Saturday, September 26 — She Believed Before She Belonged
She had no Bible, no covenant, and no church home. She had heard one story about God, and she built her whole life on it.
Joshua 2:8-14 — KJV
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.
Joshua 2:8-14 — WEB
8 Before they had lain down, she came up to them on the roof. 9 She said to the men, "I know that Yahweh 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 Yahweh 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 to Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, and there wasn't any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, please swear to me by Yahweh, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a true sign; 13 and that you will save alive my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death." 14 The men said to her, "Our life for yours, if you don't talk about this business of ours; and it shall be, when Yahweh gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you."
Explanation
The soldiers are gone. The gate is shut. And before the two men can even lie down, Rahab climbs up to the roof to say what she has been holding all evening.
What comes out of her mouth is one of the clearest confessions of faith in the Old Testament, and it comes from the least likely person in the book. I know that the LORD hath given you the land. Not I suspect. Not people are saying. I know. Then she tells them why. Forty years ago a sea opened. More recently two Amorite kings fell. Jericho heard about it, and Jericho has been afraid ever since.
Here is what makes her different. Everyone in that city heard the same reports. Verse 11 says the whole city's heart melted. But fear is not faith. The rest of Jericho heard about the God who split the sea and responded by bolting the gates. Rahab heard the same thing and concluded something nobody else in her city was willing to say out loud: the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. Not one god among the others. The God. Over everything. She crossed from being afraid of Him to belonging to Him, and she did it alone.
Then she asks for two things, and they tell you what kind of person she really is. She asks for mercy — deal kindly with my father's house — and she asks for a sign she can hold onto. And notice she does not ask only for herself. Her father, her mother, her brothers, her sisters, all that they have. The woman her city pushed to the wall is standing on a rooftop negotiating for her whole family's survival.
She had nothing that we would call qualifications. No covenant. No scroll. No upbringing in the faith. No one to disciple her. She had a rumor about something God did before she was old enough to remember it, and she staked her life on it anyway. She believed before she belonged.
Some of us need to hear that this morning, because we have been waiting to feel qualified. We think real faith belongs to people who grew up in the church, who know the books of the Bible in order, who have a clean story to tell. Rahab had none of it. What she had was the courage to say what she believed out loud to the only two people who could do anything about it.
And some of us know somebody like her right now — somebody on the outside of church life who has been quietly watching, half-convinced, with a past they assume disqualifies them. They are usually waiting for one person to tell them they would be welcome.
Tomorrow we find out what God did with Rahab's confession. Tonight, she is just a woman on a roof, telling the truth about God with no guarantee that it will save her.
Thought for the Day
You don't need a clean past to have a bold faith.
Reflection Question
What do you actually believe about God that you have never said out loud to anyone?
Prayer
God of heaven above and earth beneath, thank You that You receive faith from people the world has already judged. Where I feel unqualified, remind me that Rahab was too. Give me courage to say plainly what I believe about You, and to tell somebody who is watching from the outside that there is room for them. Amen.
This week we walk toward Sunday's lesson: God's Compassion for Rahab.