Hebrews 11 31 40 commentary

HEBREWS 11 31-40 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she
welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who
were disobedient.
1. BAR ES, "By faith the harlot Rahab - She resided in Jericho; Jos_2:1. When
Joshua crossed the Jordan, he sent two men as spies to her house, and she saved them by
concealment from the enemies that would have destroyed their lives. For this act of
hospitality and kindness, they assured her of safety when the city should be destroyed,
and directed her to give an indication of her place of abode to the invading Israelites, that
her house might be spared; Jos_2:18-19. In the destruction of the city, she was
accordingly preserved; Josh. 6. The apostle seems to have selected this case as
illustrating the nature of faith, partly because it occurred at Jericho, of which he had just
made mention, and partly to show that strong faith had been exercised not only by the
patriarchs, and by those who were confessed to be great and good, but by those in
humble life, and whose earlier conduct had been far from the ways of virtue. “Calvin.”
Much perplexity has been felt in reference to this case, and many attempts have been
made to remove the difficulty. The main difficulty has been that a woman of this
character should be enumerated among those who were eminent for piety, and many
expositors have endeavored to show that the word rendered “harlot” does not necessarily
denote a woman of abandoned character, but may be used to denote a hostess. This
definition is given by Schleusner, who says that the word may mean one who prepares
and sells food and who receives strangers to entertain them. Others have supposed that
the word means “an idolatress,” because those devoted to idolatry were frequently of
abandoned character. But there are no clear instances in which the Greek word, and the
corresponding Hebrew word - ‫זונה‬ zownah - is used in this sense. The usual and the fair
meaning of the word is what is given in our translation, and there is no good reason why
that signification should not be retained here. It is not implied by the use of the word
here, however, that Rahab was an harlot at the time to which the apostle refers; but the
meaning is, that this had been her character, so that it was proper to designate her by
this appellation. In regard to this case, therefore, and in explanation of the difficulties
which have been felt in reference to it, we may remark:
(1) That the obvious meaning of this word here and of the corresponding place in
Jos_2:6 is, that she had been a woman of abandoned character, and that she was known
as such. That she might have been also a hostess, or one who kept a house of
entertainment for strangers, is at the same time by no means improbable, since it not
unfrequently happened in ancient as well as modern times, that females of this character
kept such houses. It might have been the fact that her house was “known” merely as a
house of entertainment that led the spies who went to Jericho to seek a lodging there. It
would be natural that strangers coming into a place should act in this respect as all other

travelers did, and should apply for entertainment at what was known as a public house.
(2) There is no improbability in supposing that her course of life had been changed
either before their arrival, or in consequence of it. They were doubtless wise and holy
men. Men would not be selected for an enterprise like this, in whom the leader of the
Hebrew army could not put entire confidence. It is not unfair then to suppose that they
were men of eminent piety, as well as sagacity. Nor is there any improbability in
supposing that they would acquaint this female with the history of their people, with
their remarkable deliverance from Egypt, and with the design for which they were about
to invade the land of Canaan. There is evidence that some such representations made a
deep impression on her mind, and led to a change in her views and feelings, for she not
only received them with the usual proofs of hospitality, but jeoparded her own life in
their defense, when she might easily have betrayed them. This fact showed that she had a
firm belief that they were what they professed to be - the people of God, and that she was
willing to identify her interests with theirs.
(3) This case - supposing that she had been a woman of bad character, but now was
truly converted - does not stand alone. Other females of a similar character have been
converted, and have subsequently led lives of piety; and though the number is not
comparatively great, yet the truth of God has shown its power in renewing and
sanctifying some at least of this, the most abandoned and degraded class of human
beings. “Publicans and harlots,” said the Saviour, “go into the kingdom of God;”
Mat_21:31. Rahab seems to have been one of them; and her case shows that such
instances of depravity are not hopeless. This record, therefore, is one of encouragement
for the most abandoned sinners; and one too which shows that strangers, even in a
public house, may do good to those who have wandered far from God and virtue, and
that we should never despair of saving the most abandoned of our race.
(4) There is no need of supposing that the apostle in commending this woman
approved of all that she did. That she was not perfect is true. That she did some things
which cannot be vindicated is true also - and who does not? But admitting all that may
be said about any imperfection in her character, (compare Jos_2:4), it was still true that
she had strong faith - and that is all that the apostle commends. We are under no more
necessity of vindicating all that she did, than we are all that David or Peter did - or all
that is now done by those who have the highest claims to virtue.
(5) She had strong faith. It was only a strong belief that Yahweh was the true God, and
that the children of Israel were his people, which would have led her to screen the
strangers at the peril of her own life; and when the city was encompassed, and the walls
fell, and the tumult of battle raged she showed her steady confidence in their fidelity, and
in God, by using the simple means on which she was told the safety of herself and her
family depended; Jos_6:22-23.
With them that believed not - The inhabitants of the idolatrous city of Jericho.
The margin is, “were disobedient.” The more correct rendering, however, is, as in the
text, believed not. They evinced no such faith as Rahab had, and they were therefore
destroyed.
Received the spies with peace - With friendliness and kindness; Jos_2:1 ff.
2. CLARKE, "The harlot Rahab perished not - See this account Jos_2:1, Jos_2:9,
Jos_2:11, and Jos_6:23, where it is rendered exceedingly probable that the word ‫זונה‬
zonah in Hebrew, and πορνη in Greek, which we translate harlot, should be rendered

innkeeper or tavernkeeper, as there is no proper evidence that the person in question
was such a woman as our translation represents her. As to her having been a harlot
before and converted afterwards, it is a figment of an idle fancy. She was afterwards
married to Salmon, a Jewish prince; see Mat_1:5. And it is extremely incredible that, had
she been what we represent her, he would have sought for such an alliance.
Received the spies with peace - Μετ’ ειρηνης· The same as ‫בשלום‬ beshalom, giving
them a kind welcome, good fare, and protection. After these words the Slavonic adds:
Και ᅛτερᇮ ᆇδሩ εκβαλουσα, and sent them out another way.
3. GILL, "By faith the harlot Rahab,.... The Targum on Jos_2:1 calls her ‫אתתא‬
‫,פונדקיתא‬ "a woman, that kept a victualling house": this paraphrase is taken notice of by Jarchi and
Kimchi on the place, who interpret it, "a seller of food": and even the Hebrew word ‫,זונה‬ is so
explained by a considerable Jewish writer (p); and this may rather seem to be the sense of the
word, and to be her proper business, from the spies going to her house, as being an house of
entertainment; and from Salmon's marrying her, which might be thought strange that a prince of
Israel would, had she been a person of ill fame; to which may be added, the encomiums of her for
her faith and works, both by our apostle, and by James: but yet, the constant use of the word, in
this form, the testimonies of two apostles, and her making no mention of her husband and
children, when she agreed with the spies, confirm the generally received character of her, that she
was an harlot. Some Jewish writers say (q) that she was ten years of age when the Israelites came
out of Egypt; and that all the forty years they were in the wilderness, ‫,זנתה‬ "she played the harlot";
and was one and fifty years of age when she was proselyted. She is called an harlot; not with
respect to her present, but past life. In the Greek text, she is here called Raab, as also in Jam_2:25
and so in the Septuagint in Jos_2:1. Rachab, which exactly answers to the Hebrew word ‫,רחב‬
Jos_2:1 and by Josephus (r) "Rachabe". This woman was a wonderful and singular instance of the
free, sovereign, distinguishing, powerful, and efficacious grace of God; being one that sprung
from Canaan, and was of the nations that were abhorred; but, being called by grace, became an
eminent believer: she believed that the God of the Israelites was God in heaven and on earth;
that he had given the land of Canaan to them; she received the spies, and hid them through that
faith; she caused them to swear by the Lord, that they would show mercy to her, and her family;
and gave credit to them; and observed their instructions: and so she
perished not with them that believed notperished not with them that believed notperished not with them that believed notperished not with them that believed not; the inhabitants of Jericho, who were unbelievers, and
disobedient, and all perished by the sword: but Rahab perished not, neither temporally, nor
eternally; her temporal salvation was an emblem and type of her spiritual salvation; her receiving

