Rahab

Rev. Todd R. Lattig

HEROES OF THE FAITH • Sermon • Submitted 9 months ago • Presented 9 months ago

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Sometimes we are to be bold to fulfill God’s purpose despite our challenges and circumstances.

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Transcript

Handout

Scripture Passage

Joshua 2:1–14 (NLT)

1 Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night. 2 But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.” 4 Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” 6 (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) 7 So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut. 8 Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. 9 “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. 10 For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. 11 No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. 12 “Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that 13 when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.” 14 “We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety,” the men agreed. “If you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when the Lord gives us the land.”

Focus Statement

Sometimes we are to be bold to fulfill God’s purpose despite our challenges and circumstances.

Point of Relation

When I was a pastor at my previous appointment a challenge presented itself...

Well it was really more than a challenge…it was potentially a REAL PROBLEM for us...

Back in 1975, when the congregation Iserved merged with another area congregation...

The other congregation closed its doors and the building was sold to the town for $1.

From that point on it was used by the town as a municipal court and jail...

That is until the town disbanded its police force and relied on State Police patrol.

For years, with no police force or purpose for the building…the building empty and left to fall into disrepair…even though still under town management.

Of course, when the repair bills mounted and the costs became high…guess what happened...

If you guessed that the town DECIDED TO, in a letter, tell the church that the property was the chiurch’s since the town no longer uses it..

and that all the repairs were on the church...

Well, that was obviously not cool…and I could not believe that a town…the leaders of our very community…would do that to the church.

As such, I found myself for the first time standing before a town council...

voicing my disappointment at the town’s actions...

and reminding everyone there....

for they had stated that they had the legal right to do what they were doing...

That what was LEGAL was NOT necessarily THE SAME as what IS RIGHT!

That was risky, because that could have created enemies of some people in the very town I was serving.

That is not a good thing for any pastor...

But I took the risk on behalf of my church …because my people didn’t deserve that treatment...

And, as a representative of God, I would stand with them for what was right.

I also did that for the community as a whole for if a township is willing to be crooked with a church...

Just imagine what it is willing to do toward its residents should the opportunity arise.

What I did was far bolder than I normally am...

But you know what…GOD is BOLD through us! Amen?

Things to Consider

Let’s quickly explore what scriptural boldness is.

In scripture, boldness is not simply an individual attribute or act

but rather something given and enabled by God.

So to be bold by God’s power, is to be humble in our own power.

We as a congregation have seen this and know this to be true.

Look at the boldness of our congregation during the pandemic.

We all were out of our depths in that…yet together, through the powerful grace of God, we got stuff done!

Evie went from not knowing how to operate even her flip phone...

to organizing and recording our Kid’s Rock videos...

That came out of relying on GOD’s POWER…as opposed to her own…and our Children are blessed for it!

Our church created an entirely online community during the pandemic...

not sure if we could pull it off...

but trusting that God would pull it off...

AND GOD DID!!! I still go back and watch some of those services from the pandemic era! #Craziness...

Starting off with a team of a few people…myself, Kathleen, and Christie during the earliest part of it…then Henry…then…of course...

That period would not have bene possible but for us humbling ourselves,

recognizing our own limitations, and trusting in God’s limitless possibilities.

What Scripture Says

Let me give you a little background:

Moses has died, and Joshua is now leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.

Joshua sent spies from his army to investigate the city before the battle of Jericho.

Rahab is instrumental in God’s mission of entering into the Promised Land.

When we read Rahab’s words, we may be struck by the fear her people have of the Israelites (verses 8-11).

Rahab lifts up that she and her people have heard about the Israelites trip through the Red Sea...

And also that they have been pretty merciless in the past with those their enemies during their 40 year trek through the Wilderness.

Rahab mentions, specifically Sihon and Og...

Two kings that refused to allow the Israelites to pass through their countries...

But instead marched out to war against them.

Against both kings, their sons and their armies…NO SURVIVORS WERE LEFT.

So, here come these very ISRAELITES...

And their kings are no doubt not going to turn their city over to these Israelites...

who are now claiming the land to be their own.

So, what does this mean for Rahab or her country people? What is to become of her city of Jericho…

or her…let’s not forget her occupation…a Prostitute (an occupation we may even misunderstand when we say it in english)

In Hebrew her name is Ishah Zonah…literally meaning prostitute woman...

and the Zonah in her name may even indicate that she was a cultic prostitute…which the Canaanite religion instituted...

But that is disputed.

The first century historian, Flavius Josephus, who also recorded the historical existence of Jesus, recorded that Rahab was an innkeeper...

and Inns in the ancient world also doubled as brothels…

so that does not necessarily discount the claim that she was a prostitute.

Regardless, what would become of poor Rahab and her people?

She was no more than just a person caught up in something far bigger than herself...

