Well, I would be remiss if I did not tell you how highly I esteem Ken and just respect him so much, not only his character and his faithfulness to God, his ministry and preaching. He's preached for us several times. It's always a thrill. I got to hear Kenny preach one time. He amazed his uncle. He came and told me, well, I didn't know Kenny could do that. I said, yeah, he's good, isn't he? Yeah, he's good. And I haven't even known my brother Tim. Ken has spoken so highly of him over the years. I just feel like, you know, he's just the same kind of cloth. I've kind of been amazed he's so much different than Ken. Holy cow. And, you know, he's not really a flip side, you know, he's kind of like an evil clone or something. You know, he's just so, everything just so complimentary, just laid back and I like that. He's my kind of guy. And it's just a joy for me to get to come. And because I know that you get the ministry of the Word, you know, I just cast about and prayed about it. And I'm going to do this morning just basically, well, I'm just going to preach what I like. And I want you to celebrate with me. I'm not going to try to teach you anything. There are places in the Word of God. It's just better to take it in and just let it come. And I love to do that. But before I read from the text, I have to ask you a question. Did you all hear on the news about the terrorist that they believe came into San Antonio? And they know that they were downtown. And there was a lady who walks the streets that helped them, that listened to them. The FBI was trying to find them. They knew they were there. And they came and they were asking people, have you seen them? And she told them no. And they found out later that she actually had aided in their escape. Did y'all hear about that? What do you think y'all do to that woman? There's a name for that, isn't there? What is it? Treason. It's exactly what it is. It's treason. Kind of gets your blood boiling, doesn't it? Well, I made it up. But you need to understand, when the Bible speaks of Rahab the harlot and what she is commended for, It was just exactly that. As far as the people of Jericho were concerned, the people of Israel were terrorists. And for her to aid in the destruction of her own people, it is nothing less than treason. Ken asked me this morning when he saw my manuscript if I'd gotten the wrong text. that he put in the bulletin. I told him, no, that's the one. So if you turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 11, one verse of Scripture, verse 31. I know we've got a lot to do today. Baptism, Lord's Supper, what a glorious thing. Vote on somebody, baptize somebody, take the Lord's Supper and eat. I mean, it just doesn't get any better than that for a church on one day. And what a thrill. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 31. By faith, the heart at Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when she had received the spies with peace." The story of Rahab is told in the book of Joshua, chapter 2. At long last, the people of Israel have been delivered from the life of Sisyphus. making laps around a mountain in the desert. That's what they did for 38 years, round and round in big circles in the wilderness. And finally God has set aside their chastening, has determined to bring them into the promised land. And so they take what to me is a strange deal for Joshua, who you would think maybe should have known better. He found him two spies. Now, he did. He thought seven is too many. This time I'm going to take two. And he sent them, the Bible says, into the city of Jericho to spy out the land. Now, let me tell you that as far as I'm concerned, all this is is the guiding of divine providence. Because what did they need to know? Did they have to spy out where the armory was? Did they have to find the weak points in their defenses? Were they looking for various garrisons that were undermanned? What were they looking for about how they were going to conquer Jericho? When you read the text and you know what God was going to do, why did they need to know what was inside the city? They have already practiced for many years, everything they're going to do to take the city, and that's walk. They were very good walkers. Why did he send spies? In the providence of God, they come to the city. In the providence of God, in chapter 2 of the book of Joshua, in verse 1, the Bible says, and they went and came into a harlot's house named Rahab and lodged there. See there, if you're going to get the gist of the Word of God, especially in these narrative passages in the Old Testament, you've got to be there. What on earth are two good Jewish boys doing in the house of a harlot in Jericho? Did you ever ask yourself, how did they get there? Can you not just imagine? They're being spied on, strangers. Do you think that the people of Jericho did not know that this vast horde is camped on the other side of the River Jordan? Do you not think they had spies watching them? They want to know what these guys are doing. And when these guys come into the city, they don't really look like everybody else. For one thing, their clothes are 40 years out of style. And even though they hadn't worn out, they hadn't really changed much, they were wearing literally the same clothes they wore when they left Egypt. There's no question in my mind that before very long there was news circulated that there are spies that have come in. We know that happened. And they're trying to be as