Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

The Profession of a Prostitute Joshua 2 Promised Land Living in Problematic World Sermon #4   It’s called “the oldest profession in the world.” Hollywood would have us believe that it’s the attractive, sweet, innocence of Pretty Woman. Or, the upscale sexuality and sensual enticement of a Heidi Fleiss. It’s not. And it is debauched hypocrisy that Hollywood can on one hand clamor for women’s rights, yet on the other hand promote immorality that so dehumanizes women. This perversion, like no other, reveals Hollywood’s true identity, Hellywood.   Whether it is a strip club, a bachelor party, massage parlors, escort services or street walkers, prostitution is abusive, perverted and often violent. The average age of a prostitute is 13 or 14 and the age is decreasing. Many were first victims of sexual abuse. Most are driven to it by poverty. A high percentage are drug addicts or are mentally disturbed. The human psyche seeks to protect itself from the trauma of sexual abuse and a prostitute will often do something to disassociate from how her body is being violated. One study found that prostitutes have a mortality rate 40 times higher than the national average. In another 75% of the women involved had attempted suicide. One 14-year-old prostitute stated, “You feel like a piece of hamburger meat, all chopped up and barely holding together.” The abuse of prostitutes is not just self-inflicted, nor is it just perpetuated by those who financially benefit, or even the deviants who use them. Prostitutes are dehumanized by “normal” people...like you and me. As recently as 1991, police in one Southern California community closed all rape reports made by prostitutes, placing them in a file stamped “NHI” – No Human Involved.   Do we view those involved in sexual deviation as “subhuman”? Are we repulsed by them? Or, do we see them as lost sheep needing God’s grace? Do we have any desire to touch their lives, to reach them? Or, do we want to keep them as far away from us, our families and our church as possible? Do we  consider them humans, having souls? If we are repulsed by those who have been victimized by sin and want to avoid them, we do not have God’s heart.   This morning we are considering Joshua chapter 2. It’s obvious that our loving Heavenly Father had one primary purpose for including this chapter in  Scripture. It’s to show His sovereign grace. Chapter two is the account of a prostitute, a common street walker, who becomes a believer. It is truly The Profession of a Prostitute. It’s the wonderful story of God’s grace touching the untouchable and the unreachable. Before we begin this wonderful study of a life transformed, let’s do some background work.   God has promised to give His people the land. Jericho is the first city in their path and militarily it is critical that they conquer it. Jericho is one of the many city-states in Canaan ruled by a king. It was double-walled with houses built on the outer wall. These walls were a powerful defense against invaders. Most importantly, Jericho stood at a critical military juncture for taking the land. It sat in a valley and served as the “main entrance” into Canaan. By taking Jericho, Joshua divided Canaan, driving a wedge between the Northern and Southern nations.   As part of the Hebrew CIA, Joshua sends in two spies. Obviously, Joshua had learned from the Kadesh-Barnea experience when ten of the spies came back with an evil report, so he sent these two men out secretly. Because Jordan was at its flood stage, they probably had to hike several miles upstream before crossing and then travel another four or five miles to Jericho. Apparently, unnoticed they slipped through the city gate. They mingled with Jericho’s crowds and then lodged where strangers would be inconspicious, in the house of a prostitute.   While Joshua had a military purpose, God had a greater purpose, one which Joshua never considered. In Jericho God had a person that no one else would welcome but He was going to welcome into His kingdom. Not only was God going to save Rahab, He was going to save her whole family. Rahab’s story confirms that God welcomes all people, whatever their condition.   This is the real reason the spies were sent out, though they didn’t know it. They were not just doing a job, God had them on a mission. As we work our way through Joshua 2, let’s remember that God also has each of us on a mission. The mission is where we work, where we live, it’s even when we travel cross country. While we are about our business, we must also be about God’s business. Most of us have a Rahab God wants to use us to reach.   In this wonderful account we see God’s working where most think He can never work. What can we learn from this wonderful story of grace? 1. When pagans see the work of God, there is always a response. Throughout the pages of Scripture we quickly discover that where God is working, lost people pay attention. Potiphar, the Egyptian prison warden and Pharaoh all noticed that God worked and blessed Joseph. When Pharaoh refused to let God’s people go, Pharaoh and the Egyptians were paying attention when God sent the ten plagues. The Philistines sat on the edge of their seats when God delivered Goliath into David’s hands.    It’s the same in Joshua 2. The reaction toward the spies was really a reaction toward God’s work, v. 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.” Pagans often react in one of Three Ways to God’s work: fury, fear or faith.   