If you will turn with me in your Bibles to Joshua, Joshua chapter 2, the book of Joshua follows Deuteronomy and comes right before Judges. Joshua chapter 2, we're going to read the whole chapter, considering the story of Rahab and the spies. This is the very word of God. Then Joshua, son of Nun, secretly sent two spies from Shittim. Go look over the land, he said, especially Jericho. So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. The king of Jericho was told, look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land. So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab. Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land. But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them. But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof. So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan. And as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. Before the spies laid down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted, and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and my sisters and all who belong to them and that you will save us from death. Our lives for your lives, the men assured her. If you don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land. So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. Now she had said to them, Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way. The men said to her, This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us, unless when we enter the land you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down. and unless you have brought your father and your mother, your brothers and all your family, into your house. If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head. We will not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath that you made us swear. Agreed, she replied. Let it be as you say. So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window. When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river, and came to Joshua, son of Nun, and told him everything that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, the Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands. All the people are melting in fear because of us. Thus far the reading of God's word, may he bless it to us. I like watching some of these political talk shows from time to time. You know the kind where they have four experts and they all scream at each other for a half hour. And you can hardly tell what they say, just that they all have an opinion. And I can't remember who was involved, but I remember watching an episode of one of these programs where some kind of politician had been caught in a scandal. And he'd held a press conference after the scandal, and he was sort of trying to explain that he hadn't really done anything wrong and was trying to justify his actions. And I remember he closed with, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And so they showed the clip of this press conference, and then they cut back to the studio, and you could see that all these cynical journalists were sort of smiling. And I remember that the first guy that said anything said, you know, my dad always told me that if you stay out of the wrong place, you won't get caught there at the wrong time. And I don't remember the scandal, I don't remember who was involved, but I remember the line. If you stay out of the wrong place, you won't get caught there at the wrong time. And as we look at this chapter of Joshua, as we read these first three verses, it sure looks like they've been caught the wrong place at the wrong time. it looks like it's going to read like a cautionary tale. Now, you know what a cautionary tale is. If you were here this morning, we talked about how the history of Israel at times is a cautionary tale. This is what happens when you disobey the Lord. Okay, boys and girls, if you're still not sure what a cautionary tale is, the boy who cried wolf is a cautionary tale. It's a cautionary tale that if you don't tell the truth and you keep lying, then when you tell the truth, no one's going to believe you. It's a cautionary tale. It warns you. It gives you a caution. And at first, it looks like this is the kind of story we're going to have, a cautionary tale of disobedience leading to punishment. Because look just at the first three verses of our chapter. Because we know this story so well, we may have a tendency just to skip ahead because we know what's coming. But it's written in a very interesting way. Joshua sends spies into the land. He tells them to go secretly and spy out this land that's across the Jordan. Jericho is one of the oldest fortified cities we know of. Thousands of years before Joshua and the Israelites arrived, this was a fortified city. And back in these days of warfare, there was no way to take a fortified city. There was hardly any way to knock down the wall. Your only hope was either to go over the wall, to tunnel under the wall, or to get in by some kind of trick. You may remember how the Trojans defeated the wall, or how the Trojans were defeated. My history is bad. Right? They built a Trojan horse and they hid inside. And when they brought the horse into the city, then the men jumped out. That's how they beat the walls that they couldn't get over, under, or through. And so it was normal to send spies out to take a look and see how might this fortified city be taken. And Joshua says, go do this in secret. Well, what do we read? These spies, they go into Jericho, and they stay there. And what's worse, they stay at the house of a prostitute. We find out that somebody tells the king of Jericho exactly what they're doing there. Because someone has come and told them we have Israelites in the city. They're here to spy out the land. And they even know where they're staying. so