Joshua 2

 Read Joshua 2

Who? Rahab and the spies sent by Joshua 

What? Rahab hides the spies and makes a deal for her families safety because of her faith

Where? Jericho

When?  As the Israelites are preparing to enter the Promised Land

Why? The Israelites are being obedient to God.  God has sent these spies because He has chosen Rahab to be His own.  

How?  God uses the spies to bring Rahab and her family to safety because of her faith.

A few notes for this chapter:

• The spies enter a prostitute’s home because of the likelihood of anonymity and its proximity to the gates of the city.
• Canaan is made up of city-states, each having its own king, hence, the King of Jericho.
• Rahab’s faith leads her to action.  Is her lie justified?  No.  A lie is still a lie and therefore a sin.  But God can forgive all sin when one comes to Him in faith as Rahab does.  The point is that she saved the spies because she chose the side of God and Israel.  
• Flax was stacked on the flat roofs to dry out so that it could be used to make linen.
• All the people of the Promised Land knew what was happening.  They had heard what God had done in Egypt.  The question is how they react - with submissive faith like Rahab or rebellion like the king of Jericho.  
• Rahab has heard about God and what He has done.  She believes in Him even though she doesn’t know much.  She acts on what she does know.  This is saving faith.  This is God’s grace to even the worst sinners.
• Rahab is seeking deliverance from the wrath of God (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
• Jericho had two walls with houses built between them and into one or both walls.  These are houses for the poor and the outcasts.
• Rahab’s faith encourages and kindles the faith of the spies.
• The scarlet cord is like the blood of the Passover lamb, making sure that those inside are spared.  It is also like the blood of Jesus, saving us by grace through faith.
• A few scriptures to explore about saving faith:  Hebrews 11:24-31, James 2:19-26, and 1 John 2: 3-6
• Saving faith is active faith, leading to righteous behavior
• God’s grace is available to all, no matter their past.  It is freely available and cannot be earned.
• God changes sinners to saints - new creations in Christ

Questions:

1.) How does Rahab’s story show that God did indeed want to bless all people through the nation of Israel, even before the coming of the Messiah? Cf. Genesis 12:3, Hebrews 11:31, James 2:18-36, Matthew 1:1-6; What saved Rahab?

Her faith saved her.  God has intended to bless the world through the offspring of Abraham from the beginning of time.  Rahab is blessed because of the people of Israel because she is introduced to God by how He interacts with Israel and how they respond to Him.  Without this, she would have perhaps never known about God.   Instead, this prostitute, this Gentile sinner, finds faith and forgiveness.  She is made new and even grafted into the lineage of Jesus, Himself.  She marries Salmon and becomes the mother of Boaz, the great-great grandmother of King David.  The Israelites show God to the nations, giving them the chance to have faith.  This brings the elect to God.

2.) Could other citizens of Jericho have been saved?  Why were they not?  

The short answer is, yes, they could have been saved if they had faith and believed.  The longer answer has to do with the elect and God’s choice of who to give faith to and who not to bring to faith.  (We won’t go into the doctrine of election here.  A few resources to help - John 6:44, also, on the G3 app or website, under conference archives, look at the Salvation conference.  Josh Buice has a sermon on election there that may be helpful.)