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TOPIC: Pink, Arthur - Gleanings in Joshua (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 04.2-A Scarlet Cord (Concluded) 2:1-24
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Gleanings In Joshua
4. A Scarlet Cord (Concluded)
Joshua 2:1-24
"Repent ye and believe the Gospel" (Mark 1:15); "Testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). A contrite spirit and a heart acceptance of the Gospel are inseparably connected, so that wherever the one is mentioned the other is presupposed. For example, take the passages recording the Gospel commission: in Mark 16:16 the emphasis is on "believing", while in Luke 24:47 it is on "repentance"-the two together explaining the "make disciples" of Matthew 28:19. The one cannot exist without the other: it is just as morally impossible for an impenitent heart to believe, as it is for an unbeliever to repent. There may indeed be a mental assent to the Truth unaccompanied by any brokenness of heart, as there may be natural remorse where no faith exists; but there can be no saving faith where evangelical repentance is absent. Since the faith of Rahab was a saving one, as Hebrews 11 clearly shows, it must have been attended with godly sorrow for sin and reformation of life. There can be no pardon while there is no repentance (Isa. 55:7, Luke 24:47, Acts 3:19) i.e. mourning over and abandoning of our evil ways.
Repentance is a change of mind: one that goes much deeper and includes far more than a mere change of opinion or creed. It is a changed mind, a new perception, an altogether different outlook on things as they previously appeared. It is the necessary effect of a new heart. Repentance consists of a radical change of mind about God, about sin, about self, about the world. Previously God was resisted, now He is owned as our rightful Lord. Previously sin was delighted in, but now it is hated and mourned over. Previously self was esteemed, but now it is abhorred. Previously we were of the world and its friendship was sought and prized, now our hearts have been divorced from the world and we regard it as an enemy. Everything is viewed with other eyes than formerly, and an entirely different estimate is formed of them. The impenitent see in Christ no beauty that they should desire Him, but a broken and contrite heart perceives that He is perfectly suited to him. Thus, while He continues to be despised by the self-righteous Pharisees, He is welcomed and entertained by publicans and sinners. Repentance softens the hard soil of the soul and makes it receptive to the Gospel Seed.
Repentance necessarily leads to a change of conduct, for a change of mind must produce a change of action: repentance and reformation of life are inseparable.. It must have been thus with Rahab: she who had been a harlot, would become chaste, and a life of wanton pleasure would give place to one of honest work. Some may deem our conclusion a 'far-fetched' one, but personally we consider that we are given a plain intimation of her changed manner of life. In Joshua 2:6 we are told that she 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". As there is not a superfluous nor meaningless word in the Scriptures, why then has the Holy Spirit specified the particular kind of straw which Rahab used to cover and conceal the two spies? Now "flax" was laboriously gathered by the industrious women, laid out on the flat roofs of the houses to dry, and was then used for spinning and weaving. The presence of a quantity of it "laid out" on Rahab's roof was an evidence she was now living a useful life.
But that is not all the presence of the "flax" tells us. If we go to the trouble of searching our concordance and comparing Scripture with Scripture, we discover something yet more praiseworthy. In the last chapter of the book of Proverbs we are supplied with a full-length portrait of "a virtuous woman", and one of her features is that "she seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands"! Such we are assured was now the character and occupation of this outstanding monument of mercy. Another mark of repentance is a changed esteem of and attitude toward the people of God: formerly their presence irritated, for their piety condemned us; but when the heart be changed by the operations of Divine grace, their company and communion is desired and valued. It was thus with Rahab and the two Israelites: she "received the spies with peace" (Heb. 11:31) is the Divine testimony. It was not with reluctance and complaint that she accepted them into her abode, but with a spirit of good will, welcoming and giving them shelter. Admire then the blessed transformation which the operations of the Spirit had wrought in her character.
Let us now consider more particularly her faith. First, the ground of it. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17). This does not mean that faith is originated by hearing the Word of God, any more than that the shining of the sun imparts sight to the eye. No, faith is bestowed by a sovereign act of the Spirit, and then it is instructed and nourished by the Word. As an unimpaired eye receives light from the sun and is thereby enabled to perceive objects so faith takes in the testimony of God and is regulated thereby. My acceptance of the Truth does not create faith, but makes manifest that I have faith, and it becomes the sure ground on which my faith rests. Unto the spies Rahab said, "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. 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. 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" (vv. 9-11).
How marked the contrast between Rahab and that generation of Israel whose carcasses fell in the wilderness! They not only "heard" of but were the actual eye-witnesses of those wonderful prodigies which Jehovah wrought on behalf of His people. They personally saw Him cleave a way for them right through the Red Sea so that they passed through it dry-shod, and then His causing the waters to come together again to the drowning of Pharaoh and his hosts. They beheld the solemn manifestation of His august presence on Sinai. They were the daily recipients of a supernatural supply of food from heaven, and drank of water which was made to gush from a smitten rock. But their hearts were unaffected and no faith was begotten within them. They too "heard" God's voice (Heb. 3:5, 6) but responded not, and therefore were debarred from the promised land: "they could not enter in because of unbelief" (Heb. 3:19). Ah, my reader, something more than the beholding of miracles or witnessing outward displays of God's power is required in order to beget faith in those who are spiritually dead, as was evidenced again in the days of Christ.
How marked the contrast too between Rahab and the rest of her compatriots! As her words in Joshua 2:9-11 clearly indicate, they too heard the same reports she did of the marvels performed by the Lord's might, yet they produced no faith in them. They were indeed awestruck and terrified by the accounts of the same that reached them, so that for a season there did not remain any more courage in them; but that was all. Just as under the faithful preaching of God's servants many have been temporarily affected by announcements of the Day of Judgment and the wrath to come, but never surrendered themselves to the Lord. God declared unto Israel, "This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of thee" (Deut. 2:25). That was literally fulfilled in the case of the inhabitants of Jericho, yet it wrought no spiritual change in them, for they were children in whom was no faith, and they had no faith because no miracle of grace was wrought in their souls. Of itself the soundest preaching effects no spiritual change in those who hear it.
Mark the contrast: "By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not" (Heb. 11:31). And why? Because a sovereign God had made her to differ from them (1 Cor. 4:7). She was blessed with "the faith of the operation of God" (Col. 2:12). Consequently, she "heard" of the works of the Lord not merely with the outward ear, as was the case with all her fellow-citizens, but with the ear of the heart, and therefore was she affected by those tidings in a very different manner from what they were who heard but "believed not". It is clear from her words "I know that the Lord hath given you the land" that she had both heard and believed the promises which He had made to Abraham and his seed, and perceiving He was a gracious and giving God, hope had been born in her. Behold then the distinguishing favor of God unto this vessel of mercy and realize that something more than listening to the Gospel is needed to beget faith in us. "The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them" (Prov. 20:12). Only those "believe the report" to whom "the arm (power) of the Lord is revealed" (Isa. 53:1). As later with Lydia, so Rahab was one "whose heart the Lord opened that she attended unto the things which were spoken" (Acts 16:14).
Solemn indeed is the warning pointed by the unbelieving fellows of Rahab. So far as we are informed, they heard precisely the same report as she did. Nor did they treat those tidings with either skepticism or contempt: instead, they were deeply affected by them, being terror-stricken, The news of God's judgments upon the Egyptians, and their nearer neighbors, the Amorites, made their hearts melt as they feared it would be their turn next. If it be asked, Why did they not immediately and earnestly cry unto God for mercy, the answer-in part, at least-is supplied by Ecclesiastes 8:11: "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" Space was given for repentance, but they repented not. A further respite was granted during the six days that the hosts of Israel marched around Jericho, but when nothing happened and those hosts returned to their camp, its inhabitants continued to harden their hearts. Thus it is with the majority of our fellows today, even of those who are temporarily alarmed under the faithful ministry of God's servants.
The workings of natural fear and the stirrings of an uneasy conscience soon subside; having no spiritual root, they endure not. Only one in all that city was Divinely impressed by the account which had been received of the Lord's work in overthrowing the wicked. Ah, my reader, God's sheep have ever been few in number, though usually a great many goats have mingled with them, so that at a distance and to a superficial survey it seems as though the flock is of a considerable size. Not only few in number, but frequently isolated from each other, one here and one there, for the children of God are "scattered abroad" (John 11:52). The experience of David was very far from being a unique one when he. Exclaimed "I am like a pelican of the wilderness, I am like an owl of the desert. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the housetop" (Ps. 102:6, 7). God's thoughts and ways are not as ours, being infinitely wiser and better, though only the anointed eye can perceive that. Not only is His keeping power more strikingly displayed, and glorified, by preserving a lone sheep in the midst of goats and wolves, but that solitary believer is cast back the more upon Him.
