Valley Church Clinton
September 20th

      • Joshua 2:12-13CSB

      • Joshua 2:14-15CSB

      • Joshua 2:16-17CSB

      • Joshua 2:18CSB

      • Joshua 2:19-20CSB

      • Joshua 2:21CSB

  • Living Hope
  • Waiting Here For You
  • Good morning everyone! If you have your Bibles with you, please turn them to Joshua chapter 2, we’ll be camping out there this fine Sunday morning.
    Before we get started in our text, let’s go before God and pray for wisdom and understanding.
    Pray
    This is the synopsis of last week, and ties into Deuteronomy
    Okay, so before we get into chapter 2 of Joshua, let’s quickly recap where we are in the story, after all, this historical part of the Old Testament is what we call narrative, which simply just means it’s a story where we aren’t necessarily trying to replicate what we read here verbatim or what what the characters do, but we have to dig a bit into the meaning of the story and why the writers are trying to communicate here.
    Believe it or not, there’s a message to the actual story, there’s a reason it’s been passed down for generations.
    So, by the time we get to chapter 2, we can see that Moses has led his people out of Egypt, God decimated the Egyptian army that followed them, and then they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years while God was with them.
    And now, at the conclusion of what we call the Pentateuch, or the first five books of the Bible, Genesis-Deuteronomy, the generation that has been led through the wilderness is now dead, and Moses with this next generation is looking into the land of Canaan, which is Israel, the land that the entire Bible thus far has led to.
    This is the climax of God’s promise, they are on the precipice of God’s fulfilment of His covenant, His agreement with the people that He would provide a land for them to settle.
    And if you remember, Moses is not allowed into this land, and at 120 years old, looking over the promised land from a mountain, he dies.
    So, the leadership of the entire nation is passed over to our friend, Joshua, and in chapter 1, Joshua son of Nun takes over and the Lord tells him to be strong and courageous.
    And in doing that, God also reminds Joshua of a few key things that will help the nation of Israel be strong and courageous, like remembering God’s faithfulness, that He is with them, that they need to meditate on His instruction, and that everyone needs to push for the collective, because the whole point here is a community where no one is left behind.
    And everyone agrees to not only Joshuas leadership role, they agreed with all the Lord’s commands, Joshua 1 ends like this:
    Joshua 1:16–18 CSB
    16 They answered Joshua, “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. 17 We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. Certainly the Lord your God will be with you, as he was with Moses. 18 Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!”
    Start world building
    So, they’re entering the land of Canaan, and they must cross over the Jordan River to do so, and this is where chapter 2 picks up.
    And there’s a city, you may be familiar with it if you’ve ever sat in a children’s Sunday school class, it’s name was Jericho.

    Conquest to Jericho

    Now, Jericho is an extremely famous city in the middle east, it’s been excavated numerous times, it was built and rebuilt over thousands of years.
    You may be familiar with the song “and the walls came crumbling down”…
    Which if you’re tracking this story, makes light of the thousands of people that would have died as a result of those walls crumbling… but anyway….
    In Joshua’s day, it was an extremely strategic city, which is likely why the Lord commanded them to conquer Jericho first.
    Let’s read how it all starts:
    Joshua 2:1–3 CSB
    1 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there. 2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land.”
    So, why send spies, why conquer Jericho at all?
    Well, 1, Jericho was a military-sensible option. Firstly, it sat on a ridge, making it key in seeing your enemies.
    Due to this and it’s proximity to the Jordan and the Dead Sea, was a natural transportation route, which was good for military and commerce, making the city very economically viable.
    It also had a natural spring, making it less susceptible to sieges, and made life much more abundant within the walls.
    So, considering all that, Jericho was a really good option for a first place to conquer, but, it was a well-fortified city with plenty of resources.
    It wasn’t a city Israel could stride in and lazily capture, it was a mighty city.
    And this city happened to also sit right in the middle of God’s promised land to the Israelites, so it divided the land of Canaan by north and south, which would allow Israel to attack other cities easily.
    It makes me think of the line from a movie Watchmen when the character Rorschach gets locked in a prison room with a bunch of guys trying to kill him and says “I’m not locked in here with you, you’re locked in here with me”.
    Jericho was right in the heart of their enemies, and it would serve as a gateway into the promised land.
    So, this was a city the Israelites didn’t know much about, so Joshua send two spies to the land, and they encounter this lady named Rahab.

