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The Faith of A Black Woman named Rahab- Part 1Delivered by Dr. J. H. Curry,Jr.Senior Pastor of Mt Olive Missionary Baptist ChurchFebruary 9 and 16th 2014Black History Month Series Parts 1 and 2Joshua?2:1-24 Heb 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peaceOn last Sunday, I deliberated on Solomon and Mekeda, the Queen of Sheba. Solomon was one of Judah’s earliest kings to have Negro blood in his veins. His great-great grandmother was Rahab, the “Black Canaanite” who was an offspring of Ham. (Gen. 10)The Queen of Sheba was a Black woman who resided in Africa and Arabia. She was an Ethiopian by blood, land and culture; a descendant of Ham’s first son Cush, same as Ethiopia. (Gen. 10:7) The visit of the Queen of Sheba is one of the most enchanting stories of the Bible found in II Chron.9 and I? Kings 10:Solomon had a throne set up for Mekeda beside his. He called her the “Beautiful Queen of the South.” Solomon at that time had 700 wives, all princesses and 300 concubines. To the great dismay of all of these, Solomon now made Mekeda his favorite queen.Some of them began to reproach Mekeda about her darkness of her skin. Mekeda’s responds:Song of Solomon 1:5I am black but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon,look not upon me, because I am black, becausethe sun hath looked upon me:they made me the keeper of the vineyards;but my own vineyard have I not kept.“Comely” means “beautiful” and the “but” gives a negative connotation. “Black but beautiful is a poor translation. Using "and" instead of "but" or "yet" as the operative conjunction, the verse should read, “I am Black and Beautiful.”Who is Rahab.In the early chapters of the book of Joshua, we are introduced to a woman of ill repute.An African woman, who lives among a forging people, an Egyptian living in Jericho.?We do not know the circumstances that brought her to where she was.The calamity that made her join one of the oldest profession in the world. The disappointment that caused her to come to the point where she now made a living by selling her body to any man who was willing to pay for her services. How quick are you to judge someone? I’d like to think I’m a fairly open minded and tolerant person, but in my heart of hearts I know that I have the capacity to be very judgmental. I believe we all do. For example, when you first heard Rahab’s profession, what kind of person did you think she was? I believe in our world today, we are quick to put people into categories and then make judgments based on those categories. Here’s an example of that, and this story is too good not to be true. An elderly lady was in a Las Vegas casino. She hit it big on a slot machine and was taking her bucket full of coins up to her room. She got on the elevator, and immediately was joined by two very big black men, who came in and stood behind her. As the doors began to close, the woman realized she and her bucket of money were alone with these guys. Her worst fears were realized when, before the elevator even started moving, one of the men said to her, “Hit the floor!” The woman screamed, threw her bucket of money into the air and fell to the ground, waiting for an attack. Instead, she heard deep belly laughs and one of the men said to her, “No, ma’am, I mean you have to hit the floor button in order to make the elevator move.”Legend has it those two men were Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, and they later sent the elderly lady a dozen roses with a note that said, “Thanks for the laugh!”As we sit here in the sanctuary, it’s easy for us to see the humor in that situation. But how would we react if we were in that woman’s place? I’m afraid to say I would probably jump to the same conclusions, which is ironic because I hate it when people do that to meBut Rahabs story reveals she loves her family, was brave beyond measure, sought a better life than the one she had, and eventually learned to trust the Lord, despite her circumstances. Rahab, was not a member of the Aristocratic class.? She was used by aristocrats for her services, but not included in their circle.She mixed with aristocratic men, when they left their fine homes and their fine women to come to her house of ill repute.?They sneaked out of their palaces to sneak into that shack between the walls, where she held them in her arms and satisfied their needs.? But when it was all over, they left, went back to their fine homes and pretentious lives while she was left a nobody, an outcast, a despised person with nothing to show for her sacrifice than the price they paid.But something was about to change all that.? For coming to Rahab’s house, were two men that would leave her better than they found her, with hope of a better tomorrow, the promise of a greater future, and a name immortalized in the annals of time, despite her profession, despite her background, and despite her circumstances.These men were emissaries of Jehovah, and they offered her more than just few dollars for her services.? They offered the promise, that even a prostitute if she had enough faith, could change her circumstances, and become a child of the Omnipotent king. “You and I, are emissaries of Jehovah”.? We too are sent like spies into the Kingdoms of