Title: The Faith of Rahab the Prostitute
Contents
Today I am going to tell you about the story of Rahab, a prostitute from Jericho, who was saved.
The text we read and the entire 2nd chapter focus all our focus on one Rahab and her family. Ladies and gentlemen, the book of Joshua covers a very large and expansive subject. The land of Canaan, promised to Abraham by God's people, Israel 500 years ago, was promised 500 years ago as slaves in Egypt for 430 years. And the power of God is almighty. This is such a great drama.
But, in the course of recording this important historical event, why did he devote an entire chapter to the life of one man, Rahab, who was also a prostitute in Jericho? There is a message to look carefully at the circumstances that this Rahab had and the characteristics of the faith that Rahab had.
God wants to tell you what the situation is for the people He will save. He wants to show what kind of faith the person who receives God's grace and is saved has. Today we will look at Rahab's situation. This was our past situation when we came to God. And it is the situation of 53 people we will evangelize right now. Let's see what kind of faith Rahab had. When we have this faith, we look forward to how God will restore our lives.
First, Rahab earnestly seeks God in a situation where she cannot but perish.
Rahab lives in Jericho. Jericho is destined to be the first to be destroyed in the entire land of Canaan. In verse 1, Joshua sends spies to Jericho. Go and search the land secretly, especially Jericho! So, Jericho is the first target point to be conquered. Now Joshua's army is west of the Jordan River. The first city on the east side of the river is Jericho.
However, the spies sneak into the city of Jericho and enter the house of the prostitute Rahab. Rahab's house was right in front of the walls of Jericho, and this was not by chance, it meant that God had chosen her and had a plan to save her. The people of Jericho knew they were going to perish. Look at the 8 verses. Rahab meets the spies, and the three of them talk to each other in an emergency. Rahab speaks of how fearful the people of Jericho are.
To what extent were the people of Jericho afraid? In verses 8 to 10, it is said that they had a cool conversation. In the English Bible, there is the word melting, which means that the heart melted like ice cream in the summer. In verse 10, Jericho is the land west of the Jordan, and I heard the news of how God destroyed the two kingdoms east of the Jordan. God who destroyed the two kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og! The word annihilation is a scary word. Herem or kerem is annihilation. Theologically, the Canaanite War is the Herem War.
That is, it is a war that will completely destroy all things, whether they are humans or animals, that belong to the land of Canaan. That ruin is the end of the war, leaving nothing behind. Destruction By destroying the city, the city is fully dedicated to Jehovah God, the commander of the war. In ancient times, when two countries went to war, if one surrenders, life is spared, but if the country resists to the end and loses, the country kills all people regardless of gender and age and burns the castle. To symbolically proclaim the message to other countries. If you resist this kingdom, you will be exterminated like this! Fear creeps into the sky.
Ladies and gentlemen, there is this herem between God who is light and the power of the devil who is darkness. God has great pity on this land. Some say Where is the proof that Jesus is coming again? It is a world where humans go to the moon when they say the world is going to perish! Ok. But the Bible says. There is one reason why God does not end this earth right now, because He does not want the chosen ones to believe in Jesus and not be destroyed.
Do you know what our condition was before we met God?
We were in a place of enmity with God. It is the same with the people of Jericho. If we had rejected the gospel in our hearts, and if we hadn't believed in Jesus now, we would have destruction on our heads. However, just as in Jericho, you and I came to have that faith someday or not long ago, just as you had such a heart that I should hold on to God by showing grace to Rahab, the only person in Jericho. The same faith as Rahab was created in us.
And now he has entrusted us with the mission of saving souls trapped in destruction.
Save your soul and make disciples! Bring this commandment out of the darkness, the souls of slavery in Egypt into the light! this is evangelism However, in our spiritual warfare, our adversary, the devil, is not standing still when one soul comes to God. By all means and methods, it prevents the soul from going out into the light.
The devil permeates the thoughts, emotions, greed, and values of a person who does not know God and thoroughly controls a soul. However, when we go to save that soul in the name of Jesus and the power of the cross, the powers of the devil that are oppressing him will tremble in this fear. Even just hearing the name of Jesus makes the devil goofy and loses his mind. So believers are like soldiers, so let's follow the Lord who has gone before! all the foes