8/9/20 Circles: Joshua, 8/16/20 Rahab the Harlot
Hebrews 11:30-31 #24, 25 Jesus > Everything Summer bio series
The walls of Jericho fell when, by faith, the sons of Israel circled them as commanded. And by faith, Rahab the harlot was given escape just before those same walls fell and the city was conquered.
The story within the story from last week was Rahab hearing about God’s power in the exodus from Egypt and Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea. And upon hearing it, she believed it and she acted on her faith.
What comes to mind is the classic line from C.S. Lewis’ classic book in the Narnia collection, The Horse and His Boy, that describes this mindset: “to hear is to obey”. She did not require a slick documentary for proof that the exodus happened or that the Red Sea was crossed successfully, or that the Amorites were defeated along the way. After all, the Israelites were now right on their door step - the whole lot of them!
She was more like the person Jesus was looking for when He told Thomas that those who are really blessed are those who need not see in order to believe.
But the best overall news of this story is that while ‘yet a harlot’, Rahab had faith - saving faith. God saves us where we’re at, not where we’re supposed to be. And He saves us from who we are. We are sinful. We need not pretend we are not sinful to get his attention. Actually the opposite is true. We certainly cannot pretend we are not sinful if we desire saving faith.
Rahab’s actions proved she believed unlike the rest of her countrymen, that the God of Israel was the Real Deal. As a result, she and her family were saved. And how do you think she was then treated living out her days in the midst of Israel? Known simply as Rahab, maybe even as Rahab the Protector. She was probably treated like the hero of the faith she now was - like the princess, she now was.
To quote another classic Narnian line: “Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia.” The same became true for Rahab – and Joshua for that matter.
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