed those two on the board for sure. But just as he was about to hand in the paper, he took a chance and asked the professor if he could have a couple of days to work on the two he had missed. He was surprised when his professor agreed. George rushed home and plunged into those equations with a vengeance. He spent hours and hours, but he could find the solution for only one of them. He never could solve the other. It was impossible. When he turned in his work, he knew he had lost all chance of a job. That was the darkest moment of his life.

The next morning a pounding on the door awakened George. It was his mathematics professor, very excited. “George! George!” he kept shouting, “You’ve made mathematics history!” George didn’t know what his professor was talking about so the professor explained. Before the exam, he had encouraged the class to keep trying in spite of setback and failure. “Don’t be discouraged,” he had counseled. “Remember, there are classic problems that no one can solve. Even Einstein was unable to unlock their secrets.” He then wrote two of those “unsolvable” problems on the blackboard. George had come to class late and missed those opening remarks.

He didn’t know the problems on the board were impossible to solve. He thought they were part of his exam and was determined that he could work them. And he solved one! Thanks to his persistence, he did the impossible. That very morning the professor made George Danzig his assistant. He taught at Stanford until his retirement.

Danzig’s persistence enabled him to get a job, it made it possible for him to win the battle of unemployment, and our dogged determination to obey God and keep on obeying God will help us deal with our own struggles.

Remember, as Eugene Peterson said, “Christian discipleship is a long obedience in the same direction.”   Hear God. Listen to His leading. And then obey Him and keep on doing so.

Here’s another test, can you continue to obey even if people are making fun of you?

I imagine that on the first day the people of Jericho would probably have been quiet watching to see what the huge encircling army would do. And can you picture how bizarre that sight would have been? Think of it: a silent attacking force of millions watched by silent defenders, waiting for something to happen that never did. I bet you could have cut the tension with a knife!

But I’m sure the defenders’ silence would not have lasted beyond the first day. Eventually they would have begun to mock the Jewish soldiers saying things like: “What do you think you’re doing, marching around our walls? What are you looking for, a way in? Do you think we’re so foolish as to have left a door open somewhere? Are you afraid to fight? Why don’t you climb up here? Come on, give it a shot! We’ll show you how a city should be defended. Cowards!”

I bet their taunts increased and became more vulgar as every day passed. Under such circumstances, it would have been difficult for anyone to keep silent! And, then what do you think the Hebrews were thinking about during their silent march as they ignored the jibes of the people of Jericho?  They didn’t have anything else to do but think, so what went through their minds?   Hopefully it was, “You just wait, you will see!”  “This obedience to God will pay off, if not today, someday!”

Can we be that certain? As we obey we know that some will taunt us, but we are on the right path!   This leads us to our final point, when victory comes we will celebrate.

  1. I will Celebrate at God’s Victory

God told Joshua that Jericho was already delivered into his hands—the enemy was already defeated! What confidence Joshua must have had as he went into battle! Christians also fight against a defeated enemy. Our enemy, Satan, has been defeated by Christ

Remember that we fight from victory, not just for victory. 

The follower of Christ stands in a position of guaranteed victory because Jesus Christ has already defeated every spiritual enemy (John 12:31). Jesus defeated Satan not only in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11), but also during His earthly ministry (12:22-29), on the cross (Col. 2:13-15), and in His resurrection and ascension (Eph. 1:19-23). As He intercedes for His people in heaven, He helps us mature and accomplish His will (Heb. 13:20-21); and “if God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31)

This week in my study I learned that back then the Jews used two different kinds of trumpets. Some were made of silver and others were crafted out of Ram’s horns. The silver trumpets were used especially by the priests to signal the camp when something important was happening and the rams’ horns were used primarily for celebrations.

The priests didn’t use the silver trumpets in this event. They used their ram horns because Israel was not declaring war. There was no war. They were celebrating victory, God’s victory. We must remember this as we encounter obstacles in our attempt to live for God. We don’t fight for victory but from it because the battle is the Lord’s and He has already won.

Let’s put it this way. We should live not like victims but as victors because that’s what we are!

Darrell

www.Upwards.Church

Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/watch-now/leander-campus-videos

Watch Messages: YouTube-Upwards Church

Facebook: Upwards Church

Posted in Courage Over Fear (Joshua) | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Courage to Follow God’s Instructions – Joshua 6

Posted on March 10, 2023 by dkoop

Life is full of battles in one form or other.  Right now you are dealing with relational struggles, parental struggles, health struggles, marital struggles, career struggles-because life is full of battles.

