A Harlot Believes

Hebrews 11:30-31

October 14, 2001

 

We must not think of Hebrews 11 as a series of random thoughts about faith. The pastoral author was heading somewhere with each example and exhortation of faith. His audience professed to have faith in Christ, so what would a real faith look like? What good would faith do for people going through persecution and opposition? As his explanation of faith continues, the writer demonstrates that faith in the Lord is the common denominator of every child of God; it is the means for believers in every age to persevere in relationship to God while facing even the most difficult times.

 

Charles Spurgeon, in an 1857 sermon on our text, pointed out how this chapter serves as a monument to faith in the Lord. Monuments remind us of triumphs, such as the Washington Monument reminding us of the triumph of liberty by our American forefathers, and the Iwo Jima Monument reminding us of the triumph of democracy over totalitarianism during World War II. Monuments serve to inspire confidence and determination, and as reminders of how those preceding us dealt with adversities triumphantly.

 

Even so, Hebrews 11 provides a series of monuments to the triumph of faith through the centuries. Enoch reminds us of faith triumphing over death, Noah reminds us of faith triumphing over time, Abraham reminds us of faith triumphing over infirmity and natural affections, Jacob and Joseph remind us of faith triumphing over the difficulties and pains of old age, Moses reminds us of faith triumphing over the allurements of the world. And as though we have reached the mountaintop, the story of Rahab reminds us of faith triumphing over the darkest of sin. A harlot, seemingly the last one to consider the wickedness of sin and certainty of judgment, believes. And through her faith she triumphs [The New Park Street Pulpit, vol. III, 97].

 

Now we face our own obstacles and adversities. How will we succeed? The writer points us to the practice of faith as the means to please God through every situation of life. Even Rahab the harlot exercised faith. We are called to exercise the same kind of faith as the harlot, a faith that triumphs over sin and sustains us until eternity. Do you have that kind of triumphant faith? Consider the conquering and converting power of faith in the Lord.

 

I. Faith that conquers

 

Our writer only gives us a thumbnail statement regarding much more detailed events in the Old Testament. We've seen that already with Abraham and Moses. Now we move from the patriarchal period and the Exodus, to that time that Israel entered the Promised Land. Two scenes from the early chapters of Joshua help us understand the exercise of faith: the fall of Jericho, and in that same city, the deliverance of Rahab the harlot.

 

First we will consider the fall of Jericho and the faith that conquered that ancient city. Jericho, considered one of the oldest cities in the world, stood as an impenetrable barrier to Israel entering the Promised Land. God had told them to go forward. Jericho stood in the way. How did God's people triumph over Jericho? You guessed it, by faith!

 

1. Faces the impossible

 

It is quite obvious that in the journey into the Promised Land that the Lord could have destroyed all the enemies without Israel lifting a finger or having a moment's concern. But typically the Lord has chosen not to do that, for he is much more interested in developing our character and confidence in him than in our accomplishments. Israel, therefore, faced an impossible situation, one in which they must trust the Lord as well as labor diligently. We must remember that they had been wandering in the wilderness for forty years. They saw no walled cities during that time. But the spies who were sent forty years earlier from Kadesh-Barnea to spy out the land probably saw the great walls of Jericho and other cities, and thus complained, "The people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large" (Num 13:28). The mental image of large, fortified cities may have stuck in the minds of the young people who heard the faithless report of the ten spies. Now they faced the same impossible task of conquering the great walled city of Jericho.

 

Joshua records, "Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in" (Josh 6:1). The people of Jericho, fearful of Israel, stayed within the impenetrable walls of their city. Massive stone walls starred at the people waiting to inherit the Promised Land. Though it was likely more primitive, I have something of the image of the medieval city Aigue Morte, on the coast of southern France, in mind. Its 36 feet high, 8 feet thick walls encircle for over a mile's length a city, guarded by a massive tower 105 feet tall. It easily repelled invaders and provided protection from which archers could strike invaders. In similar fashion Jericho was tightly shut against the invading Israelites, and its walls ensured protection.