the spies was an emblem of a soul's receiving the Gospel, and the ministers of it; the scarlet
thread, that was hung out, was an emblem of the blood of Christ, by which sins, though as scarlet,
are made white as wool; and the saving of her whole family is an emblem of the complete
salvation of all the elect, soul and body, by Christ:
when she had received the spies with peacewhen she had received the spies with peacewhen she had received the spies with peacewhen she had received the spies with peace; and had hid them, for some time, in her house, and
then let them down by the wall; and who, at the taking of the city, saved her, and hers, according
to their promise and oath: the number of these spies were two, according to Jos_2:1. The Jews (s)
say one of them was Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the high priest; and others (t) of them say they
were Phinehas and Caleb.
4. HE RY, "The next instance is the faith of Rahab, Heb_11:31. Among the noble army
of believing worthies, bravely marshalled by the apostle, Rahab comes in the rear, to
show that God is no respecter of persons. Here consider,
1. Who this Rahab was. (1.) She was a Canaanite, a stranger to the commonwealth of
Israel, and had but little help for faith, and yet she was a believer; the power of divine
grace greatly appears when it works without the usual means of grace. (2.) She was a
harlot, and lived in a way of sin; she was not only a keeper of a public house, but a
common woman of the town, and yet she believed that the greatness of sin, if truly
repented of, shall be no bar to the pardoning mercy of God. Christ has saved the chief of
sinners. Where sin has abounded, grace has superabounded.
2. What she did by her faith: She received the spies in peace, the men that Joshua had
sent to spy out Jericho, Jos_2:6, Jos_2:7. She not only bade them welcome, but she
concealed them from their enemies who sought to cut them off, and she made a noble
confession of her faith, Jos_2:9-11. She engaged them to covenant with her to show
favour to her and hers, when God should show kindness to them, and that they would
give her a sign, which they did, a line of scarlet, which she was to hang forth out of the
window; she sent them away with prudent and friendly advice. Learn here, (1.) True faith
will show itself in good works, especially towards the people of God. (2.) Faith will
venture all hazards in the cause of God and his people; a true believer will sooner expose
his own person than God's interest and people. (3.) A true believer is desirous, not only
to be in covenant with God, but in communion with the people of God, and is willing to
cast in his lot with them, and to fare as they fare.
5. JAMISO , "Rahab showed her “faith” in her confession, Jos_2:9, Jos_2:11, “I know
that Jehovah hath given you the land; Jehovah your God, is God in heaven above, and in
earth beneath.”
the harlot — Her former life adds to the marvel of her repentance, faith, and
preservation (Mat_21:31, Mat_21:32).
believed not — Greek, “were disobedient,” namely, to the will of God manifested by
the miracles wrought in behalf of Israel (Jos_2:8-11).
received — in her house (Jos_2:1, Jos_2:4, Jos_2:6).
with peace — peaceably; so that they had nothing to fear in her house. Thus Paul,

quoting the same examples (Heb_11:17, Heb_11:31) for the power of faith, as James
(Jam_2:21, Jam_2:25; see on Jam_2:21; see on Jam_2:25) does for justification by
works evidentially, shows that in maintaining justification by faith alone, he means not a
dead faith, but “faith which worketh by love” (Gal_5:6).
6. CALVI , "By faith the harlot Rahab, etc. Though at the first view, this
example may seem, on account of the meanness of the person, hardly
entitled to notice, and even unworthy of being recorded, yet it was not
unsuitably, nor without reason, adduced by the Apostle. He has hitherto
shown that the Patriarchs, whom the Jews most honored and venerated,
did nothing worthy of praise except through faith; and that all the
benefits conferred on us by God, even the most remarkable, have been
the fruits of the same faith: but he now teaches us, that an alien
woman, not only of a humble condition among her own people, but also a
harlot, had been adopted into the body of the Church through faith.
It hence follows, that those who are most exalted, are of no account
before God, unless they have faith; and that, on the other hand, those
who are hardly allowed a place among the profane and the reprobate, are
by faith introduced into the company of angels.
Moreover, James also bears testimony to the faith of Rahab, (James
2:25,) and it may be easily concluded from sacred history, that she was
endued with true faith; for she professed her full persuasion of what
God had promised to the Israelites; and of those whom fear kept from
entering the land, she asked pardon for herself and her friends, as
though they were already conquerors; and in all this, she did not
consider men, but God himself. The evidence of her faith was, that she
received the spies at the peril of her life: then, by means of faith,
she escaped safe from the ruin of her own city. She is mentioned as a
harlot, in order to amplify the grace of God.
Some, indeed, render zvnh a hostess, as though she kept a public house,
or an inn; but as the word means a harlot everywhere in Scripture,
there is no reason why we should explain it otherwise in this place.
The Rabbis, thinking it strange and disgraceful to their nation, were
it said, that the spies entered into the house of a harlot; have
invented this forced meaning. [234] But such a fear was groundless; for
in the history of Joshua, this word, harlot, is expressly added, in
order that we may know that the spies came into the city Jericho
clandestinely, and concealed themselves in a harlot's house. At the
same time this must be understood of her past life; for faith is an
evidence of repentance.
__________________________________________________________________

