Bringing Forth Christ – Part 7 – Salmon and Rahab

Salmon was the son of Nahshon, who was the leader of Judah during the Exodus (Num. 2:3). Rahab thus married into a very honorable family in Judah in spite of her past life. This was made possible by faith. Indeed Rahab is held up as an example of active faith by James, “And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:25-26). She is also found in the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11:31.

Rahab, the Canaanite harlot, is a very appropriate example to Gentile sinners who also are made part of the seed of Israel by an active faith. It would be appropriate here to look at the faith of Rahab, and see if we can discern in it attributes of true faith. It should be noted that this Canaanite was allowed by virtue of her faith to remain in the land which her people were to be expunged from. The fact that she obtained an inheritance in this land by faith sets her apart not only from the majority of her fellow Canaanites, but also from the whole first generation of the Exodus with the exception of Caleb and Joshua.

So let us look at a few attributes of faith as we see them in Rahab’s life.

1. Faith is birthed of knowledge, but mere knowledge does not always produce faith. Rahab stated that she and all of the land had heard of the miracles at the Red Sea and the victory over Sihon and Og, yet the other Canaanites knowing these things did not have faith (Jos. 2:10). Even Israel having seen the miracle of the Red Sea did not later have faith in God.

2. Faith is more than mere belief. All of the Canaanites were deathly afraid of Israel and believed that Israel would prevail and yet they neither asked for mercy nor left the land, but instead knowingly fought against God.

People sometimes cry foul as to the destruction of children in this judgment as well as in the flood forgetting one key fact. God has given parents the responsibility for children, the reason why children drowned in the flood was because their stubborn parents had refused for perhaps one hundred years to heed Noah’s preaching. The Canaanites chose to fight against Israel and God rather than attempt to flee the land or ask mercy of Him. The unbelieving Jews endured seeing their little children dashed on the rocks because they refused to obey God’s command through Jeremiah to abandon the city and surrender to the Chaldeans. Are we to blame God for these things? God gives authority to parents and with it comes responsibility whether they want it or not. The children of those who rejected God and chose idols after the flood were greatly prejudiced towards idolatry themselves and after several generations would have had no knowledge of the true God in their national consciousness anymore. Did not those first parents in essence damn their children through their own bad example? God in His mercy can always work in men in spite of their parents, but if the parents take no thought for their own salvation or that of their children can they then blame God? God also gave man authority over the other creatures and because of that they are affected by our sins whether we believe it or not. Indeed in wars and famines and other calamities many times animals die. This is not caused by their own sin, but because as placed under man’s authority they suffer because of him, even as the servants of ungodly Egyptians suffered through being out in the hail because their masters did not believe (Ex. 9:20-21; Isa. 24:4-5; Hos. 4:1-3). Environmentalists are thus somewhat correct in blaming man for the problems of this world, yet they don’t address the underlying issue, which is sin.

3. Faith is more than acknowledging the power of God (Jos. 2:11). Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess the Jesus Christ is Lord, but unwilling confessions wrung out of impenitent hearts will do no one any good.

4. True faith involves abandoning the old life and old ways. Rahab’s true faith is shown in her willingness to appear as a traitor. If her nation was acting against God then she would be on God’s side against her nation. If her nation defeated Israel she would die with them when this agreement was found out (as it likely would have been). She forsook the world and aligned herself with the children of God. Her faith was perhaps imperfect, and I would question whether lying to the messengers when she hid the spies was the best way of handling the situation, but nonetheless it was a genuine act of faith on her part to hide the men and protect them.

5. True faith is a trust in the character of God. From the words of Rahab to the spies we gather that she believed that God was just, merciful and faithful (Jos. 2:12-14). She also expected that His followers would be the same.

Not only was Rahab saved by her faith, but all those of her family who also believed and remained in her house were also covered by the scarlet cord that she had outside the window (again any young children in the family would have been saved or not depending upon the response of the parents). This is a type of the blood of Christ which preserves those who believe.

Rahab’s faith transformed her and also her family. It made them citizens of the people of God. It changed her occupation, her friends, her nation and her entire lifestyle. True faith will always accomplish this, it will change us. It will cause us to see what others do not see, and hear what others do not hear. As a result we will make choices based on the eternal rather than following the world and making decisions based on temporal things. This is the victory that overcomes the world (in Rahab’s case and ours) even our faith. Amen.