 

"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days." Faith in our Lord works comfortably in the realm of the impossible. Faith breathes the air of impossibility without flinching. Is it because faith itself is so powerful that it has no fear? Not at all, faith is a means not the power itself to accomplish anything. God has chosen faith as an instrument through which he has promised to display his power and might. Faith is powerful only because the Lord is powerful, for it is a conscious dependence upon the might of our Lord in the face of the impossible.

 

The nameless German monk, Martin Luther, faced the impenetrable walls of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther had no political power or financial resources or ecclesiastical clout to batter down the walls of Romanism that held captive all of Europe to a ritualistic but lifeless form of Christianity. He faced the impossible! But by faith he nailed 95 statements written on paper that exposed the unbiblical teaching of the Roman Church to the church door at Wittenberg, and the impenetrable walls began to crumble.

 

What are the walls starring at you? Is it an impenetrable wall of undiscipline that stands in the way of spiritual progress? Is it an impossible wall of fear that leaves you constantly afraid of standing up for Christ in the public square? Is it an unrelenting secret sin that refuses to unchain you so that you feel constantly condemned? Just as the impossible walls of Jericho fell by faith before the ancient people of God, these walls can fall in the same manner.

 

2. Obeys the instruction

 

Our writer points out that the walls "had been encircled for seven days." This was not typical battle strategy! Many of us have become armchair generals over the past week as we have listened to the military reports given by the Secretary of Defense and military strategists. We've read enough Stephen Ambrose books to develop our own battle plans! But marching silently around a city and blowing rams' horns trumpets does not make our military portfolio! The Lord promised Joshua that he was giving Jericho into his hands. Then this seemingly absurd instruction was given.

You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead (Josh 6:3-5).

Joshua did not flinch! He quickly called upon the priests and the people to take their positions in obedience to the Lord. Joshua was a seasoned military leader. He knew his stuff. But his encounter with the Captain of the Lord's host gave him just the impetus to trust the Lord with the impossible. What he learned in that encounter is that the battle belongs to the Lord (Josh 5:13-15). It was not Joshua's call to determine how the Lord would bring him into the Promised Land. It was his responsibility to obey.

 

Conquering faith obeys what God has commanded. When you are in a battle for spiritual progress and perseverance it is no time to be novel; it is time to obey the Command-in-Chief. Hear the word of the Lord and obey. Contemplate the commands of God in Scripture and obey. Do you give attention to obedience? I suppose that most all of us would say that we try to obey-generally, but do we give attention to God's commands and seek to faithfully obey?

 

Faith that conquers obeys God's instructions. There's a wonderful story about this in the life of Adoniram Judson, the first American international missionary. Judson was a Congregationalist and was sent to India under their auspices in 1812. Knowing that he would be meeting the famed William Carey and the Baptist missionaries of England, he began an intensive study of baptism so that he could defend his position of infant baptism in light of Carey's belief in believer baptism. Judson was convicted that his position was indefensible and that he needed to be baptized as a believer just as Christ had commanded. But to do so would put him at complete odds with his entire financial base. Would he obey the Lord or follow the money? Judson, along with his wife and Luther Rice, submitted by faith to believer baptism upon arriving in India, and changed their affiliation to Baptist. It meant that his support base was cut off, and that all his plans were changed. But faith obeys divine instructions regardless of the cost.

 

3. Pursues the goal

 

Joshua and the children of Israel were going somewhere. They were not interested in just conquering a few cities and taking the spoil. They pursued the goal of the Promised Land. God had promised it, but they could only receive it through the obedient pursuit of faith. "By faith the walls of Jericho fell," and with that, the doorway to the Promised Land was opened. Conquering faith pursues the goal of the divine inheritance.

