Hebrews 11:30-31 (ESV): 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Welcome back to our 12th week in Hebrews chapter 11! 

Because Hebrews 11 is a highlight reel of faithful individuals throughout biblical history, it’s good for us to slow down and visit these iconic stories, not just so that we can learn these important stories in our Bibles, but so that we can really examine their faith and be inspired by it.

You may wonder, “well how come the author of Hebrews didn’t elaborate on these stories?  I mean, he gives just one verse to Enoch… one sentence to Rahab… one verse for Noah… just a few short sentences for Moses… How come we are spending weeks on each person when the author didn’t spend more than a few moments?”  

Simple: because we are not like his original audience.  

His original audience were first century Hebrews who would have known the Old Testament inside and out. Some of them probably even had it memorized.  So all he had to do was mention the name Rahab or Moses or Isaac, and these stories would have flooded their minds in 3D and vivid color.  

But you and I are not steeped in Jewish tradition like they were.  We need to go back and see these narratives in context if we are going to fully appreciate what the author is showing us. 

So this week we are going back to the book of Joshua to two adjacent stories: the story of Rahab and the story of Jericho. These stories are inseparable because Rahab lived in Jericho, and hers was the only household spared when the walls came down.  And there’s a very important reason for that.  The reason, as you would know by now, is faith.  

Hebrews tells us the walls came down by faith, and Rahab was spared by faith. 

• At the beginning of the chapter, we saw faith defined as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  

• In other words, it is a complete confidence in God’s ability to follow through with His promises.  It’s a deep trust in His ability to handle our future in the way He said He would. 

Everything about our relationship with God is on the basis of faith.    

Not works. Not religious effort.  Not social status.  Not anything other than faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ and what He’s done for us. 

And this brings correction to a very common misconception about Christianity. 

Many people think Christianity is all about knowing the right things… and doing the right things… 

When in fact, Christianity is not fundamentally about what you know or what you do… it’s about Who you know, and what He’s done. 

And the author of Hebrews needed his audience to understand this.  So he continually points them back to their own Old Testament to demonstrate that faith has always been the pathway to a relationship with God.  

So turn with me to the book of Joshua.  

Context: If you were tracking with us the past several weeks, we were talking about the story of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt. 

• God miraculously delivers His people from slavery under Moses’ leadership.

• They cross the Red Sea, the Egyptian army is in hot pursuit but God closes the sea on top of them. 

• The Israelites trek through the wilderness towards Canaan (the promised land) for two years, but when they finally get there they refuse to enter because of their unbelief.  (Which is a lesson on what happens when faith is lacking). 

• Then they are forced to wander in the wilderness on the outskirts of Canaan for roughly 40 years, until that unbelieving generation dies off.  

• Then Moses dies, and leadership is passed to Joshua, his protege. 

Joshua 1 (ESV): 

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.

God goes on to give Joshua a leadership pep talk:  

• 6 “Be strong and courageous” 

• 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night” 

• 9 …the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 

• Actually sounds very reminiscent of the Great Commission from Jesus: Go and make disciples… baptize them and teach them… I’ll be with you always…

So Joshua takes the reins of leadership and tells Israel to get ready because they’re about to pass over the Jordan river into the Promised Land. 

And before they mobilize the whole nation, Joshua does the prudent thing and sends two spies into the city on the other side of the Jordan on a recon mission.  

That city, which is a strong, fortified, intimidating city looming in the distance, is called Jericho.  

So the two spies go into this city, and they end up lodging in what was probably an inn of sorts, run by a woman named Rahab, who the Bible tells us was a prostitute.  

Now, we have to pause here and recognize the profile the Bible is giving us of this individual named Rahab. 

• She is the absolute stereotype of someone far from God. 

  • She’s a Gentile and a member of the accursed Amorite race

  • She’s a harlot

  • She’s a citizen of a city that has been condemned by God

She is, in many ways, the opposite of Joshua. 

• Joshua is an Israelite, part of God’s chosen people. 

• He’s God’s chosen leader of the nation, empowered by God’s own authority. 

• He’s been trained up by Moses Himself. 

• And he is even considered to be a foreshadow of Christ Himself.  

These two characters form a very striking contrast.  They could not be more different.   

But, they also have one very important thing in common: Faith in the one true God. 

Well… Word about Rahab harboring the spies ends up getting to the king of Jericho. 

Joshua 2 (ESV): 

3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. 7 So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out. 