It is this very loneliness of the saint which serves to make manifest the genuineness of his faith. There is nothing remarkable in one believing what all his associates believe, but to have faith when surrounded by skeptics, is something noteworthy. To stand alone, to be the solitary champion of a righteous cause when all others are federated unto evil, is a rare sight. Yet such was Rahab. There were none in Jericho with whom she could have fellowship, none there to encourage her heart and strengthen her hands by their godly counsel and example: all the more opportunity for her to prove the sufficiency of Divine grace! Scan slowly the list presented in Hebrews 11, and then recall the recorded circumstances of each. With whom did Abel, Enoch, Noah have spiritual communion? From what brethren did Joseph, Moses, Gideon receive any help along the way? Who were the ones who encouraged and emboldened Elijah, Daniel, Nehemiah? Then think it not strange that you are called to walk almost if not entirely alone, that you meet with scarcely any like-minded or any who are capable of giving you a lift along the road.
During the past six years this magazine was sent to quite a number in the different fighting forces, and without a single exception they informed us that they were circumstanced similarly to Rahab. Some were with the British, some with the Colonials, some with the Americans; some were in the navy, others in the army and air force; but one and all reported the same thing-totally cut off from contact with fellow-Christians. The "Studies" were sent to anal deeply appreciated by men in both the royal and the merchant navies, but in each instance they were on different ships, surrounded by the ungodly. How easily the Lord could have gathered them together on to one ship! But He did not. And it was for their good that He did not, otherwise He had ordered things differently (Rom. 8:28). Faith must be tried, to prove its worth. Nor is it a hot-house plant, which wilts and withers at the first touch of frost. No, it is hardy and sturdy, and so far from winds and rain dashing it to pieces, they are but occasions for it to become more deeply rooted and vigorous.
The isolation of Rahab appears in that utterance of hers: "I know your terror is fallen upon us". They were but naturally and temporarily affected, she spiritually and permanently so. What she heard came to her soul with Divine power. And again we say, it was God who made her to differ. By nature her heart was no different from that of her companions, but having been supernaturally quickened into newness of life, she received with meekness the engrafted Word. "All men have not faith" (2 Thess. 3:2) because all are not born again. Faith is one of the attributes and activities of that spiritual life (or nature) which is communicated at regeneration. The firm foundation for faith to rest upon is the sure Word of God, and Divine testimony: by it alone is faith supported and established. Frames and feelings have nothing whatever to do with it, nor is spiritual confidence either begotten or nourished by them. Assurance comes from implicitly receiving the Word into the heart and relying upon it. Such was the case with Rahab: "I know that the Lord hath given you the land . . . (or we have heard how the Lord" etc. She received those tidings "not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the Word of God" (1 Thess. 2:13). Have you done so, my reader?
Observe well how definite and confident was her language. There was no "if" or "perhaps", no dubious "I hope", but instead, a sure and positive "I know". That was the knowledge of a saving faith. It is true that faith and assurance may be distinguished, yet they can no more be separated than can faith and obedience. Faith without works is dead, and faith without assurance is something of which this writer can find no mention in Scripture. We refer, of course, to a saving faith. What is that faith? It is taking God at His Word, appropriating it unto myself; personally resting upon the testimony of Him who cannot lie. Now I either am doing so, or I am not. If I am, then I must be conscious of so doing, for I cannot possibly be trusting in God and relying on His promise and yet be unaware that I am so doing. Read through the N.T. epistles and nowhere is there a single passage addressed to saints who questioned their acceptance by God, but everywhere the language is "we know" 2 Corinthians 5:l, Galatians 4:9, Ephesians 6:9, Philippians 1:6, Colossians 3:24, 1 Thessalonians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:18, 19.
Rahab's faith was not only accompanied with confidence but it regulated her actions. The faith of God's elect is a living, energetic principle, which "worketh by love" (Gal. 5:6) and produces fruit to the glory of God. Therein it differs radically from that nominal and inoperative faith of frothy professors, which goes no deeper than a mere mental assent to the Gospel and ends in fair but empty words. That faith which is unaccompanied by an obedient walk and abounds not in good works is "dead, being alone" (James 2:17). Different far was the faith of Rahab. Of her we read, 'likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way" (James 2:25). This does not mean that her good works was the meritorious ground of her acceptance with God, but that they were the evidence before men that a spiritual principle had been communicated to her, the fruits of which vindicated and approved her profession, demonstrating that she was a member of the household of faith. "Had she said 'I believe God is yours and Canaan is yours, but I dare not show you any kindness, her faith had been dead and inactive, and would not have justified her . . . Those only are true believers that can find in their hearts to venture for God, and take His people for their people, and cast in their lot among them" (Matthew Henry).
That is something which needs to be constantly insisted upon in this day of empty profession. A faith which does not issue in conversion is not a saving one, and conversion is a radical change of conduct, a right-about face, a reversal of our former manner of life. Saving faith necessarily involves the relinquishing of what previously occupied the heart, the repudiation of what formerly was trusted in, the abandonment of all that is opposed to the thrice holy God. It therefore involves the denying of self and the forsaking of old companions. It was thus with Abram, who was required to leave his old situation in Ur of Chaldea and follow the call of God. It was thus with Moses, who "refused to be called (any longer) the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt" (Heb. 11:24-26). It was thus with Ruth, who, in sharp contrast from Orphah went "back unto her people and unto her gods", refusing to forsake Naomi, averring "thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God" (Ruth 1:15, 16). And it was thus with Rahab. A faith which does not relinquish anything and produce a break from former associations is worth nothing.
Yes, Rahab's faith was a self-denying one, and nothing short of that is what the Gospel requires from all to whom it is addressed. Said the Lord Jesus, "Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Mark 8:34); and again, "Whosoever does not bear his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:27). Ah, dear friend, you may profess to "believe John 3:16", but suffer us to ask, Do you also, do you really, believe Luke 14:27? Be honest with yourself: does your daily walk supply proof you do so? The self-denying faith of Rahab appeared in her preferring the will of God to the safety of her country and in sheltering those two spies before the pleasing of her fellow-citizens. Still more conspicuously did it appear in the venturing of her own life rather than betray the messengers of Joshua, who were the worshippers of the true God. Her faith in God and love for His people made her scorn whatever scoffs she might be subject to and the dangers threatening her. A saving faith is ready, whenever God shall call upon us, to part with everything which we hold near and dear in this world. Acts of self-denying obedience are the best and surest evidences of a real spiritual faith.
From the standpoint of natural and temporal considerations Rahab's faith cost her something. It induced her "to renounce all her interests among the devoted Canaanites (i.e., doomed to destruction), to venture her life and expose herself to the imminent danger of the most cruel tortures in expressing her love for the people of God (T. Scott). Such is the wonder-working power of the Spirit in a human soul, producing that which is contrary to fallen human nature, causing it to act from new principles and motives, making it to prefer sufferings for Christ's sake and to endure afflictions by throwing in its lot with His people, than to pursue any longer the vanities of this world. Such was the transformation wrought in Saul of Tarsus, who not only bore with fortitude the persecutions which faith in Christ entailed, but rejoiced that he was counted worthy to suffer for His sake. Such too has been the blessed fruit borne by the faith of many a converted Jew since then, and many a Gentile too, especially those in Papish and heathen countries, as the missionary-records abundantly testify. And such in stone measure is the case with every converted soul.
In "receiving the spies with peace" Rahab made it manifest that she had a heart for the people of God, and was ready to do everything in her power to assist them . . . That brief clause summarizes all that is revealed in Joshua 2 of her kindly conduct toward the two Israelites. She welcomed them into her home, engaged them in spiritual conversation, made provision for their safety, and refused to betray them. "Her whole conduct manifested a reverential fear of the Lord, an entire belief of His Word, a desire and hope of His favor, an affection for His people, and a disposition to forsake, venture and suffer anything in His cause" (Scott). We believe there is a latent reference to her kindness (as well as Abram's) in Hebrews 13, for the word translated "messengers" in James 2:25 is the one rendered "angels" in Hebrews 13:2: "Let brotherly love continue, Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them". Alas, that so many today instead of so doing, are almost ready to rend each other to pieces over every difference of opinion.