[233] Some render the words, "by faith he instituted the Passover." The
verb is properly to make, but like sh in Hebrew, it is used in a
variety of senses. Doddridge has "celebrated;" Macknight, "appointed;"
and Stuart, "observed." To make the Passover is, no doubt, to keep or
observe it; for such is the meaning of the phrase, as it appears from
umbers 9: 10, 11. The word pascha is doubtless a Syriac term, and
derived originally from the Hebrew phsh which means to pass over;
though several of the Greek fathers derived it from paschein, to
suffer. It sometimes means the paschal feast, Luke 22:11, and sometimes
the paschal Lamb, Mark 14:12; 1 Corinthians 5:7 -- Ed
[234] And it has been adopted by many of the German divines, who seem
in many instances to follow any vagary, Rabbinical or heathen, rather
than the word of God. There is nothing in Scripture that countenances
this notion. The word is never used in the sense of a hostess: and the
ancient versions ever render the Hebrew word by porne, a harlot. -- Ed
7. BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “
Rahab
Rahab
1. Think what a moral mixture the human heart may hold, what a mass of
contradictions it is! Rahab, loyal lover to her kindred, traitor to her king, gifted with
insight above her fellow-citizens, yet exposing herself to the scorn of man, possessed
of a crude faith, yet selling her honour for gain l Surely the warp of heaven and the
woof of hell were never woven together more strangely. Surely there never was such a
peculiar character thrown off from the loom of life. But no, such contradictions are
common, and that may be one of the reasons why her name is left on record. How
many men do you know who are of perfectly simple moral character, who act from
one motive, who are dominated by a single passion, whose conduct, under given
circumstances, you can infallibly calculate? How many saints do you know who bear
on them no traces of sin? How many sinners who show signs of nothing else? The
best have their weak points: the worst retain some features of good.
2. Observe how independent religion may be of morality, how strong a hold faith in
God may have in those on whom righteousness have a most imperfect grasp. Rahab’s
faith still held; while of her morals the less said the better. This is the perplexity of
the present time, that so many men are honestly and ardently in love with goodness,
and are yet able to do without God; and the converse, that a man may have faith in
God and yet be wicked. Religion and righteousness are two different things, though
ultimately one. They satisfy different needs of our nature. We may seek God for
shelter. A man finds the world crumbling beneath his feet and he hides himself in the
Eternal; or he is oppressed by the meagreness of his range of vision, and he flees to
Him in whom there is no darkness at all; or he is crushed by pain, or he seeks help
from Him who bears the cares of the world, and who can bring peace in the midst of
sorrows. But morality! That is the soul’s working day and loins must be girded. Rest
here means idleness, apathy, death, Moral progress must be struggled for; advance in
purity implies a hotly-contested race. Religion brings rest; morality means toil. The
noble, impassive soul, strong in affection but weak of will, makes much of religious
help and consolation. He is not dishonest, but the ideal has never dawned on him of

religion and morality clothed in double raiment, offering at the altar, body, soul and
spirit.
3. Notice the power of even a rudimentary faith. In Rahab’s case, a little religion
went a long way. As some one says, faith is the one before the ciphers on the cheque
presented at the bank of heaven. It is the beginning of all virtues. It may be crude at
first, but it cannot continue so; for it brings the Spirit of God into the heart. The
harlot Rahab, by her crude faith, stepped forth from the ranks of heathendom; and so
the most disgraced child of man can be rescued from his sin, through faith in God.
(A. Martin, M. A.)
Rahab’s faith:
Some lessons of the story lie on its surface. How the publicans and the harlots may enter
the kingdom of God before Sadducee and Pharisee—not in their sins, but washed from
them, and inclined towards the possibilities of grace by the very fact that at least self-
satisfaction is impossible—that at least boasting is excluded. Also we find here the
recognition of a very imperfect knowledge and a very elementary faith, as having in it
“the root of the matter” if it will but work. What was Rahab’s knowledge, what was
Rahab’s faith, when she received the two Hebrew spies, hid them from discovery, and
“sent them out by another way”? What Rahab knew was only this—that the God of Israel
had wrought a great deliverance for His people, first in the exodus from Egypt, then in
the wars of the march, and that evidently no power could stand against Him—she and
her nation were foredoomed to discomfiture before this mighty God and this favoured
race. Upon this small and elementary foundation of dogmatic truth was reared the
superstructure of a changed and transformed life. She “received with peace,” with
friendliness and hospitality, the emissaries of the invading people, protected them with
ready inventiveness from the instant search and pursuit of her king—and was herself, in
the terrible slaughter of her countrymen, incorporated, with all her house, into the
conquering race, to become the ancestress, as St. Matthew teaches, of king David, and of
the Messiah Himself. It would be a mistake, at anachronism, to apply to a dweller in one
of the old Canaanite cities, amidst the worshippers of false and cruel deities, destitute of
one ray either of law or gospel light, principles of conduct and character which we owe to
the revelation of all truth and all duty by our Lord Jesus Christ. The Epistle is contented
to say only this, Behold in the example of this woman the working of that faith which
grasps the unseen. Behold the action of faith upon evidence presented and upon an
alternative of conduct. Behold the inference of truth honestly drawn, and the preference,
on the strength of it, of the future to the present. Behold, St. James adds, how faith
differs from opinion, and evidences its existence by the sign of work. The hearts of other
inhabitants of Jericho were melting, she tells us, with the terror of Israel—she alone
acted upon the conviction and added another element to the “great cloud of witnesses.”
We all see why the apostle should have singled out for mention the faith of this woman of
Canaan. She was an instance of faith lifting a life out of the prejudices and partialities of
birth and companionship, and making it willing, at the call of duty, to seek a new kindred
and a new citizenship, amongst strangers, amongst aliens—if need be, amongst enemies.
Her example is like that of Abraham leaving his birthplace, of Moses forsaking his palace
—like these, yet, in degree, rising above them. For Abraham pitched his tent not amongst
foes—and Moses, in renouncing the land of his adoption, returned to the citizenship of
his birth and of his ancestry. She cast herself upon a hostile race, and had to unlearn
every association, every habit, every feeling of the past. Thus might it be, at no distant
day, with these Christians of Palestine. They were to suffer the sword of Rome to fall

upon apostate Jerusalem—they were to raise no arm in her defence—on the contrary,
when they saw her compassed with armies, when they saw the abomination of desolation
stand in her holy place, they were to recognise the predicted token, and themselves to
flee to the mountains. Christ must be more than country to those who would be worthy
of Him. (Dean Vaughan.)
Rahab’s faith
I. SAVING FAITH.
II. A SINGULAR FAITH.
III. A STABLE FAITH, which stood firm in the midst of trouble.
IV. A SELF-DENYING FAITH.
V. A SYMPATHISING FAITH. Desired mercy for her relations.
VI. A SANCTIFYING FAITH. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Rahab
I. SHE POSSESSED SINGULAR FAITH.
1. She received no instruction from her parents.
2. She was not in a believing country.
3. Her means of knowledge were very slender; and therefore, the food of her faith
was comparatively scant.
4. Perhaps the most wonderful thing about her faith was that she should be a woman
of such a character. She was apparently the most unlikely person to become a
believer in Jehovah. She was a harlot, a woman that was a sinner, and universally
known to be such.
5. The subject of her faith was difficult.
II. HER FAITH WAS ACTIVE.
1. It was active mentally. When she believed, she began to think.
2. Her faith was active in her own sphere. Home duties are one of the very best forms
of the activity of faith, especially in Christian women.
3. She did all this to the best of her ability, and she used her common sense.
4. She was also active at great risk.
III. RAHAB’S FAITH WAS MARRED WITH GROSS WEAKNESS. She lied unto the men
who came to the door to seize the spies. There were, no doubt, in her conscience
indistinct glimmerings of an idea that to lie was an evil thing, but, nevertheless, her
surroundings prevented her clearly knowing it as we know it. To this very day among
many orientals it is far more usual to lie than to speak the truth. You must judge
individuals from their own standpoint, and consider their circumstances, or you may do
them an injustice. I am not going to excuse Rahab’s lie. A lie in Rahab, or in Abraham, is
as bad as in any one else; but in this case there is this to be said, she had not been taught,
as most of us have been, that a lie is a degrading sin. Her fault was by no means one