    The Spies find Rahab

    Now, it says Rahab was a prostitute, which in the Hebrew is the same as what we would think.
    She sold herself for money.
    Now, in the city of Jericho, this may have been a slightly more acceptable line of work than in other cultures, but it’s clear she was still at the very bottom of the food chain.
    She was a nobody, nothing really has changed, she was overlooked and used, she was no one to anyone, except maybe her family.
    And this is a huge reason the spies went to her house. It was supposed to be unsuspecting, under the radar, a person with nothing to lose socially really.
    Yet, and I think this is hilarious, the spies are immediately figured out.
    This is my problem with all the James Bond movies, like take one look at him and he’s obviously a spy, he’s horrible at being undercover, all of his pens explode like grenades, he drives an Aston Martin….
    But literally two verses into the chapter, the King of Jericho identified the men as Israelites, their intention, and where they were hiding, which was in Rahab the prostitutes house.
    And it’ll make sense why they were identified so quickly, they may have just had bad disguses, but I think it was something else…
    But Rahab hides them, and when the King asks Rahab where they are, she lies and says the spies left right before the gate was closing.
    And back in this day, as a walled city preparing for potential attack, they closed the huge city gates every night,
    So men from Jericho chased after them, and their own gate closed behind them, which is very funny because the spies from Israel were about to fall asleep on Rahabs roof under some crops that were drying,
    And the men from Jericho were shut out of their own city.
    But here’s why I don’t think the spies were bad: I think the city of Jericho has been on high alert for some time. Listen to this:
    Joshua 2:8–11 CSB
    8 Before the men fell asleep, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan. 11 When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.
    Now, remember our big theme, be strong and courageous, right?
    See, there’s something about being on the other side of God that causes the opposite of this effect.
    The city of Jericho, for some time now, they’ve heard about these Israelites that they’ve been watching circle around and get closer and closer.
    They’ve heard about the promised land, and how their town was right in the middle of it.
    According to Rahab, everyone in the land is panicking.
    And she recounts a few different stories, the first of which is God parting the Red Sea.
    Jericho heard about God using Moses to literally part the Red Sea down the middle where his people walked over on dry land, and after they crossed, the waters were put back and the entire pursing Egyptian army was drowned, this was 600 chariots, and an estimated 50,000 horsemen and 200,000 men on foot…
    God smited them in a second.
    And yes, to us this is scary, but there’s a religious component that we’re missing.
    See, in every major ancient myth, there is a battle of good and evil, or or higher powers, and the most powerful god has to pass one major test before claiming power, which is commanding power over the oceans.
    The ocean, or the seas, they represented chaos. It’s where monsters come from. It’s unpredictable, people die at sea for seemingly no reason.
    So, in order to be the strongest god, they had to defeat the seas, or the monster in the sea, as proof of having the title “God Most High”.
    Now, the Canaanites, the people in Jericho, they were used to hearing about the stories. They were used to reading the myths. Uncle Bob sitting the children down and telling them about Marduk defeating Tiamat in the Enuma Elish.
    But they aren’t used to it happening right in front of them.
    When God defeated the Egyptian army just a couple hundred miles down the road. And it happened within the generation, i happened about 40 years prior.
    This wasn’t a myth or story anymore, it was a current event. If they has newspapers, it would still be a headline.
    It happened, no question, and the largest and best army was crushed by a supernatural event that only the most high God could accomplish.
    Petrified.
    Similar things happened to the two kings that Rahab mentioned, Shion and Og, both of which were powerful kings back in the days of Moses, and the Israelites not only went to battle and won, but they decimated their entire armies and cities, and they killed all the kings sons…
    So now, because of that, God and his people are known to not only win, but to stop kingdoms in their tracks. To completely destroy the next of kin, where the kingdoms cease to exist, historically that is their end.
    No wonder Jericho is frightened. No wonder the king and his men are on high alert, they’re dealing here with an army that serves the proven most high God who doesn’t just war until they win, they war until there’s no enemy left.
    And seemingly, they’re next, with spies coming to check them out.
    And this leads us to the actual narrative climax of our story…
    Joshua 2:12–14 CSB
    12 Now please swear to me by the Lord that you will also show kindness to my father’s family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign13 that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and save us from death.” 14 The men answered her, “We will give our lives for yours. If you don’t report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the Lord gives us the land.”
    Listen, Rahab knew what was happening. She saw into the future. She knew that God, the God that the Israelites followed, was the most high God.
    It was clear to Rahab, then, where she must put her loyalty, which was in Yahweh, the God of Israel.

