Got faith?

So what is faith?  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” In other words if there isn’t any visible evidence of something and we chose to believe and trust in it then we are exercising our faith. I can see how some people would have a problem trusting in something they can’t see or touch but that is the only way we can come to God. Chapter eleven of Hebrews goes on to say that “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

As the Israelites were getting ready to enter the Promised Land, two spies were sent in to find the best route. As they entered the walled city of Jericho they found their way to the house of a harlot named Rahab where they thought they would be safe and travel undetected. Unfortunately, the king of Jericho heard that they were there and had the harlot questioned. Meanwhile, Rahab hid the Israeli spies under stalks of flax that were set out to dry on the roof but lied and told the king that the men had already left the city.

Later that night Rahab lowered the men down to safety outside the city wall by a rope, but before she did she made the men promise that they would spare her life and the lives of her entire family. They agreed, “our lives for yours” and gave her a scarlet cord to tie to the lintel of her window. They vowed that as long as Rahab and her family stayed inside the house with the scarlet cord , their lives would be spared when the invading Israelite army attacked the city.

 But why would this successful business woman risk her own life by hiding the spies and lying to the king? What caused Rahab to have such great faith to give up everything to believe in God? Later , this gentile woman will go on to be the mother of Boaz and be mentioned in both the genealogy of Jesus Christ in the gospel of Matthew and chapter eleven of the book of Hebrews. 

 

Around that same time God also separated the waters of the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to escape Pharaoh’s army. News of this awesome miracle began to spread to other nations. Rahab mentions this fact in the narrative “For we have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt.” These events would have been big news in the world at that time and would have undoubtedly spread to Rehab living in the walled city of Jericho.

So without Rahab actually seeing the deliverance of the Israelis from Egypt, she chose to believe sight unseen in a God who could perform miracles. What’s of interest to me is the way God inspired the spies to tell her to tie a scarlet cord to the lintel of her window as a sign of her deliverance. There can be no doubt that this was a symbolic gesture of the blood of the Passover lamb of the exodus.

 Fourteen hundred years later Jesus Christ, The Lamb of God, would willingly tie His own scarlet cord on a wooden cross on Mount Morriah. This scarlet thread of redemption starts in Genesis and runs right through to Revelation. If you research this story you will find that there is archeological evidence which supports the fact that there was only a very small section of the outer wall of Jericho that was left standing after the remainder of the city was reduced to rubble. 

When we read the bible and believe in God, just as Rahab did, then we are exercising our faith and that is the substance of faith that pleases God. ! If you think about it and know anything about the Jewish culture, it’s interesting to discover that God placed a gentile woman who was a harlot in the genealogy of their Messiah and our Savior. So just believe and trust that God has your back, your front and your future!