Yet, as we saw in our last, Rahab's faith-like ours-was not free from defect, for her falsehoods proceeded from one who failed to trust God fully. This illustrates, in a general way, the humbling fact that in our best performances there is a mingling of frailty and folly. But let it be pointed out that in this matter her conduct is far from being recorded as an excuse for us to shelter behind. Rather is it chronicled as a solemn warning, and also to teach us that faith in its beginnings has many blemishes. God bears with much weakness, especially in the lambs of His flock. Those who have faith do not always act faith, but there is often much of the flesh mixed with that which is of the spirit. Very different is our case and situation from that of this young convert from heathendom. Rightly did the editor of Matthew Henry's O.T. commentary point out, "Her views of the Law must have been exceedingly dim and contracted: a similar falsehood told by those who enjoy the light of Revelation, however laudable the motive, would of course deserve much heavier censure".
"And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land...for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath" (vv. 9, 11). Here we find her making an open avowal of that which the Holy Spirit had secretly wrought in her heart. She acknowledged Jehovah to be the true God, that Israel was the people whom He had loved and owned, and hoped for a place among them. Nothing less is required from the believing sinner today: "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Rom. 10:9). The Lord will not own any cowardly and secret disciples. "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32, 33). Joseph was not ashamed to confess his God in Egypt, nor Daniel in Babylon, and when Paul stood forth in the midst of the idolatrous crew and soldiers on the ship and told of the reassuring message he had received from the angel of God, he added, "whose I am, and whom I serve" (Acts 27:23). Then, no matter where we be, let us not be afraid to show our colors and make known whose banner we serve under.
"Now therefore, I pray you, sware unto me by the Lord, since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token. 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" (vv. 12, 13). Some contracted hearts, in which the very milk of human kindness appears to have congealed, would regard this request of Rahab's as highly presumptuous. Personally, we believe that her soul was so overflowing with gratitude unto the Lord for having saved such an abandoned wretch, that her faith now perceived something of the infinitude of the Divine mercy, and believed that such a God would be willing to show grace to the whole of her family. Nor was she disappointed. Moreover, as Matthew Henry rightly pointed out, "those who show mercy may expect to receive mercy". Thus God promised Ebedmelech, in recompense for his kindness to the prophet, that in the worst of times he should "have his life for a prey" (Jer. 39:18).
That this request of Rahab's was something more than an expression of the tenderness of nature is evident from the whole of its tenor: that it was the language of faith appears from her assurance that without any doubt Canaan was going to fall before Israel. Her "sware unto me by the Lord" indicates the intelligence of her faith-a solemn oath would clinch the matter. In asking for a "true token", she made request for some pledge of deliverance -the word occurs first in Genesis 9, where God announced that the rainbow would be "the token of the covenant", in supplicating for the deliverance of her whole family, she left us an example which we may well follow. It is right that we should desire God to show mercy unto those who are near and dear unto us: not to do so would show we were lacking in natural affection. It only becomes wrong, when we ignore God's sovereignty, and dictate instead of supplicate. It is blessed to observe that He who has said "according unto your faith be it unto you", responded to Rahab's faith (Josh. 6:22)!
The Scarlet Cord
Rahab's request of the two spies that they should enter into a solemn covenant with her, guaranteeing the preservation of her family from the impending destruction of Jericho (Josh. 2:12, 13), placed them in a very awkward predicament, or it is more accurate to say, presents an acute problem which we fear some of our moderns would fail to solve aright. Only a short time before, Israel had received the following commandment concerning their treatment of the Canaanites: "When the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them: thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them." (Deut. 7:2). In the light of that express prohibition, what ought the spies to do? The correct answer to that question turns upon the proper application of a real and necessary distinction between the Divine commands-a distinction which has been drawn by well-instructed scribes in all ages-namely, between moral and positive laws: the one being grounded in essential rectitude, the other in sovereignty. The moral nature with which God has endowed us teaches that parents should cherish and care for their children, and that children should revere and obey their parents; but it would not prompt Christians to practice baptism or observe the Lord's supper-those are positive institutions, ad extra.
The things enjoined by God's positive laws depend solely on His sovereign pleasure, there being no other reason for them. But the things enjoined by His moral precepts are required not only by the authority of His will, but also by that nature and order of things which He has placed in the creation. The former are alterable at His pleasure, being appointed by mere. prerogative' the other are perpetual, enforcing as they do the necessary distinctions of good and evil. All the ceremonial laws given unto Israel were of the former order thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and thy neighbor as thyself-the sum of the Ten Words-belonging unto the latter. The former are only of local application unto those who receive them by Divine revelation, the latter are universally binding on all who are possessed of moral accountability. Whenever obedience to a positive law would involve a plain violation of the principles of the moral law, then the inferior must necessarily yield to the superior though God requires us to believe and do many things which are contrary to our depraved inclinations, yet He never demands from us that which is opposed to the moral nature He has given us.
An illustration of the distinction pointed out above is supplied by the case of David and his men when they were a hungered, and he requested five loaves of the show bread (1 Sam. 21). Abimelech the priest pointed out that that bread was not for common use, but had been "sanctified unto the Lord", yet after being assured the men were free from defilement, gave the loaves unto David. None other than our Lord tells us that though it "was not lawful" for them to eat the sacred bread, yet they were "blameless" (Matthew 12:3-6). Thus the positive law which prohibited the priest from giving the hallowed bread for food unto David and his men, yielded to the pressing need of the situation. "The Son of David approves of it, and shows from it that mercy is to be preferred to sacrifice, that ritual observances must give way to moral duties, and that that may be done in a case of urgent providential necessity which may not otherwise be done" (Matthew Henry).
The law laid down in Deuteronomy 7:2 was, then, a positive one, and neither absolute in its force nor binding in all cases, for justice itself requires that we must ever show mercy unto the merciful and never return evil for good. Now Rahab had shown mercy unto the two spies, and at great risk to herself. The instincts of humanity would fill them with kindly feeling toward their benefactress. Gratitude is a law of nature, and the law of nature takes precedence over positive precepts. Thus those two godly Israelites had sufficient moral sensibility and spiritual discernment to perceive that Deuteronomy 7:2 could not debar them from acting justly and kindly toward her who had ensured their safety. Yet, though their duty was quite clear, that did not warrant them acting hurriedly and rashly. No arrangement should be entered into thoughtlessly, on tire impulse of the moment. No definite promise should be made until we have carefully weighed what we are committing ourselves unto, for our word must be our bond. Still less should we enter into any solemn compact without first prayerfully and thoroughly pondering all that is involved in it.
"And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye (better "thou", as in verse 20) 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". (Josh. 2:14). Let it be noted that the fulfillment of Rahab's request was suspended upon an "if"! Necessarily so, for those men were entering into a covenant with her-as her "sware unto me by the Lord" intimated' compare 1 Samuel 20:16,17: Psalm 89:3-and a covenant is a mutual compact in which each party agrees to do or grant certain things in return for the other fulfilling certain conditions. That which they agreed upon was qualified by three provisos, the first of which was that she must continue loyal to their interests. Thus we see their circumspection in binding Rahab to this condition. "They that will be conscientious in keeping their promises, will be cautious in making them, and perhaps may insert certain conditions which may otherwise seem frivolous (Matthew Henry). The Christian should always qualify his promises with "the Lord willing" or "the Lord enabling me".
They solemnly bound themselves for her preservation in the common destruction of Jericho. Their "our life instead of you to die" (margin) not only affirmed that they would be as much concerned about her safety as their own, but signified a definite imprecation of God's judgment on them if they failed in their part of the agreement. "We will deal kindly with thee" was an assurance that their words would prove no empty ones, but that there should be an actual performance of what was promised. Observe too how they employed the language of faith: "it shall be when the Lord hath given us the land." There was no doubt in their minds about the issue: instead, they were fully convinced that Canaan was going to be conquered-yet "by the Lord" and as His "gift"! We too should wage the fight of faith with full assurance of the outcome, that the Lord will grant ultimate success, so that each exclaims, "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Ps. 23:6). In their "we will deal kindly" they gave proof they were imbrued with no ferocious spirit, and were far from being the blood-thirsty creatures which infidels charge the conquerors of Canaan with being.
