bChurchSchoolLessonb - Saint Matthew A.M.E. Church

THE IMPROVED ADULT TEACHER QUARTERLY

Lesson 6 January 11, 2009

RISKING ONE'S LIFE FOR GOD

LESSON SCRIPTURE: JOSHUA 2; 6:22-25

PRINT: JOSHUA 2:1-4, 12-14; 6:22-25

Key Verses: The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Joshua 2:11-12

JOSHUA 2:1-4, 12-14; 6:22-25 (NRSV) Joshua 2:1-4

1 Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shit'tim as spies, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Ra'hab, and spent the night there.

2 The king of Jericho was told, "Some Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land."

3 Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Ra'hab, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come only to search out the whole land."

4 But the woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, "True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from."

12-14

12 "Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the LORD that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith

13 that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death."

14 The men said to her, "Our life for yours! If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will deal kindly and faithfully with you when the LORD gives us the land."

6:22-25

22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the prostitute's house, and bring the woman out of it and all who belong to her, as you swore to her."

23 So the young men who had been spies went in and brought Ra'hab out, along with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all who belonged to her— they brought all her kindred out—and set them outside the camp of Israel.

24 They burned down the city, and everything in it; only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.

25 But Ra'hab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, Joshua spared. Her family has lived in Israel ever since. For she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

JOSHUA 2:1-4, 12-14; 6:22-25 (KJV) Joshua 2:1-4

1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shit'tim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country.

3 And 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.

4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were.

12-14

12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token:

13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.

14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.

6:22-25

22 But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her.

23 And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.

24 And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.

25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

HOME DAILY BIBLE READINGS
January 5 - January 11

Monday — Joshua 1:10-18 (The Courage of Faith)

Tuesday — Hebrews 11:23-31 (Rahab-Example of Faith)

Wednesday - Joshua 2:8-11 (Rahab's Declaration)

Thursday — Joshua 2:15-21 (Rahab's Agreement)

Friday — James 2:21-26 (Rahab-Justif ied by Her Works)

Saturday — Matthew 1:1-6 (Rahab's Legacy-a King!)

Sunday — Joshua 2:1-4, 12-14; 6:22-25 (Rahab's Protection)

INTRODUCTION

Impelled to make risky commitments, some adults must make life or death decisions. An example of this lies in our founder Richard Allen, who made a decision to help care for the sick in his community who were suffering because of the yellow fever plague that was spreading throughout Philadelphia.

Many people of this era were afraid to care for the sick for fear of contracting the disease and possibly dying themselves. Not only did Richard Allen care for those afflicted with that dread disease, but he also buried the dead. His commitment came at a high price to his reputation in Philadelphia. Allen and those he encouraged to assist him were accused of stealing from those they served, hastening their deaths, and other crimes. All of this happened because he was willing to risk his life to do good in God's name.

Richard Allen and other Christian Black religious leaders committed to serving their community regardless of the cost. Perchance they remembered the risk that Rahab and other women like Deborah, Jael, Esther, and Mary, Jesus' mother, took in order to help God's people and men of God could do no less. By focusing on Rahab's story, we have an opportunity to discuss what it means to risk one's life for God.

BIBLE STORY

Rahab, the "harlot" as referred to in the Bible, was a woman of great strength and courage. Although she had a background of prostitution, she was very instrumental in assisting the Israelite spies. She seemingly had an awareness of God's past interventions on behalf of the Israelites. Trusting the two male spies, she hid them in her house.

Jericho's king sent a message to Rahab informing her that the Israelites were sending spies to seek information on the land (v. 2). Rahab lied to the king telling him that the men fled the city when the gates closed. Actually, she had the men hidden up on the roof. Though she lied about the men's whereabouts, Rahab was not reprimanded for her lie; instead, she was praised for her faith in God.

Rahab expressed a strong concern for her and her families' safety by asking the spies to spare their lives in exchange for hiding them (v. 14). She made a risky commitment to the spies because the king's men could have come and discovered them and they all could have been killed. However, God in his divine wisdom sent the spies to Rahab's house; knowing that she would give the men shelter. God judged her by her heart and character, and not her past experiences or standing within her community. This is consistent with God's nature because scripture tells us that the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (I Samuel 16:7, NIV)

Joshua made sure that the vows to Rahab were kept when the Israelites successfully conquered the land. In order for the Israelites to know that it was Rahab's house, she tied a scarlet cord in the window. Many theologians attribute the scarlet cord as being like the blood on the doorpost as mentioned in Exodus. The Israelites' destruction passed over Rahab and her father's family who were brought out of the city and placed in the safety of the Israelite camp. The city was burned down and all of the silver, gold, vessels of bronze, and iron was put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. (Joshua 6:24)