 

For the children of Israel, it was the Promised Land that became their pursuit. For us, it is "the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" that we pursue (Phil 3:14). It is pressing on "so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:12). It is attaining "to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ," so that "we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ" (Eph 4:13-15). Our pursuit involves "waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body" (Rom 8:23). Faith urges us onward "to become conformed to the image of His Son" (Rom 8:29).

 

I think you get the picture. To walk by faith implies forward progress of being shaped in the image of Christ, developing in spiritual graces, and being prepared for eternity in heaven. And if you feel yourself fainting along the way or losing heart because of your struggles, then remember, "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days." It did not happen overnight. It did not take place by one trip around. It is not transpire without the people's obedient dependence upon the Lord. It did not happen without conforming to what God had commanded, even though it appeared to be useless and unproductive for those first six days. These ancient brethren persevered; for seven days they silently walked around the city until the signal was given, and the ram's horn blared, the people shouted, and the walls fell down. Press forward with the faith that conquers the impossible walls before you.

 

II. Faith that converts

 

In that same city of Jericho was a most interesting lady. "By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace." Was there a more unlikely candidate for becoming part of the people of God than Rahab? Surely with all of her sin, and all that she had brought low through her sin, Rahab deserved great judgment. She was a bonafide harlot. She was accustomed to merchants traveling through staying with her and engaging in her immoral craft. Here is the point of this verse: faith in Christ converts even the wickedest person. No one is so great of a sinner that the redemptive work of Christ cannot save, when that sinner humbles himself and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you feel hopeless and helpless? Then see what this verse shouts to you: like the harlot, cast your faith upon the Lord and be delivered from your sin.

 

1. Believes the message

 

The story of Rahab begins in Joshua 2. Joshua sent two men to spy out the land, especially Jericho. So adopting the clothing of the Amorites, they stealthily made their way into the city that Israel was soon to conquer. Being strangers in the city, the least likely place of suspicion was the harlot's house. Holy men entered the house of prostitution to find security. It was a strange mix indeed! But as the story unfolds it becomes apparent that Rahab had been thinking on the God of Israel. She had heard of the Lord, and what He had done, so she is open to hearing more from the two spies.

 

How do we know that she believed in the Lord? The most obvious thing is that Rahab was willing to risk her life to save two men that she did not know, all because of the God whom they professed. The king of Jericho sent word for Rahab to bring out the spies. She had carefully hidden them and concocted a story of their departure. It worked, and then the ancient writer records for us the conversation Rahab had with the two spies. She confessed, "the Lord has given you the land," and this was before it had happened! She believed the Lord much more than the ten spies who 40 years earlier had denied that the Lord had given them the land. She spoke of how the Amorites of her city were terrified and demoralized over the report of Israel coming their way.

 

And then there is something quite interesting. She rehearses two events that took place years before, one of them 40 years earlier. "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 the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed" (2:10). She had but little revelation of the Lord but it was enough to turn her heart away from her sin and to humbly trust in the Lord. Then she made her confession: "For the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath" (2:11). For one who had been a polytheist all of her life, worshiping gods of the heavens and gods of the earth, and who had plied a sinful trade, showed a remarkable grasp of truth concerning the Lord. We are not told what the spies told her by way of filling in the gaps, but it is obvious that Rahab believed the message of the "gospel," this good news of the only One who could deliver her from impending judgment.

 

Paul explains to us, "So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ," that is, the gospel (Rom 10:17). Faith does not solo with a dependence only upon human reasoning or feelings. Faith clings to the revelation of God in Scripture. This is why it is imperative that we preach and teach the gospel to the ends of the earth. For if the unbelieving are going to believe, they must have the message of Christ. Faith looks to Christ, trusting in his death on behalf of sinners at the cross, and the assurance of the resurrection, as sufficient to deliver from sin, judgment, hell, and God's wrath. Is your faith in Jesus Christ as he is revealed in the gospel message?