And to be able to deal with all them, as any general worth his stars will tell you, strategy is everything.  No significant victory can be won without a well-planned military strategy. Strategy in military conflicts is so important that most nations have established military academies to train their officers how to lay strategic plans and carry out orders during military campaigns.

The strategy to conquer the city of Jericho was unique. It was unique in two ways: the strategy was laid out by God Himself, and the strategy was a seemingly foolish plan. The expositor John Huffman quotes one of the comedy routines that Bill Cosby, the comedian, follows in discussing the battle of Jericho. The routine is worth quoting to show the seemingly foolish strategy:

“Okay, Joshua, let me be sure that I’ve got this straight. You say that for six days we’ll walk around the city of Jericho carrying the ark of the covenant, saying absolutely nothing, with seven of our priests blowing the ram’s horn trumpets? Then on the seventh day we walk around seven times silently? Then all at once, when the trumpets start blowing, we all start shouting, and those double walls are going to fall down? Come on, Joshua, that doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense.”

The military strategy laid out by the Lord actually did not make much sense. Nevertheless, Joshua believed God. He believed that God would perform a miracle and give victory over the great city of Jericho, give victory if he did one simple thing: obeyed God.

Victory over Jericho was to demonstrate one great truth for all of history: faith in God is the most powerful force in all the world. A person conquers and is victorious over all the enemies of life only if he believes and trusts God. Victory is achieved through faith. The walls of Jericho came tumbling down, collapsed because the Israelites believed God and trusted His Word.

The same is true of us, when facing a battle we can have a strategy that is our own or we can look to God for a strategy.  We can fight life’s battles God’s way or our way.  We can fight life’s battles with our strength or God’s strength.

Today we are focusing on the strategy that a general named Joshua used to conquer Jericho. the principles behind Joshua’s battle tactics in this particular conflict will help us in the struggles of life because there is indeed a sense in which we all face our own “Jerichos,” seemingly insurmountable trials and tribulations that often block our path.

Joshua had to deal with Jericho, he couldn’t just bypass it, because to do so would mean leaving a large military force at his rear, and that would be foolish strategy indeed. On the other hand, conquering Jericho was easier said than done because its walls were strong and high. Jericho had not one but two walls. The outer wall was six feet thick and the inner one was twelve feet thick. These double walls, combined with the position of the city, made it virtually impregnable.

How then could any general hope to conquer this fortress city? There were several options, several strategies, available to Joshua and I’m sure he would have heard them if, he had gathered his generals to seek their counsel:

For example someone would have probably suggested that he build siege ramps. This is what the Romans under General Silva did in order to get his soldiers up to the fortress on Masada and over its walls in order to attack Jewish zealots after the fall of Jerusalem.

Another general might have advised Joshua to just dig in, surround the city, and starve its defenders into submission. That was another common strategy to employ when dealing with a fortified city. You may remember that Jerusalem was besieged more than once.

But the Biblical record shows that Joshua did not adopt either of these strategies. In fact, he didn’t even seek them.  Joshua was in constant contact with his Commander-in-Chief-the One Who made the rocks out of which Jericho was built, as well as the mountain on which it stood. Joshua’s Counselor and Guide was-and still is-an infallible Strategist and Commander.

Joshua 6 records the continuing conversation that Joshua was having with “The Commander of the Lord’s Army,” from Chapter 5, which as we learned in the last post was the pre-incarnate Christ, or in theological terms, a Christophany.

1  Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
2  Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.
3  March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days.
4  Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.
5  When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in.” Joshua 6:1-5 (NIV)

Now, if you were a soldier in the Hebrew army attending Joshua’s briefing and heard this plan of battle for the first time, what would you think? Wouldn’t you question your leader’s sanity? High, thick, fortified walls do not fall to the noise of tramping feet. Cities are not won by trumpets. Yet the Biblical record tells us this is exactly what happened. The people did not question Joshua’s sanity or his orders because they knew that they were God’s commands. And one thing they had learned in their 40-year-long desert boot camp, was to obey God.

