“Matthew 1
1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab…
Joshua 2
1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. ‘Go, look over the land,’ he said, ‘especially Jericho.’ So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, ‘Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.’ 3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: ‘Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.’
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, ‘Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.’ 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, ‘I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 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.”
14 ‘Our lives for your lives!’ the men assured her. ‘If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.’
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 Now she had 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.’
17 The men 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. 19 If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him. 20 But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.’
21 ‘Agreed,’ she replied. ‘Let it be as you say.’ So she sent them away and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window. When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them.
23 Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, ‘The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.’”
Three months ago, Nike unveiled Colin Kapernick as the face of their new campaign. Kaepernick was the first NFL player to take a knee during the National Anthem in protest. Nike’s decision prompted a flurry of debate. Some went so far as to cut the famous ‘swoosh’ out of their Nike shoes or burn their Nike gear altogether. Many filmed themselves destroying their Nike gear and then posted the footage online to show their outrage over the decision to back Kapernick and his protests.
The NFL National Anthem protests have churned up a lot of questions about what is and what is not American. The National Anthem reminds us of sacrificial veterans and honorable statesmen. The National Anthem reminds us of what is good about America. Kaepernick says that he protested because he thought the nation wasn’t living up to these ideals.
I don’t know what you think of Colin Kaepernick, but I do know that the outrage and indignation many feel towards him, the NFL protests, and now Nike are minor compared with what you will see this in Jericho this evening.
People accuse Kaepernick of being un-American; what is that compared with actually turning your back on your nation? People accuse Kaepernick of disgracing the National Anthem; what is that compared with aiding, abetting, and joining enemy soldiers invading your homeland? It’s only lack of imagination that keeps us from seeing how Rahab’s actions would be blood boiling to every single citizen of her city.
If Jericho ever produced history books, Rahab would be public enemy number one. She would be painted as far worse than our Benedict Arnold. Men would shake their head at her name and children would scowl.
Rahab made a treasonous choice. She made a scandalous choice. And yet, her decision is, in some ways, a pattern for our lives. Like Rahab, we Christians have turned away from what so much of the world us values. Like Rahab, we have thrown in our lot with someone who many people in our culture consider an enemy. If you are a Christian, in many ways Rahab’s story is your story. You have formed a new allegiance. You have been included in the people of God.
Saving faith requires a new allegiance and gives a new inclusion. That’s the claim of this sermon: saving faith requires a new allegiance and gives a new inclusion.
We will see this in two points. First: a new allegiance. Second: a new inclusion. First, a new allegiance. Second, a new inclusion.
First: a new allegiance. The beginning of Joshua 2 finds Israel marching at the edge of the Promised Land. They had been here before years before. At that time, Moses had sent twelve spies into the land for reconnaissance. The spies came back and reported that the land was desirable but incredibly well fortified. Joshua and Caleb were the only spies who thought they could take the land with God’s help. The other ten spies argued that trying to take the land would be a death wish. The people sided with the ten. They chose fear over faith. As a result, all the adults except for Joshua and Caleb died waiting for another chance to invade the Promised Land. Such a lack of faith has consequences.
As our chapter opens, Israel again stood at the edge of the Promised Land. This time it was Joshua who sent spies. Joshua was on a mission of conquest. He wanted tactical information; he was also checking the pulse of the Canaanites. What was the chatter behind enemy lines?
Rahab’s house was a logical place to find such information. Her house was certainly a brothel, but it was more. Such places were also taverns and hostels. Locals and visitors would mingle freely. This was the sort of place where people would talk about what was really going on. Was the city concerned about the army of Israelites marching through the countryside? Had they heard about what Israel’s God had done to Egypt and the Canaanite kings?
The king of Jericho heard rumors about this fact-finding mission. He said, “Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” The king was right to be concerned. These men were enemies of his government and anyone who helped them would be committing treason.
Somehow word got out, as word usually does in such situations, about the spies’ whereabouts. The king sent a message to Rahab, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”
The king had every reason to assume that Rahab was a loyal patriot. Her business and livelihood depended on going along and getting along. The king wasn’t suspicious of Rahab. He was giving her an opportunity to be like a citizen stopping a terrorist attack. He was giving her an opportunity to be a hero.
We know the story too well because verse 4 should surprise us, “the woman had taken the two men and hidden them.” Why would you knowingly harbor a national threat in your home? Why would you risk the wrath of the not only the king but also your neighbors? Why would you jeopardize your business and safety to help the enemy? Why would you turn your back on everything you had ever known?