which we can afford to throw stones at; avoid it carefully, but do not censure it self-
complacently.
IV. Rahab’s was A FAITH THAT WAS NOT ABOVE THE USE OF OUTWARD SIGNS
AND SEALS. There are persons in the world who altogether despise the outward
ordinances; they may be good, but they are not wise. Rahab first of all required from
these spies an oath that they would preserve her, and next they gave her a token, a scarlet
line, which was to be hung up in her window. This was the blood red flag of Israel. Was it
not hoisted on the Passover night, so that the angel might pass by and deliver the people?
She felt great comfort when she had placed the token in her window. She was not
superstitious; she did not believe that anything mystical was in the red cord, but she put
it there, because she had been told to do so. Now, the highest faith in Christ is perfectly
consistent with the obedient use of Christian ordinances.
V. HER FAITH WAS SAVING FAITH. I have shown how it was grievously marred, but it
was effectual notwithstanding. So, true faith in Christ, despite its weakness, will save us,
separate us from the world, join us unto God’s Israel, give us kinship with the Lord Jesus
Christ; and what higher dignity is it possible to receive?
VI. HER FAITH BECAME WITH GOD ACCEPTABLE, SO THAT SHE WAS THE
MEANS OF THE SALVATION OF OTHERS. Oh, I like this in Rahab, that she did not
bargain for her own safety alone. Her sin had not hardened her heart as sin does in many
cases. She thought of her father, and her mother, and her brothers, and her sisters. Now,
wherever there is a real child of God there will be anxiety for his family. If you do not
want to have)’our children saved, you are not saved yourself. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Sovereign grace:
Observe here
1. The person spoke of, Rahab, a Gentile, an Amorite, an harlot, who kept a
victualling house in Jericho, and so was both harlot and hostess, defiled both in body
and mind with idolatry and adultery.
2. What is spoken of her: she believed. Behold here a blessed instance
(1) Of the sovereignty and freedom of God’s grace.
(2) Of the power and efficacy of Divine grace, in calling and converting a person
given up by her own choice to the vilest of sins; but no sinner nor sin is to be
despaired of, in whose cure sovereign grace is engaged.
3. The effect and fruit of her faith, she received the spies with peace; that is,
entertained them safely.
4. The benefit and advantage she received by her faith, she perished not; that is,
when the credulous and idolatrous people of Jericho were destroyed, she and her
family were preserved.
From the whole learn
1. That God is ready to show wonderful mercy to penitent sinners, if they return to
Him and believe in Him, how great soever their sins have formerly been.
2. That true faith, wherever it is, will show itself by some eminent effect, and notable
fruits of it.

3. That the rewards of faith are excellent and truly glorious; as she was preserved
from the common ruin at Jericho, so shall all believers be saved from the wrath and
destruction which shall come ere long upon the impenitent and unbelieving world.
(W. Burkitt, M. A.)
Faith recognised and rewarded in the unworthy
I. AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE NATURE OF FAITH.
1. The character and circumstances of Rahab show that faith is not necessarily a
Christian grace.
2. Her faith was but the reasonable acting of a thoughtful mind.
3. Its reality proved itself by works.
II. AN ILLUSTRATION OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.
1. God’s ready response to true faith, though it be characterised by ignorance and
unworthiness.
2. This is seen in the remarkable preservation of Rahab.
3. And in her abundant reward for all her faith had hazarded in His cause.
III. AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE CONVERTING POWER OF FAITH IN GOD.
1. It separated her in character and doom from all her surroundings.
2. It made her the means of preserving all her kindred.
3. It allied her, an outcast Gentile, with the people of God. (C. New.)
8. STEDMAN, “Faith Exhibited at Jericho (11:30-31)
No further examples of Israel's faith are described until forty years later, when Joshua
leads them against the city of Jericho, the first major obstacle to the conquest of the land
of promise. This silence is the writer's way of recalling what he has already mentioned in
chapters 3 and 4: the unbelief which the Israelites showed throughout their wilderness
journeys. Not one Israelite who was twenty years or older when they left Egypt would
enter Canaan, except Joshua and Caleb. But just as the faith of Moses had inspired some
degree of faith in Israel while they were in Egypt, the faith of Joshua stirred the Israelites
to act in faith before the walls of Jericho. The ancient city was actually a large fortress,
600 meters in circumference (Kistemaker 1984:347). It contained an armed garrison,
filled with experienced warriors. These must be defeated before the valleys of Canaan
could be occupied. Following the unique orders given him by the angelic Commander of
the Army of the Lord, Joshua set the people marching around the fortress, once a day for
six days, and seven times the seventh day. When they gave a great shout on the seventh
day, the walls "came atumblin' dawn." By an earthquake, you may ask? Yes, perhaps so,
but an earthquake that came in God's precise time and at God's precise place. The
incident highlights God's ways of deliverance as being varied and often bizarre in the
eyes of many. He is infinitely diverse in his solutions, and we make a great mistake in

trying to predict his actions.
Along with the story of Jericho's overthrow, we read the remarkable account of Rahab the
harlot (v. 31). She had heard of Israel's conquests at the Red Sea and in the wildemess
and expected them to assault Jericho many years before. She knew that their victories
came from their faith in God, and she "received the spies with peace" (literally) when
Joshua sent them to spy out the city. Her motive was not merely to save her life and that
of her family; she was convinced, as she said, that "the LORD your God is God in heaven
above and on the earth below." That faith was honored when the walls of the city
collapsed and all within were killed except Rahab and her family. That her faith was
genuine is confirmed by Matthew when he lists her as one of the ancestors of Jesus. She
went on to marry Salmon and became the mother of Boaz, and thus the great-
grandmother of David. Faith overcame a sinful life, delivered her from a pagan religion.
She was granted a place of honor among the heroes and heroines of faith. The incident
also illustrates the fact that "in Christ there is neither male nor female." Rahab was a
woman in a man's world, but faith accepts no such distinctions.
Hebrews is concerned with her faith that was most powerfully expressed in Joshua 2:9
when she said, "I know that the Lord has given you this land."
What Rahab exemplified was confident trust in the Lord when the circumstances were
not favorable and actions that were built on that trust. There was no human reason to
believe that the Lord would give Jericho over to the Israelites. But Rahab did believe and
risked her life to protect the Israelite spies. The message for the readers of Hebrews is
clear again. They had more reason to believe that God would deliver them from the
persecution they were facing than Rahab had to believe God would give Jericho to Israel.
She had risked her life on her confident trust in the Lord. They could too.
Review
We have spent considerable time now examining the life of Moses, seeing him as a baby
hidden from the law, as a forty-year-old fleeing Pharaoh in faith, and an eighty-year-old
shepherding sheep and leading the people of Israel into the wilderness.
Now, the author of Hebrews takes us to the days when Moses' successor, Joshua, is about
to lead the people of Israel into the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - the
land of Canaan. After 40 years in the wilderness, Moses was giving the people a going-
away speech. In that speech, he told them,
Deut. 9:1 “Hear, O Israel! You are crossing over the Jordan today to go in to dispossess
nations greater and mightier than you, great cities fortified to heaven"
While that was a figure of speech, they would certainly encounter some fortified cities
with massive walls of protection.
So, the mantle of authority and leadership was passed to Joshua, and the Jews entered
the land.
Just as Moses had promised, there were some formidable adversaries waiting for them
there. Idolatrous and immoral inhabitants of the land that would not leave easily. But if
the Israelites were faithful to follow God, He would disposess themfrom the land, driving
them out before His people.
The Walls Of Jericho