So, each day for six days they all walked in silence around the watching city and on the seventh day they repeated this apparently futile exercise seven times. No one spoke, not even a whisper. The only noise was the sound of the rams’ horns blown by the priests. Then, on their seventh lap on the seventh day, when the city was entirely surrounded by the Jewish people, Joshua commanded saying, “Now! Shout! For the Lord has given you the city.”

And the people did shout. Verse 20 says, “When the trumpets sounded the people shouted, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in and took the city.”

Many people have questioned the accuracy of this battle as recorded in Joshua. They think this because they have had a hard time believing that marching and shouting and trumpet blowing could bring down massive double walls. But an article in U.S. News and World Report back in October of 1991 told of scientists who now confirm the Biblical record. Here’s a direct quote from the article:

“The city’s wall do appear to have collapsed suddenly and the blackened timbers and stones, as well as a layer of soot dating to 1400 B.C., all suggest that the city burned, as the Bible says it did. Archeologist Kathleen Kenyon also found bushels of grain on the site, .consistent with the Bible’s account of a springtime conquest so rapid that Jericho’s besieged populace had not exhausted their food.”

With such a superb confirmation of the biblical account, no wonder TIME magazine titled it’s article on the same discovery, “Score One For The Bible.” (March 5, 1990)

The New York Times also covered it with a title, Believer’s Score in Battle over the Battle of Jericho. 

So let’s be clear, Jericho was a real place, this biblical account is a real event.

There are important principles we need to remember when it comes to dealing with our own struggles. Think of these principles as basic training for any soldier of the Lord.

  1. I must obey even when it doesn’t make sense

In other words, as Warren Wiersbe puts it, in every battle of life we must devote ourselves to God completely. We need to embrace a mindset that says,

“I will always obey God. He is the Commander-in-chief of my life. This is His battle, not mine. My goal in life is to further His purposes not my own.”

In any struggle we must respond not by trying to “win, ” not by trying to “look right.” No, instead we must seek to respond in ways that further God’s kingdom.

How many things does God ask us to do that do not make sense?

I’m not sure why God blesses 90% of my income when I tithe more than 100% of my income when I keep it for myself.   90% with God’s blessing always goes farther!

I don’t understand why forgiving the person that hurt me (as God says) allows me to have peace instead of anger and bitterness.

I’m not sure why serving my wife Niki and laying down my life as God instructs makes for a better marriage.  I would think it would make me seem weak yet in God’s economy it really works.

I’ve found that God’s instructions may not always make sense but when I follow them they work.

Will you follow God’s instructions when they don’t make sense to you?

Darrell

In the next post we’ll look at the second basic training principle for followers of Christ.

www.Upwards.Church

Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/watch-now/leander-campus-videos

Watch Messages: YouTube-Upwards Church

Facebook: Upwards Church

Posted in Courage Over Fear (Joshua) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Presence of Jesus – Joshua 5

Posted on March 8, 2023 by dkoop

Are you facing an overwhelming problem?  Throughout life there are times when we need a special experience with God. A deep sense of loneliness, discouragement, depression, emptiness, or purposelessness; some accident, disease, or death; some severe problem, difficulty, obstacle, or loss—many things—can create a desperate need for a special time with God. When a need strikes, our task is to get alone with God just as we will see Joshua do. God will meet us if we will just get alone and seek His face. God will help us and meet our need. He will give us His presence and power and guidance. God will be our helper in time of need.

Joshua was off alone surveying Jericho (Joshua 5:13-14). Obviously, he had walked some distance away from the camp, close enough to Jericho so that he could survey the land surrounding the great city. As with any military commander, he was sensing the strain of the upcoming battle, the pressure and tension, the stress and heaviness of the burden of war. He knew that war involved wounds and spilt blood, maiming and crippling, the loss of limbs and disfigurement, injuries and severe pain. He knew that war involved death and the loss of loved ones, terrible grief and suffering for wives, children, parents, and relatives. Obviously, he was sensing a desperate need to get alone with God, to seek His sustaining grace and strength. He needed a very, very special time alone with the Lord to pray and plan. While praying, note that his head was apparently bowed. When he looked up, he was face-to-face with a man who had a drawn sword.

Look at Joshua 5:13-15 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” 14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” 15 Then the Commander of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

As Joshua was lifting his eyes and looking towards Jericho, the next great challenge they would face, he saw a MAN. No ordinary man. This was the “Commander of the Lord’s army,”  Joshua heard the same words that Moses heard back in Exodus 3:5 at the burning bush when God told Moses to remove his shoes for he was standing on holy ground.

