Joshua: War, Lying, and Rahab the Hero

Good morning.

Joshua chapter 2 is where we're at this morning, working our way through Joshua.

Joshua 2 · chapter mention

We spent two weeks, the first chapter of Joshua, so now we're in Joshua 2.

It's not our normal sermon.

It's sort of like in three parts.

The first section is on war, the second section's on lying, and then the third section is maybe a little bit more typical for our type of sermon.

So it's sort of like ethics morning, I think, at Redeemer.

What I can guarantee is this: I will not answer all of your questions.

I can guarantee that.

You know, seven minutes on war is not enough, and seven minutes on lying is not enough.

But perhaps I'll give you some good lunch conversation.

And you can go and perhaps figure some of this out.

Now the issue is that the Old Testament is full of battles and wars.

You read the Old Testament and you read about wars and battles and what causes so many of us problems, and many people reject the Bible, and that's why we need to talk about it, is that the Old Testament actually attributes battles and wars and victories and even deaths to God.

And we're going to see that in Joshua.

See it in Exodus.

Now, I don't know how you feel about that.

I have a problem with that.

I just do.

I wrestle with that.

That's not something I just swallow and go, like, oh, no problem.

I mean, like, I have a problem with, I will probably always have some measure of a problem with this issue.

And I'm not finished wrestling with the Bible, and I'm not finished wrestling with God, and thank God he's not finished being patient with me as I operate in such partial knowledge.

But we run into this question like, how does a holy, perfect, all-loving God that we know in the New Testament is an Abba Father, how do we then we read in the Old Testament, you know, this mighty warrior that's devastating people and that deaths are attributed to him.

How do we process that?

Well, there's a few options.

And this is me not being an ethicist.

I'm not an ethicist.

This is just me trying to figure out a few categories of ways for us to understand this.

And option one is just sort of this.

People go, well, this is just the sort of thing that proves the Bible's unreliable.

Therefore, I question all of the Bible, or maybe I would just walk away.

Right?

Maybe you know people, maybe you've done that, maybe you know people have done that.

So that's an option.

I wouldn't say it's a great option, it's an option.

Option two is this.

This language is from an ancient people attributing battles and their victories to their God, just as other people groups at the time attributed battles and victories to their God.

So you this view would just say it's just language, nothing more.

It's option.

Option three is this God is the creator of the universe, sovereign and holy, and he holds the right to do as he wills upon imperfect, sinful people and in this world.

That would be option three.

Option four, there's only four options, don't get too stressed out.

God is love.

And he is in collision with injustice, which I understand partially and in mystery.

So I'm in option four.

That's where I'm at.

Maybe you're in another option, I don't know where you're at, maybe you never thought about it, but eventually you will.

Like you'll read something in the Old Testament and maybe you just disregard it, but eventually maybe maybe it'll bother you.

And you're gonna land in one of these options.

I'm in option four.

I understand option three, I get it, but I live more in option four.

This quote has helped me.

It's from theologian Frederick Brunner.

The wrath of God is not the irritability of God, it is the love of God in friction with injustice.

See, I like that way to think.

It helps me think about wrath.

It is the warm, steady, patient, but absolutely fair grace of God in collision with manifest selfishness.

God's wrath does not contradict God's love, it proves it.

I love that.

Pampers injustice is not lovable.

Now, that doesn't give me all the answers I want, right?

It's not going to give you all the answers, but it sort of opens up this category for us to understand the wrath of God within the love of God.

And certainly in this case, God's grace gets even bigger, right?

Like it's even bigger for us, or bigger for the Israelites.

Now, my problem is there's still families, when we get into Joshua, there's still families in Canaan that are about to be destroyed.

And these families are people.

They're just normal people.

And they just happen to be born into the wrong people group at the wrong time, living in the wrong land.

And I wrestle with that.

But the older I get, the more I welcome into these categories that for me feel very difficult, a little bit of mystery and humility, and still trust in the character of God.

