HEROES OF THE FAITH – RAHAB, THE HARLOT
DR. JIM DIXON
JOSHUA 2:1-14
JANUARY 8, 1984
One hundred and eighty years ago, Captain John Cleave Symes posed a theory called the “Hollow Earth Theory.” Symes believed that there was a whole new world beneath the surface of the earth, a subterranean world, an inner world. He believed it was a world of trees and shrubs, a world of lakes and meadows. He believed it was a world of animals and perhaps even men. He believed there were two holes in the surface of the earth whereby one could gain access to this inner world. One hole was at the North Pole. The other at the South Pole. He believed that the hole at the North Pole was 4,000 miles across. In 1818, Symes wrote letters to scientists in the United States and in Britain asking them to support and endorse his Hollow Earth Theory. They suggested that a hollow head was a better explanation for his views. But, in 1823 Symes met a United States congressman named Richard Johnson and Johnson believed the Hollow Earth Theory. And in that same year, 1823, Johnson proposed a bill before the United States Congress, a bill that the government of the United States subsidize an expedition to the center of the earth. Now that bill was defeated but incredibly, twenty-five United States congressmen voted in favor of that bill. In favor of the Hollow Earth Theory, in favor of a journey to the center of the earth. Symes died in 1827 but Richard Johnson went on—the one who proposed the bill—he went on in 1837 to become the Vice President of the United States of America.
It is a marvel how seemingly intelligent men and women are willing to believe the strangest things. It is a marvel the things that seemingly intelligent people are willing to put their faith in. We live in a world today where many people believe in UFO’s and extraterrestrial visitations. A world where many people believe in Big Foot. They believe in the Loch Ness monster. A world where many people put their faith in horoscopes or biorhythms. But tragically a world where millions of people refuse to believe in the one true God.
In the Bible, in the first chapter of the Book of Romans, we are told that “ever since the creation of the world, God’s invisible nature, namely His eternal power and deity have been clearly perceived in the things that have been made, so that man is without excuse. God demands one thing of the people of this world and that is that we believe in Him and in His Son, Jesus Christ. We can choose to disbelieve whatever we want in this world but one thing we must believe—we must believe in God and in the Son of God. We must put our faith in Him. Salvation comes only through faith in God. We are saved by faith. This is the first of two teachings I want to make this morning from the life of a woman whose name was Rehab.
Rehab was a prostitute, but she was saved by faith. It has been said that prostitution is the world’s oldest profession. That is not true and yet the practice of prostitution is very, very old. The Assyrian and Babylonian and Egyptian empires, and in the Greek and Roman empires, prostitution had risen to incomprehensible prominence in those cultures. And prostitution had actually begun to be woven into the very religious fabric of their societies of the ancient world. There were sacred prostitutes. There were temple prostitutes, religious prostitutes. They lived in special homes surrounding the temples of the gods.
If you were a man living in Greece or Rome or Assyria or Babylon and you wanted to experience union with the gods, you wanted to experience communion with the deities, then you would go to a temple of the gods and there you would experience sexual intercourse with one of the sacred prostitutes. Needless to say, religion had become very, very popular. And yet not all the prostitutes of the ancient world were religious prostitutes. There were secular prostitutes, women who gave their bodies to gratify the desires of traveling merchants. And these prostitutes, too, were widely acceptable in their societies. But we should understand that among the Jews, prostitution was never acceptable because they had the revelation of God and they understood that prostitution was degrading to women and to man. They understood that prostitution was a tainting, a corruption, a pollution of God’s beautiful gift of sexuality. Therefore, we marvel when we look at the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews in the Bible and we see that Rahab the harlot is listed as a hero of the faith. Some Christians and Jews have tried to deny that Rahab was a prostitute. They say that she was an innkeeper. She had the give of hospitality. But the Hebrew word is “zonah” and it means harlot. Rahab was a prostitute, and she was saved by faith.
Rehab lived in a house built into the outer wall of the fortress city of Jericho, and 3200 years ago when Joshua sent spies into Jericho to search out the city and to search out the land in order that the Israelites might conquer it. Rehab hid these spies and protected them from the authorities in Jericho. She risked her life for the God of Israel, and she said to the spies, “The Lord your God is He who is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath,” and she entrusted her life into the hands of the one true God. In that moment, Rahab the harlot found salvation. The Bible says, “By faith, Rahab the harlot did not perish.”
