What is definitely agreed upon is that faith is often the result if upbringing. The truth that faith is not based on nature but on one's nurturing is plainly evident...most of the time. Gas a believer in Jesus Christ, I often take for granted the godly heritage that has been passed down to me. For generations the Christian Gospel has been heralded and proclaimed in an influential way to Europe and America. Every aspect of life has been permeated in so me way with the Christian faith. And I thank God for this! So it comes as no surprise to people that I am a Christian.
However, the culture in America is quickly changing. We no longer live in a Christian dominated society. Even if there are statistically more "Christians" in America, our voice is one of the quietest in the sphere of influence. We live in a pluralistic society that no longer esteems the Christian faith highly, but often looks down on it with disdain.
Since the schools kicked prayer and the Bible from it's classrooms, we have seen generation after generation raised with no knowledge of God. Ask around and many people today have no clue who Jesus is, aside from a common swear word. They cannot tell you what the 10 Commandments are, aside from the random news headline pertaining to the courtroom or classroom.
It used to be that the biggest difference with your neighbors was wether they were Baptist, Methodist or Catholic (no offense to the other denominations, I certainly could've included a longer list). Today however it is more likely that you have atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jehovah Witnesses or Mormons (to only name a few).
In our culture today it is becoming less and less likely to assume Christianity and more likely to assume not. It is becoming a climate where unlikely faith will become more apparent.
When I think if unlikely faith, I think of a faith that sprung out of circumstances that seem so remarkable against God that, in my human wisdom, I would write off. A faith that sprung up in Ninevah, a pagan capital city, because of a sermon delivered by an antagonistic prophet. Or the faith of John Newton, the slave ship captain whose livelihood was dependent on dehumanizing people. Or the harlot Rahab.
Joshua had just taken the reigns of leadership from Moses and declared his dependence upon the God of his fathers. He was going to lead the conquest into the promised land that he had scouted years earlier. He sent two spies in feel out the defenses of the great city Jericho.
The word about the conquest of the Israelites was spreading, so the king of Jericho was on high alert. The spies took shelter in the home of a prostitute, Rahab. Little explanation is given in the Bible about why these spies turned to her house, just simply that they went there.
Some might argue that they were typical, young men who were curious, but the text does not speak to any sexual encounters. And reading the Bible through, I can tell you theBible is not shy about telling the full story, i.e. Ammon and Moab...look it up.
Some argue that it was more of a hotel and a good place to stop and gather information. Still others believe it was a divine appointment by God to meet a desperate heart full of faith.
Regardless of why the spies chose this location, they were there and had no reason to expect special treatment. If caught they could expect to be killed. When the suspicious king heard they stopped by Rahab's, he sent an inquisition. Rahab hide them men on the roof and sent the soldiers in another direction. As soon as the guards are gone she runs to the spies and says:
"I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath." Joshua 2:9-11
What is significant to this phrase is the level of understanding she had developed. In the Ancient Near East, religion was dominated by superstition and polytheism (belief in many gods). Most people believed in local gods, the god of their city was restricted to boundaries of their city or empire. So when war would wage, they would think it was a battle between local gods at stake.
However, we see Rahab declare that the God of Israel is the God of heaven and the whole earth. As God destroyed Egypt and the Amorites, she connected the dots that the gods of Egypt and the gods of the Amorites were powerless. Even the gods of Jericho were because Israel served the One True God.
It wasn't the religious leaders, the philosophers or the rulers of the kingdom that came to genuine belief. Not it was a harlot, an immoral woman. We no nothing of her background, but we have learned a lot about her faith.
The spies agreed that her and her family would be spared if she hung the scarlet cord out the window when they attacked. The same cord she allowed the spies to escape on. When the attack ensued, she gathered her family and hung the cord, a seemingly ridiculous request.
As the walls crumbled, the trust in God demonstrated through a scarlet cord proved true. Her and her family were saved and ultimately welcomed into the family of Israel. We only later see Rahab in Matthew 1 as a great great grandma to Jesus. And then again she makes it into the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11.
Little did she know that the scarlet cord would be part of God's redemptive story. Scarlet has carried with it the connotation of sin. Think of the "Scarlet Letter" and other image ties of sin.
"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." Isaiah 1:18
Her faith in God's provision brought life, forgiveness, a new identity and a new home. The provision God has made for the forgiveness of sins is the shed blood of Jesus.
"Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" Hebrews 9:22
"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
Just like Rahab had to trust in the scarlet cord, we trust in the blood of Christ. The name of Jesus is our source of hope, forgiveness, a new identity and a new home.
No matter what background we come from, no matter what sin has kept is down, there's power in the name of Jesus to break every chain and set us free!
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