So that's about war.

That's my end of seven minutes of war, and y'all can figure it out over lunch.

Now let's talk a little bit about lines.

So to catch you up on the book of Joshua and where we're at in this story.

The Israelite army, uh about 40,000 folks, 40,000 men, they're about to come into Canaan to reclaim their land, to live there and live there peacefully.

They came out of Egypt, the people, probably 600,000 people or so, they came out of Egypt.

They should have taken a few weeks to get through the desert to go over to their land, but they they they got into apathy and laziness and just not trusting God, and they ended up in the desert wilderness for 40 years.

And then we get this military hero, Joshua, who begins to hear from God, and God's calling him hey, lead the men over the Jordan and into Canaan, reclaim your land and live in peace.

And so we get this story this week, this famous story about two spies sent ahead.

Joshua chapter 2, verse 1.

Joshua 2:1

And Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men secretly from Shidom as spies, saying, Go view the land, especially Jericho.

And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.

Now, a couple of interesting words in that verse is the first, a couple of these is the first phrases came into.

And the other is this word, lodge.

Now, these words could also be used for sex.

So it's very possible these two spies were with Rahab the prostitute for the exact reason why the reason you're thinking right now is the same.

That's why.

That's why they're there, perhaps.

So they're there, and then while they're there, Rahab the prostitute becomes the hero.

Now, not only is she a prostitute, but she says she owns the house, so perhaps she's sort of the madam of the brothel.

So the madam of the brothel becomes the hero.

And this is point number one.

People are not just one thing, and we are people.

And that's just sort of like a comment on humanity.

I grew up watching 80s movies.

As an 80s kid, I grew up watching 80s movies.

There's a great 80s movie called The Breakfast Club, and it's a group of different kids from different walks of life, and they get Saturday detention.

And there they at first, at first, they all hate each other because they're from different walks of life and different like groups within the school.

Everybody's kind of represented in these different groups, and you probably associate with one kid more than the other.

And at first they hate each other, but by the end of it, by the end of the movie, they come to some profound conclusions.

And so at the end of the movie, uh they select the brainy kid to write this essay.

And here's what he writes to Mr.

Vernon, who is the principal that's in charge of them for this Saturday, and sort of the enemies throughout the movie.

Dear Mr.

Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice the whole Saturday and detention for whatever it is we did wrong.

But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are.

You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions.

But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain and an athlete and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal.

So the point is, especially when we read this story in Joshua, Rahab's more than a prostitute.

Of course she is.

And of course you're more than just one thing.

You're a sinner and a saint.

You're a saint and a sinner.

That's why we need the grace of God, not just to become Christians, but to live as Christians.

And then we're called to understand ourselves and understand other people and the depth of humanity.

That we're not just one thing.

We shouldn't just categorize people in the simplest of terms and the most convenient of definitions.

And redemption and love is available to anyone.

And the heathen can be the hero.

And sometimes you know the hero can be the heathen.

But redemption and absolution and forgiveness.

That's available to anybody.

The story continues to unfold.

So the word gets out that there's these two spies in the city, and so the guards, the guards come to Rahab's house, and Rahab hides them in.

And then she says this, Joshua 2, 4 through 7, and she said, True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came where they were from.

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.

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.

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 here's point number two, and this is leading in this in this little bit of conversation about lying.

We are called to the God of truth.

And we're called to be people of truth.

Here's what we know.

We know trust is the currency of relationships.

It's the currency to any real relationship, whether it be in family or friendship or community in church or at work.

You have to have honesty and trust, or it doesn't work.

It doesn't work out.

People go on trial because of lying.

People go to jail because of lying.

Families are destroyed, relationships are destroyed, marriages are destroyed, parents to children, children to parents are destroyed because of dishonesty.

So was Rahab wrong.

She lied.

