1 00:00:14,119 --> 00:00:17,359 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast. 2 00:00:18,379 --> 00:00:24,100 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,100 --> 00:00:27,339 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:35,219 --> 00:00:54,079 If you get your Bibles, we are in Joshua chapter 2 tonight. I heard Jesse did a 5 00:00:54,079 --> 00:00:57,539 too young to be John. Must have been Jesse. 6 00:01:02,439 --> 00:01:14,219 All right. Let's pray. Lord, just thank you for, thank you for these midweek, 7 00:01:15,899 --> 00:01:24,900 midweek Bible studies. They just pause from work, pause from life, and just look to you 8 00:01:24,900 --> 00:01:31,359 and hear from your word and look in passages that sometimes we don't 9 00:01:31,359 --> 00:01:35,840 typically spend time in. So God, I just pray that your spirit would lead tonight, 10 00:01:36,180 --> 00:01:41,260 that you would lead me as I teach, and that you would just open all our hearts 11 00:01:41,260 --> 00:01:49,840 and eyes to see something impactful tonight, something that we can take and 12 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:57,439 apply to our lives or help us to see your character more tonight and to just be 13 00:01:57,439 --> 00:02:01,439 more in love with you tonight. We just thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. 14 00:02:01,439 --> 00:02:13,580 All right. Joshua chapter 2. I'm gonna read the first, gonna break it up into a few 15 00:02:13,580 --> 00:02:20,259 sections. First one is, first seven verses we'll read here. And Joshua the son of 16 00:02:20,259 --> 00:02:29,120 Nun sent two men secretly from Shaddam as spies, saying, Go view the land, especially 17 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:34,620 Jericho. And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was 18 00:02:34,620 --> 00:02:41,000 Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told to the king of Jericho, Behold, men of 19 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:45,580 Israel have come here tonight to search out the land. Then the king of 20 00:02:45,580 --> 00:02:50,840 Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, Bring out the men who have come to you, who 21 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:55,000 entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land. But the 22 00:02:55,000 --> 00:03:00,479 woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, True, the men came to 23 00:03:00,479 --> 00:03:05,280 me, but I didn't know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be 24 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:10,479 closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue 25 00:03:10,479 --> 00:03:14,960 them quickly, for you will overtake them. But she had brought them up to the 26 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:20,379 roof and hid them with the socks of flax that she had laid in order on the 27 00:03:20,379 --> 00:03:26,419 roof. So the men pursued after them on the way to Jordan, as far as the 28 00:03:26,419 --> 00:03:31,280 fords, and the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out. 29 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:41,840 We, Tara and I were just in Florida. We had a little babymoon, which was very 30 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:46,219 nice to be. We love Maria, our daughter, but it was really nice to have a 31 00:03:46,419 --> 00:03:54,539 couple days without her. And I got back, though, and my mother-in-law said to me, 32 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:59,360 she watched her for four days, and she said, Boy, does she ask a lot of 33 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:05,719 questions. I ask a lot of questions. And so apparently that gene has passed down. 34 00:04:06,419 --> 00:04:11,520 But one of the questions I had when I was reading this was, Joshua, why are you 35 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:17,959 sending out more spies? Like, we just read chapter one last week, and he again 36 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:23,500 reminds him, I'm gonna give you this land. It's yours. Where your feet go, that's 37 00:04:23,500 --> 00:04:30,800 yours, I promised. And we've seen countless, countless armies destroyed and defeated, 38 00:04:31,500 --> 00:04:38,480 by Joshua even, without them even having to lift a finger sometimes. And so I'm 39 00:04:38,569 --> 00:04:43,810 sitting here reading, and I'm going, Joshua, why are you sending out spies? 