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Monday, May 29, 2017

Learn from the life of Rahab



Learn from the life of Rahab

The story of Rahab is found in the book of Joshua 2:1-21. She was one of the four women mentioned in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ. The other three were Bathsheba, Tamar and Ruth. Rahab married Salmon and Boaz was born. Boaz married Ruth and their great-grandson was King David from whose line Jesus came.

Before Rahab became an Israelite, she was a citizen of Jericho where she lived as a pagan and prostitute. Thus her status in Jericho made her a most unlikely candidate for the blessings of God. Further, the city of Jericho was doomed, having been marked for destruction. But she worked her way into the blessings of God.
When the conquest of Jericho was about to commence, spies were sent ahead to view the land. Rahab accommodated and protected the spies and helped them to escape when the King of Jericho sent men to arrest them. She made an agreement with the spies that rescued her and her entire family from the destruction of the city of Jericho.

The lessons to learn from this remarkable woman are as follows:

1)      Her faith: Her recognition of the mighty acts of Jehovah God in the past formed the basis of her faith in Him. She was aware of how God dried up the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross over on dry ground. She was also aware of how God empowered the Israelites to utterly destroy the strongest Amorite Kings, Og and Bashan and their kingdoms. Obviously she was aware of the ten plagues in Egypt which brought that world power to its knees and the total destruction of the Egyptian armies in the Red Sea.

By her knowledge of the past events, she acknowledged the power of the Mighty God of Israel over all the nations on earth. She stated to the spies that ‘the Lord your God is God in Heaven above and in earth beneath’.

2)      Her insight: Based on her knowledge of the mighty acts of the God of Israel and His wonders, she was truthful and intelligent to foresee the total conquest of, and destruction of the nations of Canaan including the city of Jericho. She was sure that any resistance from Jericho against the impending invasion would be useless.

3)      Her ability to take risks: Having foreseen how events would turn out in Canaan, she planned for the escape of herself and family from the impending conquest and destruction. She obeyed her own part of the agreement to the letter. She could have chosen to remain loyal to the King of Jericho by giving up the spies. But she did not and rather made a clear decision not to sink with the doomed city. She took the risk to work her escape from the destruction and by that effort; she worked her way into the blessings of God and became a member of the Israelite nation.



How does the Rahab story apply to you?

1)      She made a clear decision to turn her life over to the God of Israel. She chose to be saved rather than to be destroyed along with the multitudes in Jericho. Out of the many families in Jericho, only her family was saved. 
      Matthew 7:13-14 says that few shall be saved and many will be lost and we see this occur in Jericho. It also occurred in Sodom and Gomorrah where only 3 persons escaped the destruction of the two cities. Also only 2 persons of the 600,000 men who started the Exodus actually entered into the Promised Land. The others perished in the wilderness.

Rahab escaped the destruction because she did not allow any traditional loyalties to Jericho to hinder her from submitting to the God of Israel. Do you allow any traditional loyalty to your environment or any religion; parents, relations, friends or peers to hinder you from turning to the God of Israel for salvation?   

You must take a decision not to follow the ways of the multitudes in the world (Exodus 23:2). You must decide not to perish with the perishing multitude. Determine to be among the few who will make it to heaven (Luke 13:24)

2)      There is a direct link between knowledge, faith, action and commitment. Rahab’s knowledge of the power of the God of Israel formed the basis of her faith to trust in Him for her future. Based on her faith, she took action and committed herself to that action without looking back.

You know the power of the God of Israel; what He has done; what He is doing and what He can do based on His promises. You are aware from the Scriptures that God destroyed the first world because of sin; He destroyed Sodom & Gomorrah for their sinfulness, and has promised to destroy this doomed world at a future date but is warning you to flee for your life by accepting his free gift of salvation that will secure your soul from damnation (2 Corinthians 6:2).

You know that death and judgment are certain (Hebrews 9:27) (2 Corinthians 5:10). You know that the world and its systems rooted in darkness and iniquity will be pass away (1 John 2:15-17). 

You are aware of the reality of heaven and hell. You know that your life on earth is very short (Job 14:1). You know that there is an urgent need to accept Jesus Christ now as Lord and Saviour, before it becomes too late to do so (2 Corinthians 6:2). Then, why are you still hesitating to take the right decision unlike Rahab?

May be you have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour but like Lot’s wife, you have looked back into the world. Lot’s wife was already out of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah before she looked back into the world and was destroyed.   

You laid your hands on the plough but have you looked back into the world from which you were called out of? (Luke 9:62) (1 Corinthians 1:1-3). James 4:4 says that whoever is a friend of the world is an enemy of God. If you are an enemy of God, how can you make it to Heaven? Hell would be your home.

Hebrews 10: 26-31 warns that it will be much worse for anyone who tramples upon the Blood of the Covenant by which he was saved. You ought to repent and take a firm decision to follow the Lord to the end (Ruth 1:16). Without a solid commitment and loyalty to the Lord, no one will make it to Heaven!

You have a role to play in the salvation of your soul, go and play your part. Act by accepting Jesus as Lord and Personal Saviour now and pray for the empowerment to be committed to your decision to the end.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, keep me standing in the faith to the end in Jesus name, amen.

Ayodele Adegbulugbe

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