 

2. Changes the heart

 

Remarkably, Rahab did not perish along with the disobedient of Jericho. I think that our text brings out this simple point to remind us of the contrast. Here was an entire city that had melted in discouragement over the presence of the Israelites and the reports of their God. But none of them believed. Rather than obediently trusting the Lord they are described as "disobedient." It is a reminder that true faith is always an obedient faith. These perished physically and eternally. "By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace."

 

Rahab was no longer an Amorite in heart-she was a citizen alongside the people of God. She did the most disloyal thing imaginable to her city, not giving up the spies to the king, giving them refuge, and enabling their escape. She "welcomed the spies in peace," while the whole city was in an uproar. Scholars debate precisely when Rahab was converted. Our text does not tell us, but the frank implication is that once she welcomed the spies in peace she was drawing a line in her life, which she would never cross again. No longer would she be going back to the life of harlotry. No longer would she be satisfied to worship the gods of the Amorites, as she had been accustomed to doing. She could not look at the sky without thinking of the Lord God who created the heavens. She could not look at the earth around her without realizing that everything visible and invisible came by the mighty power of the Lord God. She looked at her past-checkered as it might have been, and looked at the future, and cast all of her hope in the Lord God. She "welcomed the spies in peace" because there was a new peace in her own life.

 

To the spies she asked, "Now therefore, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you will also deal kindly with my father's household, and give me a pledge of truth" (Josh 2:12-13). Ultimately her trust was in the Lord, so she was free to trust the two godly spies to be men of honor in their pledge to protect her and her family when the city of Jericho was conquered. Unless her heart and mind had been changed by faith, Rahab would have been a fool to trust two spies that sought the overthrow of her city. But she was changed inwardly, and demonstrated it outwardly.

 

Do you know this transformation by faith in Christ?

 

3. Sustains the believer

 

The two spies returned to Joshua after hiding for three days in the hill country. They gave the report, "Surely the Lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover, all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before us" (Josh 2:24). Then the process began. Israel crossed the flooded Jordan River, and upon being in the land of Canaan, they consecrated themselves through the rite of circumcision in obedience to the covenant demand. They celebrated the Passover for the first time in the Promised Land. Perhaps two or three weeks, maybe a month passed, before the first circling of Jericho took place. Seven days of silent marching took place before the walls crumbled. And what was Rahab doing all the while? She was sustained by her faith in the Lord.

 

Before the spies left, they pledged Rahab's safety under the condition that she did not report them and that she tie the scarlet cord used in their escape in her window. As soon as the men left, Rahab tied the scarlet cord in her window (2:21). I can just imagine that every day she looked out her window, saw that scarlet cord and then looked in the distance to see if her new people-the people of God, were coming. Once the silent march around the city began, the scarlet cord stood out against the sandy colored stone and mud of the city wall. It was Rahab's confession that her faith was in the promise of God. Day by day she watched the silent marching, her heart throbbing in anticipation of deliverance. Her faith sustained her! When the walls crumbled, all collapsed except for one home-Rahab's. She and her family were spared, having been sustained by faith. That is why the writer of Hebrews can say, "By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient."

 

Her faith was not complicated. It was certainly not fully developed. But it sustained the former harlot, and now the child of God. Biblical history records that Rahab later married Salmon, a prince in Judah, and was the mother of Boaz who married Ruth, and the great-grandmother of David, Israel's greatest king. More importantly, the lady known as Rahab the harlot, who by faith trusted the Lord, became a great-great-grandmother of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as Matthew records her in the genealogy of our Lord (Matt 1:5). Faith sustained Rahab and gave her a future and a hope.

 

Conclusion

 

Faith in the Lord conquers the impossible, and converts the most obstinate and unlikely. By faith Abraham, by faith Moses, by faith Rahab: can it be said of you, inserting your name, "By faith _______?" Without faith it is impossible to please God. Put your faith in Jesus Christ who alone can change your heart and sustain you.

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