And the Hebrews 11 declares her that welcome of her welcoming in the spies, which is an act of lying to her government at least, that welcoming in of the spies as an act of faith.

So some say, well, that includes her lying, then some other people say, no, no, no, that doesn't include her lying.

That's different part.

She welcomed it, but she didn't really lie, and so it's not the lying.

So you have this ethical dilemma, and you can read forever on it once you Google that.

So either way, I just have a few questions for you.

We can play along here, some ethical scruples.

Is it okay for a woman to fake a heart attack if she's being attacked by a man?

If a man uh comes into your house with a gun and says, Where's your wife and children?

Do you tell him the truth that your wife and children are hiding in the basement, or do you lie?

Of course you lie.

Right?

And everybody's saying, Yeah, of course you lie.

Good lie.

Great job.

You know, honey, is am I as attractive today as a 40-year-old man with ear hair that I have to trim as I was when I was 25 and I had pec muscles and I was I had smooth skin and I was bronzed, right?

Like, am I as oh, you look great.

Somebody asked me this week, how are you?

How are you?

We're passing on the sidewalk.

I didn't go into the fact that the day before a friend of ours, his son was found in the woods because he had been committing suicide.

I just said, I'm good.

I'm good.

Right?

I didn't want to have a one-hour cry session on the sidewalk, right?

So I lied.

So what do we think about this, right?

Like we lie, and sometimes we lie just to make things go better.

Sometimes we lie because there's a greater good, and sometimes we lie.

It's just morally wrong, and there's no situation to even come close to it.

Here's some ways to think this through.

Option one is this is situational ethics.

And so here's what a situational ethics would say.

Right and wrong is based on the situation.

The situation defines the ethic.

This seems very dangerous to me.

Seems like full of like subjectivity and rationalization.

So that seems very dangerous.

I wouldn't land in that option, but maybe you do.

Situational ethics.

Option two is this lying's always wrong.

And that's the end of that option.

It's just lying's always wrong.

Option three is this.

Lying is always wrong, and yet situations can be complex, meaning you should always tell the truth.

And yet there are times we lie for a greater good.

So the lie is wrong, and you still lie.

Okay, no, that's not parenting advice.

Okay, like your pastor didn't tell you to lie or tell your kids to lie, and parent our way through this is actually very difficult, or even for ourselves to wrestle through.

I've been wrestling with this because I have kids.

I want to be an honest person, I want to operate in honesty.

At the same time, I recognize that there's situations that come up, and for a greater good, I'm gonna lie.

And I'm not even gonna feel bad about it.

And probably the same with you.

So I was like, what's the bottom line of this, right?

Like this ethical scruple.

I think this is the bottom line, is we're called to tell the truth always.

And then, like, there's these incredibly rare circumstances where lying does not become moral, but it becomes understandable.

And I would say those are rare.

That is not me on the sidewalk.

Me on the sidewalk, that lying is wrong.

That is not for a greater good.

That's just wrong.

But every once in a while, there could be an incredibly rare circumstance where lying is for a greater good and it's still immoral, it's still gonna be filled with consequences, but for some reason that ethical scruple develops something within our humanity where we understand it.

I think this gains us a little insight into Rahab.

The story continues.

Verses 8 through 11.

Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof 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, 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 when you were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.

And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there is no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on earth beneath.

So, point number three is this more into our kind of typical Redeemer sermon.

We need a high view of God and a loving relationship with God through Christ.

We surrender, and as we surrender, that's what Rahab, all this language of Rahab, is very much just surrender language.

Like, I have heard of this God, you know, it's an incredibly high view of God.

We surrender into that high view of God and we grow in our awareness of a God that is beyond all of our thoughts and definitions, our abilities to put into a box.

And yet, that mighty warrior, that creator God, sovereign, holy, that God regards us in love.

And wants a relationship with us as an Abba Father would want a relationship with us.

That's the ark of the Bible is taking us.