    Rabah Placed Her Faith

    And I know you may be confused - where is this? Where is loyalty in this verse?
    Well, let’s take a closer look:
    Joshua 2:12 CSB
    12 Now please swear to me by the Lord that you will also show kindness to my father’s family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign
    That word, kindness, it’s perhaps the most important Hebrew word in the entire language.
    It’s a word we’ve talked about extensively, it’s the Hebrew word hesed.
    And hesed, it’s really difficult to translate into English.
    And I think a better translation here, rather than just kindness (although this isn’t terrible), is kind loyalty.
    Essentially, this word hesed, it’s really the definition of what faith is.
    See, faith, or belief, it’s not this blind trust where you hope something happens, it’s something you stake your life on.
    Belief is, or should be, not intellectual, but it’s something you’d die for. It’s undying loyalty. It’s mercy. It’s faithful, it’s covenant loyalty,
    It’s what God offered the Jews, and now offers us through Jesus Christ, it’s kindness shown, and loyalty in follow up.
    It’s hesed that never fails.
    This is what Rahab is asking for, and it’s what the spies agree to.
    And I know it’s kind of weird that Rahab lied to her king, we’re supposed to tell the truth and respect those in government and all that,
    But Rahab knows there is something worse than the king of Jericho to answer to.
    She, in this moment, chose her side. She made a covenant, she became loyal, to the right side.
    To God most high.
    And this is kind of amazing. I mean this woman has everything to lose.
    If the king finds out she lied, she’s done. She’s gonna be strung up by the heels. In fact, reporting the spies to the king may have gotten her out of a low social class and into a higher culture.
    But what she does is she makes a choice. She makes an agreement, trusting that the spies will keep their part of the bargain, and rescue her.
    I mean if they don’t, she knows she’s dead too. She admitted it - Jericho can’t stand against the God of Israel.
    But, for the sake of her family, she makes a deal, knowing her own city will be in shambles soon.
    And the symbol of her faith?
    Joshua 2:17–19 CSB
    17 The men said to her, “We will be free from this oath you made us swear, 18 unless, when we enter the land, you tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your father’s family into your house. 19 If anyone goes out the doors of your house, his death will be his own fault, and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house should be harmed, his death will be our fault.
    So Rahab is to tie a red cord, and hang it out her window, as a sign. And destruction will pass over her.
    Sound familiar?
    Remember back to Egypt, when the tenth plague hit, and all of Egypt was struck with the plague that killed the firstborn males?
    Exodus 12:12–13 CSB
    12 “I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the Lord; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. 13 The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
    See, the Israelites were to put the blood of an unblemished animal, and put it on their doorposts as a sign, and the Lord would passover that household, saving them from destruction.
    This is the same exact function of the scarlet cord going outside of Rahab’s window.
    See, your belief, or faith, or loyalty, even your trust,
    It’s not something that’s meerley in your head, or in your feelings.
    I think it’s really similar to saying sorry. This is something I’m trying to teach my kids right now, sorry isn’t just a word, it’s an action.
    I bet at some point in your life, you’ve felt sorry, said sorry, but it doesn’t fix the situation. Someone has told you sorry, but they surely don’t mean it.
    That’s because sorry must be followed up by restorative action.
    This is the same with faith.
    Faith isn’t just something you say. You can’t just say you place your faith in Jesus,
    You stake your life on it. Your baptism is a reflection of that.
    And if you place your belief in Jesus, in God, your loyalty in Yahweh, then…