The first city that they encountered after crossing the Jordan River into the land of
Canaan was the city of Jericho.
Jericho was a Canaanite city of several thousand people, and well-fortified against attack.
It was placed on a hill, and had two levels. The best way I can describe it is to have you
picture a two-layer wedding cake. The top section was about six acres in size, and the
bigger bottom layer encompassed about nine acres.
Now these two layers were surrounded by walls. The first wall, circling the bottom of the
hill, was purely practical - a retaining wall, to keep the hill from eroding away. This was
15 feet high and six feet thick.
On top of the retaining wall was the first defensive wall. This was also six feet thick, but
25 feet high. So Jericho's defense against outside attack was a wall around the outer
perimeter of the hill that was forty feet tall!
Now, in case an enemy actually managed to scale the outer perimeter, and get on top of
that first layer, there was still another line of defense - another wall surrounding the
higher and more populated section of the city. This one was similar to the first - another
six foot wide, 25-foot high wall.
Needless to say, Jericho's inhabitants had never worried about attacks before. The city
was an impregnable fortress.
Prepared For A Siege
To make matters more difficult for the Israelites who had just entered the land, they
were about to find that their reputation had preceded them (Josh. 2:9-11). The
Canaanites had heard about the parting of the Red Sea before them 40 years earlier.
They had heard about the Israelites' victory over the Amorites and other inhabitants of
the lands they entered. The citizens of Jericho were terrified when they saw the huge
crowd of Jews approaching. They closed and locked the gates (Josh. 6:1), terrified that
they could possibly suffer the same fate as those they had heard about.
They would stay inside as long as it took. They were ready to come under siege - they had
abundant food from the harvest (Josh. 3:15), and a well spring of water inside the city.
They would be able to hold out for years inside the walls of Jericho.
God's Battle Plan
The Lord told Joshua that the city of Jericho would be given into their hands if they were
obedient to follow His battle plan. He said,
Josh. 6:3-5 “And you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city
once. You shall do so for six days. Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams’
horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven
times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And it shall be that when they make a
long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the
people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the
people will go up every man straight ahead."
After recieving this battle plan from the Lord, Joshua got everyone together and told
them what was going to happen.
Imagine being in the war room as Joshua was relating this plan. It was interesting and
inventive, to say the least. Clearly not conventional combat read from a "how to wage
warfare" manual!
The amazing thing to me is not that Joshua had the faith to relate the plan, for he knew
that God had spoken to him. No, the incredible detail of this story is that the PEOPLE
actually BELIEVED Joshua had heard from God!
And this finally brings us to the first verse of our study this morning...

11:30 The Walls Fell Down
And so by faith, they followed the Lord's instructions.
Josh. 6:13-16 And the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before
the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew the trumpets; and the armed men
went before them, and the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while they
continued to blow the trumpets. Thus the second day they marched around the city once
and returned to the camp; they did so for six days. Then it came about on the seventh day
that they rose early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same
manner seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times. And it
came about at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the
people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city."
Josh. 6:20 So the people shouted, and {priests} blew the trumpets; and it came about,
when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the people shouted with a great
shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man
straight ahead, and they took the city.
I wonder how everyone felt at that moment, when the wall fell down flat? The people
inside thinking, "How did that happen?" The people outside thinking, "Wow, it really
worked!" The unfortunate guy under the wall thinking, "Mmmmpphhhhfff!"
The walls fell down.
Archaeology
Now rest assured, this is no fairy tale, saints. Although people have been making fun of
Bible believers for years, we always have the last laugh.
When skeptics claimed there was no ancient city of Jericho, they were proven wrong by
archaeologists who found it! Germans in the early 1900's, British in the 1950's, and
Italians in the 1990's all have excavated the ruins of the city of Jericho, and all find what
we would expect: piles of bricks from walls that fell down upon themselves!
11:31 Rahab The Harlot
Now, before the destruction of the city of Jericho, Joshua had sent in two men as spies.
They lodged in the house of a woman named Rahab. (In the Cannanite, Egyptian, and
Greek cultures, innkeepers were often women, and many of them not only rented out
rooms, but their physical companionship as well.)
Word had gotten to the king that the spies were there, so he sent men to get them. But
she had hidden them up on the roof. The king's men said, "Bring out the men who went
into your house!" But she insisted, "Yes, they were here, but they just left right before the
city gates were shut at sundown. If you hurry, I'm sure you can catch them!" (Josh. 2:2-
5)
Just like the "he went that-a-way" cartoons, the king's men went running down the road
all the way to the Jordan River.
Meanwhile, Rahab came up to the spies on the roof. She told them that she believed their
God was the true God, and that God was giving them the land of Canaan.
Josh. 2:11-13 “...the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that
you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth, and
spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to
them, and deliver our lives from death.”
Rahab's faith in God, belief that God was judging her people, and desire to be saved with
God's people, resulted in action. She knew it wouldn't be enough to believe, but to act on
it.
The Bible says,

James 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and
shudder.
Real faith is a belief that's put into action. Rahab's action saved her life and that of her
family from the judgment that was coming upon her people.
How about you? At this point, you probably believe in God. You believe that He is
righteous, and you believe that He is going to judge sin. But have you acted on it? Have
you told the Lord that you don't want to be judged for your sin, that you want to be
forgiven?
God sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the death penalty of your sin by dying in your place.
And when you acknowledge that you have sinned and need forgiveness, all you need to
do is,
Rom. 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus {as} Lord, and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;
And don't think, "My sin is too bad, I've done too many horrible things to be forgiven."
Remember, if Rahab the prostitute could be saved, then so can you. The Bible says,
1Tim. 1:15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners...
Rahab told God's people that she wanted to be resuced... And now you have a chance to
do the same.
9. PINK, “The inestimable value of spiritual faith is strikingly demonstrated in the case
we are about to consider. The apostle had cited the faith of such illustrious characters as
Enoch and Noah, Abraham and Moses; he had mentioned that of a believing company as
they had passed through the Red Sea and had marched around Jericho; now he gives an
instance of one who had been a notorious sinner, as though to shame us if our faith falls
short of her’s who had formerly been an harlot. Having shown that the patriarchs, who
were so highly venerated by the Jews, were honored by God solely on account of their
faith and its fruits, we next behold how an alien woman, belonging to an accursed race,
was, because of her faith, adopted into the O. T. Church. "It hence follows that, those
who are most exalted are of no account before God, unless they have faith; and that, on
the other hand, those who are hardly allowed a place among the profane and the
reprobate, are by faith introduced into the company of angels" (John Calvin).
Rahab was a Canaanite, and therefore by nature "an alien from the
commonwealth of Israel" and "a stranger from the covenants of promise." In her
conversion and admission into the O. T. Church, she was, in a peculiar manner,
both a type and a pledge of the calling of the Gentiles and their reception into the
Church of Christ in N.T. times. Thus did coming events cast their shadows before
them. In such cases as Rahab and Ruth God gave early intimations that His
redemptive purpose was not confined to a single people, but that it would reach
out unto individuals among all nations. Their incorporation among the Hebrews
was a plain foreshadowment of the "wild olive tree" being grafted in and being
made a partaker of "the root and fatness of the (good) olive tree" (Rom. 11:17).