Under the Old Covenant, God’s work was primarily FOR His people. In this Age of Grace God’s work though is primarily IN His people. That’s what happened on the Day of Pentecost. It was God’s power working through those early believers that turned their world upside down. It was the power of God in Paul and Silas that the Philippian jailer responded to. In the New Testament lost people were astounded by God’s working IN His people.   As I prepared this, I was convicted. Let’s be honest. Today the world often “yawns” at our faith. Isn’t it because they don’t see God working in us? We’re simply not plugged in enough to God’s power to rattle their world. D. James Kennedy states that “One of the saddest statistics of our day is that 95% of all church members have never led anyone to Christ.” If we’re not plugged in to God’s power, we have little to offer those who do not know Christ.      Cecil Northcott in A Modern Epiphany tells of a discussion in a camp of young people where representatives of many nations were living together. "One night the campers were discussing various ways of telling people about Christ. They turned to the girl from Africa. 'Maria,' they asked, 'what do you do in your country?' 'Oh,' said Maria, 'we don't have missions or give pamphlets away. We just send one or two Christian families to live and work in a village, and when people see what Christians are like, then they want to be Christians too.'" Do the lost people living around us see the power of God in our lives? When lost people see God’s power, there is a reaction.    a) Fury, vss. 2-3. The king didn’t send his soldiers on a raid because of a zero tolerance policy for visitors. Other strangers at a prostitute’s house wouldn’t have merited a yawn. No, he responded aggressively because he knew about God’s power so he decides to attack God’s men. He wasn’t looking for these men to have a nice chat. No doubt they would have been tortured in an attempt to extract information. Ultimately, they would have been executed.   David Howard suggests though that because God is merciful and also consistent, if Jericho had responded as Nineveh did when Jonah came prophesying judgement and cried out to God for mercy, God would have spared the city. Lost people are attacking God when they attack His messengers. If you let God work through you, lost people are going to react with anger and even persecute you.   b) Fear, vss. 9 and 11. The city of Jericho had been demoralized. They were petrified of Israel and what God would do to them. Man in his sin is always afraid of God. He is frightened of the power of God.   An infidel said, "There is one thing that mars all the pleasures of my life." His friend asked, “What’s that ?" He answered, "I am afraid the Bible is true. If I could know for certain that death is an eternal sleep, I should be happy: my joy would be complete! But here is the thorn that stings me. This is the sword that pierces my very soul, if the Bible is true, I am lost forever." When lost people see the power of God, they’re afraid.   c) Faith. But one does not have to respond to God’s power with fury or fear, God wants the lost to respond and come to Him in faith. That’s exactly what Rahab did, vss 9 and 11 “I know that the LORD has given this land to you;” “the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” Rahab responded to God’s power by making Him her God. These men are not the army, they’re spies. Israel hadn’t even crossed Jordan yet. Yet  Rahab in faith, believes what she has not seen – that God had given Israel this land. As far as she was concerned, the conquest was already over.   That’s true faith seeing and believing God’s Word. What a beautiful story of salvation! Rahab believed in God and His power which she had never seen while living in the midst of a pagan culture surrounded by the impregnable walls of Jericho, a city that had already stood for hundreds of years. She did not believe what she saw with her physical eyes, she believed in what she saw through the eyes of faith. Rahab took God at His Word. She said, “I know.” There was no doubt. She believed that the God of Israel was the one true God.    What about us? Do we take God at His Word? How strong is our faith? Do we believe God and His promises with the same intensity that Rahab had? Our light is much greater than her’s? Is our faith greater too? 2. God loves to reach the unreachable. A buzz word from church growth gurus is “target groups.” The thinking is that you need to determine what “target group” your church wants to minister to, or would be most effective ministering to, then you design your program to reach that “group.”   If a church planting team had canvassed Jericho, doing a demographic study, do you think that they would have picked Rahab the Prostitute as a good candidate for the Gospel?   They might have picked some local politicians, some up and comers, perhaps a few young families, maybe a sweet widow. But no one would have picked Rahab. What happens here is reinforced by Jesus when He took some self-righteous Jewish leaders off at the knees, telling them “tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you” (Matt. 21:31).   Morally, Rahab was the scum of the earth. How many hearts do you think that she had broken? How many homes had she sent to the scrap yard? How many families had she torn apart? How many young men had she seduced and stolen their purity from? How many marriages had she ruined? And she did it all for the love of money. She’s the last person in Jericho that anyone would have thought that God would reach. Prostitutes back then while tolerated, were social outcasts. God loves to reach the unreachable.   