Sermon Notes:
Sermon Series: It’s Not Too Late:
Sermon #2: It’s Not Too Late for Rahab:
Scripture Ref: Joshua 2: 1-15
‘& Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim, two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. & they went & came into an harlot’s house, named RAHAB, & lodged there. 2. & it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came in hither tonight of the children of Israel to search out the country. 3. & the king of Jericho sent unto RAHAB, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house, for they be come to search out all the country. 4. & the woman took the two men, & hid them, & said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not who they were. 5: & it came to pass about the time of shutting the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I would not know: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 6. But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, & hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. 7. & the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: & as soon as they which pursued after them had gone out, they shut the gate. 8. & before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 9. & she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, & that your terror is fallen upon us, & that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea for you, when you came out of Egypt, & what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side of Jordan, Sihon & Og, whom ye utterly destroyed, 11. & as soon as we had 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, & in earth beneath. 12. Now therefore I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have showed you kindness, that ye also show kindness unto my father’s house, & give me a true token. 13. & that ye save alive my father, & my mother, & my brethren, & my sisters, & all that they have, & deliver our lives from death. 14. & the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. & it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly & truly with thee. 15. & she let them down by a cord through a window, for her house was upon the town wall, & she dwelt upon the wall.’
Introduction:
IT’S NOT TOO LATE: Praise the LORD!
We SERVE this morning an OMNIPOTENT GOD with whom ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE.
Ephesians 3:20 ‘Unto HIM that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…’
Bigger than all my problems, Bigger than all my fears,
GOD is bigger than any mountain, I can or cannot see
Bigger than all my questions, Bigger than anything
GOD is bigger than any mountain, that I can or cannot see.
Our GOD is MORE than a TALKING & DECLARING GOD, Our GOD is a DOING GOD.
There is NO IMPOSSIBLE CIRCUMSTANCE too far gone, that GOD cannot CHANGE.
There is NO PROBLEM too big that GOD cannot SOLVE.
There is NO SICKNESS that GOD cannot HEAL.
There is NO PRAYER that GOD cannot ANSWER.
There is NO SINNER too lost in their sin that GOD cannot SAVE.
There is NO BACKSLIDER too far from GOD that GOD cannot RESTORE.
There is NO MARRIAGE that GOD cannot PUT BACK TOGETHER.
All the king’s horses & all the king’s men could not put HUMPTY DUMPTY back together again, somebody should have CALLED UPON GOD.
I’m GLAD GOD doesn’t GIVE UP just because SOME PEOPLE GIVE UP!
GOD has CHANGED countless SITUATIONS & CIRCUMSTANCES & PREDICAMENTS & PEOPLE that were LONG AGO GIVEN UP ON by people.
There are SOME PEOPLE who because of their PARTICULAR SINS & their PARTICULAR LIFESTYLE & their DEGRADED STATE we find it so EASY to GIVE UP on them. We LISTEN TOO MUCH to the DEVIL when he tells us, “Why there’s NO NEED to PRAY for them. There’s NO NEED to VISIT them. There’s NO NEED to WITNESS to them. You’ll NEVER SEE them CHANGE.”
I’m persuaded to believe that there are many people who are in their SITUATION, their CIRCUMSTANCES, & their SINS but they’re NOT AT ALL --- TOTALLY HAPPY there. They would love to TRADE PLACES with people who are DIFFERENT FROM THEM but they don’t know WHERE TO BEGIN.
We’re looking at a person in the BIBLE this morning that so many people thought was HOPELESS. So many people thought it was TOO LATE for her.
This morning we’re taking a look at RAHAB.
RAHAB was a HARLOT. We’re told that her place of BUSINESS was well situated.
Verse #15: ‘her house was on the city wall.’
One day she is VISITED by 2 STRANGERS. We are told they were SPIES sent by JOSHUA the LEADER of the ISRAELITES to SPY out the land of JERICHO.
The SPIES wanted to be as INCONSPICIOUS as possible & as SAFE as possible, so they found a place where STRANGERS would go, the LOCAL BETHROAL, RAHAB’S HOUSE, in order to look as INCONSPICOUS as possible.
However, SOMEBODY saw them go into RAHAB’S HOUSE & REPORTED it to the KING that we have 2 JEWISH MEN gone into RAHAB, the HARLOT’S house.
RAHAB hides them on her ROOF & she says to the KING’S MEN:
‘Oh you just missed them. They left about 5 minutes ago but if you hurry you might catch them.’
So she SENDS THEM AWAY who were trying to SEEK OUT these men & then goes up to the ROOF TOP to where she has HIDDEN the 2 SPIES from ISRAEL, & she says to them,
Verse #9: ‘I KNOW that the LORD has given you the land’
So the reason I hid you upon my ROOF is because, the LORD, your GOD is the GOD of HEAVEN & of EARTH
Verse #12: she says:
‘Now therefore, please swear to me, by the LORD, since I have dealt KINDLY with you; that you will also deal KINDLY with me & my father’s household. & give me a pledge & spare my father & my mother & my brothers & my sisters & all who belong to them & deliver our lives from this death.’
