HIS
LIFE FOR OURS
October 28, 2012
MF Blume
Joshua 2:1-21 KJV And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim
two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And
they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged
there. (2) And it was told the king of Jericho, saying,
Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to
search out the country. (3) And the king of Jericho sent
unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which
are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the
country. (4) And the woman took the two men, and hid them,
and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they
were: (5) And it came to pass about the time of shutting of
the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went
I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.
(6) But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid
them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the
roof. (7) And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan
unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone
out, they shut the gate. (8) And before they were laid
down, she came up unto them upon the roof; (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. (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.
(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. (12) Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by
the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew
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. (14) And the men answered her, Our life for
yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the
LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with
thee. (15) Then she let them down by a cord through the
window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the
wall. (16) And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain,
lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until
the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.
(17) And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this
thine oath which thou hast made us swear. (18) 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. (19) And it shall be, that
whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his
blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever
shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any
hand be upon him. (20) And if thou utter this our business,
then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to
swear. (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.
It seems to hold true that Rahab had an INN and also conducted herself
as a prostitute, which was common for innkeepers in those days.
· Strangers would go here for the night and
get a bonus from Rahab.
· And how the Lord chose her and this account
to show faith really brings out the fact that IT IS NOT YOUR GOODNESS
that is going to get you through.
· RAHAB HAD FAITH.
Only two women were name in the roll call of faith in Hebrews 11.
· Sarah and Rahab.
Hebrews 11:30-31 KJV By faith the walls of Jericho fell down,
after they were compassed about seven days. (31) By faith
the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had
received the spies with peace.
It was her FAITH that caused her not to perish.
· What was it that she had faith in?
· What did her faith involve?
The spies hid in her Inn since strangers would be least noticed there
since there were always strangers lodging at inns.
Notice.
· She informed them that she knew what God did
in Egypt and the Red Sea, and battles in the wilderness.
· Likely from all the strangers lodging there.
· Those thoughts affected her and she chose to
serve that God and live.
· She begged for them to protect her in the
destruction.
(12) Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since
I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my
father's house, and give me a true token:
Show me kindness, and give me a solid indication to give me security in
your promise.
Notice her double request.
· SHOW KINDNESS.
· GIVE TRUE TOKEN.
The spies responded about those very two things.
(14) And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter
not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the
land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
We’ll deal KINDLY and TRULY.
· They gave her an OATH.
· That sealed the truth of their promise.
· OUR LIFE FOR YOURS.
· That gave her security and confidence in
their promise.
She let them down by a red rope.
· She then informed them to go to the
mountains for three days to avoid any searchers.
· And before they left, they instructed her to
do something that would be associated with their oath.
Joshua 2:17-20 KJV And the men said unto her, We will be
blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.
(18) 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. (19) And it
shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into
the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless:
and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on
our head, if any hand be upon him. (20) And if thou utter
this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast
made us to swear.
The OATH they swore was OUR LIFE FOR YOURS.
· The red rope that she used for them to
escape would be the TOKEN of that oath.
· Their promise would only come good if she
did her part.
· Tie it in her window to be seen, stay inside
that house, AND DON’T BETRAY THIS SECRTE BUSINESS.
What was the secret business?
· It was not about hiding them there since the
soldiers already knew they were there and she told them the spies left
her house already, while they were hidden.
· So the secret business was TYING THE RED
ROPE IN HER WINDOW FOR PROTECTION.
· If they found out that she leaked the
bargain by seeing MANY WINDOWS with red ropes, then she’d perish
and the deal was off.
While Israel marched around Jericho for 7 days, circling the city for a
total of 13 times, they looked at the walls their parents saw 39 years
before when those walls scared them and spread the unbelief that banned
them from the promised land.
· They had to walk around those walls and not
say a word, teaching them to walk by faith and not by sight, for the
last time Israel saw walls they SPOKE and spread unbelief.
· This time Israel would be forced to look at
walls and SAY NOTHING!
· But while they LOOKED AT WALLS and
strengthened their faith, RAHAB WAS ALSO LOOKING AT A RED ROPE and
TRUSTING IN THAT SIGN for her salvation.
· That was a test of faith.
To her the rope meant the words of the spies, “OUR LIFE FOR
YOURS.”
· Her FAITH is what was attributed to her
escape from perishing.