After Rahab and her family were saved, she, and probably all of her family, lived with the Israelites. She abandoned her pagan gods for the one true living God. She is noted in Hebrews 11:31 for not being destroyed with the people of her city who refused to obey God. James mentions Rahab as an example of faith (James 2:25). In Matthew, she is spoken of as the mother of Boaz, the ancestor of David and Jesus. (Matthew 1:15)

LIFE APPLICATION

Faith causes many people to make risky commitments. Often our faith in God is shown by our willingness to do good and help others even when much self-sacrifice is required. Such self-sacrifice causes us like Rahab to turn from a life of sin and submit ourselves to God. Self-sacrifice is especially revealed when we have caring concern for one another.

From our Bible story, we learned that Rahab helped the Israelite spies in exchange for sparing her life and the lives of her family members. She could have easily bargained for her own life; leaving her family to suffer doom and destruction with the rest of the city. In fact, she bargained so all of her family could live. This selfless act of faith is the reason she is mentioned in the chronicles of faith found in Hebrews and James.

Taking an example of Rahab's love, Christians must show their love and support for others. Jesus is the ideal example of how this love and support for others can be expressed through random acts of kindness. Frequently throughout the New Testament, you will find Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, feeding the hungry and spreading joy to many saddened individuals. These acts were not done by appointment only, but were done whenever and wherever Jesus felt the urgency to make a difference in someone's life. In Matthew 12:35, Jesus said, "The good man [or woman] brings good things out of the good stored up in him or her], and the evil man [or woman] brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him [or her]."

Jesus' everlasting example of forgiveness prompts us to do the same. Perhaps the forefathers of our great church had Christ's forgiveness in mind when they wrote, "You who do truly and earnestly repent of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbor..." (The Solicitation for the Lord's Supper found in the A.M.E. Hymnal). We must be or should be in love and charity with our neighbors before receiving the Lord's Supper. This is more than just a ritualistic prologue but something that we should all strive to do diligently.

Relating this to our lesson today, we know that Rahab chose to serve God. By doing so, she had to leave her sinful life and replace it with a life pleasing to God. The love of her family and God gave her the faith and courage she needed to risk her life saving the Israelites: further placing her in love and charity with her neighbors.

God could have simply looked at her sin and forced her to perish with the rest of her people because God knew about her past. But God loved Rahab, a Gentile, an alien because of her faith, and looked at her heart. God had an awesome future for Rahab. Conceivably this is what the Prophet Isaiah meant when he said, " Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." (Isaiah 1:18, NIV). Rahab was made clean just as Jesus' blood makes us clean from not only from the filth of past sins, but our daily misdeeds.

Rahab risked her life by committing to God. As a reward of this commitment, God spared her life plus the lives of her family. God wants to spare our lives today. He only wants us to trust Him and move ourselves out of His way so that he can perform miracles through our actions. Truly, trusting God requires more than lip action but acting on our faith. Life places us in positions that we cannot turn to anyone other than God. At this point, we exercise our faith by putting down all of those things that we know and trusting in God's ability.

SUMMARY

This inspiring lesson of risk, faith, and love should encourage you to look at the heart of a man or woman rather than the person's past deeds. God gave Rahab the ability to deliver her people. He did this regardless of her past. Not only did God know Rahab's past, but she knew her past; however, this did not deter her from saving God's people and turning her life around. Because of her faith, she has forever changed her reputation and became a shining example of what can happen when one risks his or her life for God.

Questions

1. What other persons in the Bible have taken risks to save God's people?

2. Have you ever taking personal risks to help others?

3. What was there in Rahab's life that might have motivated her to take a chance on the powerful God she learned about through hearsay and rumors?

4. How can Rahab's life be shared with a non-Christian who may have the desire to be saved?

5. Does every urgent situation need our intervention or are there times when urgency must give way to a priority?

CLOSING PRAYER

Father God, thank you for a powerful lesson of risk, faith, and love. God, we thank you for judging the heart and not our outward appearance or past offenses against you. God, as we apply this lesson to our lives, help us to reach lost sinners that may be seeking an avenue to come to you. We will forever praise your holy name. We pray this in Jesus' name and we call it done. Amen.

APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; the third day He arose from the dead, He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Church Universal, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

D E C A L 0 G U E

Superintendent-And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

School-Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law

Superintendent-Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

School-Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law

Superintendent-Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.