Yes, it's taking us through a mighty warrior, but it's taking us to a view of God, an understanding of God that's an Abba that loves us as we are.

So, as for application, the words that came to me for application were rest, reflect, and read.

And I know they're all ours, and that's very much like a preacher, but that's what came up for me.

As for application, of how do we how do we grow in our awareness of a high view of God in this loving relationship when we rest?

We get quiet, we quiet our busy hearts, we become still and know that He is God.

We reflect.

That would be prayer and meditation and repentance.

And we read, we study, we learn the truth.

What is the truth?

What's the truth for me?

What's the truth of God?

What's the truth of the biblical ark of the stories?

And we don't do that to earn anything, but we do that to grow in the awareness and root deeper in the identity we already have in Christ.

So the sad thing of this story is Rahab wasn't quite sure if she was accepted by God, right?

Like you read this story and you read the language, she has this incredible high view of God, but she's not quite sure if she's loved by God.

This is their God, this is not her God.

And we go, of course.

Can you imagine?

She's not of the right people.

She didn't have the right resume.

She's a city prostitute.

I mean, can you imagine what she must have felt like?

It's impossible, it's very possible that you feel this way.

Just unworthy.

In the core of who you are, like you're not worthy of love for some reason or some way.

I think there's days we feel like Joshua.

I mean, Joshua was his military hero and everybody knew who he was.

And I think there's days that some of us, perhaps a lot of us, and others days you feel this way.

You feel like, well, you know, I kind of have my act together.

I have a little bit of a resume.

But then kind of deeper underneath that, there are a bunch of fears that you're wrestling through.

Then I think there's days we feel like Rahab, just a mess.

You got a high view of God, and you get it, there's a creator, but you have no, you just don't even know could he ever love you because you're just going like that, and you're so beat down and worn out.

You have nothing to offer.

So the story ends.

These spies say, hey, the army's coming.

But your salvation will not be in like fighting.

Your salvation will be to hang a scarlet cord outside your window and you stay inside.

Do nothing.

That's exactly what she does, her and her family.

And the army passes by.

So it's her powerlessness, it's her surrender that is her salvation.

See, Rahab points us to Jesus in this way.

Because it's not us pulling up our bootstraps to feel more worthy or prove our worth or build a righteousness report or work our way out of some guilt or shame to, you know, get out of that hole.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

It's surrender into the sufficient grace of God and the work of Jesus for us because all of our sin is put upon the cross.

His righteousness is given to us, so we are always beloved.

Our slates are perpetually wiped clean.

Guilt is removed.

Resting and reflecting and reading and anything of the Christian life becomes us growing in the awareness of that which is already true about us.

That's what maturity is.

You see, we're both Rahab and Joshua.

Both of them lead us to Jesus and point us to Jesus.

We're both the prodigal son and the elder moralistic brother, right?

We're both sinner and saint.

We're both saint and sinner.

And we're just always needing the grace of God and the wisdom of the Spirit of God to lead us and guide us in our lives.

My brothers and sisters, may you continue to live in the surrender, the surrender to the grace of God, the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life, and the relieving, healing grace of Jesus.

Let's pray together.

God, thank you for your wisdom for us as we just even begin a conversation of your wrath, which is inside of your love, and how far we are of understanding that, and help us to grow to accept that we are not in our own intellect the holders of this world.

God, we confess that we're liars.

And sometimes we lie for a thing that we think is good, and then no, we were really just lying because we're selfish, and sometimes we just lie because we're selfish.

And we repent and confess that we lie too often.

Help us to become people of truth.

Always.

God, would we have such a high view of God, but also would we be just ecstatic and astonished that in the gospel that you have loving regard for us that accepts us exactly where we are?

And would this create great overwhelming healing and redemption and gratitude in our hearts?

And by the power of your Holy Spirit, would you root us deeper and deeper into the great wealth of the identity that we have as your beloved children in Jesus?

Amen.