“Wild Girls Gone (Part 1)-The Faith of Rahab”

Hebrews 11:31 CEV “Rahab had been a prostitute, but she had faith and welcomed the spies. So she wasn't killed with the people who disobeyed.”

Matthew 1:1-6 NKJV “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.”

The faith chapter, Hebrews 11, names only one faithful woman by name-Rahab the Harlot. How could a woman with her reputation and past be included in the faith chapter, let alone be in the lineage of Jesus?If God were to suddenly destroy Union County and spare only one person (and his/her family), how many of you would suppose that God would choose to save a local prostitute? Well that’s exactly what he did in Joshua chapter 2. Instead of a girl gone wild you had a wild girl gone!

(1) What led to the salvation of Rahab?

-Rahab encountered two Hebrew spies-Joshua 2:1-3 “Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. 2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.” So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.”

-Rahab protected the two spies-Joshua 2:4-7 “Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.”

-Rahab appealed for mercy-Joshua 2:8-13 “Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men: “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For 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 the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”

-Rahab was given the conditions for her rescue-Joshua 2:14-20 “So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.” Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.” So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home. So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.”

-Rahab believed and was saved-Joshua 2:21 “Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.”

Joshua 6:25 “And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.”

(2) What does Rahabs’ faith tell us?

-Faith is for anybody who will believe.

Rahab was not a prominent member of Jericho’s elite—she was a mere prostitute. Yet she is forever known in Scripture as a woman of faith. The kingdom of God is made up of unlikely saints—sinners who come to God in faith.

-Faith comes by hearing.

Rahab was able to believe because he heard the word regarding the works and power of God. When we do not take time to hear God’s Word, we have no basis for belief.

-Faith is evidenced by works.

Rahab not only believed as a matter of philosophical agreement, she acted on her believe by meeting the conditions for her rescue. Faith and works are like two oars needed to row a boat…without one, you will only travel in a circle.

-Faith brings about the fullness of God’s blessings.

Rahab only hoped to be spared from the city’s destruction but in the end, she enjoyed full fellowship with God’s people. We often come to God for mundane things only to realize that His desire for us is much more far-reaching.

(3) How was Rahabs’ life spared?

Rahab was spared from destruction because of the red rope that hung by her window. This red rope, typically a symbol of harlotry, is a symbol of the blood of Christ that brings redemption to all who believe.

Three Facts That Are True For People Who Are In Christ:

-In Christ I Am Free From My Past!

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

-In Christ I Am Unconditionally Loved!

Romans 8:38, 39 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

-In Christ I Have An Amazing Future!

Micah 7:18, 19 “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities.”