There were many people living in the city of Jericho. They had all heard of the Israelites. They had all heard of the Jewish people. They had heard of their miraculous deliverance from the hand of Pharaoh by the power of God. They had heard of their crossing of the Red Sea as if upon dry land. They had heard that when the Egyptians tried to do the same, they were drowned. They had heard of the miracles that took place in the wilderness. They had heard of Israel’s victories, miraculous victories, over their enemies. They had heard of their victory over the Amorites. They had heard that they had conquered the Kings Sihon and Og. They had destroyed them utterly, and many of those people living in Jericho, having heard this were afraid, but they would not believe in the one true God. They would not put their faith in Him. Only Rahab believed.
Now there’s a similar situation in the world today. In the ages past, God spoke by the prophets. God spoke through priests. God spoke by angelic mediation. God spoke to through the people of Israel. But now, the Bible says, “God has spoken through His Son, Jesus Christ, whom He has sent into the world. God has revealed Himself through Christ and now God demands that all people, all over the world, believe in His Son.”
Everyone in this world, or most everyone in this world, has heard of Christianity. They have heard how Jesus Christ came into the world. They’ve heard of his virgin birth. They’ve heard of his sinless life. They’ve heard of his atoning death, that He died for the sins of the world. They’ve heard of His resurrection from the dead, that He offers immortality and eternal life. They’ve even heard that He is coming to this world again. They’ve heard the gospel. They’ve heard of Jesus Christ and His claims to be Lord and Savior, the Son of God, and yet tragically, many of them refuse to believe. They refuse to place their faith in God through Christ and thereby find salvation.
I’m sure that many of you have heard of a man named Johann Wolfgang Von Gerta. He was a German poet and a German dramatist. He was not an atheist, but he was an agnostic. He said it was not possible to know, not possible to know whether Christianity was true. Not possible to know whether Jesus Christ was truly the Son of God. That was his perspective throughout his life. But on his deathbed, he was surrounded by his family and by his friends and by the physicians, and he cried out “more light.” They went to the window, and they opened the shades. They let the sunshine in, but he continued to say, “more light, more light.” Those were the final words from his lips. Those who knew him understood that in death, even as in life, he demanded more light. He could not believe, he would not believe, unless he received more light. Tragically, there are people in the world today who go through their whole lives like that—demanding more light. But you see, the Bible tells us that God has given ample light for faith.
Faith is not a stab in the dark. Faith is a response to the light that God has given. God has borne witness to His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came into the world, and He lived a supernatural life. We have the testimony of eyewitnesses who saw his life. Peter said, “We did not follow cleverly disguised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, for we were eyewitnesses to His majesty. Jesus Christ rose from the dead.” We have the testimony of eyewitnesses. Five hundred people saw Jesus Christ rise from the dead. Many of them gave their lives for that testimony. And the Bible bears witness to Jesus Christ. The Bible is the inspired word of God. More copies of the Bible have been sold in this world than any other book ever written. The Bible’s accuracy is irrefutable. Its historicity has been proven by archeological evidence. Its internal consistency is obvious. Its prophecy through the centuries, by the hundreds, have been fulfilled and scores of other prophecies are being fulfilled in our time. It is the inspired word of God, and it bears witness to one person above all others and that person is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit of God bears witness to Christ. All over the world in every generation, wherever the gospel is preached, the Holy Spirit bears witness with the hearts of men and women. There’s ample light for belief and for faith. God says the choice is ours. Salvation comes only by faith.
Outside of New York City is Jamaica Bay. More than 60 years ago, after the post-World War I industrial boom, Jamaica Bay became a convenient site for the disposal of industrial waste and sewage. Through the process of the years, Jamaica Bay became an ecological disaster. It became a pool of pollution. But after World War II, the government decided to convert Jamaica Bay into a wildlife refuge. That began a great task, a great work, that cost a great deal of money. They built dikes creating freshwater pools. They drained the sewage from the Bay. In 1952, they appointed Herbert Johnson as superintendent of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, and he brought in trees and shrubs and grass. Today the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge covers more than 13,000 acres of woodlands and marsh. It has more than 300 different varieties of birds. It’s become an animal sanctuary. It was a pool of pollution, but it has been converted to an animal paradise.
Now that’s what God did for Rahab the harlot and that’s what God has done for every one of you who believe. He brings us from pollution to paradise. We have all sinned, but we can all be forgiven by faith. The Bible tells us that Rahab the harlot was taken into the camp of Israel and that she lived with Israel the remainder of her life. The Bible tells us that Rahab the harlot married a prince of Israel and that from her seed came David, the King of Israel. The Bible actually tells us that from the seed of Rahab ultimately came Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World. So high did God raise her up by faith, and what God did for her, He wants to do for all of us. He wants to give us eternal life and abundant life, but it comes only by faith. The Bible says that “God loved the world so much, He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. He who has the Son has life. He who has not the Son of God has not life.”