She is saying:
In other words: ‘We KNOW we’re fixing to get DESTROYED & I want to be DELIVERED.’
The word “KINDLY” is an INTERESTING word.
She said: ‘Will you deal KINDLY with me.’
In the HEBREW the word KINDLY means:
‘LOYAL LOVE --& it referred to GOD’S COVENANT COVERING.
RAHAB SENSED that these 2 MEN had the COVERING – the ANOINTING of JEHOVAH GOD.
She knew that they had been SENT BY GOD & that a LOYAL LOVE belongs to the GOD they served. So she says to the men, ‘I WANT GOD’S LOYAL COVERING of HIS LOVE upon me & my family for I have STEPPED OUT by FAITH.
Hebrews 6:10 ‘GOD is not unrighteous to forget your work & your labor of love, which you have showed toward HIS name…’
GOD REMEMBERS WHAT WE HAVE DONE:
Joshua 6:17 ‘The city shall be under the man, & it & all that belongs to the LORD, only RAHAB, the HARLOT, & all who are with her in the house, shall live, because she hid the messengers we sent.
Joshua 6:25 ‘However, RAHAB, the HARLOT, & her father’s household & all she had, JOSHUA spared & she had lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she had hid the messengers, whom JOSHUA sent to spy out JERICHO.
The BEAUTY of ASSOCIATION with GOD’S KINGDOM PURPOSES is that when STUFF COLLAPSES AROUND YOU–GOD CAN STILL TAKE CARE of us.
Because we are in HIS WILL & we’re NOT COLLAPSING with the PEOPLE or the CULTURE around us. WE’RE NOT COLLAPSING:
•That is WHY GOD CAN TAKE CARE of us in the MIDST of a WICKED WORLD.
•That is WHY GOD CAN TAKE CARE of OUR NEEDS & OUR JOBS when the ECONOMY of the WORLD is in TROUBLE. GOD FED the PROPHET ELIJAH by ROUTE of a BIRD.
•That is WHY GOD CAN TAKE CARE of OUR HOUSEHOLDS, & OUR FAMILIES & OUR MARRIAGES when MOST HOMES & MOST MARRIAGES are FALLING APART..
•That is WHY GOD CAN SPARE OUR SHIPS on the STORMY SEAS WHEN ALL OTHER SHIPS are SINKING.
•BECAUSE we’re NOT WALKING LIKE the WORLD.
•We’re NOT FOLLOWING the CROWD:
•We’re FOLLOWING the KINGDOM of GOD. GOD’S WILL. & GOD’S PURPOSES.
But RAHAB’S STORY does NOT END with the O T SCRIPTURES:
Her NAME is REPEATED OFTEN in the N T SCRIPTURES.
So EVIDENTLY there is SOMETHING GOD wants us to LEARN about RAHAB.
------------------------------------------------------whether she is MENTIONED in the O T or in the N T: mentioned 9 times
GOD DOESN’T DROP HER TITLE:
It is always RAHAB the HARLOT.
GOD DOESN’T go around REFERRING to MOSES, as MOSES the MURDERER when HE speaks of GREAT FAITH.
GOD DOESN’T go around REFERRING to ABRAHAM as ABRAHAM the LIAR, when HE speaks of GREAT FAITH.
GOD doesn’t do that in Hebrews chapter 11:
However, when it comes to RAHAB, GOD says, ‘RAHAB the HARLOT.’
It is like GOD DOES NOT WANT US to FORGET this WOMAN who made her MONEY by CHARGING MEN for SEX.
But the QUESTION is “WHY” – “WHY” does GOD keep on TITLING this woman throughout the SCRIPTURES as ‘RAHAB the HARLOT.’
Rather than just saying ‘RAHAB’ & LEAVING it at that.
WHY DOES GOD want us to KNOW this is the WOMAN of the O. T. WHO was of ILL REPUTE?
It is BECAUSE ------ GOD wants us to KNOW through her ILLUSTRATION --that OUR PAST ----- DOES NOT HAVE TO ----- CONTROL OUR FUTURE!
I imagine that RAHAB had given up any HOPE of ever TURNING HER LIFE AROUND but GOD had OTHER IDEAS. HE can turn SHAME into GLORY in ONE SHINING MOMENT of REDEMPTION.
GOD wants us to KNOW that NO MATTER ----- HOW WRETCHED OUR PAST may be
{ I mean you DON’T GET ANY LOWER than SELLING YOUR BODY to MAN after MAN & to STRANGER after STRANGER, DAY after DAY---WEEK after WEEK-----MONTH after MONTH – YEAR after YEAR
That is just about AS LOW as ONE CAN GO!
