I want to talk about one of my favorite stories in the Bible. It’s my favorite because of the person this story is about. See, I can relate to their story. This individual had a HUGE calling on their life. And they had some huge shoes to fill. The previous leader of Israel was a man by the name of Moses. He actually set the entire nation free after hundreds of years of slavery. Through God he received the 10 Commandments... twice. He literally spoke to God face to face as a man speaks to a friend. He led the Israelites in the desert by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He split the Red Sea. He called manna and quail from heaven. And he had finally led them to the Promised Land after 40 years of walking in the desert.

Enter Joshua.
Joshua, although he has big shoes to fill, already has a pretty impressive resume. He was one of the 12 spies that went into the Promised Land 40 years ago. He was one of 2 that came back saying, yes there are giants but we can take em. He was Moses’ #2 and actually stayed in the tent of meeting when Moses spoke to God face to face. Joshua now takes over leadership of all of Israel. He’s pretty nervous about it. In fact the entire first chapter of the book that bears his name has sentence after sentence of God’s encouragement saying, Joshua, take courage, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you!

This entire book is full of the exploits of Joshua. We have rivers splitting (just like the Red Sea). We have giant 10 foot thick walls falling at the sound of trumpets and shouting. We have exploit after exploit of Israel victorious in battle. In one instance Joshua actually prayed for the sun to stop in the sky so Israel would have more daylight to win the battle.

Have I mentioned that I love Joshua!!! I want to take you to a particular spot in this story. It is one of the more famous stories in the Bible and it happens at a city by the name of Jericho.

As the Israelites gathered along the east bank of the flooded and swollen Jordan, they were closely watched by the people of Jericho, only a few hundred yards from the river's western shore. They had heard how the Lord had parted the Red Sea to allow the Israelites to escape the Egyptian army, and how He had helped them to utterly defeat the 2 Amorite kings east of the Jordan. In Rahab's own words, "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 earth below." (Josh 2:11). Then the people of Jericho stood aghast as the God of Israel stopped the flow of the raging river, allowing them to cross on dry ground.
When Joshua sent 2 spies into Jericho they found their way to Rahab's home and sought refuge there, which she granted in return for their guarantee of safety for her and her family. They agreed and told her that if she marked her home with a scarlet cord, she and anyone in the house with her would be spared in the coming battle (Josh 2:12-21). On the day of battle the city was captured and everyone within its walls died, except for Rahab and her family. She had gathered her family in her home and marked it with the scarlet cord as they had agreed. Before burning the city to the ground, Joshua had the 2 spies go to Rahab's home and bring her and all her family out to dwell among the Israelites. (Josh 6:22-25).
By the way, can you picture this? Her house was built into the city wall, which of course came tumbling down at the shout of the Israelite army. Of all the massive stone work protecting the city of Jericho, only that portion containing the home of Rahab was left standing.
MAYBE YOU HAVE A SKETCHY PAST. YOU FEEL LIKE GOD COULD NEVER USE YOU. MAYBE YOU FEEL LIKE HE COULD NEVER ACCEPT YOU. MAYBE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE A LONG SHOT. AN UNEXPECTED HERO. MAYBE JOSHUA IS TALKED ABOUT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND RAHAB JUST KEEPS GETTING PASSED OVER.
From that time on, Rahab dwelt with the Israelites. She married a man from the tribe of Judah named Salmon and had a son whom they named Boaz. Boaz took a bride from Moab named Ruth and they had a son named Obed, who had a son named Jesse who had a son named David who became King of Israel (Ruth 4:13-22). And 26 generations later, Matthew 1:5 says that Rahab is a part of the very genealogy of Jesus himself.

Hebrews 11:30-31 [NKJV]

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.


Maybe you can relate to Rahab. Maybe you have this label that you can’t get past. Maybe you’ve stopped being a harlot but you haven’t moved into Israel. You’ve changed but you haven’t given everything up of your old life. Before we go any further I have to ask the question. To the unexpected heroes... Right now, would you perish with those who did not believe? Maybe in your heart you would say I believe. But Rahab received the spies in. She didn’t just believe, she took action. She left her old ways and became new. She no longer was a harlot but she lived with the Israelites. Have you been giving God lip service but haven’t put it into action? Belief needs action. Faith needs action. Simply put, have you put action to your faith??