"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" (v. 15). As soon as she received promise from the spies, Rahab set about assisting them in their escape. It was most convenient for them that her house was so situated, for had it been in the center of the town there was much more likelihood of their being recognized and arrested; but being on the outer wall, they could be let down by night unseen by unfriendly eyes. Yet let it be pointed out that the convenience was no mere happy coincidence but ordered by the Lord, for of all men He hath appointed "the bounds of their habitation" (Acts 17:26)-a sovereign God ordained where each of us should be born and reside. But not only was the particular location of Rahab's house of assistance to the spies, it also served to display more evidently the power of God, for it was the wall of the city which "fell down flat" (Josh. 6:20) and the preservation of her lone house amid the universal devastation, stood forth as a monument both of His might and of His mercy.
"And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you, and hide your elves three days until the pursuers be returned, and afterward may ye go your way" (v. 16). It is striking to behold the blending together of Divine power and human precaution all through, this incident. The grand truth of Divine preservation is typically illustrated, yet that preservation was accomplished by the use of means at every point: Rahab's by obeying the orders she received, her house because of the cord in her window, the spies by concealing themselves in the mountain. Let those who teach the "eternal security of the saints" see to it that they present it with the safeguards by which God has hedged it about. True, the accomplishment of His eternal purpose of grace is not left contingent upon the acts of the creature, nevertheless He who has ordained the end has also appointed the means by which that end is reached. God has not promised to conduct any one to Heaven without the exercise of his faculties and the discharge of his responsibility. He deals with us throughout as moral agents, and requires us to heed His warnings and avoid that which would destroy us (1 Cor. 9:27).
Committing my soul and its eternal interests into the hand of the Lord by no means releases me of obligation. "He who has fixed the limits of our life, has also entrusted us with the care of it; has furnished us with means and supports for its preservation, has also made us provident of dangers, and that they may not oppress us unawares has furnished us with cautions and remedies. Thus it is evident what is our duty". That, my reader, is a quotation not from the Arminian, John Wesley, but from the Reformer, John Calvin!-alas that so many who claim to be Calvinists lack his wisdom and balance of doctrine. The truth of Divine preservation is not designed as a shelter for either laziness or licentiousness. God's promises are made to those who honestly strive against sin and mourn when tripped up by it, and not to those who take their fill thereof and delight therein; for He undertakes to keep His saints in holiness and not in wickedness. If God has turned our feet into that way which leadeth unto life, we must continue therein, otherwise we shall never reach our desired destination. Only those who press forward to that which is before reach the Goal.
Saving faith is far more than an isolated act: it is a spiritual principle which continues to operate in those to whom it is communicated. Divine preservation works through Christian perseverance, for grace is given us not to render our efforts needless, but to make them effectual. God does not carry His children to glory in a state of passivity, but works in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure-to hate and fear sin, to desire and strive after holiness; to heed His warnings, to shun the things which would destroy, to keep His commandments. The Christian must continue as he began, for Christian perseverance is the maintaining of godly affections and practices. We are indeed "kept by the power of God", yet "through faith" (1 Pet. 1:5), and therefore so long as the flesh is left in us and we in the world, we are required to attend unto that exhortation "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God" (Heb. 3:13), for the verses which follow solemnly remind us that many of those who came out of Egypt never entered Canaan!-"they could not enter in because of unbelief" (v. l9).
"And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you, and hide yourselves three days until the pursuers be returned, and afterward may ye go your way". Observe how this illustrates and enforces what we have just said above. The spies were under the immediate care of God, they had trustfully committed themselves into His hands, and He would certainly bring them safely back unto Joshua. Nevertheless, they were required to exercise care and caution, and they did so, for verse 22 shows they acted in exact accordance with Rahab's counsels. They might have argued, We cannot afford to waste three days in the mountain, rather does it behoove us to make all possible speed to Joshua and make our report unto him. But that had been only the feverish energy of the flesh: "he that believeth shall net make haste" (Isa. 28:16)-alas that that wise old proverb "Slow but sure, is sure to do well" is now despised. Nor did those spies, under the plea of trusting God, recklessly disregard the peril of being captured by the pursuers-that had keen tempting Him, acting presumptuously rather than believingly. God requires us to conduct ourselves circumspectly, to exercise good judgment.
"And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath, which thou hast made us to sware. Behold, when we come into this land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread (or "rope") 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" (vv. 17,18). If the spies must need take due precautions for their personal safety, equally indispensable was it that Rahab should act in obedience with their orders, otherwise they would be released from their promise and the oath would no longer be binding upon them. Their oath, as pointed out above, was for the confirmation of the covenant they had entered into with Rahab, and a covenant is a mutual compact between two parties, which is rendered null and void if either of them fails to keep his part of the agreement. Now the Gospel itself is a covenant, for in it God offers and promises certain blessings upon our acceptance of His offer and compliance with His terms (Ps. 50:5, Jer. 50:5) and we are required to be "mindful always of His covenant" (1 Chron. 16:15) and to "keep His covenant" (Ps. 25:10)-for a fuller discussion of this see the March and April articles on "Reconciliation".
The binding of the scarlet cord in her window was for the purpose of identifications, so that when Israel made their attack upon Jericho they might know which was her house, and spare it. It must be borne in mind that when the spies gave her those instructions they knew not that the Lord was going to work a miracle, and cause the walls of the city to fall down without any assault upon them by Israel. That was not revealed unto Joshua until later (Josh. 6:5), illustrating the fact that God's will is made known unto us only a step at a time-He sees the end from the beginning (Acts 15:18), but He does not permit us to do so (John 13:7). That cord was the "token" for which she had asked (v. 12), and it enabled the army of Israel to ascertain which was her house-just as the sprinkled blood on the door-posts of the Hebrews in Egypt caused the angel of death to recognize their houses and pass over them, when He went forth to slay the firstborn (Ex. 12:13); and just as the 144,000 who are exempted from judgment are "sealed in their foreheads" (Rev. 7:3), their identifying mark being that of obedience to the Lord (Rev. 14:1-5), for it is obedience which manifestatively distinguishes the children of God from the children of the devil.
"And it shall be that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the streets, 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 laid upon him" (v. 19). Thus the terms of the covenant or agreement were precisely stated and carefully explained to her before they parted. Those of Rahab's family who were to be preserved from the common destruction must be inside her house, separated from the wicked; if they forsook that shelter and mingled with the heathen inhabitants of Jericho, they would perish with them-as Noah and his family had in the flood, unless they had separated from the ungodly and taken refuge in the ark. Typically this teaches the imperative necessity of separation from the world if we would escape from its impending doom, The case of Rahab's family remaining secluded in her house as the condition of their preservation is parallel with Acts 27, where we find that though the angel of God assured Paul "there shall be no loss of life" (v. 21, yet when the sailors were about to abandon it, he cried, "except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved" (v. 31), and except Christians maintain separation from this evil world they cannot escape destruction with it.
"And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us sware" (v. 20). Let those who proclaim the grand truth of "the eternal security of the saints" fail not to give due place unto that "if"-the if not of uncertainly from the Divine side, but of enforcing responsibility from the human. Let them carefully ponder the "if" in Romans 8:13 and 11:22; 1 Corinthians 15:2; Colossians 1:23; Hebrews 3:6, 14. Scripture does not teach a mechanical security, but one which is obtained through our use of means and avoidance of dangers. The preservation of Rahab from destruction was conditioned upon her obedience to the instructions of God's messengers and her use of the means they specified. First, she must mention not their business or betray them to their enemies: she must be loyal to them and promote their interests-a figure of love for the brethren. Second, she must place the scarlet cord in the window so that her house might be recognized: we must bear the identifying mark of God's children. Third, she must abide in her house: we must maintain separation from the world.
"And she said, According unto your words, so be it": there was no resentment, no offering of objections. "And she bound the scarlet line in window" (v. 21), manifesting by her obedience that she was an elect and regenerate soul. Unless you, my reader, are walking in obedience to God, you have no scriptural warrant to conclude you are "eternally secure". The reward of her faith and obedience is revealed in other passages. First, she "perished not with them that believed not" (Heb. 11:31). Second, she "dwelt in Israel" (Josh. 6:25): from being a citizen of heathen Jericho, she was given place in the congregation of the Lord. Third, she became the honored wife of a prince in Judah, the mother of Boaz and one of the grandmothers of David (Matthew 1:5). Fourth, she was one of the favored ancestresses of the Savior (Matthew 1). Thus did God do for her exceeding abundantly above all that she-asked or thought: delivered from awful depths of sin and shame, elevated heights of honor and dignity.
