Sermon
#1317 Miscellaneous
Notes
Title: The
House On The Wall
That Could Not Fall
Text: Joshua 6:20-25
Reading: Joshua
2:1-21
Subject: Rahab the Harlot
Date: Sunday Morning - Mach 8, 1998
Tape # U-57
Introduction:
When
the Lord God sent Joshua and the children of Israel across the Jordan river and
into the land of Canaan to take possession of the land, the first order of
business was to destroy the city of Jericho. Jericho was one of the largest,
most prosperous, and most thoroughly fortified cities in the land. But the city
was cursed of God and marked for destruction. The sentence of death had been
passed upon it forty years earlier (Ex. 23:27-28).
Though
the inhabitants of Jericho prospered in the world, though they worked and
played, labored by day and partied by night, though they filled their lives
with every amusement, comfort, and pleasure they could find, though they were
utterly ignorant of it, they were a people cursed of God, a people whose
numbered days were up, and a people about to be forever damned! I cannot help
wondering who in this assembly those words describe! They were as sure for hell
as if they were already there when Joshua and the children of Israel crossed
over the river Jordan; but they were oblivious to the fact of it!
The
Scriptures tell us that the children of Israel marched around Jericho, carrying
the ark of the covenant everyday for seven days. On the seventh day, they
marched around the city seven times, blew their trumpets and shouted. When they
did, the walls of Jericho came tumbling down and fell flat to the ground. The
whole city was completely destroyed at
once, except for one house. There was one small section of the wall that did
not fall because there was a house on that section of the wall that could not
fall. I want to talk to you about that house. The title of my message is THE HOUSE ON THE WALL THAT COULD NOT FALL.
Read about it with me in Joshua 6:20-25.
Joshua 6:20-25 "So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and
it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people
shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people
went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. (21) And they utterly destroyed all
that was in the city, both man and
woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. (22) But Joshua had said unto the two
men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out
thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. (23) And the young men that were spies
went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her
brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left
them without the camp of Israel. (24) And
they burnt the city with fire, and all that was
therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of
iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. (25) And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's
household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the
messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho."
Proposition: Though all of Jericho was destroyed
under the wrath of God, Rahab and her father’s house were saved, the house of
the town’s most notorious harlot could not fall.
When
I read that, being the kind of curious, inquisitive person I am, I want to know
why? Why was this one house left standing, while all the other houses were
destroyed? Why, when the entire wall surrounding the city collapsed under the
weight of God’s wrath, was this harlot’s house left standing?
Divisions: Give me your attention, and I will show you five reasons why
this one house upon the wall could not fall.
1. Rahab was the object of
God’s sovereign, electing love.
2. Rahab’s house was under the
blood.
3. Rahab believed God.
4. Rahab had the promise of God
for her security and the security of her house.
5. Rahab stayed in the house.
I.
Rahab
was the object of God’s sovereign, electing love.
What a picture this woman is of God’s sovereign mercy and grace in
Christ to sinners like us! Rahab was a sinner by birth, and a notorious sinner
by choice and practice. Religious moralists and legalists try their best to
make us believe that the word “harlot” simply
means that Rahab was an innkeeper. But the kind of inn Rahab kept was a
brothel. The only women in those times and countries who kept public houses and
inns were prostitutes.
I
do not understand why people have so much trouble with that. The Lord Jesus
Christ came into this world to save sinners., real sinners.
1 Timothy 1:15 "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."
Matthew 9:10-13 "And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at
meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with
him and his disciples. (11) And when
the Pharisees saw it, they said unto
his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? (12) But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be
whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. (13) But go ye and learn what that
meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Romans 5:6-8 "For when we were yet without strength,
in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
(7) For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a
good man some would even dare to die. (8)
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us."
Mercy
is for the miserable. Grace is for the guilty. Redemption is for the ruined.
Righteousness is for the rotten. Rahab was a cursed woman, in a cursed
profession, dwelling in a cursed city, from a cursed race (An Amorite); yet she
obtained mercy.
Illustration: Barnard and the Pastor on Visitation
Why
did this cursed, woman obtain mercy? It was not because of anything in her, or
anything done by her, but because the Lord loved her and chose her as the
object of his grace. It is true, that she and her house were saved because she
received the spies, hid them, and sent them out another way. But that was an
act of faith, faith which God gave her, not to get mercy, but because she had obtained
mercy.
Note: Faith is not the product of
natural religion, logic, or human reason. Faith is the gift of God (Eph.
2:8-9). Faith s the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). Faith is the operation
of God in the souls of chosen, redeemed, called sinners (Col. 2:12).
It
was not by accident that the spies stumbled into Rahab’s house when they came
in to spy out the land. They came to Rahab’s house because God had purposed it
from eternity.
If
you will read again her conversation with the spies in chapter two, you will
see how this harlot’s experience of grace is described (Jos. 2:8-19).
A. By some means or another, this woman heard the
gospel of God’s salvation.
Joshua 2:10 "For we have heard how the LORD dried up
the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did
unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were
on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed."
B. Rahab’s heart withered before the august, sovereign
majesty of the one true and living God.
Joshua 2:11 "And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt,
neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the
LORD your God, he is God in heaven
above, and in earth beneath."
The
other inhabitants of the land withered in the dread and fear of God’s wrath and
power; but Rahab’s heart withered in repentance and faith, as is evident from
verse nine. Here we see that when she heard the report of God’s wondrous works…
C. Rahab believed God.
Joshua 2:9 "And she said unto the men, I
know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is
fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of
you."
II.
Rahab’s
house was under the blood.
Not
only was Rahab an object of God’s amazing, free, and sovereign grace in Christ,
her house could not fall under the wrath of God because it was under the refuge
and protection of the precious blood of Christ. That is what was symbolized by
the scarlet cord hanging from her window (2:18-21).