40 00:04:44,269 --> 00:04:51,509 Why do you even feel the need to do that? But I think as I was trying to decide 41 00:04:51,509 --> 00:04:57,829 the answer to that question, the more I was realizing that this isn't Joshua 42 00:04:59,410 --> 00:05:06,250 distrusting, but rather him acting in his gifting and in his skill set. Moses 43 00:05:06,250 --> 00:05:12,189 was a shepherd, and so when he was leading the people, he led in a manner that a 44 00:05:12,189 --> 00:05:18,290 shepherd would lead. Well, Joshua, if you don't know his background, was a spy. And 45 00:05:18,290 --> 00:05:22,589 so he's gonna lead in the manner that a spy would lead. So he sends out these 46 00:05:22,589 --> 00:05:29,769 two men to go forth. In fact, Joshua was the one 38 years prior to this in 47 00:05:29,769 --> 00:05:34,970 Numbers chapter 11 that was the spy doing this exact same duty, going out 48 00:05:34,970 --> 00:05:39,449 and spying out the land, figuring out what does our enemy look like? What does 49 00:05:39,449 --> 00:05:45,389 our promised land look like? What's there? And if you know that story, you know 50 00:05:45,389 --> 00:05:51,410 that it didn't turn out super well. That was 38 years ago, and they've been 51 00:05:51,410 --> 00:05:57,930 wandering ever since, because Moses sent out 12 men, one from each tribe, 52 00:05:57,930 --> 00:06:04,569 including Joshua and including Caleb. I almost said Jacob. I was like, no, not 53 00:06:04,569 --> 00:06:12,550 Jacob. Caleb and Joshua were two of the men, but he sent them out in not secrecy, 54 00:06:13,350 --> 00:06:16,649 but everybody knew that these spies were going out, and they were actually 55 00:06:16,649 --> 00:06:20,589 going to come back and give a report of the land and of what the people 56 00:06:20,589 --> 00:06:27,250 looked like. And when those men came back, it didn't end in, hoorah, let's 57 00:06:27,250 --> 00:06:33,129 go and take this land. It ended in disunity and frustration and eventually 58 00:06:33,129 --> 00:06:40,089 rebellion. And the only two spies that said no, we can have faith and trust that 59 00:06:40,089 --> 00:06:47,910 God will defeat these people for us was Joshua and Caleb. So he learned from that, 60 00:06:48,110 --> 00:06:53,829 from the mistake of Moses, and over the next 38 years, probably of becoming a 61 00:06:53,829 --> 00:07:00,709 very good spy, he knew that, one, I needed to do this in secrecy. That's kind of like 62 00:07:00,709 --> 00:07:05,149 the whole point of spies. I don't know, Moses didn't understand that, I think, but 63 00:07:05,149 --> 00:07:12,470 spies are supposed to be covert, and so it says that he sent two men secretly. So 64 00:07:12,470 --> 00:07:19,050 he sends them out, not proclaiming to everyone that they're going, and then he 65 00:07:19,050 --> 00:07:24,110 does not ask them to come back and proclaim to everybody what the land looks 66 00:07:24,110 --> 00:07:29,709 like, what the people look like. He heaps that to himself, because he knows that he 67 00:07:29,709 --> 00:07:33,189 can already trust the Lord, and he has faith that the Lord is going to defeat 68 00:07:33,189 --> 00:07:37,829 these people on the other side of the river for them. So that answers the first 69 00:07:37,829 --> 00:07:41,129 question. Maybe you didn't have that question, but that was one that I had. 70 00:07:41,589 --> 00:07:49,029 The second question I had, as I was reading this, as I read verse two, or 71 00:07:49,029 --> 00:07:54,649 so they go out, and it says that they found themselves in the house of a 72 00:07:54,649 --> 00:08:01,170 prostitute. Well, that had me with another strange question. Why did these two men 73 00:08:01,170 --> 00:08:05,790 find themselves in the house of a prostitute? And in fact, I feel like this 74 00:08:05,790 --> 00:08:19,009 is a passage, and Rahab is a person that we can quickly read and go, there's a 75 00:08:19,009 --> 00:08:25,149 real quick, but I think that would be obviously doing disservice to it, because 76 00:08:25,149 --> 00:08:32,070 she's in here for a reason, and she's in the New Testament for a reason. So why are 77 00:08:32,070 --> 00:08:37,169 they in the house of a prostitute? Well, let's start by putting their objective 78 00:08:37,169 --> 00:08:41,009 into the foreground of our minds real quick. They have the job of getting 79 00:08:41,009 --> 00:08:48,090 access and intelligence. Later in verse 15, it tells us that Rahab's 80 00:08:48,090 --> 00:08:56,549 house was inside the wall of Jericho. There's their access. I gave them a quick 81 00:08:56,549 --> 00:09:07,070 getaway if things went wrong. This is also a place where strange men often visit, so 82 00:09:07,070 --> 00:09:12,929 it wouldn't be alarming to see two strangers walking into her home. No one 