4. A Scarlet Cord (Concluded)
Joshua 2:1-24
"Repent ye and believe the Gospel" (Mark 1:15); "Testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). A contrite spirit and a heart acceptance of the Gospel are inseparably connected, so that wherever the one is mentioned the other is presupposed. For example, take the passages recording the Gospel commission: in Mark 16:16 the emphasis is on "believing", while in Luke 24:47 it is on "repentance"-the two together explaining the "make disciples" of Matthew 28:19. The one cannot exist without the other: it is just as morally impossible for an impenitent heart to believe, as it is for an unbeliever to repent. There may indeed be a mental assent to the Truth unaccompanied by any brokenness of heart, as there may be natural remorse where no faith exists; but there can be no saving faith where evangelical repentance is absent. Since the faith of Rahab was a saving one, as Hebrews 11 clearly shows, it must have been attended with godly sorrow for sin and reformation of life. There can be no pardon while there is no repentance (Isa. 55:7, Luke 24:47, Acts 3:19) i.e. mourning over and abandoning of our evil ways.
Repentance is a change of mind: one that goes much deeper and includes far more than a mere change of opinion or creed. It is a changed mind, a new perception, an altogether different outlook on things as they previously appeared. It is the necessary effect of a new heart. Repentance consists of a radical change of mind about God, about sin, about self, about the world. Previously God was resisted, now He is owned as our rightful Lord. Previously sin was delighted in, but now it is hated and mourned over. Previously self was esteemed, but now it is abhorred. Previously we were of the world and its friendship was sought and prized, now our hearts have been divorced from the world and we regard it as an enemy. Everything is viewed with other eyes than formerly, and an entirely different estimate is formed of them. The impenitent see in Christ no beauty that they should desire Him, but a broken and contrite heart perceives that He is perfectly suited to him. Thus, while He continues to be despised by the self-righteous Pharisees, He is welcomed and entertained by publicans and sinners. Repentance softens the hard soil of the soul and makes it receptive to the Gospel Seed.
Repentance necessarily leads to a change of conduct, for a change of mind must produce a change of action: repentance and reformation of life are inseparable.. It must have been thus with Rahab: she who had been a harlot, would become chaste, and a life of wanton pleasure would give place to one of honest work. Some may deem our conclusion a 'far-fetched' one, but personally we consider that we are given a plain intimation of her changed manner of life. In Joshua 2:6 we are told that she 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". As there is not a superfluous nor meaningless word in the Scriptures, why then has the Holy Spirit specified the particular kind of straw which Rahab used to cover and conceal the two spies? Now "flax" was laboriously gathered by the industrious women, laid out on the flat roofs of the houses to dry, and was then used for spinning and weaving. The presence of a quantity of it "laid out" on Rahab's roof was an evidence she was now living a useful life.
But that is not all the presence of the "flax" tells us. If we go to the trouble of searching our concordance and comparing Scripture with Scripture, we discover something yet more praiseworthy. In the last chapter of the book of Proverbs we are supplied with a full-length portrait of "a virtuous woman", and one of her features is that "she seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands"! Such we are assured was now the character and occupation of this outstanding monument of mercy. Another mark of repentance is a changed esteem of and attitude toward the people of God: formerly their presence irritated, for their piety condemned us; but when the heart be changed by the operations of Divine grace, their company and communion is desired and valued. It was thus with Rahab and the two Israelites: she "received the spies with peace" (Heb. 11:31) is the Divine testimony. It was not with reluctance and complaint that she accepted them into her abode, but with a spirit of good will, welcoming and giving them shelter. Admire then the blessed transformation which the operations of the Spirit had wrought in her character.
Let us now consider more particularly her faith. First, the ground of it. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17). This does not mean that faith is originated by hearing the Word of God, any more than that the shining of the sun imparts sight to the eye. No, faith is bestowed by a sovereign act of the Spirit, and then it is instructed and nourished by the Word. As an unimpaired eye receives light from the sun and is thereby enabled to perceive objects so faith takes in the testimony of God and is regulated thereby. My acceptance of the Truth does not create faith, but makes manifest that I have faith, and it becomes the sure ground on which my faith rests. Unto the spies Rahab said, "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. 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. 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" (vv. 9-11).
How marked the contrast between Rahab and that generation of Israel whose carcasses fell in the wilderness! They not only "heard" of but were the actual eye-witnesses of those wonderful prodigies which Jehovah wrought on behalf of His people. They personally saw Him cleave a way for them right through the Red Sea so that they passed through it dry-shod, and then His causing the waters to come together again to the drowning of Pharaoh and his hosts. They beheld the solemn manifestation of His august presence on Sinai. They were the daily recipients of a supernatural supply of food from heaven, and drank of water which was made to gush from a smitten rock. But their hearts were unaffected and no faith was begotten within them. They too "heard" God's voice (Heb. 3:5, 6) but responded not, and therefore were debarred from the promised land: "they could not enter in because of unbelief" (Heb. 3:19). Ah, my reader, something more than the beholding of miracles or witnessing outward displays of God's power is required in order to beget faith in those who are spiritually dead, as was evidenced again in the days of Christ.
How marked the contrast too between Rahab and the rest of her compatriots! As her words in Joshua 2:9-11 clearly indicate, they too heard the same reports she did of the marvels performed by the Lord's might, yet they produced no faith in them. They were indeed awestruck and terrified by the accounts of the same that reached them, so that for a season there did not remain any more courage in them; but that was all. Just as under the faithful preaching of God's servants many have been temporarily affected by announcements of the Day of Judgment and the wrath to come, but never surrendered themselves to the Lord. God declared unto Israel, "This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of thee" (Deut. 2:25). That was literally fulfilled in the case of the inhabitants of Jericho, yet it wrought no spiritual change in them, for they were children in whom was no faith, and they had no faith because no miracle of grace was wrought in their souls. Of itself the soundest preaching effects no spiritual change in those who hear it.
Mark the contrast: "By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not" (Heb. 11:31). And why? Because a sovereign God had made her to differ from them (1 Cor. 4:7). She was blessed with "the faith of the operation of God" (Col. 2:12). Consequently, she "heard" of the works of the Lord not merely with the outward ear, as was the case with all her fellow-citizens, but with the ear of the heart, and therefore was she affected by those tidings in a very different manner from what they were who heard but "believed not". It is clear from her words "I know that the Lord hath given you the land" that she had both heard and believed the promises which He had made to Abraham and his seed, and perceiving He was a gracious and giving God, hope had been born in her. Behold then the distinguishing favor of God unto this vessel of mercy and realize that something more than listening to the Gospel is needed to beget faith in us. "The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them" (Prov. 20:12). Only those "believe the report" to whom "the arm (power) of the Lord is revealed" (Isa. 53:1). As later with Lydia, so Rahab was one "whose heart the Lord opened that she attended unto the things which were spoken" (Acts 16:14).
Solemn indeed is the warning pointed by the unbelieving fellows of Rahab. So far as we are informed, they heard precisely the same report as she did. Nor did they treat those tidings with either skepticism or contempt: instead, they were deeply affected by them, being terror-stricken, The news of God's judgments upon the Egyptians, and their nearer neighbors, the Amorites, made their hearts melt as they feared it would be their turn next. If it be asked, Why did they not immediately and earnestly cry unto God for mercy, the answer-in part, at least-is supplied by Ecclesiastes 8:11: "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" Space was given for repentance, but they repented not. A further respite was granted during the six days that the hosts of Israel marched around Jericho, but when nothing happened and those hosts returned to their camp, its inhabitants continued to harden their hearts. Thus it is with the majority of our fellows today, even of those who are temporarily alarmed under the faithful ministry of God's servants.
The workings of natural fear and the stirrings of an uneasy conscience soon subside; having no spiritual root, they endure not. Only one in all that city was Divinely impressed by the account which had been received of the Lord's work in overthrowing the wicked. Ah, my reader, God's sheep have ever been few in number, though usually a great many goats have mingled with them, so that at a distance and to a superficial survey it seems as though the flock is of a considerable size. Not only few in number, but frequently isolated from each other, one here and one there, for the children of God are "scattered abroad" (John 11:52). The experience of David was very far from being a unique one when he. Exclaimed "I am like a pelican of the wilderness, I am like an owl of the desert. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the housetop" (Ps. 102:6, 7). God's thoughts and ways are not as ours, being infinitely wiser and better, though only the anointed eye can perceive that. Not only is His keeping power more strikingly displayed, and glorified, by preserving a lone sheep in the midst of goats and wolves, but that solitary believer is cast back the more upon Him.