You may have heard the story of three men who were discussing the subject of abortion. The first man said, “Well I think that life begins at the moment of conception.” The second man said, “No, I think life begins when the fetus begins to take on human form and has a definite human shape.” The third man said, “No, I think life begins when the kids leave home and when the dog dies.” As Christians, we know that life truly begins in that moment when we believe. Life begins in that moment we respond in faith and say, “Lord Jesus, come into my life. I want to live for you.” We are saved by faith and that’s the first teaching from the life of Rahab.
Secondly, we have this teaching from the life of Rahab. Salvation comes by works. We are saved by works. The Bible says in the Book of James, “Was not Rahab the harlot saved by works when she received the spies and sent them out another way?” Now this is very confusing for many Christians. How can the Bible consistently say that we are saved by faith and then in some sense say that we are saved by works. God wants us to know that these two ideas are not contradictory. They are complimentary because true faith, saving faith, is an active faith. It’s a faith that begins to produce some work in our life if it’s really faith. That’s why James said, “Even as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is barren.” The Apostle Paul said, “By grace, we are saved through faith. It is not our own doing. It is a gift of God not of work lest anyone should boast.” But in the very next verse, Ephesians 2:20, Paul says, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that we should walk in them.” No amount of good works is sufficient to save us. “All of our righteousness is as filthy rags. ” But if we truly have faith, if we’ve really relinquished our life to Jesus Christ, then some work will begin to take place in our life. Rahab the harlot was saved by faith. She did not continue in blatant harlotry, but her life began to he changed by that faith. “By their fruits, you shall know them,” Jesus said.
This past week, Barb brought home a copy of the “NATIONAL ENQUIRER.” I like to read that. I confess that. I like to see where UFOs are landing around the world. There’s one strange article in there. There’s always a strange article in there. This article was entitled, “Eight Ways to Identify an Alien.” This article tells you how to identify whether or not your next-door neighbor is an extraterrestrial. It gives you eight things to look for in your next-door neighbor. Very helpful article. But you know the Bible tells us that there is one group of people in this world who are aliens. The Bible tells us there are aliens in this world—strangers and sojourners—people whose home is not in this world but is somewhere else. The Bible tells us that that group of people are called Christians. If you are a Christian—if you’ve received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you’ve entered into a heavenly kingdom and this world is not your home. As the song says, “You are just passing through.” You are an alien and exile in this world. A stranger and sojourner. You look forward to a better country. You look forward to a better homeland, a heavenly one. But what are the distinguishing marks? How can people in this world recognize Christians? When they look at us, what distinguishes us from other people? What are the works of faith, if it’s true faith, in the life of the Christian? Some people think of church attendance, or they think of serving on committees, or they think of a long list of “dos and don’ts’s”, and all of these things can be expressions of faith, but the Bible tells us that the one central expression of faith, the greatest work of faith, in the life of a Christian is love. If we truly have faith. in God who is love, then we are going to begin to learn to love. The Bible says, “He who has been forgiven much, loves much.”
There’s a beautiful tradition that Rahab the harlot, after the moment of her belief as she came into the camp of Israel, she was known for her love. She showed mercy and compassion on others. “He who has been forgiven much, loves much.” If you’ve truly come to the point of faith, if you truly believe, than you should begin to learn to love. Jesus said, “By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Two hundred and sixty years ago, there lived a man named Bartholomew Roberts. He was a famous, great sea captain. He fancied himself a Christian. Aboard his ships, there was always a worship service on Sunday. He had three ships, the “Fortune”, the “Good Fortune”, and the “Royal Fortune.” Aboard his ships he always had a chaplain. There was always a worship service, and it was compulsory for every sailor onboard those ships. None of the sailors onboard the ships of Bartholomew Roberts could ever take a drink—not onboard his ship. They could not play cards. They could not gamble. They had to go to bed at 8:00 o’clock. No women could be brought aboard the ship, and if there was any immorality, it was punishable by death. Bartholomew Roberts was always impeccably dressed. His shirts were always starched. He wore red crimson trousers and a red crimson waistcoat, and he had a red feather in his tricorn hat. He had silk slings over his shoulders and from those silk slings there hung dueling pistols. He had a beautiful glistening sword on his right side. He wore a gold chain around his neck, and from that gold chain, there always hung a diamond cross. He was a powerful man and a great sea captain. In one two-year period—from 1720 to 1722—he sunk or captured more than 400 ships. There was only one problem with Bartholomew Roberts. He was a pirate. In fact, historians tell us he was the most feared pirate in the history of the world. People called him Black Bart. He sunk ships and he killed people, with no regard for human life. He had no regard for any flag no matter what flag a ship bore. He only wanted money for himself and for his crew, and yet he called himself a Christian. He called himself a Christian because he had church services on Sunday, because he didn’t drink, because he didn’t gamble, because he wasn’t promiscuous with women.