So Rahab hides them in order to spare their lives.  

Now, is lying a good thing, kids? No. But this was a matter of life and death, and a matter of aligning with the one true God or not… and Rahab chose rightly.  

We could think of other examples through history of people who lied about harboring people in order to save their lives. 

• For example: Corrie Ten Boom, Oskar Schindler, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and others who used deception and hid Jews from the Nazis during WWII in order to save many lives. 

But the point is not Rahab’s lie, the point is Rahab’s faith.  

Listen to the reverence this woman has for the God of Israel: 

8 Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 

Those are the words of someone who believes.  

She’s recognizing God’s identity and His power.  She’s recognizing His sovereign rule, His Lordship over all creation.  

This is how believers talk. 

And then she does something that only those with true faith do: She recognizes that she is under the impending wrath of God, and she pleads for His mercy and protection: 

12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign 13 that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 

This pagan woman is convinced that she needs to align herself with the God of Israel if she is going to be saved.  This really is an instance of finding extraordinary faith in the most unlikely of places.  

And God honors her faith.  

14 And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.” 

Hear this loud and clear: It doesn’t matter how far someone is from God; if they cry out to Him with authentic faith and humility, He always responds favorably.  

• Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13)

• Rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6)

• Psalm 34:22 (ESV): 22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

So Rahab has made up her mind. Come what may, she is taking refuge in the Lord.  

15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. 

This is a unique detail, but actually, archeological evidence from remnants of ancient Jericho suggest that the city could have had a double-wall construction and it’s reasonable to think that there could have been housing built into the gap between the walls, and that those homes could have had windows looking out from the city. 

So Rahab was able to lower the spies down through her window, directly outside the city. 

And before they took off, they gave her very specific instructions on how to ensure her life was preserved: 

18 Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. 19 Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head… 21 And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window. 

Does this sound vaguely familiar to you? 

Remember a couple weeks ago when we talked about the Passover, and how God sent His wrath upon the sin of Egypt, and told the Hebrews to smear the scarlet blood of the lamb on their doorposts, so that the wrath of God would pass over them?  

Here, we see a similar symbolism.  Rahab, by faith, ties this scarlet cord on the outside of her home and trusts that the wrath of God brought through the Israelite’s conquest of Jericho would pass over her household. It was a tremendous act of trust in the faithfulness of God to keep His promises of protection.   

Scholars have long seen in this a metaphor for the way we trust in the blood of Christ to shelter us from the eternal wrath of God towards sin.  Like Rahab, we live in a world that is marred by sin and it is clear in scripture that divine righteous judgment is imminent.  But those who trust in the Savior Jesus Christ have become part of God’s people and will always be protected from eternal judgment. 

• It’s as though a scarlet cord has been tied around us, marking us as His own.

• Romans 5:8–9 (ESV): 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.  

We continue the story in chapter 3. 

After the spies return and make their report… Joshua gets everyone ready to cross the Jordan, and tells them “consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you”.

• Which is a great reminder for us that if we want to see God do wonderful things around us, we must first prepare our own hearts.  

• This was true of the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 6, when God first cleansed Him then commissioned Him for His service.  And this is true of us too. 

• Revival needs to happen inside us before it can happen through us. 

Well, the next day, Joshua and the Israelites, preceded by the ark of the covenant, cross the Jordan river on dry ground.  It’s another miracle that defies nature, similar to the crossing of the Red Sea.  God causes the river to pile up miles upstream (at Adam) so that they can cross safely during a time of year when it would have been overflowing its banks.  

When they get to the other side of the Jordan, Joshua commands twelve men, a man from each tribe, to take a massive stone and pile them together near their campsite as a monument of what God did.  He says, “when your children ask, ‘what do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord”. (4:6)

Then in chapter 5, the Lord further consecrates and prepares His people by commanding the new generation to be circumcised… then they eat the Passover together… and then in 5:13-15 you have what many refer to as a Theophany; an Old Testament manifestation of God Himself… 

Joshua 5:13–15 (ESV): 13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” 

So Joshua wants to know what side of the human battle this man is on… and he essentially says, ‘I’m on a different team altogether. I transcend all of that. I’m on team Heaven.” 

And the reason people see this as a theophany is because of what happens next: 

And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Sound familiar?  Sounds like Moses at the burning bush, doesn’t it?  

So Joshua, the man of God, who was about to carry out the will of God, first has an encounter with God. 