It is this very loneliness of the saint which serves to make manifest the genuineness of his faith. There is nothing remarkable in one believing what all his associates believe, but to have faith when surrounded by skeptics, is something noteworthy. To stand alone, to be the solitary champion of a righteous cause when all others are federated unto evil, is a rare sight. Yet such was Rahab. There were none in Jericho with whom she could have fellowship, none there to encourage her heart and strengthen her hands by their godly counsel and example: all the more opportunity for her to prove the sufficiency of Divine grace! Scan slowly the list presented in Hebrews 11, and then recall the recorded circumstances of each. With whom did Abel, Enoch, Noah have spiritual communion? From what brethren did Joseph, Moses, Gideon receive any help along the way? Who were the ones who encouraged and emboldened Elijah, Daniel, Nehemiah? Then think it not strange that you are called to walk almost if not entirely alone, that you meet with scarcely any like-minded or any who are capable of giving you a lift along the road.
During the past six years this magazine was sent to quite a number in the different fighting forces, and without a single exception they informed us that they were circumstanced similarly to Rahab. Some were with the British, some with the Colonials, some with the Americans; some were in the navy, others in the army and air force; but one and all reported the same thing-totally cut off from contact with fellow-Christians. The "Studies" were sent to anal deeply appreciated by men in both the royal and the merchant navies, but in each instance they were on different ships, surrounded by the ungodly. How easily the Lord could have gathered them together on to one ship! But He did not. And it was for their good that He did not, otherwise He had ordered things differently (Rom. 8:28). Faith must be tried, to prove its worth. Nor is it a hot-house plant, which wilts and withers at the first touch of frost. No, it is hardy and sturdy, and so far from winds and rain dashing it to pieces, they are but occasions for it to become more deeply rooted and vigorous.
The isolation of Rahab appears in that utterance of hers: "I know your terror is fallen upon us". They were but naturally and temporarily affected, she spiritually and permanently so. What she heard came to her soul with Divine power. And again we say, it was God who made her to differ. By nature her heart was no different from that of her companions, but having been supernaturally quickened into newness of life, she received with meekness the engrafted Word. "All men have not faith" (2 Thess. 3:2) because all are not born again. Faith is one of the attributes and activities of that spiritual life (or nature) which is communicated at regeneration. The firm foundation for faith to rest upon is the sure Word of God, and Divine testimony: by it alone is faith supported and established. Frames and feelings have nothing whatever to do with it, nor is spiritual confidence either begotten or nourished by them. Assurance comes from implicitly receiving the Word into the heart and relying upon it. Such was the case with Rahab: "I know that the Lord hath given you the land . . . (or we have heard how the Lord" etc. She received those tidings "not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the Word of God" (1 Thess. 2:13). Have you done so, my reader?
Observe well how definite and confident was her language. There was no "if" or "perhaps", no dubious "I hope", but instead, a sure and positive "I know". That was the knowledge of a saving faith. It is true that faith and assurance may be distinguished, yet they can no more be separated than can faith and obedience. Faith without works is dead, and faith without assurance is something of which this writer can find no mention in Scripture. We refer, of course, to a saving faith. What is that faith? It is taking God at His Word, appropriating it unto myself; personally resting upon the testimony of Him who cannot lie. Now I either am doing so, or I am not. If I am, then I must be conscious of so doing, for I cannot possibly be trusting in God and relying on His promise and yet be unaware that I am so doing. Read through the N.T. epistles and nowhere is there a single passage addressed to saints who questioned their acceptance by God, but everywhere the language is "we know" 2 Corinthians 5:l, Galatians 4:9, Ephesians 6:9, Philippians 1:6, Colossians 3:24, 1 Thessalonians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:18, 19.
Rahab's faith was not only accompanied with confidence but it regulated her actions. The faith of God's elect is a living, energetic principle, which "worketh by love" (Gal. 5:6) and produces fruit to the glory of God. Therein it differs radically from that nominal and inoperative faith of frothy professors, which goes no deeper than a mere mental assent to the Gospel and ends in fair but empty words. That faith which is unaccompanied by an obedient walk and abounds not in good works is "dead, being alone" (James 2:17). Different far was the faith of Rahab. Of her we read, 'likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way" (James 2:25). This does not mean that her good works was the meritorious ground of her acceptance with God, but that they were the evidence before men that a spiritual principle had been communicated to her, the fruits of which vindicated and approved her profession, demonstrating that she was a member of the household of faith. "Had she said 'I believe God is yours and Canaan is yours, but I dare not show you any kindness, her faith had been dead and inactive, and would not have justified her . . . Those only are true believers that can find in their hearts to venture for God, and take His people for their people, and cast in their lot among them" (Matthew Henry).
That is something which needs to be constantly insisted upon in this day of empty profession. A faith which does not issue in conversion is not a saving one, and conversion is a radical change of conduct, a right-about face, a reversal of our former manner of life. Saving faith necessarily involves the relinquishing of what previously occupied the heart, the repudiation of what formerly was trusted in, the abandonment of all that is opposed to the thrice holy God. It therefore involves the denying of self and the forsaking of old companions. It was thus with Abram, who was required to leave his old situation in Ur of Chaldea and follow the call of God. It was thus with Moses, who "refused to be called (any longer) the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt" (Heb. 11:24-26). It was thus with Ruth, who, in sharp contrast from Orphah went "back unto her people and unto her gods", refusing to forsake Naomi, averring "thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God" (Ruth 1:15, 16). And it was thus with Rahab. A faith which does not relinquish anything and produce a break from former associations is worth nothing.
Yes, Rahab's faith was a self-denying one, and nothing short of that is what the Gospel requires from all to whom it is addressed. Said the Lord Jesus, "Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Mark 8:34); and again, "Whosoever does not bear his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:27). Ah, dear friend, you may profess to "believe John 3:16", but suffer us to ask, Do you also, do you really, believe Luke 14:27? Be honest with yourself: does your daily walk supply proof you do so? The self-denying faith of Rahab appeared in her preferring the will of God to the safety of her country and in sheltering those two spies before the pleasing of her fellow-citizens. Still more conspicuously did it appear in the venturing of her own life rather than betray the messengers of Joshua, who were the worshippers of the true God. Her faith in God and love for His people made her scorn whatever scoffs she might be subject to and the dangers threatening her. A saving faith is ready, whenever God shall call upon us, to part with everything which we hold near and dear in this world. Acts of self-denying obedience are the best and surest evidences of a real spiritual faith.
From the standpoint of natural and temporal considerations Rahab's faith cost her something. It induced her "to renounce all her interests among the devoted Canaanites (i.e., doomed to destruction), to venture her life and expose herself to the imminent danger of the most cruel tortures in expressing her love for the people of God (T. Scott). Such is the wonder-working power of the Spirit in a human soul, producing that which is contrary to fallen human nature, causing it to act from new principles and motives, making it to prefer sufferings for Christ's sake and to endure afflictions by throwing in its lot with His people, than to pursue any longer the vanities of this world. Such was the transformation wrought in Saul of Tarsus, who not only bore with fortitude the persecutions which faith in Christ entailed, but rejoiced that he was counted worthy to suffer for His sake. Such too has been the blessed fruit borne by the faith of many a converted Jew since then, and many a Gentile too, especially those in Papish and heathen countries, as the missionary-records abundantly testify. And such in stone measure is the case with every converted soul.
In "receiving the spies with peace" Rahab made it manifest that she had a heart for the people of God, and was ready to do everything in her power to assist them . . . That brief clause summarizes all that is revealed in Joshua 2 of her kindly conduct toward the two Israelites. She welcomed them into her home, engaged them in spiritual conversation, made provision for their safety, and refused to betray them. "Her whole conduct manifested a reverential fear of the Lord, an entire belief of His Word, a desire and hope of His favor, an affection for His people, and a disposition to forsake, venture and suffer anything in His cause" (Scott). We believe there is a latent reference to her kindness (as well as Abram's) in Hebrews 13, for the word translated "messengers" in James 2:25 is the one rendered "angels" in Hebrews 13:2: "Let brotherly love continue, Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them". Alas, that so many today instead of so doing, are almost ready to rend each other to pieces over every difference of opinion.