Now some of those things may indeed be important and may be expressions of faith. God does call us to obedience. But you see, if we don’t learn to love, we don’t understand at all what it means to be a Christian. A man who had no love and yet he called himself a Christian. There are many, many “Black Bart’s” in this world. People who take the name of Jesus Christ, but their hearts are far from him. The Apostle John says, “He who loves is borne of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God for God is love.’” What is the great work of faith in the life of the believer? It is a work of love.
A couple of years ago, a man named Dave Leach was taking an airplane flight from Denver to Wichita. It was a Frontier flight—Flight #286. He was sitting in the fifth row with his wife, seats B and C. It was 6:15 PM and the plane was late in leaving Stapleton Airport. He was anxious because he had a meeting in Wichita. An ambulance came up to the plane and the attendants carried a man on a stretcher out of the ambulance and they brought him aboard the plane. The man was obviously paralyzed from the neck down. They lifted him up and they put him in one of the seats in the front row. When the plane began to taxi, they buckled him in. When the plane began to taxi, as it turned, this man would just fall to the right or fall to the left. He had no control over his body and the stewardesses would have to come and prop him back up. Well, the flight began as a normal flight. They had their drinks and then the dinner was served, and after dinner, Dave Leach looked up and he saw this man—this paralyzed man—sitting in his seat in the front row with a food tray in front of him with all the food on it. He hadn’t eaten a bite. He had no means to eat his food, and no one had come to help him. He was just sitting there looking at the food. As Dave watched him, tears came to his eyes. Finally, he got out of his chair, and he went up to this paralyzed man and he said, “Sir, could I help you? Would you like me to help you with your meal?” The man said, “You know, I’d love that.” And so, Dave felt kind of awkward at first as he began to cut up the meat and get the food into bite-sized chunks and when he began to feed this man, he felt really awkward, but as they talked it became more natural.
This paralyzed man told Dave that his name was Bill and began to explain the horrible accident that had paralyzed him and spoke of his loneliness and some of the joys and the sorrows and the struggles of his life. Dave told Bill that he loved Jesus Christ and shared a little bit of his love for Christ with Bill. Dave doesn’t know to this day whether Bill accepted Christ, but Dave said, “You know, when I looked at that man and the food just sitting before him, and him not being able to eat it, I thought of all the people in this world who have spiritual food just sitting in front of them. The food of the gospel. The food of Christ just sitting in front of them, but for one reason or another, they don’t seem to be able to partake of it. They don’t seem to be able to eat of this spiritual food, and he said, “How important it is that we, as Christians, learn to come alongside other individuals and help them partake of the food of the gospel. It’s not enough to have Christian preachers all over the world who preach the gospels to large congregations. We need Christians who are willing to come alongside and help another person eat.” That is the work of love. That is the work of true faith. That is the call that God has given to all of us who are Christians. “Go ye into all the world and make disciples.” He has called us to this work of love, and Jesus said to Peter, “Peter, do you love Me?” Peter said “Lord, you know that I love you,” and Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” That is the work of faith in the life of a true Christian.
You know, there are 15 million people in this world who believe in Judaism. There are 52 million people in this world who believe in Taoism. There are 60 million people in this world who believe in Shintoism. There are 160 million people in this world who believe in Buddhism. There are 312 million people in this world who believe in Confucianism. There are 437 million people in this world who believe in Hinduism. There are 600 million people in this world who believe in Islam. But there are more than 1,050,000,000 people in this world who claim to believe in Christianity. Only God knows those who truly believe in Him. Only God knows those who have true faith, saving faith, active faith, those in whose life faith has begun to work a work of love.
You know the Greek word for faith is the word “pesteo.” It doesn’t mean intellectual assent to the truth of the gospel. It doesn’t mean an intellectual assent to the doctrines of Christianity, though all of those things are important. It means a relinquishment of life. That’s the meaning of the Greek word “pesteo” and if we truly have faith, then we relinquish our life to Jesus Christ and to His kingdom. Jesus Christ doesn’t want the world’s most popular religion. Jesus Christ wants people who love Him, who believe in Him and who truly placed their faith in Him.
Rahab the harlot said to the spies, “I know the Lord has given you the land,” and she switched her allegiance from the King of Jericho to the King of Israel, the King of Heaven. When we become Christians, we do a similar thing. We switch our allegiance from the kingdoms of this world to the kingdom of Jesus Christ, to the kingdom of Heaven, and we know that the Father has given the Son the land. We know that Jesus Christ is destined to inherit the earth and that He is destined to inherit the cosmos, and we give ourselves in faith to the eternal work of His kingdom. The greatest expression of that work is that we would learn to love. Shall we pray.