The salvation of Rahab was a signal instance of the sovereignty of God. "She
was not only a Gentile, but an Amoritess, of that race and seed which in general
was devoted unto utter destruction. She was therefore an instance of God’s
sovereignty in dispensing with His positive laws, as it seemed good unto Him; for
of His own mere pleasure He exempted her from the doom announced against
all those of her origin and tradition" (John Owen). Being the supreme Potentate,
God is not bound by any law or consideration other than His own imperial will;
and therefore does He have mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He
will He hardens (Rom. 9:18).
Most blessedly do we also behold here the amazing grace of God. Not only did
Rahab belong to a heathen race, but she was an abandoned profligate, a
"harlot." In singling her out to be the recipient of His saving favors, God indeed
made it evident that He is no respecter of persons. By her own choice she was
given up to the vilest of sins, but by the Divine choice she was predestinated to
be delivered from that lust which is the most effective in detaining persons under
its power, washing her whiter than snow by the precious blood of Christ, and
giving her a place in His own family. It is in just such cases that the unmerited
favor of God shines forth the more illustriously. There was nothing whatever in
this poor fallen woman to commend her unto the favor of God, but where sin
abounded grace did much more abound.
Not only may we behold in Rahab’s case the exercise of Divine sovereignty
and the manifestation of Divine grace, but we may also pause and admire the
wondrous working of God’s power. This is best perceived as we take into careful
consideration the almost unparalleled element which enters into her case. Here
the Holy Spirit wrought entirely apart from the ordinary means of grace. There
were no Sabbaths observed in Jericho, there were no Scriptures available for
reading, there were no prophets sounding forth messages from Heaven;
nevertheless, Rahab was quickened into newness of life and brought into a
saving knowledge of the true God. Let it be duly noted that this woman, who had
previously wallowed in open sin, was regenerated and converted before the

spies came to her house: their visit simply afforded an opportunity for the avowal
and public manifestation of her faith.
Let us also contemplate the marvelous workings of Divine providence on this
occasion. As the two spies, sent forth by Joshua to reconnoiter Jericho, drew
near that heathen stronghold, they had no idea that one of God’s elect sojourned
there; and had they been aware of the fact, they had no means of knowing how
to locate her in a city of such size. Admire and adore, then, the secret hand of
God which directed them to the very house in which His child abode. "The Lord
knoweth them that are His," and in the cloudy and dark day He searches them
out. The same God who sent Annanias to the street called "Straight" to deliver
Saul from blindness, guided the two spies unto the house of Rahab to deliver her
from death. In like manner, wherever there is one or more of His elect amid the
darkness of heathendom, He sends His Word or His servants to enlighten and
edify the same.
But it is with the faith of Rahab we must be chiefly engaged on this occasion. It
will be observed that she is mentioned in Hebrews 11 after the destruction of
Jericho, though she "received the spies in peace" before that city was destroyed.
The reason for this is because her preservation—which was the fruit of her faith
—was after the hosts of Israel had encompassed that city seven days. In seeking
to ponder what is recorded in Scripture concerning the faith of Rahab we propose
to look separately at the ground, the effect, the nature, the confession, the
breadth, the imperfection, and the reward of the same.
1. The ground of her faith. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word
of God" (Rom. 10:17). This does not mean that faith is originated by hearing the
Word of God, any more than the shining of the sun imparts light unto the eye; no,
faith is imparted by a sovereign act of the Spirit, and then it is instructed and
nourished by the Word. In the prophetic song of Moses at the Red Sea it was
declared, "The people shall hear and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the
inhabitants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty

men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan
shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of Thine
arm they shall be as still as a stone; till Thy people pass over, O Lord, till the
people pass over, which Thou hast purchased" (Ex. 15:14-16).
A striking fulfillment of the above prediction is found in the words of Rahab to
the two spies: "I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror
is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For
we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye
came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were
on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon
as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any
more courage in any man, because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in
heaven above, and in earth beneath" (Josh. 2:9-11). This it is which explains the
reference in Hebrews 11:31 unto the other inhabitants of Jericho, who perished
because they "believed not." The knowledge which they had of God and His
wondrous works, through the reports which had reached their ears, rendered
them without excuse.
What has just been before us affords an example of a most solemn fact which
is oft repeated: how souls are affected by the Truth, and how quickly the
impressions made wear off. The inhabitants of Jericho were deeply stirred by the
reports of God’s judgments upon the wicked; they feared it was their turn next,
and their hearts melted within them. How, then, are we to explain the fact that
they did not all of them immediately and earnestly cry unto God for mercy? We
believe the answer is found in Ecclesiastes 8:11, "Because sentence against an
evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully
set in them to do evil." As the hosts of Israel encompassed Jericho each day and
then returned quietly to their camp, space for repentance was granted its
inhabitants; but when six days had passed, and the walls of the city remained as
strong as ever, they felt quite secure, and hardened their hearts.

How, then, are we to account for the difference in Rahab? In this way: with
them it was simply the stirrings of conscience and the workings of their natural
fears, which soon subsided; but in her case the power of the Holy Spirit had
wrought within her: God had "opened her heart," and consequently she "attended
unto the things which were spoken" (Acts 16:14). In other words, Rahab had
been sovereignly quickened into newness of life, by which she was ca-pacitated
unto a saving knowledge of God Himself and the receiving His word with
meekness. Thus it was with the Thessalonian saints, whom the apostle
reminded, "For our Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power and
in the Holy Spirit" (1 Thess. 1:5). It is only in such cases that a radical and lasting
effect is produced.
We must learn, then, to distinguish between three things: the Divine gift of
faith, the foundation provided for its support, and the assurance that issues for its
resting upon that foundation. The gift of faith is imparted at regeneration, being
one of the attributes of the new nature: "all men have not faith" (2 Thess. 3:2)
because all are not born again. The firm foundation which is provided for faith to
rest upon is the sure Word of God: by it alone is faith supported—instructed and
fed. The assurance which issues from faith’s resting upon this foundation is that
confidence and certainty which fills the heart when God’s Word is received
implicitly into it. Thus it was with Rahab. Quickened by the Spirit, faith was
planted within her soul, hence when the report reached her of God’s wondrous
works, she received it "not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of
God" (1 Thess. 2:13), and therefore did she say, "I know that the Lord hath given
you the land."
2. The effect of her faith. The faith of God’s elect is a living, energetic principle,
which "worketh by love" (Gal. 5:6) and produces fruit to the glory of God. Herein
it differs radically from that notional and inoperative faith of frothy professors,
which goes no deeper than an intellectual assenting to certain doctrinal
propositions, and ends in fair but empty words. That faith which is
unaccompanied by an obedient walk and abounds not in good works, is "dead,