Heb 11: (31) By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them
that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
Faith is the evidence of things not seen, the substance of things hoped
for.
· It is interesting that faith is something we
walk by in total opposition to walking by SIGHT, when RAHAB had to put
the RED ROPE IN something we LOOK THROUGH – A WINDOW!
· This is perfectly the picture of Israel
LOOKING AT WALLS but not allowed to SAY A DOUBTFUL WORD.
· In the THING SHE LOOKED THROUGH – a
window – she was to not go by any events she would see, like
Israel marching around while it terrified the unbelievers.
· She admitted the people were terrified by
the Israelites.
Joshua 2:9 KJV 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.
· Now, they were marching around THEIR CITY!
· And she had to look at them through the
window, with a RED ROPE that encouraged her to NOT FEAR.
· What a temptation to LOOK AND BECOME AFRAID!
· And the ROPE said “OUR LIFE FOR
YOURS.”
That is exactly how we can face troubles in our lives every day in
faith.
· While you SEE so many things that could
bring fear to your flesh, KEEP THE BLOOD OF JESUS IN MIND!
· HIS LIFE FOR YOUR LIFE MEANS YOU are
different than the rest.
· YOU HAVE SECURITY THEY DO NOT HAVE.
· HIS LIFE FOR YOUR LIFE.
· Since YOU DIED WHEN HE DIED, and His life
was for your life, TRUST IN THAT FACT when everything you see seems to
scare everyone else.
By her trust in what that RED ROPE represented, she would remain in
that house with her relatives, and GOD WOULD SPARE HER.
· I said GOD WOULD SPARE HER because her house
was ON THE WALL.
· WALLS were what God’s power destroyed.
· Israel did not bring the walls down.
· God did.
Recall the ANGEL JOSHUA SAW when he took a visit into Canaan by Jericho
before Israel crossed?
· The angel had a sword and said he was
captain of the Hosts of Heaven.
· That tells us that ANGELS tore down the
walls with supernatural SWORDS.
· SO THE ANGELS SAW THE ROPE as well as GOD!
God said WHEN HE SEES THE BLOOD IN EGYPT He would protect the FIRSTBORN
inside the house from the death angel.
· WE NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT GOD SEES.
· HE SEES US in the death of Jesus.
· People who cannot see themselves dead with
Jesus will be like the world who scrambles to do what they can to
rescue themselves.
· People look at all the wrong things that God
does not even acknowledge!
· The way of the world is to look at what man
looks at but not what God sees.
· We’re not built to handle crises on
our own.
· So people break down who think they are
built to independently battle life.
· BUT WE HAVE THE WORD.
· “MY LIFE FOR YOURS!”
The red rope stands for the BLOOD OF JESUS.
· The blood stands for HIS DEATH that we
experienced TOGETHER WITH HIM.
· The package deal of the cross caused us to
also be buried and resurrected with Him.
· WE STAND STILL, NOT FEAR and while the
problems rage and bring terror to the people of the world around us, we
HAVE FAITH WE RECEIVE POWER FROM GOD to be safe through it all due to
our DEATH with Christ.
This is how the work of the cross helps us get through everyday
struggles!
Fears crop up every day.
Notice that Christ’s death destroyed the work of the devil and
delivered people WHO HAD FEAR OF DEATH.
Hebrews 2:14-15 KJV Forasmuch then as the children are partakers
of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;
that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death,
that is, the devil; (15) And deliver them who through fear
of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
While circumstances caused fear of death amongst Jericho, Rahab looked
at the RED ROPE to remind herself of deliverance from death.
· If she lost faith, she’d run out of
the house in fear for her life.
· And she’d die.
· She LIVED on the WALL and had to watch
Israel march around ready to destroy the place.
· BUT THE WINDOW HAD THE SCARLET ROPE IN IT!
· “MY LIFE FOR YOURS!”
His life was taken for our lives.
· His death occurred so we could say we died.
· His resurrection was our resurrection!
· THAT UNION SAVES US FROM DESTRUCTION!
· Keep that faith and it will move God to
ensure you do not get destroyed!
God sees that faith and he empowers you!
· While others fret, you remain calm because
YOU KNOW GOD WILL CARRY YOU THROUGH.
· He keeps you standing while others crumble
around you, like the walls of Jericho with Rahab’s house on a
wall that did not come down!
·