In this situation, Joshua was looking upon the very face of Jesus Christ. This was, as theologians describe, a Christophany. This was an encounter with Christ to give His people the encouragement they need to carry on.

Jesus was the Burning Bush that was not consumed in Exodus 3:14, describing himself as the “I am” and Moses went from being a hired hand in hiding to the liberator of God’s people. Jesus confirms that He is the same “I am” in John 8:58

Jesus appeared to Abraham in Genesis 14:18-20 as a high priest named Melchizedek bringing bread and wine, a future symbol his body and blood.  He blessed him in his victory and pointed him to a new level of worship as Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.  Hebrews 7 confirms that this is Jesus.

Here in Joshua 5, he is described as “the commander of the Lord’s armies.”  The same description of Jesus found in Revelation 19, who is riding a white horse leading the armies of heaven.

Before this encounter Joshua must have been asking the question, What am I going to do now? I’m looking at this place called Jericho. This obstacle seems so big.  How are we going to overcome it? And so, God in all His wisdom, decides that Joshua needs another pep talk. Joshua needed to know and experience the presence of Christ.

He wants to give us that encouragement that we need to carry on. He knows we’re asking questions of ourselves. Questions like How? Why? What Do I Do Now? He knows exactly what we’re going through, and He doesn’t want us to go through it alone.

God appeared to Joshua here to give him encouragement, to give him direction, to help him see how and why to carry on. God gave Joshua the comfort of knowing that God would deliver Jericho into their hands. That He would deliver them through the days ahead. And, God wants to do the same for us.

Joshua was standing in the presence of Christ. This was an opportunity to see what God had in store.

Jesus promises to “be with us always.”  There are times when we need to sense His presence more.  He may not show up in a burning bush or in the middle of the road talking to us as he did for Moses and Joshua.   We probably won’t see an angelic, glorified Man standing before us. But we can have sense of His presence all the same.

The kind of encounter that Jesus has for us is just as personal, just as powerful, just as meaningful as Moses and Joshua had.  In college when Christ was calling me to ministry there we several times when I sensed the  presence of Jesus in a strong way making it clear that I was supposed to go in that direction. Life changing decisions like whether to marry Niki, to become a pastor, to plant the church to add additional staff, additional locations, and taking new directions as a church all required that I surrender, seek Christ, fast, pray and seek and desire the presence of Jesus.

Christ desires for us to have a seek and know the presence of Jesus that can continue throughout the rest of our lives. God had a great plan in store for Joshua. He knew that Jericho would be conquered. He knew what the end result would be, and He needed Joshua to follow through. To encounter God, to experience His power, His encouragement, His presence. And then, Joshua would be ready for the task ahead.

In our lives, in our challenges, in our problems, we can be sure that God has a great plan in store for us. God knows what lies ahead for us. He knows the victories that we will experience. He knows what we will be able to accomplish in His power and in His presence.

We all stand in the face of these adversities and ask ourselves, “Why is this happening?” How will I get through this obstacle?”  God wants to begin to provide for us in a new way, a way that we’re not used to, a way that we couldn’t have imagined. A way that will meet every challenge, that will meet our every need.

He wants us to see Him in all of his glory and know that He will lead us, He will guide us. He will direct our steps. He wants us to see that God is not finished with us. He has great things in store for us, great victories in store, great days ahead.

We can have a fresh encounter with Jesus. He wants us to be moved by His presence and power. To take hold of His hand and allow Him to deliver us through any challenge we face.

If you are in a situation where you’re asking why? If you’re facing one of those life-changing trials, one of those valley experiences that knock every bit of the air out of you then you are ready.   Overwhelming problems help us be ready to pray and seek the face of Christ. Large obstacles help us be ready to obey what Jesus says.

In our next post we will see how to have courage to follow God’s instructions even when they do not make sense.

Darrell

www.Upwards.Church

Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/watch-now/leander-campus-videos

Watch Messages: YouTube-Upwards Church

Facebook: Upwards Church

Posted in Courage Over Fear (Joshua) | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Courage to Change (Rahab) – Joshua 2

Posted on March 7, 2023 by dkoop

All of us desire to change something about our lives. All of us have a past. Rahab certainly did.  Rahab desired to change and God worked in her life, regardless of her past.  He wants to do the same with us.  The Promised Land is for everyone!