being alone" (James 2:17). Different far was the faith of Rahab. Of her we read,
"Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had
received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?" (James 2:25).
This does not mean that her good works were the meritorious ground of her
acceptance with God, but that they were the evidence before men that a spiritual
principle had been communicated to her, the fruits of which justified or vindicated
her profession, demonstrating that she was a member of "the Household of
Faith."
In "receiving the spies with peace" she made it manifest that sire had a heart
for the people of God, and was ready to do all in her power to help them. That
clause of our text which we are now considering summarizes all that is recorded
of her kindly conduct unto those two men in Joshua 2. She welcomed them into
her home, engaged them in spiritual conversation, made provision for their
safety, hid them from danger, and refused to betray them. We believe there is a
latent reference to her kindness (as well as to Abraham’s) in Hebrews 13:1-3, for
the word translated "messengers" in James 2:25 is the same as is rendered
"angels" in Hebrews 13:2: "Let brotherly love continue, Be not forgetful to
entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer
adversity as being yourselves also in the body." Alas, that so many professing
Christians today, instead of heeding this exhortation, are almost ready to rend
each other to pieces over every difference of opinion.
3. The nature of her faith. It was a singular faith. "The city of Jericho was about
to be attacked: within its walls there were hosts of people of all classes and
characters, and they knew right well that if their city should be set upon and
stormed they would all be put to death. But yet strange to say, there was not one
of them who repented of sin or who even asked for mercy, except this woman
who had been a harlot. She and she alone was delivered, a solitary one amongst
a multitude. Now, have you ever felt that it is a very hard thing to have a singular
faith? It is the easiest thing in the world to believe as everybody else believes,

but the difficulty is to believe a thing alone, when no one else thinks as you think;
to be the solitary champion of a righteous cause, when the enemy mustereth his
thousands to the battle. Now this was the faith of Rahab. She had not one who
felt as she did, who could enter into her feelings and realize the value of her faith.
She stood alone. O it is a noble thing to be the lonely follower of despised Truth.
"Rahab’s faith was a sanctifying one. Did Rahab continue a harlot after she
had faith? No, she did not. I do not believe she was a harlot at the time the men
went to her house, though the name still stuck to her, as such ill names will; but I
am sure she was not afterwards, for Salmon the prince of Judah married her...
You cannot have faith, and yet live in sin. To believe is to be holy. The two things
must go together. That faith is a dead faith, a corrupt faith, a rotten faith, which
lives in sin that grace may abound. Rahab was a sanctified woman. O that God
might sanctify some that are here" (C.H. Spurgeon).
Her’s was a self-denying faith. This is seen in her preferring the will of God
before the safety of her country, and sheltering these men who were strangers
before the pleasing of her fellow-citizens. But it appeared most conspicuously in
the venturing of her own life rather than to betray the messengers of Joshua, who
were worshippers of the true God. Her action was fraught with the most
dangerous consequences to her; but her fidelity to God made her scorn the
threatenings of her citizens, the promiscuous events of war, and the burning of
her city. Thus, by faith she, in effect, renounced all for God. When He calls us to
do so, we must part with all that we hold near and dear in this world. Spiritual
faith is best evidenced by acts of self-denying obedience (condensed from T.
Manton).
4. The confession of her faith. This is recorded in Joshua 2:9-11, which shows
it was made at the first opening she had. It was quite a comprehensive one: she
owned the wondrous works of the Lord, was assured He had given Canaan unto
His people, and acknowledged Him as the God of heaven and earth. Thereby
she renounced all the idols of the heathen, glorified God with her lips, and

illustrated the rule we have in Romans 10:10, "For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Moreover, by placing the scarlet cord in her window, she, as it were, publicly
displayed her colors and made it known under whose banner she had enlisted.
How her conduct puts to shame those who after a long profession of the truth are
ready to tremble at the first approach of danger, and deem it prudence to keep at
a safe distance from those who are exposed to persecution.
"It is in the nature of true, real, saving faith, immediately, or at its first
opportunity, to declare and protest itself in confession before men. Our
confession is absolutely inseparable from faith. Where men, on some light and
convictions, do suppose themselves to have faith, yet, through fear or shame, do
not come up to the ways of expressing it in confession prescribed in the
scripture, their religion is in vain. And therefore our Lord Jesus Christ, in the
Gospel, doth constantly lay the same weight on confession as on believing itself:
Matthew 10:33, Luke 9:26. And the fearful, that is, those who fly from public
profession in times of danger and persecution, shall be no less assuredly
excluded from the heavenly Jerusalem, than unbelievers themselves: Revelation
21:8." (John Owen).
5. The breadth of her faith. Very blessed is it to note her further word to the
spies: "Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have
showed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house,
and give me a true token: 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" (Josh. 2:12, 13). Some contracted hearts, in which the very milk of
human kindness seems to have congealed, would deem Rahab’s request highly
presumptuous. Personally, we believe that her soul was so overflowing with
gratitude unto the Lord for His saving such an abandoned wretch, that her faith
now perceived something of the infinitude of the Divine mercy, and believed that
such a God would be willing to show grace unto the whole of her family. Nor was
she disappointed.

O that the breadth of Rahab’s faith may speak unto our hearts. O that the
blessed Holy Spirit may fill us with compassion for our unsaved relatives and
friends, and stir us up to wrestle with God in prayer on their behalf. It is right that
we should desire God to show mercy unto those who are near and dear to us:
not to do so, would show we were lacking in natural affection; it only becomes
wrong when we ignore God’s sovereignty and dictate instead of supplicate. It is
blessed to observe that He who hath said "according unto your faith be it unto
you" and "all things are possible unto him that believeth," responded to Rahab’s
faith, and saved her entire household: though they, of course, only found
deliverance by sheltering in the same house with her in which hung the scarlet
cord—only under the blood is there safety.
6. The imperfection of her faith. This appears in the reply which she returned to
the king of Jericho (recorded in Joshua 2:3-5) when he sent unto Rahab
requesting her to deliver up the two spies. Fearful of their lives, she told lies,
pretending she knew not whence men had come, and affirming they were no
longer in her house. Such a procedure on her part can by no means be justified,
for her answer was contrary unto the known truth. The course she followed
resembled the direction which Rebekah gave to her son Jacob: in the general her
intent was the fruit of great faith, for it had respect unto the promise of God (Gen.
25:33), but in various details (Gen. 27:6, 7, etc.) it can in no wise be approved.
The Lord, in His tender mercy, is pleased to pass by many of the infirmities of His
children, when He sees an upright heart and a desire to accomplish His
promises. "If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?"
(Ps. 130:3) God bears with much weakness, especially in the lambs of His flock.
"I observe there was a mixture of infirmity in this act, an officious lie, which
cannot be excused, though God in mercy pardoned it. This is not for our
imitation, yet it is for our instruction; and it shows us this, that faith in the
beginning hath many weaknesses. Those that have faith do not altogether act
out of faith, but there is somewhat of the flesh mingled with that of the spirit. But
this is passed by out of God’s indulgence; He accepteth us notwithstanding our

