God Can Use Your Past to Prepare Your Future

Joshua 2:1–4 (ESV) And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. 2 And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.

I just had this thought. A prostitute is used to bringing strangers into their home. In this case, that ancient practice on Rahab's part became the very tool that God used to save her. Was it the most sanitized means of bringing her into the people of God? No. But the end result proved one thing was for sure: God can use your past to prepare your future, no matter what that past may have been.

We also see that Rahab paid attention to her past. 
Joshua 2:9–11 (ESV) and said to the men, “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. 10 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. 11 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.

Rahab learned from the past. The Red Sea event happened 40 years ago. She didn't forget. While her nation continued on as if nothing happened, she let the stories of Israel's past start to influence her heart. Rahab heard who the Lord was and what He was able to do. Faith comes by hearing. This is an important point for us. What are we listening to? Are we paying attention to what God is doing around us? He is SPEAKING now. He has spoken in His Word. He put it down on paper so that you can spend time growing in faith.

Notice that she doesn't talk about her life at all! She's not even that sure it's wrong or misguided. All she knows is that the Lord who changed the lives of this nation is the God of all nations. She needed to realign with Him and His people. 

Salvation is not measuring up to a set of standards. It is coming to terms with the fact that God alone can save you! Rahab is making the first step in a life of faith many religious people ignore because they are far too occupied "being good" in their own imaginations. Rahab understands the Lord is going to conquer. The Lord is going to bring judgment upon her nation. To be rightly aligned with Him is to live. To do nothing is to suffer death. 

The woman is not only conscious of Who the Lord is and what He can do. She knows she needs merciful rescue by one of His servants. 

Joshua 2:12–13 (ESV) Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign 13 that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”

The men agree to save her and they give her a sign:

Joshua 2:18 (ESV) Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household.

What is the sign? A scarlet cord. The red line of salvation would be her way of escape. I think about this as well, her house was built into the wall of the city. Verse 15 tells us that. What was the first object judged Jericho? The wall. One day there's going to be a sudden and immediate judgment upon the world. The question for everyone is, are you ready to escape? The scarlet cord still hangs from the window of heaven. Jesus Christ' blood poured down for your life. But you must grab hold of it and receive it. 

It's not about how good you are or how bad you've been. Salvation is a gift. It's the most important gift you can receive.