83 00:09:12,929 --> 00:09:20,389 would ask any questions or be surprised if they saw these two strangers. So they 84 00:09:20,389 --> 00:09:26,149 have their exit, and they have discretion. And finally, the most pivotal part of 85 00:09:26,149 --> 00:09:31,610 their objective, information gathering. Perhaps this is no surprise to you, but 86 00:09:31,610 --> 00:09:38,570 the home of a prostitute is a place where information flows freely. In verse 87 00:09:38,570 --> 00:09:46,610 two, it even indicates that the king knew who Rahab was. He sends to Rahab, 88 00:09:48,410 --> 00:09:53,250 bring out the men who have come to you who entered your house, for they have come 89 00:09:53,250 --> 00:09:58,669 to search out all the land. It doesn't tell us that they had to search and 90 00:09:58,669 --> 00:10:05,230 figure out who's prostitute or which home they were in. They knew exactly where 91 00:10:05,230 --> 00:10:10,149 they were, and they knew who Rahab was, apparently. This is a home that 92 00:10:10,149 --> 00:10:18,110 information went into. These men strategically thought out who they were 93 00:10:18,110 --> 00:10:23,250 going to lodge with that evening. It wasn't just two men looking for 94 00:10:23,250 --> 00:10:29,389 something to do that night. In fact, they were doing their due diligence as spies, 95 00:10:29,389 --> 00:10:35,769 and they were finding the place that gave them access and information. Tara and I 96 00:10:35,769 --> 00:10:41,990 watched a night agent. Have you guys seen that show? We watched that recently, and so 97 00:10:41,990 --> 00:10:46,590 all my mind was thinking about was covert ops. I was like, okay, that's not 98 00:10:46,590 --> 00:10:51,269 necessarily what this passage is about, but that's certainly what these men's 99 00:10:51,269 --> 00:10:57,669 lives were about, though. So that clears up question number two, at least. They 100 00:10:57,669 --> 00:11:01,730 weren't looking for sin, but rather access and intelligence, and they 101 00:11:01,730 --> 00:11:06,669 strategically found the person in Jericho who could give them both, and that's in 102 00:11:06,669 --> 00:11:13,929 the home of Rahab. And then verse two and three, and it was told the king of 103 00:11:13,929 --> 00:11:19,049 Jericho to the king of Jericho, behold men of Israel have come here tonight to 104 00:11:19,049 --> 00:11:24,129 search out the land. Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab saying, bring out 105 00:11:24,129 --> 00:11:27,470 the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come 106 00:11:27,470 --> 00:11:33,029 to search out all the land. But the woman had taken the two men and hidden 107 00:11:33,029 --> 00:11:38,950 them, and she said, true, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were 108 00:11:38,950 --> 00:11:44,529 from. So even though they came in to try and be covert and secret, apparently 109 00:11:44,529 --> 00:11:52,230 this city is on like high red alert or strangers, and they are made known 110 00:11:52,230 --> 00:12:04,429 pretty rapidly, it seems. And this is a part, however, where we get to see the 111 00:12:04,429 --> 00:12:10,830 character of Rahab, the character of someone that we would assume is not very 112 00:12:10,830 --> 00:12:17,669 good, character, because her last name apparently is prostitute. That was a joke. 113 00:12:19,990 --> 00:12:30,950 But rather we see a character of faith. When they came to her, she told them, they 114 00:12:30,950 --> 00:12:42,149 came to me, but, let me see where I, sorry, verse four, but the woman had taken the 115 00:12:42,149 --> 00:12:49,269 two men and hidden them, and she said, true, the men came to me, but I did not 116 00:12:49,269 --> 00:12:53,590 know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the 117 00:12:53,590 --> 00:12:58,110 men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you 118 00:12:58,110 --> 00:13:05,230 will overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with 119 00:13:05,230 --> 00:13:10,210 the stalks of flax that she laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued 120 00:13:10,210 --> 00:13:14,350 after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the Fords, and the gate was shut 121 00:13:14,350 --> 00:13:22,210 as soon as the pursuers had gone out. She hid them, and in this moment her faith 122 00:13:22,210 --> 00:13:27,370 is revealed. See, there's this thing about faith. Nobody knows you have it 123 00:13:27,370 --> 00:13:34,570 until you do something that reveals it. We just talked a lot about faith in 124 00:13:34,669 --> 00:13:42,090 the book of Hebrews, and we know that Rahab is a woman of faith because one, it's 125 00:13:42,090 --> 