As a woman, she had less of a lot than the men in her patriarchal society...

especially since her place was outside the traditional family structure...

What would become of them...

Would they be NO MORE…like the Amorites after they were led by Sihon and Og to their doom against these violent and warring people?

You may be shocked, but you can actually FEEL, VISCERALLY, the fear that Rahab has towards these spies and their people.

So, again, what does this mean for RAHAB and her fellow Caananites?

God includes who God will in God’s story with humanity.

Again, Jospehus’ record as well as some Midrasnhic interpretations suggest Rahab was an innkeeper.

And the author of Joshua records her as being an prostitute...

Whether she was an innkeeper, a prostitute, or both,

as a financially independent woman,

Rahab went against the expectations of women in her time.1

As Kimberly Russaw brings up in her book Revisiting Rahab,

she would have been viewed as a threat to the order of society

because she subconsciously threatened the patriarchal idea

that men had complete control over women’s bodies.2

Importantly to the story,

Rahab was also an outsider to Israel.

She would not have been expected to play such a critical role in God’s plan.

Furthermore, it was not typical to name women in genealogies.

Yet, in the genealogy of Jesus,

Rahab… I REPEAT..Rahab...is mentioned along with other women heroes of faith (Matthew 1:5).

Don’t believe me, I will read it for you in

Matthew 1:5 NLT

5 Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse.

What does this say about how God works and with whom God works?

How does God break through expectations and uphold those who are marginalized?

Throughout the Scriptures we see this time and time and time again.

1 Kimberly D. Russaw, Revisiting Rahab (Nashville, TN: General Board of Higher Education & Ministry, The United Methodist Church, 2021) 38.

2 Ibid, 13.

God invites us to be bold.

Rahab is bold and lies about hiding the spies.

Her boldness is seen in her hiding the spies and making a request of the spies to save her household.

Let me ask you this, if this were Jericho…if the USA were Jericho…

how would Rahab’s actions be viewed by her own people?

What she is doing is BOLD…because there are ZERO GUARANTEES for her in all regards.

First, Rahab cooperates with the military enemies of her city

who were spying on her people.

And she also negotiates with Joshua’s spies to save her life and that of her family.

So often we think of right and wrong as clearcut…as black and white...choices;

yet, Rahab shows that context and discernment are key to decision-making.

So let me ask you this...

What are the bold things we are called to do?

You may say to yourself, well, I have know clue what I am being called to do.

I am sure that is a question Corrie ten Boom, had she been afforded to live in different times and circumstances, might have asked.

But she was not afforded that.

No, Corrie was a Dutch watchmakerr who risked EVERYTHING

along with her family…her father, sister and other family members...

to aide many Jewish people to escape from Nazi Germany.

Corrie and her family were later caught and she was arrested and sent to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp.

She was not released until after both her sister and her father had died in prison…she was never to see them again.

Corrie’s most famous book, The Hiding Place, is an autobiography that recounts her family's efforts

and how she found and shared hope in God while she was imprisoned at the concentration camp.

3. FINALLY, as people of faith,

are we being attentive to the working of God in the world?

Rahab states, “The LORD your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below.”

This may have been an unexpected testimony from a woman and a foreigner.

We may view this as a surprise, but God does not see this as a surprise at all.

We ask, “Can anything good come out of Jericho?” …just like Nathan asked in regard to Jesus “if anything good could come from Nazareth.”

FRIENDS...

God is continually doing a new unexpected thing.

What This Means for You

The world may assign certain labels to you and you may even do this to yourself.

Yet, do not underestimate what God can do in and through you to take bold steps to serve God’s purposes.

What are the decisions before you or your family this week to be bold…

to be an agent for God’s purposes?

Even if you are new to the faith and/or new to this congregation...

God has a purpose for you too…

and you need not wait until you are PERFECTED in order to boldly discover it!

Here’s an easy way for those seasoned or newbies alike to tell what their purpose is in any situation:

In the name of Jesus Christ, ask yourself these three vital questions;

Is what I am choosing life-giving for myself and for others?

Am I doing what is right and good?

Am I doing what is most living…what will bring about good fruit?

If you ask yourself those questions,

you will rarely find yourself steering far from where Christ would like you.

What This Mean for Us

As a congregation, where are we being called to live out our boldness for Christ?

What bold decisions are before us, and how do we faithfully make them?

Remember, it only takes a spark to light the proverbial fire.

The question is…are you ready to start striking the flint?

Are you ready to commit to being a part of this faith COMMUNITY...

TO GO ALL IN

Just as Rahab did...

FOR THE GLORY OF GO?

If so, let us march onward carrying the cross of Christ as HE, our Lord and Savior, goes on before!

He has prepared the way...

LET’S GET GOIN’!

Amen? Amen!

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