this world to find the outcast, the downtrodden, the sinners, the prostitutes.Our Message, the King of Kings is about to establish a kingdom, a kingdom that shall never end, and he is looking for citizens.? Doesn’t matter your pedigree, doesn’t matter your financial situation, doesn’t matter your past.?Whatever you sins might be, there is grace enough to handle it.? For the Bible declares, “Where sin abounds, Grace much more abounds”.? Romans 5:20?Usually when men came to Rahab’s house, rich or poor, sick or healthy, bond of free she gave them what they needed, and lost a little something of what she had.? Foreigners or countrymen, she was used to having men, sneak in privately, and sneak out secretly.? So it was not abnormal, when two men came.??Not sure why they came, or what they did, ?but I am told, that some women have a way of drawing out of a man everything in his heart.? “She knows how to make him feel at ease, feel secure”.? She knows how to stroke his ego, and affirm his manhood.? She makes him feel strong, even when he is weak, so he starts speaking, even when he should be quiet.?One of the reasons God says it is not good for man to be alone, (Genesis 2:18) is because he could fall prey to every smart woman, if he does not have his own woman who looks out for him.? Ladies, if you have a man in your life, look out for him, because he is lost without you.?That’s how Sampson felt, when he laid on the lap of Delilah, lost without her.Isaac, when he beheld Rebekah, lost without her.Jacob, when he encountered Rachel, lost without her.Adam, when eve stood before him with that fruit, lost without her.?So when their business was done at Rahab’s house.? She knew who they were, she knew why they came.?Note: Tweet This:“For forty years the stories trickled into Rahab’s house”, about the experiences of her people who still lived in Egypt.? Her country was destroyed by plagues, and her kings army drowned at the Red Sea.For forty years stories had trickled in, of food that fell from the sky, and water that came from rocks, of armies put to flight, and bitter water made sweet.?For forty years stories trickled in, of thousands of quails washing up out of the sea, and of people gathering breakfast each morning by simply walking out into the desert and picking it up.? For forty years.The viral marketing tools of the ancient world carried the fame of God across the various towns and cities of Ancient Palestine.The ancient Google, Yahoo and Bing search engines, revealed peoples fascination with the stories of Israel and Yahweh, because the search engines spiked with keywords like, Manna, Yahweh, Moses, Plagues and death angels.The ancient YouTube, carried stories, of the Canaanites encounter with the people of Israel.The ancient Facebook pages showed picture of defeated armies, and tweets from twitter told the stories of fallen greats, armies put to flight, valiant men now dead, once great kingdoms now destroyed.The ancient likedin groups of kings and politicians discussed who had already fallen victims to the people of Yahweh, and the word was, ”the trend was unstoppable”, ?it was only a matter of time, before all Canaan would fall ?under their spell.? The outcome was inevitable.So when the King, got the tweet on his twitter feed, when his Facebook wall post spoke of Israeli men, visiting a prostitute in Jericho,?When the search engines of the day spiked with searches on Yahweh, Israel, Red Sea, and Manna.? Immediately he sprang into action, guards, he said, go on down to the African woman, living between the walls of Jericho and find those men.?Joshua 2:2-4?(King James Version)??3And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.?4And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:?Rahab had the opportunity to stop them, and to reveal their plan, but she didn't.She had to decide between God's plan and the plans of earthly authority.In Genesis 19:5 – Bring out the men… Lot offers his two daughters for the sexual use of a crowd in place of his visitors??In Judges 19: Gibea, of Benjamin -the Levite thrust is wife out of the door into the hands of a raping mob.?Yet, when Rahab, a woman, a lowly prostitute faces this same challenge, she responses differently.?When the crowd comes to her door, she uses her brain to solve the problem; the men in similar stories resort to sacrificing the "weak " in their midst, but she devise a way to save them, and put herself on the line.?The Faith of A Black Woman named Rahab- Part 2Delivered by Dr. J. H. Curry,Jr.Senior Pastor of Mt Olive Missionary Baptist ChurchFebruary 9 and 16th 2014Black History Month SeriesHeb 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.How Rahab Entered the 11th Chapter of HebrewsIntroductionThe 11th chapter of Hebrews is an often preached from passage on “faith” or more exactly on some of the great heroes of the faith. In this chapter only two women are mention by name.