00:13:46,529 being displayed in this story, but two, it's talked about in that book in Hebrews 126 00:13:46,529 --> 00:13:52,750 chapter 11. Chris taught about this probably three months ago now in what 127 00:13:52,750 --> 00:13:58,610 we would call the Hall of Faith, and in that section of Scripture there are all 128 00:13:58,610 --> 00:14:06,909 these names of great people of faith, and there's two women listed. Sarah, the wife 129 00:14:06,909 --> 00:14:13,470 of Abraham, and Rahab the prostitute. It's in verse 31 of chapter 11 where it 130 00:14:13,470 --> 00:14:21,429 says, by faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient 131 00:14:22,090 --> 00:14:30,269 because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. By her faith she was saved. 132 00:14:31,250 --> 00:14:37,429 She was a woman of faith. We see it right here if we read on in verse 8. 133 00:14:39,049 --> 00:14:44,049 Before the men lay down she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, 134 00:14:44,049 --> 00:14:51,830 I know that the Lord has given you the land. Let me read that again. I know that 135 00:14:51,830 --> 00:14:59,090 the Lord has given you the land and that the fear of you has fallen upon us and 136 00:14:59,970 --> 00:15:05,830 that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you, for we have heard 137 00:15:05,830 --> 00:15:11,370 how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of 138 00:15:11,370 --> 00:15:16,389 Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the 139 00:15:16,389 --> 00:15:22,950 Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you've devoted to destruction. And as soon as we 140 00:15:22,950 --> 00:15:28,750 heard it our hearts melted and there was no spirit left in any man because of 141 00:15:28,750 --> 00:15:35,850 you. For the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth 142 00:15:35,850 --> 00:15:42,710 beneath. Now then please swear to me by the Lord that I have dealt kindly with 143 00:15:42,710 --> 00:15:48,649 you. You also will deal kindly with my father's house and give me a sure sign 144 00:15:48,649 --> 00:15:55,730 that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all 145 00:15:55,730 --> 00:16:01,809 who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death. And the men said to 146 00:16:01,809 --> 00:16:08,850 her, our life for yours even to death. If you do not tell this business of ours, 147 00:16:09,250 --> 00:16:14,870 then when the Lord gives us the land, we will deal kindly and faithfully with you. 148 00:16:17,049 --> 00:16:24,029 Her faith is evident here. I just want to emphasize two verses. Number nine at the 149 00:16:24,029 --> 00:16:31,549 end there, I know that the Lord has given you the land. And then over to 150 00:16:31,549 --> 00:16:39,990 number eleven, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the 151 00:16:39,990 --> 00:16:46,570 earth beneath. Sounds like a statement of faith if I've ever heard one, isn't it? 152 00:16:56,070 --> 00:17:01,690 Nobody knows you have faith until you do something that reveals it. And here we 153 00:17:01,690 --> 00:17:08,029 see that she does something to reveal it. She hides these men. She protects them. 154 00:17:08,970 --> 00:17:13,670 And in all honesty, she was being really, really, really smart. Because if she 155 00:17:13,670 --> 00:17:19,710 believes what she just said, which is that the Lord had given them the land and 156 00:17:20,529 --> 00:17:29,970 that they were about to be conquered and destroyed, then she knows that if she 157 00:17:29,970 --> 00:17:34,890 gives these men up, there'll be no report that goes back to Joshua, because 158 00:17:34,890 --> 00:17:41,910 these men will probably be executed. And in a matter of days or weeks or months, 159 00:17:41,910 --> 00:17:46,509 she doesn't know, but she knows at some point that Israelites will come, they'll 160 00:17:46,509 --> 00:17:52,869 march, they'll defeat, and she'll be wiped out. But if she does hide them and help 161 00:17:52,869 --> 00:18:04,349 them, then she could get caught. Whoever came to ask where these men were, whether 162 00:18:04,349 --> 00:18:09,650 that's guards or soldiers, could have said, we don't believe you, we're gonna 163 00:18:09,650 --> 00:18:13,730 search your house. And they could have gone upstairs and found the men. I've 164 00:18:13,730 --> 00:18:18,930 never looked through long grass is what stocks are, but I can imagine it's not 165 00:18:18,930 --> 00:18:27,329 that hard to find somebody. But they didn't. But she could have lost her life 166 00:18:27,329 --> 00:18:33,450 that day. And her whole family would have probably been executed as well, 167 00:18:33,450 --> 00:18:41,250 along with the two spies. But again, she already knew that everyone was gonna die. 168 00:18:41,930 --> 00:18:47,789 So it was a risk, but it was a risk she was willing to take. Because in her mind, 169 00:18:48,009 --> 00:18:56,990 it's die today or die in a few weeks by the hands of the Israelites. Or their God 170 00:18:56,990 --> 00:19:03,869 shows me favor right now with my actions, and I don't have to die at all. And that, 171 00:19:04,569 --> 00:19:08,809 as we continue to read, sorry to spoil it, is what happens in the next chapter. 