Faith in That Which is Unseen
John 20:29
One thing that we are indirectly praised for is the fact that we believe in something we have not seen.
That is the description of faith given in Heb. 11:1 – substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen. Hope, too, is not seen (Rom. 8:24).
Thomas believed because he saw the resurrected Jesus; we believe even though we haven’t.
There are excellent reasons to believe—true biblical faith is not blind, but must have substance and evidence.
We talked about that evidence as proof of the Scriptures on Sunday (2 Tim. 3:16).
Someone else in Scriptures is directly praised for her faith later in Heb. 11 (vs. 31) and also in James 2:25—that person is Rahab.
She expressed that faith in several ways, but not the least of which was stating it (Joshua 2:9-11).
Here we have three points: Faith, Reason, Conclusion.
Faith (Joshua 2:9).
She states that she knows the Lord has given them this land, and that the people are terrified as a result.
These were the promises of God given to the Israelites.
They were told they would conquer the people who lived in Canaan and drive them out.
The Lord was going to help them.
We have been given the promises of God—if we become Christians and remain faithful, we have a promise of being in heaven with our Lord one day.
But these promises alone wouldn’t frighten the Canaanites—there needed to be a reason.
And for us, these promises would be empty words if we had nothing to base it on.
Reason (Joshua 2:10).
They had heard about what the Lord had already done for them.
These events were separated by 40 years.
But one was against the most powerful army at that time, and the other was right next door.
The first thing likely happened before Rahab was even born (she married Salmon and gave birth to Boaz, Ruth’s husband) – so she was a young woman by this time.
Just as for us, Jesus’ walking on this earth occurred long before any of us was born.
Rahab had a credible account about what happened in Egypt, enough for her to believe it; we, too, have a credible account about Jesus and what He did for us.
The second thing occurred much more recently, and it was just across the Jordan.
It happened months before this moment, and word traveled to them already.
They were aware of how powerful Kings Sihon and Og were, yet they were soundly defeat by this ragtag band of Israelites.
The Lord helped them against Egypt and against the Amorites, now they have Jericho in their sights.
Rahab still did not see this, but knew it to be true.
She had reasons for believing, and none of them were a secret.
Everyone in Jericho knew of these things, and they were all afraid.
Rahab just made one more step given this incontrovertible evidence.
Conclusion (Joshua 2:11).
She reiterates the fear of her countrymen, but goes one step further.
She confesses her faith that “the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”
She reached the right conclusion after hearing of these remarkable events.
She recognized that the gods of her people were nothing by comparison, and that the Lord was the only true God.
This was why it was okay for her to marry Salmon, because she was a true believer.
She had not seen, but she believed and was blessed.
She didn’t let her faith stop with a confession.
It’s easy to say you believe in something, it’s another to live it.
James and the Hebrews writer praise her for hiding the Israelite spies who came in.
She let her faith work, and as a result, she and her whole family was saved.
Will you let your faith work so that you might be saved just as Rahab was?
Who knows? You could save yourself and your whole family!