Scholars since Josephus have tried to whitewash Rahab. They argue that she was really an innkeeper. And it’s true that the word translated “prostitute,” zonah could also be translated innkeeper. The New Testament though settles the argument. Twice she is referred to as a prostitute (Heb. 11:31, James 2:25). Rahab wasn’t the desk clerk at the local Red Roof. She was a street walker. The bottom of the bottom of society. Yet that’s who God reached.   What a reminder to us! The church isn’t just for respectable, moral, middle class folk. That would be like saying that a hospital is just for doctors and nurses, instead of for sick people. The church is not a social club. The church is to be a rescue squad on the edge of Hell!   Who’s the most unreachable person in your social circle? Who’s the meanest person you know? Who’s the most immoral, the most depraved? Rahab teaches us that they may be the very one that God wants to reach. God’s mission for you, just like those Hebrew spies, may be that He has sent you across their path to reach them! 3. Spiritual Babies get into things. This past week a crew of folk repainted the nursery and it looks great! As we were trying to make sure that it was ready for babies again, Scott Hoppe pointed out that all the plate covers over the electric outlets had to be put back on and the plastic inserts put back in the sockets or we couldn’t use it. Why? Because babies get into things. That’s why, if you’re past that stage of life, and a small child comes to your home for a visit – you “child proof” your home.   Are you ready for this? Are you sitting down? Spiritual Babies get into things too. Bible scholars have a feeding frenzy over the fact that Rahab lied to protect the spies. Actually, she told three big whoppers right in a row: she didn’t know where the spies came from; she said that they had gone; and finally, she said that she didn’t know where they were.   And the ethical question is: Was it wrong for her to lie? Yes. It’s a violation of the ninth commandment. “But if she hadn’t lied, the spies would have been killed.” Do we really believe that the God Who knocked down Jericho’s walls  couldn’t have protected these two  men...if Rahab had told the truth? And isn’t it God’s will many times for us to suffer when we do the right thing?   As we study Scripture, we find that God commends Rahab’s faith. Scripture though never commends her lying.   But we also forget her faith is infantile. At this point she’s doing something totally appropriate within her culture. Think about it, it’s not in the best interest of a prostitute to be a person of truth. “Your husband, Mrs. Jones. Sure, he’s right here.” What’s really amazing is that God overruled and the king believed her.   I find it interesting that while there is great debate on whether Rahab was right when she lied, everyone believes Abraham was wrong when he lied. Abraham too lied to protect a life, though it was his own. A life is a life...and a lie is a lie – whatever the motive.   While in Rahab’s case God used this lie for His glory, that’s not usually the case. Most of the time a lie makes things worse. Some of you may recall an incident many years ago when the State Department lied about the U‑2 spy plane incident. This may have been done out of concern for the millions of Americans, because their trust in the honesty of the government is crucial. Also, it preserved good relations with Russia and kept a military secret which was necessary to insure future security measures. Although the original explanation by the State Department was plausible, the lie was discovered.  This resulted in greater hatred among nations, and the confidence of many Americans in their government was lost. That lie only made things worse.   A lie is always a lie. The end does not justify the means. “It is never right to do wrong to get a chance to do right.” But should we be surprised when a baby Christian gets into something like a lie?   John Newton, the writer of Amazing Grace, was a slave trader when he was converted. And he stayed in the slave trade for over a year afterwards. Dick Day, who, along with Josh McDowell, ran the Julian Center in San Diego–a Christian organization which helps believers approach their faith holistically–tells that he first came to Christ in the midst of a hard‑drinking business environment. He says that in order to get up enough courage to share his newfound faith with his boss, he had to have six martinis.   Often sins, like Rahab’s, are salted with faith, and God finds faith where we do not (and often cannot) see it. We should be slow to judge sin and quick to perceive faith. And we need to remember that spiritual babies get into things.   Rather than motivating us to look for a spiritual loophole, the story of Rahab should motivate us to be people of truth. At least Rahab lied with a good motive. She lied to save someone else’s skin. Most of us lie to save our own. 4. New life has spiritual indicators. One of my weird hobbies when I meet someone new is to listen to them speak and then attempt to figure out, based on their accent, where they’re from. Oftentimes, based on other things about them, I’ll even try to guess what they do for a living. And I don’t do half bad.    