172 00:19:12,369 --> 00:19:16,470 Sorry. There should be no spoilers in this group, because you guys read your 173 00:19:16,549 --> 00:19:29,049 Bibles. So she used wisdom, and she decided, I would rather risk my life and 174 00:19:29,049 --> 00:19:35,349 the life of my family right now for the hope that the God that I am saying is 175 00:19:35,349 --> 00:19:44,809 the Lord. He is the God of earth. He is the God of heavens. It's not little G in 176 00:19:44,809 --> 00:19:53,170 my Bible. It's big old capital G. She is saying, I know he's God. I grew up in the 177 00:19:53,170 --> 00:19:59,250 Canaanite family where we served hundreds of Gods. I'm talking about rehab, 178 00:19:59,490 --> 00:20:07,690 not me. I'm from America. But I know, and I trust, and I'm putting my faith that 179 00:20:07,690 --> 00:20:16,390 your God, he's real, and he is the God, and he's the only rescue that I have. And 180 00:20:16,390 --> 00:20:22,309 these men, being faithful children of God, they honor her faith and agree to spare 181 00:20:22,309 --> 00:20:22,950 her. 182 00:20:28,329 --> 00:20:37,589 And I just want to say to a backstory of Rahab, is that because she's living in 183 00:20:38,149 --> 00:20:47,829 as a Canaanite woman and a prostitute, this isn't, this is not a career path that 184 00:20:47,829 --> 00:20:53,890 she probably thought, you know, I think I'll be a prostitute. Now back in this 185 00:20:53,890 --> 00:21:02,210 time, she was probably forced to become a prostitute by her father so that they 186 00:21:02,210 --> 00:21:08,589 could have a living, so that they could feed the family. And so this is probably 187 00:21:08,589 --> 00:21:22,029 a life of agony and pain and sorrow and abuse. And I say that because I think it's 188 00:21:22,029 --> 00:21:29,710 easy, again, to read Rahab and read prostitute and just kind of skirt right 189 00:21:29,710 --> 00:21:36,329 past it, but I think it's important to realize that she's a lot more relatable to 190 00:21:36,329 --> 00:21:43,309 us than we think. Not saying that you've been abused in the way that Rahab perhaps 191 00:21:43,309 --> 00:21:53,329 was, but we all come into this world and experience pain and hurt and our own 192 00:21:53,329 --> 00:22:02,589 traumas. And like Rahab though, we have a good, good father that wants to rescue us 193 00:22:02,589 --> 00:22:13,250 and wants to save us. So let's keep reading verse 15. Then she let them down 194 00:22:13,250 --> 00:22:19,049 by a rope through the window for her house was built into the city wall so 195 00:22:19,049 --> 00:22:24,869 that she lived in the wall. And she said to them, go into the hills where the 196 00:22:24,869 --> 00:22:30,089 pursuers will encounter you and hide there three days until the pursuers have 197 00:22:30,089 --> 00:22:37,430 returned. Then afterward you may go your way. The men said to her, we will be 198 00:22:37,430 --> 00:22:41,890 guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. 199 00:22:42,890 --> 00:22:48,289 Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the 200 00:22:48,289 --> 00:22:55,069 window through which you let us down and you shall gather into your house, your 201 00:22:55,069 --> 00:22:59,369 father and your mother, your brothers and your father's household, all your 202 00:22:59,369 --> 00:23:03,930 father's household. Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the 203 00:23:03,930 --> 00:23:08,990 street, his blood shall be on his own head and we shall be guiltless. But if 204 00:23:08,990 --> 00:23:15,970 a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, this blood shall be on 205 00:23:15,970 --> 00:23:23,750 our head. But if you tell us, if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be 206 00:23:23,750 --> 00:23:28,589 guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear. And she said, 207 00:23:29,049 --> 00:23:35,109 according to your words so be it. Then she sent them away and they departed and 208 00:23:35,109 --> 00:23:45,029 she tied the scarlet cord in the window. I just want to zoom in on verse 18. 209 00:23:46,450 --> 00:23:54,250 Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window. 