Rahab | Hall of Faith Series

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Hebrews 11:1-3, 30-31 TLB - What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead. ² Men of God in days of old were famous for their faith.³ By faith—by believing God—we know that the world and the stars—in fact, all things—were made at God’s command; and that they were all made from things that can’t be seen.

³⁰ It was faith that brought the walls of Jericho tumbling down after the people of Israel had walked around them seven days as God had commanded them. ³¹ By faith—because she believed in God and his power—Rahab the harlot did not die with all the others in her city when they refused to obey God, for she gave a friendly welcome to the spies.

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Lesson #1: Bold Faith Requires Godly Fear

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Joshua 2:9-11 NLT - 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.

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• Every opportunity to fear is also an opportunity to trust God.

Proverbs 1:7 NIV - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 15:33 NIV - Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor.

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Proverbs 10:27 NLT - Fear of the Lord lengthens one’s life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

Proverbs 14:27 NLT - Fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death.

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Ecc.12:13 NIV - Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.

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Lesson #2: Bold Faith Leads to Action

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James 2:14-17 NLT - ¹⁴ What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? ¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, ¹⁶ and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? ¹⁷ So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

James 2:25 NLT - ²⁵ Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.

Proverbs 12:22 NLT - The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth.

• God will use our imperfections to still advance His Kingdom purpose!

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‍Lesson #3: Bold Faith is not Defined by Past Failures

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Lam. 3:22-23 NIV - ²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. ²³ They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

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• No sin is greater than God’s Mercy.
• God is not limited by your past or present, He uses it!

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‍Lesson #4: Bold Faith Changes Legacy
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Joshua 2:12-13 NIV - ¹² “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 ¹³ that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.”

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Joshua 2:15-17 NIV - ¹⁵ So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. ¹⁶ She 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.”

• Rope = Hebrew word “chebel” – which means: pain, sorrow, travail, noose, snare, portion or lot….

Joshua 2:17-18 NIV - ¹⁷ Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us ¹⁸ 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 mother, your brothers and all your family into your house.

• Scarlet Rope = Hebrew word “tikva” – which means: hope, expectation, ground of hope, things hoped for, outcome…

Joshua 6:22-25 NIV - ²² 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.” ²³ So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.

²⁴ Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. ²⁵ 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.

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