Rahab explained it to the spies in verse 9, “I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sigon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”
Rahab could see that Jericho’s walls wouldn’t hold against a God who could dry up the sea. She had heard about the plagues in Egypt. The sorts of wonders you read about in the Exodus caused as much of a panic then as they would today. Ancient people weren’t as gullible and superstitious as modern man thinks. They were as bewildered by what happened in Egypt as the media would be if it happened today. Rahab had heard the news and she wanted to do whatever it took to avoid being on the wrong side of this God.
Rahab didn’t have a fully formed understanding of the Lord. She couldn’t tell you one of the Ten Commandments. She just knew that this God was unstoppable and that she wanted to join His people. You might find her actions unpatriotic and disloyal, and I’m sure the blood of the people of Jericho would boil if they knew what she did, but you can’t deny that she was wise. The Lord called that wisdom faith, “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.”
Rahab formed a new allegiance. She would no longer be welcomed by her own people. She was identifying with the enemy.
This is increasingly relevant for us disciples in America. Christ and his ways are increasingly seen as hostile to what American culture calls good, right, and beautiful. A few decades ago, Christians were viewed as being as American as apple pie –a bit square, maybe holier than thou, maybe goodie-two-shoes, but still good Americans. There is still more of that sense here in Northwest Iowa than in Seattle or New England, but culture is changing.
“Violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism and tribalism and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children,” said Christopher Hitchens, “organized religion ought to have a great deal on its conscience.” These mistaken assumptions are becoming increasingly common in this nation when it comes to Christianity.
Christ and his ways are increasingly seen as unacceptable to what have become our national values. The most visible picture of this occurred on a few years ago when the White House was illuminated with rainbow colors in celebration of the Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage. Now the church should be as hospitable – more hospitable than the president intended to be, but that doesn’t mean we celebrate that sin or any of the others sins that you and fight daily.
Christ and his ways are increasingly seen as backwards and hateful. They are increasingly seen as indefensible and hostile to the American way of life. Although we Christians make it our business to pray for our leaders, to pay our taxes, to seek the peace and welfare of our nation, we likely will be increasingly seen as hostile to this nation. We, like Rahab, have formed a different allegiance. We have identified with the enemy. We have identified with Jesus.
I hope you see that you can’t have ultimate allegiance to Jesus and an ultimate allegiance to this world. I hope you see that you can’t love Christ and love a fair bit of what this nation loves. “As it is,” Jesus told his disciples, “you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
I don’t like to be hated. I’m sure you don’t like to be hated. So, why did you switch allegiances? Because you grew up this way? If that’s the only reason you’ve thrown in your lot with Christ, don’t expect that to last. Why have you switched allegiances?
You switch for the same reason Rahab switched. You switch because you want salvation from the wrath to come.
Do you see that so much of what this nation cherishes –the right to be me, pursuing happiness however I find it, submitting to no one and nothing—do you see that this is doomed? Do you see that this is the way to death?
Do you see that the pride of this nation’s sin, and the sins of all nation, are just pride before the fall? Do you see this world is like a team pumping itself up into a frenzy before a game that it can only lose? Do you see that this world is like Goliath boasting pompously before stepping on to the field of battle?
You cannot be friends with both the world and God. Rahab saw that. “Do you not know,” says James, “that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” Rahab made a choice. You have to make a choice.
Rahab’s choice led her to action. She struck an allegiance with the spies and tied a scarlet cord outside her window as a sign to save her from the wrath to come.
The wrath of God was falling on the sins of the Canaanites. The people of Jericho, the people of Canaan, sacrificed their own children, setting them aflame to please the god Molech. They tried to harness the power of the supernatural through witchcraft. They delighted in sexual deviance. The Lord was an unstoppable, holy God who would soon breach Jericho’s walls. Rahab saw what was coming. She chose not to die in the sins of her culture.
Have you chosen not to die in the sins of this culture? Don’t entertain yourself 24/7 to the starvation of your soul. Don’t live your life for yourself. Don’t reject every authority higher than yourself. Recognize that the way of this culture leads to death just as certainly as the way of Jericho led to death.
To whom do you belong? Do you live and move and have your being in this culture or do you live and move and have your being in God? Think of what you value. Think of what you love. Do you love what this culture loves or do you love what a beloved child of God loves? Do you value what this culture values or do you value what Jesus values? Are you living like a Canaanite or are you living like a Christian? Have you formed a new allegiance?