210 00:23:59,470 --> 00:24:05,769 We will save you if, if you tie this scarlet rope in the window. Why an if? 211 00:24:06,490 --> 00:24:15,950 Maybe more importantly, why a scarlet cord? Scarlet being the same color as crimson 212 00:24:15,950 --> 00:24:30,769 or the same color as blood reminds us of what happened in Egypt when the plagues 213 00:24:30,769 --> 00:24:37,529 were going on and the the final plague, the firstborns of every household would 214 00:24:37,529 --> 00:24:44,470 be taken. But God said to his people, to his children, if you put the blood of a 215 00:24:44,470 --> 00:24:55,269 lamb on the door post, the angel will pass over your home. That's where we get 216 00:24:55,269 --> 00:24:58,569 the celebration of the Passover. I was just looking, there was a pamphlet up 217 00:24:58,569 --> 00:25:05,490 here. We have a Passover celebration coming up, Sunday, March 15th. I don't know 218 00:25:05,490 --> 00:25:09,609 if I was supposed to announce that, it was just sitting here, but now you guys know. 219 00:25:12,670 --> 00:25:19,150 So I think it's very, I don't know if they thought it through and intended for 220 00:25:19,150 --> 00:25:25,490 it to be a scarlet cord or if by God's divine intervention there just happened 221 00:25:25,490 --> 00:25:31,670 to be a scarlet cord sitting there and they said grab that cord and when you put 222 00:25:31,670 --> 00:25:41,869 it in the window, we'll know. But we know the significance. This is something I heard 223 00:25:41,869 --> 00:25:50,309 this pastor teach on this and I had never heard this before, but if you're 224 00:25:50,309 --> 00:25:54,809 into colors and how to make colors, then maybe you know this already, but back 225 00:25:54,809 --> 00:26:02,829 then to make the color red or crimson, there was a little worm that they would 226 00:26:02,829 --> 00:26:08,609 squish and it was just full of blood and so you'd squish it and the blood would 227 00:26:08,609 --> 00:26:14,430 just gush out and that's what they used to make the color red. It in Hebrew is 228 00:26:14,430 --> 00:26:24,789 the same word for red. Very random. Why am I telling you this? I don't really 229 00:26:25,589 --> 00:26:34,349 that what saves us is the blood, the crimson red blood. When that is at our door 230 00:26:34,349 --> 00:26:41,769 post or when that is hanging from our window, the judgment passes over because 231 00:26:41,769 --> 00:26:50,250 that's the blood of Jesus. All of this is a picture of what's coming through 232 00:26:50,250 --> 00:26:55,950 Jesus. Even in this story of rehab the prostitute, we get to see a picture of 233 00:26:55,950 --> 00:27:03,190 the coming Jesus. So here she is asked to put her faith in action and what does 234 00:27:03,190 --> 00:27:13,750 she do? Verse 21, she said, according to your words so be it. Then she sent them 235 00:27:13,750 --> 00:27:21,130 away and they departed. This is the best part. She tied the scarlet cord in the 236 00:27:21,130 --> 00:27:26,730 window. She didn't wait. She didn't wait till the next day or the next week. She 237 00:27:26,730 --> 00:27:30,450 did it right away. I don't know if your parents said this or some of you are a 238 00:27:30,450 --> 00:27:35,109 little bit older than me, only by a couple years, but my mom used to always 239 00:27:35,109 --> 00:27:42,390 say this to me, obey today and watch it pay. Any of you parents say that? No? 240 00:27:42,390 --> 00:27:48,230 Alright, just my mom apparently. I haven't said it to Maria yet but give her two 241 00:27:48,230 --> 00:27:55,569 more years and then I'll be saying it to her. Obey today and watch it pay. Rehab 242 00:27:55,569 --> 00:28:00,490 understood that. I'm gonna obey right away. I'm not gonna hesitate. I'm not 243 00:28:00,490 --> 00:28:07,309 gonna spend any time thinking about this, which is the neat thing about this 244 00:28:07,309 --> 00:28:17,329 too is that her home, as we read earlier, is in the wall. Soldiers left. That means 245 00:28:17,329 --> 00:28:22,250 they still had to come back and they might see this scarlet cord hanging in 246 00:28:22,250 --> 00:28:26,750 the window and who knows what that could have meant. Maybe they could have 247 00:28:26,750 --> 00:28:30,150 caught on and been like, hey get that out of the window. We've got soldiers 248 00:28:30,150 --> 00:28:36,230 coming. But she did not care. She wanted to obey right away. She showed 249 00:28:36,230 --> 00:28:44,049 that I have faith even though I don't see my rescue coming yet. She's just 250 00:28:44,049 --> 00:28:48,569 trusting that they're gonna come back. She's trusting that they're not gonna 251 00:28:48,569 --> 