Joshua 2:18-21 "Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet
thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy
father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home
unto thee ... (21) And she said, According unto your
words, so be it. And she sent them
away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window."
This
scarlet cord which Rahab dropped from her window was, like the blood of Abel’s
lamb, like the blood of the passover lamb upon the houses of the Israelites,
like the blood of sin-offering in the tabernacle, a picture and type of the
precious blood of Christ.
Let
others mock and deride us as being outdated in our religion, if they must, but
in this house of worship the precious, sin-atoning, redeeming blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ is not only prominent, it is everything! God helping us, that is
the way it will remain! How I thank God for the blood! I never tire of hearing
about it. I never get tired of singing about it. And I never grow weary of
preaching it.
A. It is by the blood that we are redeemed.
1 Peter 1:18-20 "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation received by tradition
from your fathers; (19) But with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (20) Who verily was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for
you."
Revelation 5:9-10 "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou
art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast
slain, and hast redeemed us to God
by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; (10) And hast made us unto our God
kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."
B. It is
by the blood that we have forgiveness.
Ephesians 1:7 "In whom we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."
C. It is
the precious blood of Christ that gives us access to and acceptance with the
Lord our God.
Hebrews 10:19-22 "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, (20) By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us,
through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
(21) And having an high priest
over the house of God; (22) Let us
draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."
D. It is the blood of Christ, sprinkled upon our hearts
that gives us the blessed peace and full assurance of faith that under it we
are safe and secure from the avenging wrath and justice of God.
Romans 8:1-4 "There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me
free from the law of sin and death. (3) For
what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending
his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh: (4) That the righteousness of
the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit."
Romans 8:33-34 "Who shall lay any thing to the charge
of God's elect? It is God that
justifieth. (34) Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that
is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us."
The
Lord our God declares, “When I see the blood, I will pass over
you!” Rahab believed him. Do you? When Joshua saw the scarlet blood
hanging in her window, when he saw the blood upon her house, “Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive”. This
one house on the wall could not fall because it was protected by grace. It
could not fall because it was protected by blood. It could not fall because it
was protected by faith.
III. Rahab believed God.
Rahab
is held up before us in faith’s hall of fame, in Hebrews chapter eleven, along
side Abraham, Moses, and Joshua, as an eminent example of faith (v. 31). James
uses her, side by side with Abraham, as an example of what it means to prove
our faith by our works.
James 2:25 "Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot
justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?"
Hers
was not an empty, unfruitful, meaningless profession of faith. Oh no, Rahab
believed God and proved that she did by her works of obedience. Let me remind
you of how this woman proved her faith by he obedience.
A. She believed the report she heard of God’s salvation (2:9-10).
B. Rahab received, cared for, and protected God’s
messengers in her home, at the risk of her own life.
C. Believing God, she also sought mercy for her
household (2:12-13).
Joshua 2:12-13 "Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto
me by the LORD, since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show
kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: (13) And that ye will
save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all
that they have, and deliver our lives from death."
D. Rahab hung everything upon the blood of the covenant
represented in that cord hanging from her window.
E. Rahab the harlot so thoroughly believed God that she
brought all her family into her house and thus into the pail of grace!
1. This old harlot, who had
been the shame of her family, was made in the hands of God the primary
instrument and means of eternal salvation to her family!
2. Rahab the harlot, believing
God, obtained a place in the family tree of the incarnate Son of God, the Lord
Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:1-5).
Note: In the genealogy of Christ
only four women are mentioned. All four of them have a specific taint upon
them. Tamar was guilty of incest. Rahab was a harlot. Ruth was a cursed,
unclean Moabitess. Bathsheba was an adulteress. Thus, even in his genealogy and
birth, our Savior associated himself with sinners! The Son of God came to save
sinners.
The
house on the wall that could not fall could not fall because it was protected
by grace, protected by blood, protected by faith, and protected by the promise
of God.
IV. Rahab had the promise of God for her security and the security of
her house.
If
you read chapter two again (vv. 12-21), you will see that the messengers of God
made a solemn promise to Rahab. They said, You
go get your family, bring them into your house, bind this scarlet cord to the
window, and stay in the house. And when the Lord gives us this city, “We will deal kindly and truly with thee”.
Child
of God, this is our security, too. We have the promise of God. This is what he
has promised.
John 10:28 "And I give unto them eternal life; and
they shall never perish, neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand."
Romans 8:38-39 "For I am persuaded, that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, (39) Nor height, nor
depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."
1
Thessalonians 5:24 "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do
it."
Hebrews 13:5 "Let
your conversation be without
covetousness; and be content with
such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee."
1 John 5:11-13 "And this is the record, that God hath
given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. (12) He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (13) These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have
eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
Romans 16:20 "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan
under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen."
I want you to see one more
thing. The house on the wall that could not fall could not fall because…
V.
Rahab
stayed in the house.
God’s
faithful messengers told her that if she went out of the house, she would
perish with all the rest of Jericho. There was no safety in any house in the
city except in that house protected by the ever-abiding scarlet cord, the house
under the ever-abiding protection of the blood. Just as the Israelites were to
stay in their houses while God judged Egypt, so Rahab and her family had to
stay in her house while God judged Jericho. Even so, you and I must cling to
Christ alone. Abiding in him, we are safe from the wrath of God. But if you go
out of this house, you will perish without mercy.
Under the blood of Jesus,
Safe in the Shepherd’s fold,
Under the blood of Jesus,
Safe while the ages roll,
Safe, though the world may
crumble,
Safe, though the stars grow
dim,
Under the blood of Jesus -
I am secure in Him!
AMEN.