Full of Surprises (Joshua 2)

SURPRISING ELEMENTS in the story of Rahab…

1. A SURPRISING MISSION—that Joshua would send spies into the land after what happened under Moses (2:1)
2. A SURPRISING WELCOME—that the spies would find hospitality and welcome in the home of Rahab, a “woman of the evening” (2:2)
3. A SURPRISING DISCOVERY—that the king of Jericho would know what was happening in a house of ill repute on the fringes of the city (2:2-3)
4. A SURPRISING PROTECTION—that Rahab would hide the spies to protect them and deceive their pursuers (2:4-7)
5. A SURPRISING CONFESSION—that Rahab would, by faith, acknowledge the person and plan of the true and living God (2:8-11)
6. A SURPRISING REQUEST—that Rahab would ask to be saved from the judgment to come on Jericho (2:12-13)
7. A SURPRISING PROMISE—that the spies would guarantee Rahab and her family safety, even though God had told Israel to completely destroy Jericho (2:14)
8. A SURPRISING REQUIREMENT—that the spies would tell Rahab to keep her family within their home and tie a crimson cord in the window, in similar fashion to what Israel did in Egypt on Passover (2:17-21)
9. A SURPRISING ESCAPE—that Rahab’s plan of protecting the spies worked, and the spies returned to the camp of Israel safely (2:15-16, 22-23)
10. A SURPRISING REALIZATION—that God had already gone before Israel into the land and had prepared the way for victory and salvation (2:24)

THE SURPRISING LEGACY OF RAHAB

1. That she becomes an example par excellence of faith. In fact, she is the only woman named in Hebrews 11, the chapter that highlights the heroes of faith!
2. That, despite the methods of deception she used, she becomes an example par excellence of genuine faith that issues forth in good works (James 2:14-26).

THE ULTIMATE SURPRISE (Matthew 1:1-17)

• That Rahab would become the mother of Boaz, ancestor of David, and ultimately a forebear of our Lord Jesus Christ!