    Your Faith Becomes the Distinguishing Mark

    Your faith defines you.
    And Rahab is maybe the single best representation of faith in the whole Bible.
    And poor Rahab, her job as a prostitute really followed her, she never did shake that….
    But the entire Jewish community considered Rahab a marker of genuine faith.
    And this is crazy, because not only was she a prostitute, she wasn’t a Jew. She wasn’t a follower of Yahweh, at least not until this moment in history.
    She has no kingly authority, she was a nobody.
    Yet the New Testament writers write this about her:
    Hebrews 11:31 CSB
    31 By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed.
    And by the way Hebrews chapter 11 is known as the hall of faith, where he lists all the greatest people in history that showed faith in God.
    James 2:25 CSB
    25 In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works in receiving the messengers and sending them out by a different route?
    James is alluding to the fact that faith without showing it is essentially dead and worthless, and not real.
    And heres the kicker, this verse is the absolute pinnacle of Rahab’s faith, and probably the most boring too, but I don’t care, because I love genealogy lists, they make me excited:
    Matthew 1:5–6 CSB
    5 Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, Obed fathered Jesse, 6 and Jesse fathered King David. David fathered Solomon by Uriah’s wife,
    And I’ll save you 2 minutes of reading, because at the end of that list, this is what it says:
    Matthew 1:16 CSB
    16 and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus who is called the Messiah.
    That’s right. Our Messiah, Jesus Christ, came from a prostitute.
    When you declare your allegiance and belief in Jesus Christ, your sin no longer defines you.
    Your story no longer defines you. Your past doesn’t define you.
    Your sin doesn’t define you.
    Your culture, your job, your genetics, your bloodline, your next of kin, your kingdom, your wealth,
    Even your past, it doesn’t define you.
    What you are is your faith.
    A lowly prostitute in Jericho in 1400 B.C., someone everyone passed by daily and spit on, someone who men were able to put a price on using her body, a woman with nothing but a small business and a family…
    Brought about the savior of the world.
    Your faith has so much power. Your faith and loyalty, your hesed to God and his hesed to you, it’s all you have.
    It’s all that’s worth anything, there is nothing in this life that can replace it.
    I have here one of my absolute favorite games to play with my kids, we’ve played this one quite a bit, it’s a game called “Don’t Break The Ice”.
    And the concept of this game is pretty simple - you have a hammer, and there are plastic ice cubes that are wedged into place that hold up this penguin in the center.
    And each turn, a player taps an ice cube until it falls through, and eventually you get the game to where the penguin is barely being held up by a few remaining ice cubes.
    And the last person to go that makes the penguin fall loses.
    And the reason I love this game so much is because my son, Titus, before every hit makes sure to ask me:
    Dad, is this the dangerous one?
    It makes me giggle every time, because there’s almost not risk invoved here, we just end up putting the pieces back together and playing again,
    But for many of us, this is what our lives feel like.
    Another cube falls. And then another. And then another.
    Suddenly, our crutches, or reliable works of man start to crumble around us.
    Another one falls, I say I trust in Jesus I have faith in Jesus,
    I believe in Jesus until plop, another thing I trusted falls.
    And you keep asking yourself, is this the dangerous one?
    Is this the thing that falls, and with it, my faith?
    If this other thing goes away, can I still really be loyal to Jesus?
    This was Rahab’s life. She knew the impending danger. She knew she had nothing left, she was at a crossroads of faith, either she could roll the dice and hope the King of Jericho had an army somewhere she never heard about,
    Or, or she could trust in the Most High God who she saw win at every turn.
    And look, I know this is hard. You see culture failing, another ice cube drop.
