Hebrews 11: 29-31

By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.  By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.  By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Judgment is coming to all of mankind.  This has been repeatedly demonstrated throughout the history of the world.  Because of God’s grace, deliverance from judgment is available through faith in Christ.  As Israel leaves Egypt and enters the promised land, there are multiple demonstrations of God’s ability to deliver.  These demonstrations all have one thing in common: God’s grace.  Faith is certainly present, but in every case is imperfect.  Fortunately, God’s grace is greater than our faith.  

FAITH DELIVERED ISRAEL FROM EGYPT: In the previous passage we saw how Moses’s faith propelled him to identify with the slaves of Israel instead of the king of Egypt.  The slaves of Israel were delivered from their slavery in Egypt and crossed the Red Sea on dry ground.  The most powerful king with the most powerful army of the world found themselves drowned in that same sea.  Logic would have presumed that Israel, the nation of slaves would cease to exist and that Egypt, the empire would thrive for generations.  God’s will is not bound by our logic.  No matter what the situation we face might look like, we can trust God to use the circumstances of life and the difficulties we face for His glory and our good.  It may take decades or even generations for this to become evident to us.  That is why it is called faith.   

FAITH DELIVERED JERICHO TO ISRAEL: Getting out of Egypt was one thing; getting into the Promised Land was another.  The city of Jericho was fortified and protected by a massive wall.  The potential that the children of Israel who had just spent forty years wandering in the desert and watched all but two of the nation’s slave/warriors who had escaped from Egypt die.  Logic would say that there would need to be some massive strategic military assault planned for the destruction of this city.  Instead, God called for marching around the wall and blowing trumpets.  Israel simply believed and obeyed the command of the Lord, and the walls fell.  God’s methods are not usually what we would expect, but when we trust Him, the results will always be spectacular.

FAITH DELIVERED RAHAB FROM ISRAEL: Jericho was an evil city that fell under the judgment of God.  Rahab was a prostitute within that city.  Of all the people who would be spared, she would have likely be towards the bottom of most of our lists.  She believed that the God of the Israelites was far stronger than any of the gods or armies in her nation.  This belief led to her helping the spies who had come into the city.  Her act of faith spared her from the destruction that the rest of her city experienced.  Deliverance from destruction due to simple faith from wildly imperfect people is the essence of the Gospel.  Rahab’s story is really the story of every person who believes on Christ.  

APPLICATION: Know that God is able to deliver us from the most difficult of circumstances according to His will.  Trust in His methods even when they don’t make sense to us.  Share the Good News of Christ with all, no matter how improbable their salvation seems to us.