inconspicuous as they can. I think it was the most natural thing in the world for them to wind up in the one place where strangers in a city were most likely to wind up in a public house, in a public place, with a harlot named Rahab. Now, y'all, I want to tell you something. To me, one of the most wonderful aspects of the providence of God is when things happen that appear on the surface to be just absolutely the most natural things that might have happened. You know, God in His providence does miraculous things. He does, you know, things that just astound everybody. And then sometimes things just go along and it looks like everybody is just doing what comes naturally. And it is no less the hand of God guiding in those events. So they wind up in her house. And before very long, the soldiers, the policemen, the secret militia, whoever they are, are coming to Rahab's door because they have heard that there are two terrorists that she's lodging there. And the Bible says that Rahab took them up on her roof, hid them among the stalks of flax, went down, opened the door, heard the interrogation, and she said, oh yeah, they were here, but man, they left. In fact, they left so long ago that if you don't hurry, you're going to miss them. But if you'll get right down to the gate, maybe you can catch them before they get across the plain. And they immediately left and went, because who could conceive of a native to Jericho taking the side of an enemy nation and two men whom she had never met in her entire life. It's just unbelievable, isn't it? The Scripture says that she came up to them and without ever having even spoken to them of what God was doing, She made known the fact that she was a believer in their God. And then in the providence of God, not only is Rahab revealed as a believer, but these men hear the testimony from her mouth of the very truth of what God had promised. And the people of Israel had disbelieved. In the book of Exodus chapter 15 verse 14, the people shall hear and be afraid. Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Palestine. The dukes of Edom will be amazed. The mighty men of Moab trembling will fall on them. All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away. Fear and dread will fall upon them. By the greatness of thine arm they will be still as a stone to the people Passover whom thou hast purchased. Now that is exactly the message that they sang about. Proclaim the greatness of God and what He was going to do. But when push came to shove at Kadesh Barnea, they did not believe what they had been singing. They did not believe what they had been saying. They did not believe what they had been told. And so, because of their unbelief, they did not go into the land. So what are these spies here? I mean, can you imagine that they're... She tells them, hurry up, get up here. They don't know what's going on. It's kind of amazing to me they could even understand each other. And so she goes up and they're hidden. And they're afraid. They don't know what's going on. They don't know what she's going to do. They haven't discussed this plan. And she comes up there and uncovers her soul. And almost the very words, she said, from the time we heard what God had done in blessing you and caring for you and how you defeated Sihon and Og, our hearts have melted within us for fear. The terror of the Lord had indeed fallen upon those people. And then she uncovers her own faith. And she tells them that she, having heard that, has come to believe that the God of Israel is God indeed. I'm going to tell you something. This is just amazing. There is not a more unlikely convert in an unlikely place anywhere who has ever existed on the face of the earth, except possibly Saul of Tarsus. But even he pales in comparison. He at least had a history of the revelation of the Word of God. She had never heard a sermon, never read a scripture, didn't know anything except second-hand reports of what God had done in defeating other kings. But truth be known, God don't need much to work with. He takes that nugget of truth, shoots it into her soul. Boom! Faith. And she believes it. And the people of Jericho, they believe part of it. They're afraid. They're terrified of what God is going to do to them. But they don't believe. You know, there are lots of people that have kind of a superstitious dread and fear of God. It doesn't mean they believe. There are some who even confess they believe the Bible and confess that they believe that Jesus Christ was really the Son of God. But they are not believers in Him. They are not trusting Him. She ain't like that. She not only trusts in them, the Bible says that she, as Abraham is, declares to us the absolute certainty of being justified by your works. Was not Abraham justified by his works? And then James hastened to add, was not Rahab the harlot justified by her works in hiding the thieves? I hope you understand that that word justified does not mean redeemed. It means to declare righteous. To declare righteous. Always keep in mind the Bible says that in the days of John the Baptist, even the publicans and sinners justified God. by coming to be baptized with the baptism of John. They did not forgive God. They did not redeem God. They declared God righteous. And Rahab is declared righteous. Anybody have any question about it? She is declared righteous by the work that God has wrought in her soul that comes out in the things that she does. Isn't that what 1 John says is the substantive