Yet, as we saw in our last, Rahab's faith-like ours-was not free from defect, for her falsehoods proceeded from one who failed to trust God fully. This illustrates, in a general way, the humbling fact that in our best performances there is a mingling of frailty and folly. But let it be pointed out that in this matter her conduct is far from being recorded as an excuse for us to shelter behind. Rather is it chronicled as a solemn warning, and also to teach us that faith in its beginnings has many blemishes. God bears with much weakness, especially in the lambs of His flock. Those who have faith do not always act faith, but there is often much of the flesh mixed with that which is of the spirit. Very different is our case and situation from that of this young convert from heathendom. Rightly did the editor of Matthew Henry's O.T. commentary point out, "Her views of the Law must have been exceedingly dim and contracted: a similar falsehood told by those who enjoy the light of Revelation, however laudable the motive, would of course deserve much heavier censure".
"And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land...for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath" (vv. 9, 11). Here we find her making an open avowal of that which the Holy Spirit had secretly wrought in her heart. She acknowledged Jehovah to be the true God, that Israel was the people whom He had loved and owned, and hoped for a place among them. Nothing less is required from the believing sinner today: "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Rom. 10:9). The Lord will not own any cowardly and secret disciples. "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32, 33). Joseph was not ashamed to confess his God in Egypt, nor Daniel in Babylon, and when Paul stood forth in the midst of the idolatrous crew and soldiers on the ship and told of the reassuring message he had received from the angel of God, he added, "whose I am, and whom I serve" (Acts 27:23). Then, no matter where we be, let us not be afraid to show our colors and make known whose banner we serve under.
"Now therefore, I pray you, sware unto me by the Lord, since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token. 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" (vv. 12, 13). Some contracted hearts, in which the very milk of human kindness appears to have congealed, would regard this request of Rahab's as highly presumptuous. Personally, we believe that her soul was so overflowing with gratitude unto the Lord for having saved such an abandoned wretch, that her faith now perceived something of the infinitude of the Divine mercy, and believed that such a God would be willing to show grace to the whole of her family. Nor was she disappointed. Moreover, as Matthew Henry rightly pointed out, "those who show mercy may expect to receive mercy". Thus God promised Ebedmelech, in recompense for his kindness to the prophet, that in the worst of times he should "have his life for a prey" (Jer. 39:18).
That this request of Rahab's was something more than an expression of the tenderness of nature is evident from the whole of its tenor: that it was the language of faith appears from her assurance that without any doubt Canaan was going to fall before Israel. Her "sware unto me by the Lord" indicates the intelligence of her faith-a solemn oath would clinch the matter. In asking for a "true token", she made request for some pledge of deliverance -the word occurs first in Genesis 9, where God announced that the rainbow would be "the token of the covenant", in supplicating for the deliverance of her whole family, she left us an example which we may well follow. It is right that we should desire God to show mercy unto those who are near and dear unto us: not to do so would show we were lacking in natural affection. It only becomes wrong, when we ignore God's sovereignty, and dictate instead of supplicate. It is blessed to observe that He who has said "according unto your faith be it unto you", responded to Rahab's faith (Josh. 6:22)!
The Scarlet Cord
Rahab's request of the two spies that they should enter into a solemn covenant with her, guaranteeing the preservation of her family from the impending destruction of Jericho (Josh. 2:12, 13), placed them in a very awkward predicament, or it is more accurate to say, presents an acute problem which we fear some of our moderns would fail to solve aright. Only a short time before, Israel had received the following commandment concerning their treatment of the Canaanites: "When the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them: thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them." (Deut. 7:2). In the light of that express prohibition, what ought the spies to do? The correct answer to that question turns upon the proper application of a real and necessary distinction between the Divine commands-a distinction which has been drawn by well-instructed scribes in all ages-namely, between moral and positive laws: the one being grounded in essential rectitude, the other in sovereignty. The moral nature with which God has endowed us teaches that parents should cherish and care for their children, and that children should revere and obey their parents; but it would not prompt Christians to practice baptism or observe the Lord's supper-those are positive institutions, ad extra.
The things enjoined by God's positive laws depend solely on His sovereign pleasure, there being no other reason for them. But the things enjoined by His moral precepts are required not only by the authority of His will, but also by that nature and order of things which He has placed in the creation. The former are alterable at His pleasure, being appointed by mere. prerogative' the other are perpetual, enforcing as they do the necessary distinctions of good and evil. All the ceremonial laws given unto Israel were of the former order thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and thy neighbor as thyself-the sum of the Ten Words-belonging unto the latter. The former are only of local application unto those who receive them by Divine revelation, the latter are universally binding on all who are possessed of moral accountability. Whenever obedience to a positive law would involve a plain violation of the principles of the moral law, then the inferior must necessarily yield to the superior though God requires us to believe and do many things which are contrary to our depraved inclinations, yet He never demands from us that which is opposed to the moral nature He has given us.
An illustration of the distinction pointed out above is supplied by the case of David and his men when they were a hungered, and he requested five loaves of the show bread (1 Sam. 21). Abimelech the priest pointed out that that bread was not for common use, but had been "sanctified unto the Lord", yet after being assured the men were free from defilement, gave the loaves unto David. None other than our Lord tells us that though it "was not lawful" for them to eat the sacred bread, yet they were "blameless" (Matthew 12:3-6). Thus the positive law which prohibited the priest from giving the hallowed bread for food unto David and his men, yielded to the pressing need of the situation. "The Son of David approves of it, and shows from it that mercy is to be preferred to sacrifice, that ritual observances must give way to moral duties, and that that may be done in a case of urgent providential necessity which may not otherwise be done" (Matthew Henry).
The law laid down in Deuteronomy 7:2 was, then, a positive one, and neither absolute in its force nor binding in all cases, for justice itself requires that we must ever show mercy unto the merciful and never return evil for good. Now Rahab had shown mercy unto the two spies, and at great risk to herself. The instincts of humanity would fill them with kindly feeling toward their benefactress. Gratitude is a law of nature, and the law of nature takes precedence over positive precepts. Thus those two godly Israelites had sufficient moral sensibility and spiritual discernment to perceive that Deuteronomy 7:2 could not debar them from acting justly and kindly toward her who had ensured their safety. Yet, though their duty was quite clear, that did not warrant them acting hurriedly and rashly. No arrangement should be entered into thoughtlessly, on tire impulse of the moment. No definite promise should be made until we have carefully weighed what we are committing ourselves unto, for our word must be our bond. Still less should we enter into any solemn compact without first prayerfully and thoroughly pondering all that is involved in it.
"And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye (better "thou", as in verse 20) 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". (Josh. 2:14). Let it be noted that the fulfillment of Rahab's request was suspended upon an "if"! Necessarily so, for those men were entering into a covenant with her-as her "sware unto me by the Lord" intimated' compare 1 Samuel 20:16,17: Psalm 89:3-and a covenant is a mutual compact in which each party agrees to do or grant certain things in return for the other fulfilling certain conditions. That which they agreed upon was qualified by three provisos, the first of which was that she must continue loyal to their interests. Thus we see their circumspection in binding Rahab to this condition. "They that will be conscientious in keeping their promises, will be cautious in making them, and perhaps may insert certain conditions which may otherwise seem frivolous (Matthew Henry). The Christian should always qualify his promises with "the Lord willing" or "the Lord enabling me".
They solemnly bound themselves for her preservation in the common destruction of Jericho. Their "our life instead of you to die" (margin) not only affirmed that they would be as much concerned about her safety as their own, but signified a definite imprecation of God's judgment on them if they failed in their part of the agreement. "We will deal kindly with thee" was an assurance that their words would prove no empty ones, but that there should be an actual performance of what was promised. Observe too how they employed the language of faith: "it shall be when the Lord hath given us the land." There was no doubt in their minds about the issue: instead, they were fully convinced that Canaan was going to be conquered-yet "by the Lord" and as His "gift"! We too should wage the fight of faith with full assurance of the outcome, that the Lord will grant ultimate success, so that each exclaims, "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Ps. 23:6). In their "we will deal kindly" they gave proof they were imbrued with no ferocious spirit, and were far from being the blood-thirsty creatures which infidels charge the conquerors of Canaan with being.