00:28:54,829 just destroy her family. She's having immense faith in the people of God and 252 00:28:55,630 --> 00:29:01,410 in verse 22, they departed and went into the hills and remained there three days 253 00:29:01,410 --> 00:29:08,329 until the pursuers returned. And their pursuers searched all along the way and 254 00:29:08,329 --> 00:29:14,430 found nothing and the two men returned. They came down from the hills and 255 00:29:14,430 --> 00:29:20,349 passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun and they told him all that had 256 00:29:20,349 --> 00:29:26,829 happened to them and they said to Joshua, truly the Lord has given all the land 257 00:29:26,829 --> 00:29:32,390 into our hands and also all the inhabitants of the land melt away because 258 00:29:32,390 --> 00:29:45,589 of us. I wrote down in my notes a sentence, a big idea as I called it. The 259 00:29:45,589 --> 00:29:51,750 one point everything was attempting to lead to. The one sentence God said, this 260 00:29:51,750 --> 00:29:57,349 is what I want you to see and this is why I wrote down. We receive God's 261 00:29:57,349 --> 00:30:03,849 inheritance when we walk in faith. That will make a little bit more sense when 262 00:30:03,849 --> 00:30:10,390 I continue. But in chapter 1 of Joshua in verse 3, I just want to read. It says 263 00:30:10,390 --> 00:30:18,029 this, every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to 264 00:30:18,029 --> 00:30:29,869 you just as I promised to Moses. That is a promise verse, a promise of land being 265 00:30:29,869 --> 00:30:40,130 inherited from God. But God specifically said, whatever your foot will tread on, 266 00:30:40,750 --> 00:30:51,450 the land that you step on, meaning you can't inherit what you do not go 267 00:30:51,450 --> 00:30:59,490 and possess. We can't inherit something if we never go and take hold of it. They 268 00:30:59,490 --> 00:31:04,269 could have climbed a mountain, made a city, looked out onto their beautiful 269 00:31:04,269 --> 00:31:12,170 inherited land and thought, wow, isn't it so beautiful what God gave us? And then 270 00:31:12,170 --> 00:31:17,390 continue to just live there on that mountain, dying while looking out onto 271 00:31:17,390 --> 00:31:25,410 the beautiful promised land without ever getting to feel it, taste it, touch it, 272 00:31:25,529 --> 00:31:30,450 walk in it. Now that probably sounds absurd, doesn't it? Like they're literally 273 00:31:30,450 --> 00:31:42,089 right there, why would they do that? They had to act, Ryan, they had to act. Yeah, 274 00:31:42,730 --> 00:31:48,710 we'll read James later, there's a good one in there. It sounds crazy for them to do 275 00:31:48,710 --> 00:31:56,170 that, yet that is how so many Christians live. God has given us amazing promises 276 00:31:57,150 --> 00:32:02,690 and some of us are just looking from a distance in awe of how good God is, but 277 00:32:02,690 --> 00:32:09,809 we never run into the land and capture it and walk in the promises ourselves. We 278 00:32:09,809 --> 00:32:19,109 just talk about our faith, but we never display it in our actions. When we talk 279 00:32:19,109 --> 00:32:25,329 about it from their perspective, it seems silly, but so many of us do that all 280 00:32:25,329 --> 00:32:33,490 the time. The goodness of the Lord, isn't it just amazing? But life is hard, man, and 281 00:32:34,329 --> 00:32:42,109 so I'm just kind of stuck in this sin. But why? God has something better and He 282 00:32:42,109 --> 00:32:49,650 wants you to step in it, to walk in it, to experience it. The amazing part about 283 00:32:49,650 --> 00:32:55,710 the story of Rahab. In other passages of Scripture, we see that women, whenever 284 00:32:55,710 --> 00:33:02,190 they took over land, are captured, women and children are taken into the people of 285 00:33:02,190 --> 00:33:07,130 Israel, but you never really hear much of their stories, much of their lives. You 286 00:33:07,130 --> 00:33:12,650 don't know if that means their lives got better or if their lives got much 287 00:33:12,650 --> 00:33:18,309 worse. Hardship fell or blessing fell, you don't really know, but with Rahab we 288 00:33:18,309 --> 00:33:23,670 see something different. We see her surrender to them and act in faithful 289 00:33:23,670 --> 00:33:32,029 obedience and then she actually later marries one of these men. She has 290 00:33:32,029 --> 00:33:44,789 children with him. She was taken into the family, not made a slave or a servant, 291 00:33:44,789 --> 00:33:56,369 not a laborer, but a child of God through her faith. And as we continue to read in 292 00:33:56,369 --> 00:34:02,529 the Old Testament, her name is forgotten. But then we get to the New Testament. I 293 00:34:02,529 --> 00:34:06,869 mentioned earlier she's talked about in Hebrews, but did you know she's talked 294 00:34:06,869 --> 00:34:16,809 about before Hebrews in Matthew chapter 1, reading the genealogy of Jesus right 295 00:34:16,809 --> 00:34:30,050 there, Rahab. Yes, we'll cover it when we break out into a discussion group, Brian. 