proof that you are a child of God? that the work of God in your soul comes out in the works of God through your hands and your mouth and your mind and your heart. So it is with Rahab the harlot. So she tells these men what has happened. And I tell you, to me it has got to be a humbling experience for them. Can you imagine? You know, they hear that. What thoughts must have gone through their minds? All that time for nothing. All those deaths for nothing. A friend of mine one time figured out how many people had to die in the wilderness when he counted up the men that were over 21. The best that he could figure, every day, every single day, they had about 200 funerals, buried 200 people every single day. And that's assuming that nobody else died of natural causes. Imagine their thoughts, all of this, and listen to what God has done. And the humility of recognizing that here is this woman who believes the message of God that was so hard for us and she had none of the advantages. She had not seen hell fall from the sky in Egypt. She didn't see the river turn to blood. She didn't contend with frogs and gnats and locusts. She didn't see the darkness that literally you could touch. She did not hear the wails of the dying firstborn and the wails of their parents who found them. And yet she believed. with all her soul to the point she would abandon her own history, her own people, her own nation and cast her light with people that she did not know from anybody because she believed they were the people of God. The humility of recognizing that God might have cut them off Y'all, did you realize that in Numbers chapter 14, when there's this description of what happened, and they were debating what they were going to do, and somebody said, man, that's it, I'm going back to Egypt, let's elect a leader, we're going back, get the wagons in order, set the wagon train out there, get the wagon master, we're out of here. And Caleb and Joshua came, ripped their garments. Have you lost your mind? We're talking about God. Who cares how big they are? Who cares what they have? We're talking about God. And the people were so overwhelmed with remorse, they picked up stones to stone them and would have killed them. But suddenly the glory of God that had been above them suddenly comes down in the door of the tabernacle. You know, they've kind of been getting used to it. Can you imagine that? Getting used to the presence of God until all of a sudden it changes. And it's a lot more threatening. And they leave off ideas of stoning them. These men must surely have reflected and thought, it is of the mercy of God that we are not the city of Jericho and God did not exterminate us. then they have a conversation. And this is what she says. By the way, she did all this without any guarantees from them at all. Nothing. Now she says, swear to me by Jehovah. Don't ever just overlook that. Swear to me by Jehovah. All she knew was His name. and what He was supposed to have done. She didn't ever know anything about no cloud, no pillar of fire. She knew nothing about sacrifice. All she knew was His name. But she believed. Swear to me by Jehovah, since I have showed you kindness, that you will show kindness to my Father's house and give me a true token that you will save my father and mother and brothers and sisters and all they have and deliver our lives from death. And the men answered her, Our life for yours. That's all we can do. Own our lives, we'll do it. If you do not, sell us out. And it shall be when the Lord gives us the land, we will deal kindly and truly with you. Then she let them down by a cord through the window, for her house was on the town wall, and she dwelt on the wall. And she said, Get to the mountains, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide for three days until they come back, and then go on your way. And the men said to her, We will be blameless of this oath which you made us swear. Behold, when we come to the land, you bind this line of scarlet in the window by which you have let us down, and bring your father, your mother, your brothers, your father's household, all of them into you. And it shall be that whoever's out of the doors on the street, his blood will be on his own head. We'll be guiltless. The people who are in the house, they'll be on us. And she said, according to your words, so be it. And she sent them away and they departed and she bound the scarlet cord in the window. And she asked them for a token. Give me a token. What they gave her was a promise. They gave her a promise from their mouth, but she took it to be a promise given in the name and the place of God. And that promise that she got became a token to her of the certainty of the safety of her faith. Then they asked her for that token. You bind this scarlet thread in the window. Now, archaeologists tell us it's not like a belt. It was more like a sash that wound around. Even today, it is not as common as it used to be, but it is still common to occasionally hear a reference to a part of a city that's called a red light district. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a novel called The Scarlet Letter. There are times in older literature you'll find somebody referred to as a scarlet woman. It comes from this idea itself. This scarlet sash was apparently the symbol of her profession. It marked her out for what she was. And she unwinds this and she ties it in the window and lets it down where they have been and hangs it on the wall. By this means, she displays the absolute commitment that they have asked. that she has identified herself with them. Now, y'all, I'm preaching through part of Exodus. It's our winter Bible study in the Southern Baptist Convention. And when I came to Moses, I titled my sermon, where Moses chose to identify himself with the people of God, as the second greatest choice that was ever made in the Word of God. The only greater choice was when Jesus decided to leave glory. But as I reflect again upon Rahab, I may have to rethink my thoughts. What a choice. What a choice to forsake everything she has known for something she can't possibly imagine. What kind of people are these? I don't know. They're God's people. I don't know what they are. I don't know who they are. I don't know what their customs are. I don't know anything about them. I don't know how they treat women. All I know is that their God is God. And I have got to be with the people who know God. Man! Now that's what this young man is going to do in baptism. What you're declaring is, I am joining myself to the people who are of Jesus. I take them for My people. And I'm one of them. And the Bible tells us that in that grace that has come to a regenerated soul, there's the passing from death to life, light to dark, and there's a change in people from the people of the world to the people of Jesus. From the kingdom of this world to the kingdom of God. That's what you're symbolizing. And everyone who watches, here again is the declaration of the worth of that choosing to be with the people of God. Boy, and then comes the good part. They leave. She's there. Y'all just imagine how her life has changed. Imagine! When are they coming? They don't know. What has she committed to? All of my family has got to be in my house when they overcome this city. When's that going to be? I don't know. Can you imagine the change in her life? Can you imagine that conversation that she had with her mother and father and sisters and brothers? Just imagine her coming and telling them what she's done. I can imagine screaming and wailing and crying, anger, frustration, because now they're all going to be tarred with the same brush. She's a traitor. She's committed treason. I can imagine her sisters saying to her, Rahab, I cannot believe that you let some man pull the wool over your eyes again. Can't you see that? And what did you say? I said, we've all got to be in my house. All right, when do we have to come? I don't know. They didn't say when they were coming. What if they come tomorrow? Then we better be in there tomorrow. Imagine the practical application of that. Her sister says, I was going to buy new furniture. I said, if I was you, I'd put that on hold. So they all come, they get into this house. The kids want to go out and play. What do you do? If you let them go out and play, with what concern and tender compassion do you have to watch over them? Because you never know, you've got to rush them back into the house. What about walking around and looking on the streets of Jericho? to see people that you've known all your life and know they are doomed for destruction. To want to plead with them and tell them, maybe she opened up a little bit and tried to sound them out about what they thought about all that had been reported of God. And do you really think about that God and be rebuffed? With what sorrow must all of her experiences in that city have been transformed What a separation between her and them. Every day that the people of Israel delay coming is a stretching of her faith and is an increasing of the joy of the other people. Do you see the sharp distinction that God has made? They rejoice. Her faith is stretched. She wants them to come. The last thing they want is for them to come. And they linger. They're not really worried because the Jordan River is in flood. It's the springtime. The rains have come. The river's in flood. And there comes then this probably afternoon and silence begins to move across the city just like a wave. And some little boy is grabbed up by his daddy and he's dragged into the house. Daddy, daddy, what's happening? What's happening? And he says, the spies say that the people have crossed the river. Daddy, you said they couldn't cross the river. It was flooded. What happened? Be quiet. He gets home and his wife says, I thought you said they couldn't cross the river, it was flooded. He can't tell her to be quiet. And he looks with this profound awe on his face and he says, the spies say the river dried up and they came across. Token of dread to the city of Jericho. Hooray, hallelujah in Rahab's house. And then they stop at Gilgal. And what had been terror turns into raucous celebration. Y'all are not going to believe what they're doing. Hadn't practiced circumcision in the wilderness. What do you think they thought about that? Just imagine the jokes the soldiers are telling on the wall. Imagine everything's going on in the city. Imagine they're sitting here at this table saying, man, what kind of people are these? Well, I'm going to tell you one thing that occurred to me that Rahab could tell them with absolute authority. She could say, I'll tell you one thing. Men that will do that are serious about their relationship with their God. They are serious about their relationship with God. Then the day comes, they come out in a terrible silence. They start walking around the wall, marching around the wall. I love this part. What are they doing going around the wall? God