Only two women are personally named in Hebrews 11, “The Hall of Fame of Faith”: Sarah, the wife of Abraham (v. 11), and Rahab, the harlot of Jericho (v. 31).

Sarah was a godly woman, the wife of the founder of the Hebrew race; and God used her dedicated body to bring Isaac into the world. But Rahab was an ungodly Gentile who worshiped pagan gods and sold her body for money. Humanly speaking, Sarah and Rahab had nothing in common. But from the divine viewpoint, Sarah and Rahab shared the most important thing in life: They both had exercised saving faith in the true and living God.

Not only does the Bible associate Rahab with Sarah; but in James 2:21-26, it also associates her with Abraham. James used both Abraham and Rahab to illustrate the fact that true saving faith always proves itself by good works.

But there’s more: The Bible associates Rahab with the Messiah! When you read the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 1, you find Rahab’s name listed there (v. 5), along with Jacob, David, and the other famous people in the messianic line. She has certainly come a long way from being a pagan prostitute to being an ancestress of the Messiah! “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” Rom. 5:20.

Let’s dive into this incredible life of courage and change.  The account picks up here we left off last, Moses has died and Joshua is now in charge. He’s about to lead the people of Israel to cross the Jordan river and enter Canaan. 500 years earlier God had promised Abraham that He would establish his descendants in this land, which is why it is referred to as “the Promised Land” and the people of Israel are finally about to cross the Jordan and lay claim to this land that God had said would be theirs.

D-day is almost here. And, like any good commander, before the invasion begins Joshua wanted to gather information about the enemy. So, as it says in verse 1, “Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. [He told them] ‘Go, look over the land-especially Jericho.’”

The Hebrew nation was camped about seven miles east of the Jordan. Jericho was located about seven miles west of the Jordan almost directly opposite them. And Joshua specifically mentioned this city as the focus of this particular reconnaissance mission because it was a formidable fortress city guarding the pass leading westward into the mountainous regions of Canaan. Conquering it would give Israel an important foothold into the Promised land, which is no doubt the reason Jericho was so fortified in the first place.

And in Joshua’s mind it was important to find out as much as possible about it’s defensive capabilities before they mounted an attack. No doubt this brand-spanking new leader wanted these two to bring him information of Jericho’s walls and gates, its state of preparation, the number of its inhabitants, the size of its army, etc.

One thing I would point out is that the people of land had been marked for destruction way back in Genesis 15:16 when, after foretelling the exodus from Egypt, God said to Abraham, “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here [to Canaan], for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

The time had now come. The Amorites had used their God-given freedom of choice to sin, to turn away from God, such that their culture had degenerated past the point of no return, degenerated to the point that it had reached God’s maximum tolerance level. Understand: our Heavenly Father didn’t cause this to happen but He knew it would, so He had promised this land to Israel.

The activities of these two spies was absolutely top secret. Unlike the 12 spies who had entered Canaan 40 years ago, the work of these two were known only to Joshua. In my mind they were similar to television’s Mission Impossible teams-only the highest level of government knew of their assignment. Perhaps they received their orders on a special scroll designed to self-destruct after telling them that if they were captured Joshua would disavow any knowledge of their actions. That’s stretching things a bit but Joshua did have them go secretly. Not even the Israelites knew of their assignment. Verses 23-24 tell us they were to report back to Joshua and Joshua only.

And understand: He wasn’t asking them for feedback, just to gather the information and get it back to him. He wasn’t going to give them a press conference when they returned so the people could discuss what they found out among themselves and then decide whether to cross over the Jordan or not. No, only Joshua knew they were going, and only he would hear their report when they returned.

John MacArthur writes,

“Israel had traveled down the dead-end road of popular opinion already and it cost them almost forty years’ time. Joshua was taking the role of a decisive commander. He would assess the spies’ report personally and decide (with the Lord’s help, not a vote of the populace) how his armies would proceed.”

Apparently, the spies were able to at least enter Jericho undetected. It was a large city and people came and went all the time. Perhaps they posed as traveling merchants or traders.

Verse 1 says that once they were within the city’s thick walls, they entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and they stayed there. Now this sounds like something James Bond would do, but not two Jewish spies. So why would two members of God’s chosen nation enter a house of ill repute?