"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" (v. 15). As soon as she received promise from the spies, Rahab set about assisting them in their escape. It was most convenient for them that her house was so situated, for had it been in the center of the town there was much more likelihood of their being recognized and arrested; but being on the outer wall, they could be let down by night unseen by unfriendly eyes. Yet let it be pointed out that the convenience was no mere happy coincidence but ordered by the Lord, for of all men He hath appointed "the bounds of their habitation" (Acts 17:26)-a sovereign God ordained where each of us should be born and reside. But not only was the particular location of Rahab's house of assistance to the spies, it also served to display more evidently the power of God, for it was the wall of the city which "fell down flat" (Josh. 6:20) and the preservation of her lone house amid the universal devastation, stood forth as a monument both of His might and of His mercy.
"And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you, and hide your elves three days until the pursuers be returned, and afterward may ye go your way" (v. 16). It is striking to behold the blending together of Divine power and human precaution all through, this incident. The grand truth of Divine preservation is typically illustrated, yet that preservation was accomplished by the use of means at every point: Rahab's by obeying the orders she received, her house because of the cord in her window, the spies by concealing themselves in the mountain. Let those who teach the "eternal security of the saints" see to it that they present it with the safeguards by which God has hedged it about. True, the accomplishment of His eternal purpose of grace is not left contingent upon the acts of the creature, nevertheless He who has ordained the end has also appointed the means by which that end is reached. God has not promised to conduct any one to Heaven without the exercise of his faculties and the discharge of his responsibility. He deals with us throughout as moral agents, and requires us to heed His warnings and avoid that which would destroy us (1 Cor. 9:27).
Committing my soul and its eternal interests into the hand of the Lord by no means releases me of obligation. "He who has fixed the limits of our life, has also entrusted us with the care of it; has furnished us with means and supports for its preservation, has also made us provident of dangers, and that they may not oppress us unawares has furnished us with cautions and remedies. Thus it is evident what is our duty". That, my reader, is a quotation not from the Arminian, John Wesley, but from the Reformer, John Calvin!-alas that so many who claim to be Calvinists lack his wisdom and balance of doctrine. The truth of Divine preservation is not designed as a shelter for either laziness or licentiousness. God's promises are made to those who honestly strive against sin and mourn when tripped up by it, and not to those who take their fill thereof and delight therein; for He undertakes to keep His saints in holiness and not in wickedness. If God has turned our feet into that way which leadeth unto life, we must continue therein, otherwise we shall never reach our desired destination. Only those who press forward to that which is before reach the Goal.
Saving faith is far more than an isolated act: it is a spiritual principle which continues to operate in those to whom it is communicated. Divine preservation works through Christian perseverance, for grace is given us not to render our efforts needless, but to make them effectual. God does not carry His children to glory in a state of passivity, but works in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure-to hate and fear sin, to desire and strive after holiness; to heed His warnings, to shun the things which would destroy, to keep His commandments. The Christian must continue as he began, for Christian perseverance is the maintaining of godly affections and practices. We are indeed "kept by the power of God", yet "through faith" (1 Pet. 1:5), and therefore so long as the flesh is left in us and we in the world, we are required to attend unto that exhortation "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God" (Heb. 3:13), for the verses which follow solemnly remind us that many of those who came out of Egypt never entered Canaan!-"they could not enter in because of unbelief" (v. l9).
"And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you, and hide yourselves three days until the pursuers be returned, and afterward may ye go your way". Observe how this illustrates and enforces what we have just said above. The spies were under the immediate care of God, they had trustfully committed themselves into His hands, and He would certainly bring them safely back unto Joshua. Nevertheless, they were required to exercise care and caution, and they did so, for verse 22 shows they acted in exact accordance with Rahab's counsels. They might have argued, We cannot afford to waste three days in the mountain, rather does it behoove us to make all possible speed to Joshua and make our report unto him. But that had been only the feverish energy of the flesh: "he that believeth shall net make haste" (Isa. 28:16)-alas that that wise old proverb "Slow but sure, is sure to do well" is now despised. Nor did those spies, under the plea of trusting God, recklessly disregard the peril of being captured by the pursuers-that had keen tempting Him, acting presumptuously rather than believingly. God requires us to conduct ourselves circumspectly, to exercise good judgment.
"And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath, which thou hast made us to sware. Behold, when we come into this land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread (or "rope") 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" (vv. 17,18). If the spies must need take due precautions for their personal safety, equally indispensable was it that Rahab should act in obedience with their orders, otherwise they would be released from their promise and the oath would no longer be binding upon them. Their oath, as pointed out above, was for the confirmation of the covenant they had entered into with Rahab, and a covenant is a mutual compact between two parties, which is rendered null and void if either of them fails to keep his part of the agreement. Now the Gospel itself is a covenant, for in it God offers and promises certain blessings upon our acceptance of His offer and compliance with His terms (Ps. 50:5, Jer. 50:5) and we are required to be "mindful always of His covenant" (1 Chron. 16:15) and to "keep His covenant" (Ps. 25:10)-for a fuller discussion of this see the March and April articles on "Reconciliation".
The binding of the scarlet cord in her window was for the purpose of identifications, so that when Israel made their attack upon Jericho they might know which was her house, and spare it. It must be borne in mind that when the spies gave her those instructions they knew not that the Lord was going to work a miracle, and cause the walls of the city to fall down without any assault upon them by Israel. That was not revealed unto Joshua until later (Josh. 6:5), illustrating the fact that God's will is made known unto us only a step at a time-He sees the end from the beginning (Acts 15:18), but He does not permit us to do so (John 13:7). That cord was the "token" for which she had asked (v. 12), and it enabled the army of Israel to ascertain which was her house-just as the sprinkled blood on the door-posts of the Hebrews in Egypt caused the angel of death to recognize their houses and pass over them, when He went forth to slay the firstborn (Ex. 12:13); and just as the 144,000 who are exempted from judgment are "sealed in their foreheads" (Rev. 7:3), their identifying mark being that of obedience to the Lord (Rev. 14:1-5), for it is obedience which manifestatively distinguishes the children of God from the children of the devil.
"And it shall be that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the streets, 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 laid upon him" (v. 19). Thus the terms of the covenant or agreement were precisely stated and carefully explained to her before they parted. Those of Rahab's family who were to be preserved from the common destruction must be inside her house, separated from the wicked; if they forsook that shelter and mingled with the heathen inhabitants of Jericho, they would perish with them-as Noah and his family had in the flood, unless they had separated from the ungodly and taken refuge in the ark. Typically this teaches the imperative necessity of separation from the world if we would escape from its impending doom, The case of Rahab's family remaining secluded in her house as the condition of their preservation is parallel with Acts 27, where we find that though the angel of God assured Paul "there shall be no loss of life" (v. 21, yet when the sailors were about to abandon it, he cried, "except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved" (v. 31), and except Christians maintain separation from this evil world they cannot escape destruction with it.
"And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us sware" (v. 20). Let those who proclaim the grand truth of "the eternal security of the saints" fail not to give due place unto that "if"-the if not of uncertainly from the Divine side, but of enforcing responsibility from the human. Let them carefully ponder the "if" in Romans 8:13 and 11:22; 1 Corinthians 15:2; Colossians 1:23; Hebrews 3:6, 14. Scripture does not teach a mechanical security, but one which is obtained through our use of means and avoidance of dangers. The preservation of Rahab from destruction was conditioned upon her obedience to the instructions of God's messengers and her use of the means they specified. First, she must mention not their business or betray them to their enemies: she must be loyal to them and promote their interests-a figure of love for the brethren. Second, she must place the scarlet cord in the window so that her house might be recognized: we must bear the identifying mark of God's children. Third, she must abide in her house: we must maintain separation from the world.
"And she said, According unto your words, so be it": there was no resentment, no offering of objections. "And she bound the scarlet line in window" (v. 21), manifesting by her obedience that she was an elect and regenerate soul. Unless you, my reader, are walking in obedience to God, you have no scriptural warrant to conclude you are "eternally secure". The reward of her faith and obedience is revealed in other passages. First, she "perished not with them that believed not" (Heb. 11:31). Second, she "dwelt in Israel" (Josh. 6:25): from being a citizen of heathen Jericho, she was given place in the congregation of the Lord. Third, she became the honored wife of a prince in Judah, the mother of Boaz and one of the grandmothers of David (Matthew 1:5). Fourth, she was one of the favored ancestresses of the Savior (Matthew 1). Thus did God do for her exceeding abundantly above all that she-asked or thought: delivered from awful depths of sin and shame, elevated heights of honor and dignity.