the king seems like he's pretty crafty he seems to have waited until the city gates are shut the men are trapped inside and then he says go send to rahab and tell her to bring out the men that are there this looks like it's going to read like another israelite cautionary tale of disobedience leading to judgment because what would we expect to have happen if a city inhabitant was told that there are spies here trying to figure out how we're going to get defeated. You'd expect her to turn them over to the city authorities. You'd expect them to be given over without any kind of struggle. But that's not what happens. And I think this story is so interesting because it completely sets up to be told as a cautionary tale. Joshua sends the spies from Shittim, we're told. Now we heard this morning about that plague that destroyed 23,000 Israelites because of sexual immorality with Midianite women. That took place at Shittim. This was the very spot where they prostituted themselves to the Baal Peor. You'll remember the story. It's the story of when they were sexually immoral with the Midianite women and they were doing it outside the camp and this plague struck them. And they were weeping at the tent of meeting because of what had happened. And here comes one of the chiefs of Israel parading a Moabite woman right through the middle of the camp. Do you remember Phineas? He takes up the spear and he chases them down and kills them in their tent. He shows zeal for the Lord. And the plague ends. This is where the plague happened. This is where they were prostituting themselves with Moab. And now spies go out from this city. And where do they go? To a house of prostitution. And we have, it says, they stayed there. Well, that verb in Hebrew is a little flexible. It really means laid down. It's the same word you find when we're told in the Bible that Adam laid with his wife and she conceived and bore a son. Now, it can mean laid down, but it can also have sort of sexual overtones. So if you were an Israelite reading this, you may well have the same reaction. You read this. What are they doing in a house of prostitution? What are they doing here? surely this woman's going to give them up they're going to be taken off and what's usually done with spies is they're going to be killed and this will be yet another example of Israel's unfaithfulness leading to judgment but that's not what happens this isn't a cautionary tale this is a story of an unexpected salvation an unexpected salvation of Rahab an unexpected salvation by Rahab it becomes clear that this passage is not about the Israelites it's about Rahab it's about what God is doing for Rahab God saves her and why does God save her well in the first place he saves her because she saves God's people because how does she respond when the king asks where are they she said well they were here but you just missed them they snuck out right before you closed the gate I didn't know what they were here for. I just know that they were here. And I know that if you run after them, you can catch them. So not only does she lie to them, but she provides an excellent cover for them. And it's clear that she knows who they are because she had the presence of mind to hide them before she responded to the king's messenger. Now, we don't know that. That's how they build up the tension in the story, right? We don't know that they've been hidden. And then in verse 4, when she goes down, we're told, but the women had taken the two men. And hidden them. And you may then again ask the question, just like you asked, what are they doing in this house? You might ask the question, what is she doing? What is she doing helping these men? Some of you remember being in Holland during the time of Nazi occupation. And there were people who were loyal to Holland, and there were people that collaborated with the Germans. And I can only imagine what you must have thought of the people that collaborated with the Germans. You must have thought of them as traitors. That's really what Rahab becomes. She becomes a traitor to her own people. She sides with these two spies from Israel over and against everyone else in Jericho. And she knows that if this trick is found out, she's going to be treated just like they will be. She'll be reckoned a traitor to her people. She'll be treated just as if she is a person disobedient, siding with Israel. But you see, that's exactly why she's remembered by God. For showing her allegiance to him. For saving the people that come to the town. Now, she's mentioned twice in the New Testament. Well, she's mentioned three times, and we're going to look at two right now. If you turn with me to Hebrews 11, the famous passage of the heroes of the faith. she is listed among them. Hebrews 11, 31. By faith, the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. If you turn a couple more pages with me to James 2, verse 25. James writes, In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction. That's what she's remembered for. She's remembered for saving God's people, for showing him allegiance. And right away in this chapter, which sets off to be a story of conquest, in chapter 1, Joshua being told, cross over and conquer. Instead of having the first scene in the land be one of conquest, the first scene in the land is one of salvation. It's a reminder that God's people will need God to save them, just as they needed a savior in this situation. But it's also a reminder to us that God is not unjust in his conquest of Canaan. He's not unjust in punishing these people with an Israelite conquest that will wipe them out. They are a disobedient people, but God also will save the one who does believe in him. And that's the first story we get, one of salvation. And she's saved in the second place, not