Forming a new allegiance doesn’t mean you are hostile this culture. It means you are light in this culture. You are salt in this culture. You seek the prosperity of this culture just like the exiles did in Babylon. You pray for this nation’s leaders. You might be called on to defend this nation. You enjoy and celebrate all the abundant common grace there is to be found in this nation, but you do so with a new allegiance.
“People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”
Are you too at home in this culture? Rahab wasn’t. That was part of her salvation. She formed a new allegiance. She also enjoyed a new inclusion. That’s our second point.
Rahab was included in the people of God. Verse 5 of Matthew’s genealogy tell us that she married an Israelite named Salmon.
We don’t know anything about that courtship or marriage. What we do know is that Rahab’s past clearly wasn’t held against her. Yes, she was a Canaanite. Yes, she had worshipped other gods. Yes, she had been a prostitute. The people of God include people with a past. The apostle Paul told the Corinthians about idolaters, drunkards, homosexuals, thieves, slanderers, swindlers; he said, “and that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Rahab was accepted into the people of God. People with a past are accepted in the people of God.
People with a past can change. We see hints of that in the next line of Matthew’s genealogy. We see that Rahab was the mother of Boaz.
Boaz is one of the godliest men we meet in Scripture. We don’t know what his mother Rahab had to do with that, but it is hard to imagine that the virtues we will see in him next week—kindness, steadfast love, a concern for the helpless, keeping one’s promise—it is hard to imagine that a young man would grow up so well in such an ungodly age without the help of his mother. It seems likely that Rahab never got over the wonder of being a child of God. It seems likely that it was her glad goal to love the lord her God with all her heart, all her soul, and all her might.
Rahab became a work in progress. The people you are sitting near are works in progress. The man you are hearing from is a work in progress. Do you believe that Christians change? You won’t be perfect, but do you believe that you can be more like Jesus a year from now than you are today? Do you believe that God can make you more patient? Do you believe that God can make you kinder? Do you believe that God can change people? Do you believe that God can change you? It seems that He changed Rahab.
Rahab was included in God’s people. She was also included in Jesus’ family tree. We are studying Rahab’s life because Matthew lists her as an ancestor of Jesus.
That’s not what most people expect. People expect Jesus’ ancestry to look like this: God finds the most moral and upright man and brings him together with the most moral and upright woman and they have a child. That child grows up and marries the most moral and upright person available and they have a child. That child grows up and marries the most moral and upright person available and they have a child. Eventually the family line is ready for the Son of God.
That’s not how God did it because the family line would never be ready for the Son of God. If God waited for us to get our act together before He sent His Son, there would never be a Christmas.
Jesus was born into a family with a history of sin because there are no other kinds of families. He was born into a family with a history of sin because he became one of us. He joins us in this mess.
When the Son of God took on flesh, he didn’t just come out of nowhere. He was Joseph and Mary’s son. He was a descendent of Rahab. He was born into a specific family and specific families are the least glamorous. Here’s what I mean. It is easy to love humanity in general. It is hard to love specific people because specific people have flaws. They sin. It was easier to love me before you knew me because I had yet to disappoint you. It is much easier to love the idea of a person than it is to love the person himself.
Christmas isn’t about God’s love for humanity in general. It is about God’s love for humans in the specifics. It’s about God’s love for people like Rahab. It is about God’s love for people like you.
You aren’t that different from Rahab. People focus on the fact that Rahab was a prostitute, but Joshua 2 only mentions it once and the genealogy doesn’t mention it at all. You might think it is remarkable that God could change the life of a prostitute. God doesn’t think it is any more remarkable than the fact that He changed your life. The specifics of your sin are rather incidental when compared with the root of your sin and that root is the same for you as it was for Rahab.
Rahab found grace or rather grace found Rahab. She was included in God’s people. She formed a new allegiance.
Has grace found you? Are you included in God’s people? Have you formed a new allegiance?
You can. Perhaps you’ve been living for yourself. Perhaps you’ve come to recognize that your life really is no different than that of the culture around you. You come to church, but you are starting to see it is just an event for you. You watch, and you move on with your real life. Your allegiance is still to yourself. Maybe you doubt that you could be included in the people of God. You know who you are. You know what you’ve done, and you don’t think God would include you. The story of Rahab tells you that He will. The story of Christmas tells you that He will. Don’t die in the sin of the culture. Form a new allegiance. Follow Jesus. Amen.