There are several potential reasons. First, the presence of strangers in this kind of establishment would not arouse undue suspicion. Kingdom foreigners, travelers, were common there so they wouldn’t stand out. Plus, someone in Rahab’s line of work would be knowledgeable of public affairs, no pun intended. A house of ill repute was a good place back then to gather information.

And the fact that the house was located on the top of the wall would make it a great place to complete their assignment. They could look out over the city and monitor troop movements and defenses.

Another reason to choose her house was that it offered a method of escape since it was located on the exterior city wall which meant it’s windows faced outward.

I think the main reason they went to Rahab’s house was that God led them there. We’ll talk more about this later but for now suffice it to say that God sent them there because He knew the desires of her heart. He knew she yearned to know Him and serve Him.

Now, for about 250 years some biblical critics claimed that this story was mythological or at best historical fiction, because at the time there was no evidence that there were houses built into city walls in the ancient near east. But the excavations at the Tel in Jericho after the turn of the century showed that the city was indeed surrounded by double walls with 12 feet between them. These excavations also uncovered evidence that simple houses were in fact built on top of timbers that were spread between the two walls-which sounds exactly like Rahab’s home.

Unfortunately the spies failed in their efforts to remain undetected. Perhaps their disguises weren’t good enough or maybe a client overheard as they identified themselves to Rahab. But someone found them out and told the king, perhaps hoping to claim a reward for finding spies of the huge Jewish nation that everyone knew was camped directly across the river.

And the king immediately dispatched soldiers to Rahab’s house, no doubt expecting Rahab to do her patriotic duty and turn the spies in. But instead she committed the capital offense of treason! She hid the men under stalks of flax which she had laid on her roof, stalks that were probably always kept there in case a client needed to be hidden from his jealous wife.

  1. Rahab Chose to Take a Side

When the guards came looking for these to agents Rahab said they weren’t there and sent the soldiers on a wild goose chase. Now, in my study I found that commentary writers argue over whether or not Rahab sinned by lying to these soldiers. And I’m no scholar but I for one would say no, she did not sin. Kingdom, many people have been honored for deceiving the enemy in war time, and this was a time of war. In my mind, she was simply resisting an evil, corrupt government to protect people who were serving God.

Plus, the Bible does teach that it’s okay to lie in order to deceive a godless government. Exodus 1 tells of the time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt and their nation grew so that the Pharaoh told the midwives to kill any baby boys that were born. But verse 17 says that the midwives feared God and did not do what the Pharaoh had asked. When he summoned them to ask why, they lied and said, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. They are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” And verse 20 tells how God felt about their deception. It says, “So God was kind to the midwives…”

A more modern day example of this can be found in the life experiences of Corrie Ten Boom. In her book The Hiding Place Corrie tells of her father, a devout Christian man who hid Jews in his home and helped smuggle them out of the country under the noses of the Nazis. His pastor came by and urged him not to do these things, saying, “Christians must obey the law.” But, Father Ten Boom responded by saying that Christians are to obey God first, above any human law that conflicts with His laws.

So, Rahab lied. But in my opinion, she didn’t sin. She sensed there was something unusual about these two men, something different from the other men who frequented her home. Perhaps these spies were the first to come through her door without sinful intent. But in her heart she knew they were the good guys and so, at risk of her own life, she lied to the king’s soldiers.

After the soldiers left, Rahab asked the spies to spare her life and the lives of her family when the city was destroyed. And the spies agreed. As a secret code, they instructed her to leave a scarlet rope hanging in the window of her home so that the Jewish army would know not to destroy it and then she helped them escape via a rope from a window on the wall giving them instructions so that they could avoid capture and return to Joshua and the rest of the army.

After the soldiers left on their wild goose chase, Rahab spoke to those two spies. She told them that she had heard of the miracles God had been doing with and for the people of Israel. Perhaps her customers, travelers from afar, had brought her news of how God had dried up the Red Sea so that the entire nation could cross on dry ground and that He had led them to conquer the Amorite Kings Og and Sihon, including the total destruction of their walled cities.

But somehow this lost, pagan woman had heard of the mighty works of the God of Israel and it made her believe in His power. In fact she spoke of the takeover of all Canaan by the Hebrew people as if it were already an accomplished fact. Look at verse 9 of chapter 2 where she says to them, “I know that the Lord has given this land to you.” Rahab also said that all of Jericho was afraid of the people of Israel. Listen to her words: “…a great fear has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.”