just because she saves God's people, but because she seeks God's protection. She's not saved because of her work, she's saved because of what she believes. And she gives expression to what she believes when she talks to the spies. Look at chapter 2, verse 9. She says, I know that God has given this land to Israel. And I know that he's delivered them from Egypt and from the two Amorite kings across the river, Og and Sihon. They've conquered, they've gotten away from Egypt and they've conquered these two kings across the river. These two kings had conquered Moab. If you remember, when Israel wanted just to move through their land, they asked permission to come through, and they were refused. And God said, okay, then devote them to destruction. Wipe them out completely. And that's what they did. Rahab is now saying, we've heard of this. We heard how you conquered these conquerors. We heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea and let you cross on dry land. She said, we know this, and it terrifies us. we're melting away in terror because of what the Lord has done for you. And she says she's come to the realization that God is who he is. Look at Joshua 2, verse 11. Look how she describes God. Joshua, not Judges. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you. for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There were a lot of gods in Canaan, a lot of gods that represented a lot of different things, a lot of different places. And she's acknowledging that there is no God in heaven above or on the earth below, but the one true God. It's he that lives, it's he that rules, it's he that reigns, it's he that's with Israel, and that's why they're terrified. That's why their hearts melt in terror. That's why everyone's courage is gone. Because they're afraid of this people with this powerful God that's working salvation. And because she knows what God is doing, because she fears Him, because she believes in Him, she secures a promise in His name. She seeks His protection. And He wants His servants to swear to her by His name that she'll survive when they come. and look at what else she wants she wants protection not just for herself but for her family now it's not surprising that she'd want her family to be saved but she thinks to to include them all in the promise doesn't she my father my mother my brothers my sisters all their household i want them spared because i've shown kindness to you for my sake i want them spared and in that sense she becomes a type of christ she not only saves god's people but she mediates for her family she says save my household i'm not just concerned for myself i'm concerned with all those who are with me i want them to be saved because of what i'm doing not just myself now imagine what her family must have thought of her imagine what her family must have thought of her chosen profession probably was the black sheep of the family I don't know how close you can we can think a lot about what the relationship with the family might be it would be a lot of speculation but at least we probably know she was the black sheep of the family her father and mother and brothers and sisters probably weren't real proud of a prostitute but it's this prostitute who saves them from destruction. The lowest in her family probably becomes the greatest for what she does for them. She's lifted up. She protects them. Look how she protects them. They tell her, everyone within your household will be spared. You put the sign of the covenant we've made in the window and everyone in your household will be spared. If we find them on the street, the blood is on their own head. But if they're in your house, they're protected. Those within the household are protected. Isn't that like Christ? Those within his household are protected when the judgment comes. Those he has spoken for. His actions that have earned us a place when we did nothing for it. Protects us so that when the judgment comes all around us, we're spared. That we're protected for the sake of his work and his righteousness. Rahab is saved because she seeks God's protection. Finally, we can say Rahab is saved because she serves God's sovereign purpose. She serves a purpose, as we've looked at in the story, the way the story is told. We don't begin with conquest and judgment. We begin with mercy and salvation. God is willing to keep His conquest, His judgment from coming until He's gathered that one. He's willing to leave the 99 to gather the one lost before the judgment will come. These spies who are under her protection also come as messengers of a promise to her. And so she serves to remind us that God is a God of mercy. And that He will be merciful to all that turn to Him in faith. And His punishment comes justly on the disobedient. That's why in Hebrews, we're reminded that she's not numbered among the disobedient because of what she did by faith. And if we look forward to Joshua 6 and the story of when Jericho falls, we look at Joshua 6.22, we see that God's sovereign purpose is accomplished for Rahab. Joshua 6.22 says, Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, Go into the prostitute's house and bring her out, and all who belong to her in accordance with your oath to her. So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and her mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel. Then they burned the whole city and everything in it. They put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord's house. But Joshua spared Rahab, the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day. It's interesting, if you look back to verse 23, they brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel. They bring her out, but they put her in a place outside. And at first glance, we might think, well, that makes