296 00:34:30,850 --> 00:34:39,769 But keep thinking because it's incredible. You're reading the genealogy of the 297 00:34:39,769 --> 00:34:48,690 perfect child of God and right there towards the top is Rahab the prostitute. 298 00:34:51,510 --> 00:34:59,090 When we obey, when we have faith in God, we are brought into his inheritance, not 299 00:34:59,090 --> 00:35:04,690 as servants, but as children. That's what it tells us in Hebrews. We receive God's 300 00:35:04,690 --> 00:35:12,510 inheritance when we act in faith. What way is God saying to you, hanging the 301 00:35:12,510 --> 00:35:16,929 crimson cord? If you're from Alabama, that means something completely different. 302 00:35:17,610 --> 00:35:28,150 It's not what we're talking about. In what way is he asking you to trust him, to 303 00:35:28,150 --> 00:35:37,230 rescue you? Trust him when all the walls are crumbling around you. Will you have 304 00:35:37,230 --> 00:35:48,710 faith? Will you trust that he's coming to rescue you? Have faith in me. Tell your 305 00:35:48,710 --> 00:35:52,630 co-workers about me. Go talk to that neighbor that is lonely. 306 00:35:53,470 --> 00:36:01,349 Stop taking shortcuts in your work. Start walking in joy. Faith is seen in what we 307 00:36:01,349 --> 00:36:09,190 do and how we live. There's just one more verse I'll close this with. One verse that 308 00:36:09,190 --> 00:36:22,110 compels us to live with faith like Rahab. It's found in Ephesians chapter 2. In 309 00:36:22,110 --> 00:36:29,130 faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so that 310 00:36:29,130 --> 00:36:38,150 no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do 311 00:36:38,150 --> 00:36:50,070 good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. The Israelites had a river 312 00:36:50,070 --> 00:36:55,150 between them and their promised land and it was only a matter of time before they 313 00:36:55,150 --> 00:37:03,230 went over and possessed it. God's given you promises. God has given you an 314 00:37:03,230 --> 00:37:09,929 inheritance. Will you be brave enough, have faith enough to cross over whatever 315 00:37:09,929 --> 00:37:19,269 Jordan is in between you and that inheritance? He has planned out good works 316 00:37:19,269 --> 00:37:25,349 for all of us to do. Small works, big works, all kinds of works, but it's gonna 317 00:37:25,349 --> 00:37:30,909 take faith to walk them out. Amen? Alright, let's pray. Thank you Lord for 318 00:37:30,909 --> 00:37:39,829 your word. Thank you for, thank you for Rahab. Thank you for this obscure scene 319 00:37:39,829 --> 00:37:51,550 of redemption, of hope, of faith. God help us to have faith like Rahab when everybody 320 00:37:51,550 --> 00:38:05,590 is afraid. She acts in faith. Lord we, we have plenty opportunity to be afraid, but 321 00:38:05,590 --> 00:38:11,230 God I just ask that you would help us, strengthen us, to walk instead in courage and in faith. 322 00:38:12,570 --> 00:38:20,469 Amen. Alright, we're gonna break into groups and hopefully you've got a little sheet. 323 00:38:23,690 --> 00:38:30,110 There's a few questions on here. We don't have to answer all of them. They were more 324 00:38:30,110 --> 00:38:38,190 intended to just kind of jot down thoughts as we went through the passage, but if you 325 00:38:38,190 --> 00:38:41,530 wrote something down, if you brought a pen and you wrote something under one of those, 326 00:38:42,389 --> 00:38:51,590 just be willing to share that in whatever group you end up in. And then whoever's kind 327 00:38:51,590 --> 00:38:57,110 of leading whatever group you're in, if there isn't a lot of things to talk about in 328 00:38:57,219 --> 00:39:02,579 our first four questions, you can focus on the last three, which is what principles can 329 00:39:02,579 --> 00:39:07,880 we learn from the spies? What principles can we learn from Rahab? And what does this story 330 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:17,739 tell us of God's character? Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God 331 00:39:17,739 --> 00:39:23,440 and discuss His word. Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings at 10 332 00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:28,320 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. Be blessed and have a great day!