I wonder how often we try to carry out God’s will without first spending time in His presence?  His presence changes everything, doesn’t it?  

• By the way, Joshua was no stranger to the presence of God.  Exodus 33:11 tells us that even when Joshua was a young man, he would routinely stay in the tent of meeting long after his mentor Moses had left.  

• It’s no wonder God chose to do powerful things through Him.  

Well, as the story continues, we do see God do something uniquely amazing.  

The next day, they came to Jericho.  

How were the Israelites going to destroy this seemingly impenetrable city? 

By cunning military strategy? By sheer force?  By creative weaponry?  No.  

Remember what Hebrews 11:30 tells us: By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.

As they approached this unbreachable city, God gave them a very specific and unusual set of instructions:

Joshua 6:3–5 (ESV): 3 You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. 4 Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.”   

Some people have tried to see in this some magic formula for breaking down walls, either literal or metaphorical.  “Do this seven times, shout a shout of triumph, and whallah! Whatever trouble you are facing will just evaporate!” 

But the whole point of this strategy with Jericho is that it shouldn’t have worked.  The only reason it worked is because GOD did it! 

Don’t miss the symbolism:  

• Seven is a number that signifies completion.  Joshua and the Israelites were carrying out God’s command to the fullest, appointed measure. 

• A trumpet, or ram’s horn (shofar) was a common way of announcing the arrival and victory of a king. 

• The Ark of the Covenant (verse 4) represented the very presence of God. 

Everything about this moment screams “victory belongs to God alone”.  He is the King. He is the Victor. He is the Rescuer of all who take refuge in Him.    

And that’s what happened.  Against all odds and all human rationality, God brought victory. 

Joshua 6:20 (ESV): 20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. 

And verse 25 adds an important detail: 

Joshua 6:25 (ESV): 25 But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.     

As we’ve been going through Hebrews 11, we’ve seen that true faith trusts God even when it doesn’t make sense.  

• We saw this with Abraham, when God told him he would have a son in his old age, and when He was willing to sacrifice His son Isaac (before He knew that God would stop Him from following through with it). 

• We saw this with Noah who built an ark in the middle of a desert. 

• With Moses, who went to Pharaoh with an impossible request, and was willing to drive his staff into the Red Sea and trust that God would deliver His people on dry ground. 

And now, we see a similar trait in both Joshua and Rahab.  

The willingness to trust God’s promises and providence even in the face of unscalable walls and unimaginable danger.

I’m sure we can all recount moments in our lives when trusting God and doing things His way felt irrational and counterintuitive. 

It’s important as believers to remember that by far the greatest wall we’ve ever faced… the greatest danger we’ve ever faced… Jesus has already overcome for us. 

• When He died on the cross, the wall of separation that our sin had constructed between us and God was obliterated. 

• His atoning death trampled our greatest enemy, Satan, under His feet.  

• His resurrection proves that He is the victorious King.  

• His Holy Spirit in us proves that His presence is here with His people. 

And the good news is, this victory and presence is available to everyone who trusts in Him by faith. 

Many people believe the story of Rahab is isolated to that one incident… but actually, she shows up again much later on.  

In the book of Matthew, chapter 1, there is a long genealogy given of Jesus Christ.  It’s significant, because it’s one of the ways the Bible shows us that Christ was fully man, not just fully God.  

And in that genealogy, we read this: 

Matthew 1:4–6 (ESV): 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah…

Did you catch it?  Rahab… this woman who was as far from God as you can imagine… not only was spared from the destruction of Jericho… not only became one of God’s own people… but was used by God to help bring forth the Messiah Himself. 

And not only Rahab by the way… but look at some of these other names on the list. 

• Ruth - a pagan Moabite woman, who grew up in a land of idolatry, but was led to faith by her mother in law Naomi.  

• David - a great king, yes, but also a murderer and an adulterer.

• The wife of Uriah…. A woman better known as Bathsheba!   

God will rescue anyone.  God will redeem anyone. God will use anyone. 

The criteria is simple: authentic faith.  

Jesus said it like this, to all who would follow Him: … repent and believe in the gospel. (Mark 1:15) 

• Repentance means turning away from a life of rebellion against God and His will, and choosing decisively to follow Christ. 

• Believing in the gospel means more than just intellectual agreement; it means trusting in who Jesus is and what He did on the cross for you, to pay for your sin and purchase your salvation.  

Faith enables us to do this and is evidenced by a life of continued desire to love and follow Jesus.