wants everybody to see that scarlet cord hanging out that window. Do you see that? That is the testimony of God that He's already been here. That is the testimony that God has given the city into our hands. And everybody look and know that's the place where Rahab the harlot is going to be. As they prepare for that final day, Rahab can't know it. They have to sit. They wonder what's going to happen. They wonder if they've been forgotten. They can't know that the last thing Joshua does is call the two spies to his fire. And he tells them, God says that tomorrow is the day. You guys have got one job, one job only. You keep your promise. You spoke in the name of God. You are charged to protect and deliver the household of Rahab. The next day, they march around the city. Seven times, they shout. The trumpets blow. And what happens? What? The wall comes tumbling down. Did it all come tumbling down? Where was it that Ray had the harlot lived? Here's one finger of the wall with a scarlet cord hanging from the window. And in that room is a family scared out of their mind, looking around, looking out the window, looking down the rubble around them. And Rahab, thank you Rahab, thank you Rahab! And she tells them again of the greatness of God. Isn't that glorious? I tell you what, oh man! The Bible ends that story with Rahab and her family outside the camp. of Israel. That's how it ends, outside the camp of Israel. That's how the Bible ends the story in that narrative. That is not how the story ended. There was a man whose name was Salmon. Jewish historians traditionally tell us he was one of the two spies. I can get down with that, that he was. And at some time he went out to where they were Or he made his way somehow to their encampment. And he began to speak to Rahab and talk to her about her family. And he took her for his own. And he loved her, took her family in. And they're not outside the camp. They become part of the people of God. You know why that's significant? Salmon and Rahab. had a son. You know what his name was? What? Boaz. His name was Boaz. There would come a day when a Moabitish woman would be up with her mother-in-law's family and life for redemption. And her near kinsman was not willing to risk his own inheritance and name. to identify with a stranger to the covenant people. And ain't no step for Boaz. My daddy has been there and done that and I am perfectly willing to find a woman in the same place as my mother who has named my people her people and my God her God. I will take her. And the Word of God cannot be much more plain in saying that is what the Lord Jesus has done for us. In the preservation of Rahab, He proclaims saving mercy. In the settling of Rahab within the covenant people and in the lineage of the Lord Jesus Himself, He is saying, here is the fullness of my redemption. And in the promises that are consummated in the life of David and the prophecies of Christ, he proclaims in essence, and like the people of God coming into the promised land, there is coming a day when all of my people are going to the promised land. When is it going to be, Lord? At the right time. How should we then live if we believe? that that's true. What a transformation should there be in the way we look at a whole world already condemned before God. What ought to be the beat of the soul of one who has placed their trust in the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the living and not the dead, the God who is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the God who is the rock of our salvation. Should we not put our hope in Him? If you're here and you're not a Christian, let me ask you something. In what do you trust? In what do you hope? These things are in the Bible. Some of them make the people of God look like a bunch of idiots. Really? If you look at that and think, here's the whole people of Israel and they don't have any faith in this one woman in an unspeakably evil profession. She becomes a believer. What in the world? Listen to me. It is not any harder for someone raised in the bosom of the church to come to Christ than it is for the most hardened unbeliever in the history of the earth. It is all of grace or it is none of grace. And what are you trusting in? You think, I can't believe that. Oh yes, you can. If Rahab could put her hope and trust in God, you can put your hope and trust in God. All you need is what she had. You need the grace of God that would open your eyes and quicken your mind and give you a soft heart for that heart of stone. Would you not ask God to help you? Well, I wish that were true. Ask God to help you to know whether that's true. Ask Him to help you. Join in the prayer of one of the greatest theologians of the New Testament and say, Lord, I believe. Help Thou mine unbelief. He is that kind of God, folks. He would a lot rather hear that prayer than just about any other prayer that we know. My hope, O God, is in You. Let's bow together. Thank you, Father, again for this glorious sister in grace whom you saved and gave us this record. And knowing that you saved her, oh God, it makes me love you even more. And I pray this morning that that saving grace would speak to those who are as lost as Rahab, as doomed as the people of Jericho, and as needy as it is possible to be. But, O God, that was us all. It is only of your grace that we are not shut up in the city of destruction waiting for judgment. We pray for that mercy to be poured out again today. In Jesus' name, amen.