An accent or different style of clothes are often indications that someone is a foreigner. When someone is truly born-again, when there is spiritual life, there will be indicators that they are not citizens of this world but citizens of heaven. Rahab has indicators that regeneration has taken place in her life.   a) Spiritual Indicator #1: Rahab is awed with Who God is. What’s interesting is that while everyone snags their theological pants on Rahab’s lie, they overlook her “truth,” v. 11b “for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” This is an amazing statement in light of the polytheism that she had grown up in. Canaanites worshiped many gods, yet Rahab affirms the one true God. Her words have a sense of wonder. It’s also a powerful statement about her belief in God’s sovereignty. Because she has faith in Who God is, she is willing to risk her life to trust Him. Believers have a sense of awe about Who God is. Are you awed with Who God is?   b) Spiritual Indicator #2: Rahab is concerned about other lost people, v. 12-13. Rahab believed God was going to destroy Jericho and she wanted those she cared for to be spared. While it was a risk lying to the king, this is much riskier. By sharing with her loved ones what she was doing so that they would be spared, she risked their rejection and her exposure. But she believed God and knew that He was going to destroy the city. And she cared enough for those around her to take a tremendous risk.   Outreach is always a risk. We risk rejection, ridicule and sometimes persecution. But if we believe God and really care for those who we say that we love and who we claim are our friends, we’ll take the risk. If we care and believe Hell is real, we’ll have the same sense of urgency Rahab had.   c) Spiritual Indicator #3: Rahab has responsibility, vss. 14, 17-21. James 2:24-25 reminds us, “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did.” Righteous works do not save us, instead they demonstrate that there truly is spiritual life, that we are regenerate. Some believers act as if “justification” is really “just a vacation by faith.” Rahab was responsible to tie the scarlet cord in the window, gather her relatives into her home and keep the spy mission a secret. The reality of her faith is demonstrated by the fact that she immediately tied the scarlet cord in the window.   As being part of an earthly family carries responsibilities, so does being part of God’s family. Doing things doesn’t make you a part of the family but it indicates that you are part of the family. As New Testament believers, we too are saved to serve. We each have responsibilities. While we are not saved by works, if we are saved we will work. Christian friend, do you take your spiritual family responsibilities seriously?   d) Spiritual Indicator #4: Rahab is given a symbol of the covenant, “And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.” As a child in Sunday School, I remember much being made of the scarlet cord in the window in various flannel graph lessons and that it represented the blood of Jesus that was necessary to save us. While we need to always be cautious with symbolism, for Rahab the scarlet cord definitely represented the covenant that she had made. In a sense it was Rahab’s “tying a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree” signifying her new identity, love and trust in a new people but most of all in the God she was just beginning to know.    God gave the Children of Israel various covanental symbols; the Passover, the brazen serpent, the sacrificial system. Today God has given those of us under the New Covenant symbols too. Baptism is a picture of new life in Christ and the Lord’s Table is a symbol of our Savior’s broken body and our need for continual fellowship. God’s Word is our written covenant, containing the promises of God for His people.   Can’t you just picture Rahab rushing out to find her family and loved ones throughout the city, “Hurry! Hurry! Come under the mark of the scarlet cord! Come where you will be safe from the judgement of God!” As God spared those with the blood on the doorposts during the Passover, so He would only spare those living under the scarlet cord. But it was not faith in the cord that brought salvation but faith in the God Who gave her the symbol of the cord.   What a testament too of the power and protection of God. God was going to destroy the walls of Jericho...and where did Rahab live...on the wall? God preserves His people though they live in the midst of destruction and judgement. One section of the wall still stood after the walls came down. God kept His promise and He honored her faith! Conclusion: Joshua 2 is the wonderful story of The Profession of a Prostitute. It is a reminder that God is in the saving business. He often saves those that we have little thought or time for, and we’re wrong. Anyone who looks down on a Rahab had better beware. Such a person has a defective doctrine of sin and does not understand the depth of their own sin. And they do not understand the grace of God! All of us stand in Rahab’s place before a just and holy God. And we are worse because most of us have more light than she had. May we be as wise as Rahab, who, though she had so little light, saw that she was under God’s judgement and sought His redemption.   Friend, are you still under God’s judgement? Have you sought His forgiveness? Do you live in safety under the scarlet, shed blood of Christ?   Then, for those of us who live in the safety of God’s forgiveness, is there a Rahab in your life? Is there someone that you have no hope of ever seeing come to Christ? Are you reaching out to them with God’s gracious love? Are you praying for them? God loves to reach the “unreachable.” Will we let Him use us to reach them?