THE CHOICE OF THE PROSTITUTE
JOSHUA 2:1-24
INTRODUCTION
TELLING OF THE STORY IN JOSHUA 2:1-24
1. Be dramatic
2. Be funny
3. Be complete
I. WHO IS RAHAB? à THE PROFILE OF A LOST PERSON
A. Rahab is described as a prostitute living in the walled city of Jericho. She most likely
was the owner of a hotel / brothel and this is how the spies came into her house.
1) We would consider Rahab a person of low moral standards. Her business is
expressly condemned in Scripture and her life was filled with sin.
a. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 condemns prostitution as wicked and mentions
that they will not inherit the kingdom of God.
b. Prostitution is the only sin mentioned: sexually immoral, idolaters,
adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, liars, or cheats. None of these
will be welcomed into Heaven.
c. We must understand that our sin separates us from God and we need a
Savior to pay the price because we cannot.
2) We would also think that Rahab, being a prostitute, would not have a spiritual
bone in her body and would never think about eternity or the things of God. Yet
she does.
B. Rahab was a citizen of the city of Jericho.
1) Jericho is one of the oldest cities in the world. Some of the earliest findings of
archeologists place buildings and other items at 7000 BC. This means that
Jericho was a very old town with lots of history.
2) This most likely meant that she worshipped an idol most of her life, most
likely the sun and moon. Jericho was not a city filled with God-fearing people,
but rather wanted to seek out and destroy the people of God.
C. I think Rahab is a perfect picture of the lost person in our world today.
1) People we might seek to share the Gospel with might have already thought a
lot about God and spirituality. They may have many questions about God and
will want to know where to go to find the answers.
a. Some people who are lost may have found something else to take the
place of the Truth in their lives. It might be another religion. It might be a
charismatic person.
b. Some people who are lost may not have had the opportunity to meet a
genuine Christian with a powerful message of faith… who are God’s
messengers to them.
2) I also think that the spiritually seeking person may be following some kind of
idol and be lost because of it. Money, success, family, addictions, entertainment,
etc all can lead a person away from God and His desires. They are citizens of this
world and do not have in mind the life God has for them.
3) * I have prepared a small handout in the welcome center if you would like one.
It is a chapter from the book Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary by
Lee Strobel. I think you would benefit from this read. *
II. THE INSIGHT OF RAHAB IN 2:9-11 à CONFESSION OF FAITH
A. Matthew 16:13-20: The disciple Peter confesses, “You are the Christ, the Son of the
Living God.” This was not something Peter just said, but Jesus says this was revealed to
him by God from Heaven.
B. John 1:49: The disciple Nathanael declares Jesus to be “the Son of God; [you are] the
king of Israel.”
C. John 11:27: Martha answers Jesus, “Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the
Son of God, who has come into the world.”
D. John 20:28: Thomas exclaims after seeing Jesus’ hands and feet, “My Lord and My
God!” Thomas confesses not only did He believe that Jesus was the Savior, but that He
was God in the flesh.
E. Verse 11: “For the Lord your God is God in Heaven above and on the earth below.”
This was Rahab’s confession of faith. This was not just something she said flippantly,
but believed it. Like Peter, this must have been revealed to her by God and she must
have opened her heart to Him.
1) Rahab is confessing that the God if Israel is supreme in Heaven and on Earth.
This meant that she knew idols to be false and that there was only One God.
2) In the context of the verse, she also believes that the will of God will be done
in Heaven and on Earth and that the Israelites were His people. She cites miracles
and victories that are ascribed to God.
III. WHAT DID SHE DO? à FAITH IN ACTION
A. Rahab was faced with a decision. She knew that these men were Israelites and that
they most likely were spying out the land. This was confirmed when the king sent
messengers to her looking for them. What would she do?
B. She knew that these Israelites were a powerful people and that they had a powerful God working for them. She had heard about the Red Sea… they could definitely take over Jericho with that kind of power. What would she do?
1) She could turn in the spies and gain the king’s favor. Not only that, if the
spies did not return home, this might discourage these Israelites from attacking the city.
2) She could do nothing. She could ignore all the information she had and allow it to play out. The men might get caught or they might not, she would not be involved in any way.
3) She could help these two men. She could hide them on her roof in the stalks of flax and mislead the search parties. She could then instruct the spies how to evade the king’s men and save them.
C. What she did has been called faith in action. Hebrews 11:31 singles out this woman
Rahab and commends her for this faith (verse 39). She is described as a person of faith who helped the spies and saved her entire family.
1) This required faith in God and in the word of those men she was helping.
2) This required a considerable and enormous change in her life. Her city would
be destroyed and she would become part of the people of Israel. No more idols.
No more selling of her body.
3) We know this happened because Matthew 1:5 records this woman as an
ancestor of Jesus Christ!
ILLUSTRATION… Faith in Action (p)
CONCLUSION
The result is a saved life. Not only that, but the lives of her whole family were saved. I mentioned 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. This passage not only talks about some sins that are condemned, but also speaks about being washed clean and sanctified by Jesus Christ.