*Sarah – Abraham’s wife – a godly woman and*Rahab – a prostitute – yet the bible calls her “a woman of faith”Rahab is twice mentioned in the N T. In Hebrews 11:31 she is listed in the great "hall of faith" – and is described as one whose faith proved itself by good works (James 2:25).The Bible doesn’t have a whole lot to say about the life of this woman. It seems that the only account we have of her is found in Joshua chapter 2. Initially, it seems that Rahab isn’t exactly heroine material. She is first introduced as a prostitute – not someone you would expect to be praised in the scriptures!This morning we’re going to talk about this woman Rahab and how she entered the 11th chapter of Hebrews.Joshua 2The Book of Joshua can be divided into three divisions.:1. Entering the land – Chapters 1-52. Conquering the land – Chapters 6-123. Possessing the land – Chapters 13-24There are many lessons for us in this 2nd chapter of Joshua but this morning I would like us to focus on Rahab. Tucked away in this chapter is the fascinating story about two spies and a prostitute named Rahab.I’m convinced that God can use Rahab’s story to show us several things.1st – God shows us that He can use anyone who is available to Him.2nd – God shows us that He can save anyone – even Rahab.As the 2nd chapter of Joshua opens, we find the nation of Israel – under their new leader Joshua – poised to enter the promised land. A land they had waited over 40 years to enter. Israel is camped just a few miles across the Jordan river from Jericho.Joshua sends out 2 young men to spy out the land who enter the city of Jericho and find lodging in an inn run by Rahab – a prostitute.This is where our story begins.I. (Vs. 1-7) Our first major observation is this: God has a way of working thru very ordinary and very unlikely people. He can use anyone who is available to Him. 1st God used two ordinary young men to spy out Jericho.Who were these two men? – We don’t know. They were unnamed – anonymous.We need to be constantly reminded that God works this way – thru ordinary people.Illustration I often find it helpful to illustrate this idea using my own experience.1. God used a backslidden Christian who had gotten right with God to draw me to Christ.2. God used Jerry T. – a very ordinary Christian – to disciple me in the basics of the Christian life.3. God used a black woman from the island of Antigua – to show me godliness and faith.4. God usd the pastor of a small mission church in New York City – to teach me how to forgive.2nd Then God used Rahab – A woman who had three strikes against her.1. Strike One – Rahab was a Canaanite, not a Jew. - The Canaanites were a wicked people. A people so wicked and so evil that God used Israel as his instrument to judge them. The Canaanites were Idolaters. 2. Strike Two – Rahab was a woman.- Women at that time were often treated as 2nd class people. They had few rights. ( Much like in many Islamic countries today) In many instances they were treated as property. Yet God worked through this woman – Rahab.3. Strike Three – Rahab was a prostitute. She sold herself for money. – God sees potential in every single one of us. No matter what our past.Rahab had all this going against her and yet she had one great redeeming factor in her favor – FAITH – She believed God.II. (Vs. 8-24) God not only shows us that He can use anyone. But next God shows us that He can save anyone.There are 5 particular qualities in Rahab’s life that I want us to notice.1. Rahab had an openness to the truth. – Vs. 8-11.She had heard about Israel and Israel’s God. But what was it that made her believe in Israel’s God.* It could have been fear – fear of death* It could have been dissatisfaction – with the life she was living – wanting something better.* Maybe she was a religious person seeking true spiritual reality – A seeker.It’s exciting to talk to an open minded person. To someone searching for the truth. Occasionally someone hears that I’m a pastor and initiates a conversation. The ask about the church or why I became a minister, ect.2. The 2nd quality Rahab had was the courage to make a tough decision. – Vs. 12-16She didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. She had to make a decision then.Salvation involves a decision on our part. It’s one thing to believe something and another to act upon it.3. The 3rd quality Rahab had was a willingness to join a new family. To leave the old life and enter a new one – To enter the family of God. – Vs. 17-21The spies told her to hang from her window a scarlet thread. – Did she understand it’s significance. I doubt it. ( Read note in Pilgrim Bible )Sometimes God asks us to do something that we don’t understand. To Rahab the scarlet thread was an outward sigh of what God was going to do. Her faith was not in the rope – it was in God.4. The 4th quality that Rahab had was a concern for her family. Vs. 12-13She was willing to persuade her own family to trust in her newfound God.Our loved ones need to know what we believe. Mothers and fathers need to teach their children about Jesus. Rahab cared about her family.5. The last quality Rahab had was a lasting faith. A persevering faith. Chap. 6:22-25Rahab had to follow thru on her faith. No longer was she a prostitute in Canaan. She was now a part of the people of God. A believer in the true and living God. No longer an idolater.Conclusion – What else do we know about Rahab.The NT books of Hebrews and James tell us that she was a woman of faith.Matt. 1:5-6 tells us that she became the great grandmother of King David and a part of the linage of Christ ................
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