In short, Rahab and her countrymen saw God at work in and through His people! And unlike her fellow Amorites, Rahab’s response was to leave her sinful lifestyle and embrace a personal faith in God. In essence Rahab said, I believe “the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”

Now, in this statement she referred to God as “YAHWEH.” She didn’t use a Canaanite name for God, but the covenant name that the Hebrew people used for their personal God.

  1. Rahab Chose to Profess Her Faith

And this reminds us that, even today, when people like Rahab see things happening in the lives of other people that can only be explained by their relationship with God, well it makes them yearn to have that kind of covenant relationship with God as well. They believe that God really is God because they see His people doing things that could only be explained by His presence and power.

Rahab heard with her own ears and then saw with her own eyes the power of God working in and through His people. This made her long to know Him.

God’s love wasn’t limited to the Hebrew people! The spies learned-even before Peter penned these words-that “God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

They saw that God loved even the Amorites, that it was they who rejected Him, not the other way around. They discovered this because when this Amorite woman sought God, He answered. When she reached out to God, she found Him reaching back to her! These spies learned that as God says in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” They found that as Isaiah 30:18 says, “The Lord longs to be gracious…He rises to show compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him.”

God knew that Joshua didn’t really need to know the city’s defenses. God knew how He was going to enable them to conquer that fortified city. But He didn’t stop Joshua from sending the spies, did He? why did he let Joshua send those men on an unnecessary and potentially dangerous mission?

God did it because their mission, unbeknownst to them, was not to scout the city’s defenses but rather to get to Rahab, this woman He knew longed to know Him.

The situation here is similar to that in John 4:4 where we are told that Jesus, “had to go through Samaria.” Jesus didn’t have to take the Samaritan road because it was the only road to Galilee; it was not. Usually another way was taken. No, He had to take that road because there was a seeker, a lonely woman thirsty for God, residing there. And so Jesus entered Samaria to save that woman and the rest of her village who would respond to His message.

In a similar way these two spies were sent to Jericho to save Rahab. This is why they had to go to Jericho.

  1. Rahab Chose to Change Her Future

Think of it. Rahab had nothing going for her, humanly speaking. She didn’t deserve to know God.  She was a gentile-a foreigner to the covenant between God and the Hebrew people.

She was an Amorite, part of a corrupt and vile nation that had been marked for destruction, people who sacrificed children in their depraved religious practices.

She was a prostitute, someone who made their living by breaking God’s law.

Yet when she decided to change and reached out to God, in His amazing grace our Holy God reached back and not only saved her but used her life in a powerful way! After the literal fall of Jericho, Rahab was taken back to live with the people of Israel. She married a Jewish man named Salmon whom tradition says was one of those two spies, this is the romance aspect of this story, and together they had a son named Boaz. Boaz was the husband of Ruth and the father of Obed which would make him Rahab’s grandson. And Obed was the father of Jesse, who was her great grandson. And Jesse was the father of David-yes, the King David-who was her great, great grandson. And not only that, but as Matthew Chapter 1 reminds us, out of the line and lineage of David and his great great grandma, came Jesus, the Christ, the only Son of God.

So in His amazing grace God used Rahab, in spite of her sin. She’s a perfect example of the principle of grace that we find in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 where Paul says,

“God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; .and the base things of the world and the things which are despised. “

So, Rahab’s life shows that we don’t receive God’s gift because we deserve it. We aren’t given eternal, abundant life because of what we do, but because of our faith in what He has done we are saved because of our faith in His grace, His power.

Do you remember the secret code that the spies gave Rahab to prevent her home from destruction when the city fell? She was to hang a scarlet chord out her window, and if she did her life would be spared. In my mind this is a symbol of the fact that we too are saved from destruction by our faith in the crimson blood of Jesus. As 1 John 1:7 says, “The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.”

The same message is issued to all of us here today. Perhaps your past is not as difficult as hers, maybe you think your sin is somehow different. In God’s eyes it is the same. Sin is sin and forgiveness is forgiveness and he offers it to all who will receive it. Do you have the courage to change?

Darrell

www.Upwards.Church

Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/watch-now/leander-campus-videos

Watch Messages: YouTube-Upwards Church

Facebook: Upwards Church

Sources:

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary – History, (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, 2003), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 23-28.

The Faith of Rahab – John MacArthur

Redland Resources – Mark Adams

Posted in Courage Over Fear (Joshua) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment