Obeying God - Faith in Action
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
1 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there.
In chapter 1 we discovered God’s commissioning of Joshua as the leader of the people of Israel. Also in the latter part of Chapter 1, we discover Joshua commissioning the people. He prepares them for what is coming. He tells them that they will be crossing the Jordan to take possession of the land that God is giving them. (1:11) The people respond by agreeing to follow Joshua just as they had followed Moses. A turning point has been reached. A time of transition is taking place. Change and transition have a way of scaring us. We don’t like them, yet life is full of them and history as well. Historians refer to this as cycles. Their will be a hight point, then an awakening, an unraveling and then a crisis. For the people of God faith accompanied by action is necessary. We must pray, but we must also put feet to our prayers.
2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land.”
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 At nightfall, when the city gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!”
6 But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof. 7 The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they left to pursue them, the city gate was shut.
In chapter 1 we discovered God’s commissioning of Joshua as the leader of the people of Israel. Also in the latter part of Chapter 1, we discover Joshua commissioning the people. He prepares them for what is coming. He tells them that they will be crossing the Jordan to take possession of the land that God is giving them. (1:11) The people respond by agreeing to follow Joshua just as they had followed Moses. A turning point has been reached. A time of transition is taking place. Change and transition have a way of scaring us. We don’t like them, yet life is full of them and history as well. Historians refer to this as cycles. Their will be a hight point, then an awakening, an unraveling and then a crisis. For the people of God faith accompanied by action is necessary. We must pray, but we must also put feet to our prayers.
Two generations removed from the Exodus in Egypt (40 years) the people are now facing a turning point. They were going to need great courage and faith along with intentional obedience to God.
Chapter 2 reveals to us further that God is in control and that he is involving unlikely people at times to accomplish his purposes.
Let’s begin by taking notice of the setting:
Rahab, a woman found here in chapter 2 and is also mentioned in that great chapter of faith in .
Rahab, a woman found here in chapter 2 and is also mentioned in that great chapter of faith in . Rahab, by faith, chose to follow the God of the Hebrew people.
Let’s begin by taking notice of the setting:
I. The Challenge Before Them - Jericho
Joshua and the people are based in Shittim, ( a Hebrew word for wood from Acacia Trees or as sometimes translated Acacia Grove). Joshua has been promised by God that the land is theirs, yet no specific plans had been given to Joshua. The Canaanite city of Jericho, a walled and heavily defended city stands as a large barrier to this inheritance. Jericho was located approximately 14 miles west of the Jordan River. It was one of many city-states in Canaan, and had its own king. It was roughly 8 acres or so in size and archealogical evidence suggest it had double walls that were fifteen feet apart protecting the city. It was a strategically located city, and when conquered would allow an easier path to defeating the cities to the north and south of it.
The challenges that lie before us:
Passing of Time
Passing of the Baton
Willingness to Embrace New Initiatives and Ideas to Further the Kingdom
II. Joshua’s Choice that Reveals an Active Faith (v.1)
Joshua sends spies to scout the land and in particular the city of Jericho. Joshua demonstrates wisdom by being active and intentional. Some would try to accuse Joshua of a lack of faith here, but I do not believe that to be the case. He is being responsible. God has called us to the same. Joshua is using the means provided to him, we are called I believe to do the same.
“to pray without using the means that God has given us is just as foolish as to use means without praying at all.”
, “Restore our fortunes, Lord, like watercourses in the Negev. 5 Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. 6 Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves.”
Joshua sent spies not to see if the city could be defeated, but to gain information to develop a plan of attack. Likewise, we do not strive for victory but from victory and using commons sense and developing plans are not our enemy. We must be intentional in pursuing the kingdom of God and God expects us to use our brains and the tools he has provided us.
III. God’s Providence that Reveals His Grace (v.2-7)
I heard a story the other day about a man who was walking down the beach. He was walking along and he stumbled upon a strange looking lamp. He picked it up and dusted the sand off of it. As he was dusting the sand off of it a genie appeared and said, “Oh, thank you for releasing me. I have been trapped for 10,000 years and now I will grant you one wish.” The guy was pretty excited about it and he said, “Well I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii but I am deathly afraid to fly and I’ll never get on a boat so I wonder could you build me a bridge from California to Hawaii so I can drive to Hawaii?” The genie said, “You have to be kidding! You know that’s a lot of steel and a lot of concrete I don’t know that I can do that! Can you come up with another wish?” The guy scratched his head and thought for a moment and he said, “You know I’ve never understood women can you tell me how a woman ticks how she thinks?” The genie thought for a moment and he said, “You want that to be 2-lane bridge or a 4-lane bridge?”
6 Though one goes along weeping,
It is the providence of God that has led the spies to Rahab’s house. The Hebrew word for harlot can also mean “one who keeps an inn” yet we know that when Rahab is referred to in the New Testament the word that is used for harlot clearly means a prostitute. . “Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 27 Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, 29 so that no one may boast in his presence.”
Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 27 Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, 29 so that no one may boast in his presence.
it is a truly remarkable thing, the Grace of God. I heard a story the other day about a man who was walking down the beach. He was walking along and he stumbled upon a strange looking lamp. He picked it up and dusted the sand off of it. As he was dusting the sand off of it a genie appeared and said, “Oh, thank you for releasing me. I have been trapped for 10,000 years and now I will grant you one wish.” The guy was pretty excited about it and he said, “Well I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii but I am deathly afraid to fly and I’ll never get on a boat so I wonder could you build me a bridge from California to Hawaii so I can drive to Hawaii?” The genie said, “You have to be kidding! You know that’s a lot of steel and a lot of concrete I don’t know that I can do that! Can you come up with another wish?” The guy scratched his head and thought for a moment and he said, “You know I’ve never understood women can you tell me how a woman ticks how she thinks?” The genie thought for a moment and he said, “You want that to be 2-lane bridge or a 4-lane bridge?”
carrying the bag of seed,
Rahab, a woman found here in chapter 2 and is also mentioned in that great chapter of faith in . Rahab, by faith, chose to follow the God of the Hebrew people.
She is a picture of God’s redeeming grace and mercy in response to faith.
IV. Rahab’s Choice that Demonstrate Faith
he will surely come back with shouts of joy,
Rahab, a woman found here in chapter 2 and is also mentioned in that great chapter of faith in . Rahab, by faith, chose to follow the God of the Hebrew people.
carrying his sheaves.
Rahab’s Actions Risked Her Life
Rahab’s Actions Risked Her Life
By hiding the spies Rahab is risking her life. Rahab’s lies are written here in the text not because God approved of them, it is simply a part of the historical record that is begin given to us.
What about her lie?
We must be careful to make a distinction between Rahab’s faith and the way she expressed it. The bible praises Rahab for her faith in God, not because of her lying. God is drawing a straight line here with a somewhat crooked stick, but this is what God does. All of us are crooked sticks in our flesh to a degree. Rahab did what she did because she was a sinner of mixed character, as all of us are, yet she believed in God and tries to honor his people.
Conclusion:
For us. obedience and faith are critical. Like Rahab, we stand alone surrounded by a culture of darkness. We have been transferred as God’s people from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s son and yet we are surrounded by an enemy. We must expect warfare and battles.
Be Strong 2. Confident Faith (Josh. 2:8–11)
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds us that “faith shows itself in the whole personality.” True saving faith isn’t just a feat of intellectual gymnastics by which we convince ourselves that something is true that really isn’t true. Nor is it merely a stirring of the emotions that gives us a false sense of confidence that God will do what we feel He will do. Nor is it a courageous act of the will whereby we jump off the pinnacle of the temple and expect God to rescue us (Matt. 4:5–7). True saving faith involves “the whole personality”: the mind is instructed, the emotions are stirred, and the will then acts in obedience to God