sense, doesn't it? She's a Canaanite. She's not really part of the promise. So when you pull her out, pull her out, but, you know, leave her and her family off in the camp. After all, you can't really have Israel having anything to do with people like these. The interesting thing, I said she's mentioned three times in the New Testament. The third time is in Matthew 1, verse 5, when we're given the genealogy of Jesus Christ. and she's one of five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. She's the wife of Salmon. She's the mother of Boaz, who married Ruth. Now, we don't know much about Salmon, but we know a lot about Salmon's father. She married Salmon, and his father was quite a man. We're told in the Bible that he was the prince of Judah. His name was Nashon. If you want to look him up, you can look him up. He starts right at the beginning of Numbers. Because Moses is going to take a census, and he takes a man from each tribe, the chief of each tribe, to conduct a census. And the man he selects from Judah is Nashon. He's the leader of the tribe of Judah. He appears again when the altar, when the tabernacle is being consecrated and the altar is being dedicated, And each tribe is to bring a sacrifice, a gift. And he's the first one to bring a gift, and he brings a gift for the whole tribe of Judah, for the dedication of the altar. When Judah's fighting men are numbered, he's the one that will lead them into battle. He's their commander. We're also told in the Bible that Aaron the high priest marries his sister. He's a man of prominence. He's a man of importance. He's a prince of Judah, and his son presumably would be the next prince of Judah, the next leader of the tribe, and he marries Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute. She doesn't stay outside the camp of Israel. She's brought in. She's incorporated into the people of God, and she becomes the mother of Boaz. And, of course, Boaz has Obed, Obed has Jesse, and Jesse has David. And we know who King David's greater son was, Jesus Christ himself. This Canaanite prostitute who was outside of the people of God, who was then led into the camp, sort of, has become a princess of Judah. She'd become a mother of Jesus Christ himself. who when he came would say that the kingdom has been taken from these people and given to tax collectors and prostitutes. He has a heart for these kinds of people. And it's a reminder to us as this book of conquest begins that faith is what saves, regardless of physical descent, regardless of ancestry, regardless of what else is going on in your life, regardless of what else. if you believe in Jesus Christ, you will be saved. And the glorious promise that comes to us is just like the promise that came to Rahab. She doesn't come in to just be an outsider for the rest of her life. She doesn't come in to be a second-class citizen. She comes in and eventually is a princess of Judah, mother of the child of promise by many sons. And it's a reminder to us that that's not how we come into the kingdom, by Christ's work. We don't come in like second-class citizens. We don't come in just sort of following behind. But by Christ's sacrifice, we're brought in and we're made heirs. We're made sons and daughters of the king. We have access like sons and daughters of the king. And this passage stands to be a reminder to us that faith is what saves. And the Lord will reserve his judgment even to draw one prostitute out of Jericho to save her from her sin. And even now, that's how we are. We wait while the Lord gathers his elect because he's patient. He doesn't desire anyone to suffer and die. But he's patient. He's letting his justice sit back while he works to gather the elect. It's a reminder to us that that's what we're to be about, the business of gathering the elect in the time we're given. It's a reminder that God will not rush to judgment. And when justice comes, all chance for salvation is over. But the wonderful promise is now is the day of salvation. The sword has not yet fallen. This world has not yet burned. And the promise comes to you. It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter what you've done. It doesn't matter what your standing in society is. It doesn't matter what your political party is. Faith is what saves. Because Christ made it available to all who would come. And he says to you this evening, come. Salvation is in his name. Let's close with prayer. Father in heaven, we thank you for this wonderful reminder that in this book that can be difficult with conquest, with death and destruction, Lord, that we're reminded that first you came with mercy and that your Holy Spirit is still active even among the most unexpected people. The people we would never expect to play such a huge role in the history of salvation play a large role because your ways are much wiser than ours. We pray, Lord, that we might constantly be reminded that we come in to be a part of your family by faith. And that Christ's sacrifice, his life, is our hope. And our hope is not built on who we are or where we've come from, but on him alone. We thank you, Lord, that because of his death and resurrection, because of his perfect life of righteousness, that we can be grafted into his family. not as second class citizens or afterthoughts Lord but as heirs sons and daughters princes and princesses of the promise we pray that we might be diligent Lord to see others led to faith in you that we might be diligent in spreading the good news of this gospel Lord while this world this Jericho still stands because we know Lord that your judgment will be terrible on those who do not believe we pray also Lord that you will come quickly to redeem your people. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, we pray. In your name, amen.