    You see politicians not holding up to their promises, you see atrocities you never thought possible in your wildest imagination….
    Your friends let you down, your finances aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, heck, you even see pastors who are supposed to shepherd the world with humility and inegtrity fall from grace way too often.
    And if it seems like the institutions are crumbling around you, if if feels like the world is falling apart, you aren’t crazy. It is.
    Matthew 24:6–14 CSB
    6 You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these events are the beginning of labor pains. 9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10 Then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
    As loyal followers of Jesus Christ, guess what? We are this penguin.
    We are people, seeing everything crumbling around us. Yet our call is to stand firm. To be strong and courageous, even in the face of uncertainty.
    To show loyalty and faith, just like Rahab.
    And I know, I know your life is hard. My life is hard.
    It’s hard to keep our composure, we’re all at our wits end here, we’re at the end of our ropes.
    We have jobs, and kids, and schedules, and all this chaos that I’m supposed to somehow navigate and keep together and organize, and at at the same time, not be stressed, and get enough sleep, and budget appropriately, and eat healthy and exercise, and I feel ike I’m doing it all wrong.
    But there’s something that’s better than all that. It’s better because it gives us the endurance to persevere, despite everything wrong going on.
    Our faith is the only thing that keeps us going, that keeps us smiling and feeling true joy through it all. This is the basis of a community of hesed.
    Because you know what? The world can crumble. All of what we can see on this side of heaven can go away.
    Because I have a deal with God that means no matter what, I’m on his side and he’s sworn to uphold his end of the bargain.
    That’s what the story of the prostitute of Jericho is about.
    That no matter what is happening in my life, my God is loyal to me, and He ill do what He says.
    Because we know the end.
    Revelation 17:14 CSB
    14 These will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. Those with him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
    The Lamb will conquer.
    And there’s one miracle that really has the evil beings shaking in their boots, because they have to answer,
    Just like Jericho heard stories about God parting the Red Sea, and destroying Shion and Og,
    Our Jesus, the Messiah, He resurrected from the dead.
    The resurrection is the miracle that no one has an answer to, but we respond in faith.
    So, we have to make our choice. Either we can run to the world, or run to God,
    There is no in between, because the Bible is clear, you are either an enemy, or a friend of God.
    And in time, God will call it. He will make his way through the world, and he will destroy all who stand against, and he will do it swiftly and without difficulty.
    But. He will passover any who have the blood on their doorposts. He will passover all who hang their scarlet cords.
    He will passover all who are in covenant with Him, all who believe, all who are loyal, all who show faith.
    So, church, where’s your scarlet cord?
    Are you afraid to show it? Are you holding out, hoping this will all blow over?
    Where is your loyalty and faith? Is it intellectual, yet fades with any minor push back?
    Friends, it’s time to put the blood of Jesus on our doorposts, it’s time to hang out scarlet cords, it’s time to put our faith in Jesus Christ.
    Even when it’s scary, or doesn’t make sense, or when we feel inadequate.
    It’s time to but our faith into action, and make it the distinguishing marks on our lives.

      • Joshua 1:16–18CSB

      • Joshua 2:1–3CSB

      • Joshua 2:8–11CSB

      • Joshua 2:12–14CSB

      • Joshua 2:12CSB

      • Joshua 2:17–19CSB

      • Exodus 12:12–13CSB

      • Hebrews 11:31CSB

      • James 2:25CSB

      • Matthew 1:5–6CSB

      • Matthew 1:16CSB

      • Matthew 24:6–14CSB

      • Revelation 17:14CSB

  • Worthy Of It All
  • I Exalt Thee
Valley Church Clinton
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