But this has been PLACED in Hebrews 11: next to MOSES & ABRAHAM & SARAH
She is PLACED next to NOAH & ENOCH & ABEL
& GOD tells us WHAT SHE WAS ---so that we TODAY
Who have HAD some BAD PASTS ---- WRETCHED PASTS ---NEGATIVE PASTS --- EVIL PASTS
GOD wants us to KNOW –if we GET OUR STUFF TOGETHER ----- WITH HIM
GOD can take our YESTERDAYS & make them BETTER TOMORROWS.
Because --- IT IS NOT TOO LATE!
She did NOT HAVE a RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND.
She did NOT HAVE a GODLY HUSBAND.
All she DID HAVE was a SHAMEFUL PAST –
BUT when she CONNECTED HER PURPOSES to GOD’S PURPOSES
That was TIED to these 2 SPIES
THEN – ALL of that WHICH was AT WORK AGAINST HER
GOT TURNED AROUND
& she BECAME a NEW CREATION in GOD.
II Corinthians 5:17 ‘Therefore if any man be in CHRIST, he is a new creature, old things have passed away & behold all things have become new.’
When RAHAB CONNECTED HER PURPOSE to GOD’S PURPOSE her WHOLE LIFE was CHANGED, MADE NEW & not ONLY was she DELIVERED but her WHOLE FAMILY was DELIVERED.
So REGARDLESS of WHAT OUR PAST IS:
REGARDLESS of HOW BAD the SITUATION, CIRCUMSTANCE, PREDICAMENT, PROBLEM --- IS
IT IS NOT TOO LATE!!
IT IS NOT TOO LATE!
IT IS NOT TOO LATE!
The woman found in Joshua chapter 2 is also the woman found in Hebrews chapter 11
GOD KNOWS HOW to TAKE LEMONS & MAKE LEMONADE from them.
GOD KNOWS HOW to TAKE a MESS, a STORM, a BATTLE, a TRIAL, a VALLEY, &
& TURN IT INTO a GLORIOUS MIRACLE that GIVES HIM GLORY & HONOR & PRAISE!
So GOD KEEPS THAT TAG --- so that we KNOW – GOD CAN TURN a LIFE AROUND.
But that’s NOT ALL:
Let us go to Matthew chapter 1:
I love this:
Look at Verse #5:
‘& SALMON was the father of BOAZ by RAHAB,
then BOAZ was the father of OBED by RUTH
then OBED was the father of JESSE
Verse #6:
& then JESSE was the father of DAVID.
We’re told in Joshua 6:25
‘& JOSHUA saved the harlot, RAHAB, alive, & her father’s household, & all that she had, & she dwells in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which JOSHUA sent to spy out JERICHO.’
RAHAB & all her family were DIVINELY DELIVERED from the BATTLE of JERICHO & they were taken to the land of ISRAEL to live.
RAHAB has a NEW FAMILY,
RAHAB is HANGING OUT on a DIFFERENT STREET CORNER.
She is NOW HANGING OUT with the PEOPLE of GOD.
A MAN named SALMON sees RAHAB & FALLS in LOVE with her & MARRIES HER.
SALMON is believed to be 1 of the 2 SPIES that RAHAB HID on her ROOF.
They have a SON named BOAZ.
BOAZ sees RUTH in the FIELDS GLEANING the GRAIN & falls in love with her.
They have a SON named OBED
OBED fathers JESSE
& JESSE fathers DAVID. RAHAB becomes GREAT- GREAT GRANDMOTHER of KING DAVID.
JESUS was BORN from the HOUSEHOLD of DAVID:
That shows us that NOT ONLY does GOD CHANGE what appears to be HOPELESS PEOPLE
GOD also USES THEM for HIS GLORY & HIS HONOR.
CLOSING POINT:
Perhaps the BEST POINT of all:
Joshua 2:17-19
‘& the men said unto her, We will be blameless on this thine oath which thou has made us swear. Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou did let us down by. & thou shalt bring thy father & thy mother & thy brethren & thy sisters & all thy father’s household home unto thee. & it shall be that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the streets, his blood shall be upon his own head & we will be guiltless. & whosoever shall be within the house, his blood shall be upon our head, if any hand be upon him.’
The CORD of SCARLET THREAD:
There was already this SCARLET CORD in RAHAB’S HOUSE.
RED LIGHT DISTRICT. It was a SYMBOL of her TRADE. When men saw the RED CORD hanging they knew there was a HARLOT to be found there.
But the SPIES told her to HANG the CORD this time NOT for men to SEE but for GOD to SEE.
When GOD sees it, it is a CONFESSION of RAHAB’S SINS:
Here is the MESSAGE for us today.
When we HANG our SINS before GOD--- then GOD SENDS FORTH HIS MERCY & HIS GRACE.
Isaiah 1: 18 ‘Come now & let us reason together, says the LORD, though your sins be as SCARLET they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’
Song:
There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from IMMANUEL’S veins
& sinners plunge beneath its flood, lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains
Lose all their guilty stains
& sinner plunge beneath its flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