sins before faith, and notwithstanding our weaknesses in believing. Before faith
she was a harlot; in believing she makes a lie. God doth reward the good of our
actions and pardon the evil of them, not to encourage us in sinning, but to raise
our love to Him who forgives us so great a debt, receives us graciously, and
pardons our manifold weaknesses" (T. Manton).
It is blessed to see that neither in our text nor in James 2:25 does the Holy
Spirit make any reference unto Rahab’s failure; instead, in both places, He
mentions that which was praiseworthy, and to her credit. It is the very opposite
with the malevolent world, which is ever ready to overlook the good and reflect
only upon the evil of an action performed by a child of God. It is a gracious spirit
which throws the mantle of charity over the deformities and defects in a brother
or sister in Christ, as it is honoring to God to dwell upon that which His Holy Spirit
has wrought in them. If we were quicker to judge ourselves for our own sad
failures, we would not be so ready to blaze abroad the faults of our fellows. Let
each of us seek grace to heed that exhortation, "Whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are
pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there
be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Phil. 4:8).
7. The reward of her faith. "By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them
that believed not." The historical account of this is found in Joshua 6:22, 23, "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. 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."
But not only was Rahab, and the whole of her family, preserved from the
burning of Jericho which immediately followed, but as Joshua 6:25 tells us, she
"dwelt in Israel." Thus, from being the slave of Satan she was adopted into the
family of God; from being a citizen of heathen Jericho she was given a place in

the congregation of the Lord. Nor was that all; later, she became the honored
wife of a prince in Judah, the mother of Boaz, and one of the grandmothers of
David. Her name is inscribed upon the imperishable scroll of sacred history; it is
recorded in Matthew 1 among the ancestresses of the Savior—she was one of
the mothers of Jesus! From what depths of sin and shame did sovereign grace
deliver this poor woman; to what a height of honor and dignity did sovereign
grace elevate her. Truly, the rewards of faith are most excellent and glorious.
10. Coffman, “The moral reason for God's destruction of Jericho and the
dispossession of the kingdoms of Canaan and their being supplanted by Israel is
apparent in this verse. It was not from any perfection in Israel, nor as a capricious
favor to them apart from a benevolent purpose for all mankind; but it was because
of the moral corruption, decadence, and sin out of control in those cities described
here as "disobedient."
GOD'S DESTRUCTION OF CITIES
This is an appropriate place to study a phenomenon in divine revelation which gives
a great deal of concern to some Bible students, and which, if improperly understood,
leads to very unwholesome thoughts regarding the all-wise and benevolent Creator
of mankind. In the verse before us, it is categorically revealed that the citizens of
Jericho were consigned to death, the reason of their sentence appearing simply as
their "disobedience." That disobedience on their part must not be understood as
merely an occasional lapse, or some intermittent outbreak of lustful wickedness,
common to all people, Israel also, in that sense, being disobedient; but it was a state
of reprobacy in which they had fallen through long practice of shame and
debauchery, a terminal condition of utter rebellion against God, which had resulted in
the depravity of the people, making them, in effect, a cancer upon the body of
humanity, and requiring, as a means of preserving the race itself, that those
reprobate and depraved people be not partially, but absolutely, cut off.
In the analogy of a cancer, people readily accept this principle for a human body,
even their own; and it is not intelligent to deny the justice of God's acting upon the
same principle where the total body of the human race is concerned. Near Moffat
Tunnel through the continental divide in Colorado, where the great switchbacks once
carried the transcontinental trains over the vast mountains, one may still see those
impressive tracks with a DERAIL device at the apex of every turn. That derail device
was to enable the operator to destroy any train that got out of control on the deadly
slopes of the great mountain; because, once out of control, a train was doomed
anyway, and its destruction was the only hope of saving the entire system and the
village below. At various times in human history, cities or nations have become
terminal in their sins, and God has thrown the derail switch for them in order to

preserve man himself as a race upon the earth. The cities of Canaan, dispossessed
by the Jews, are an example of this. Other examples are the generation that
perished in the flood, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Tyre, Babylon, and
Ninevah, to name only a few. In all of such examples there was the same pattern of
excessive sin, reprobacy, judgment, and destruction; nor was Israel itself exempt
from the same righteous judgment. Matt. 22:6,7 reveals that the destruction of
Jerusalem in 70 A.D. was a judgment of God upon that people for their rejection of
Christ. (See further discussion of this in Commentary on Matthew.) F38
It is the fashion of some to write off the historical judgments of God upon depraved
peoples as pertaining to a less enlightened age, and to assume that no such
judgment is possible for our present "enlightened" (!) generation of godless rebels
against God; but the hand of God may be suspected as having a part in the
destruction of Germany within our own day; and the record of God's past dealings
with nations gives the strongest assurance that he will at last punish those societies
that reject his holy sovereignty.
THE FAITH OF RAHAB
As a citizen of a doomed city, Rahab rose to unprecedented heights of faith,
believing in the God of Israel, and furnishing the most amazing demonstration of it,
as recorded in Josh. 2 and Josh. 6. Her faith is the first mentioned after the author of
Hebrews skipped the entire period of the wilderness wanderings, finding for that
entire forty years no special example of Israel's faith to be cited. That this Gentile
harlot was included with the immortals of faith may be viewed as an earnest of God's
loving concern for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews, and of his ultimate purpose of
redeeming all human beings.
Bruce said:
There can be little doubt that she is the Rahab who appears in Matt.
1:5, as the wife of Salmon, prince of Judah, the mother of Boaz, the
ancestress of King David, and therefore also of our Lord ... Clement of
Rome recounts the story of Rahab to illustrate the virtues of faith and
hospitality, and makes her a prophetess to boot, since the scarlet rope
by which she let the spies down from her window on the city wall, and
by which her house was identified at the capture of the city,
foreshadowed that "through the blood of the Lord all who trust and
hope in God shall have redemption." F39
Spurgeon said of this eleventh chapter that it "recites the victories of faith"; F40
and
then he goes ahead to enumerate Enoch's victory over death, Abraham's over
natural affection, Sarah's over infirmity, Moses' over wealth and glory, etc. It would
seem that the faith of Rahab overcame practically everything. It was truly a triumph:
(1) over sin, her occupation being one that would not predispose her to
righteousness; (2) over patriotism, her own city and race being rejected as a

consequence of her decision; (3) over fear of death, a death she must have viewed
as inevitable, no matter what happened, from her own people, perhaps, if her act
became known, and from the wreckage of the city if the walls fell, her house being
located on the wall, and from the possibility that Israel would not honor the
commitment they had made to her (Could she really count on the Israelites not to
kill her, no matter what they promised?); (4) over unpopularity, the cause of Israel
being anathema to all the people of Jericho; (5) over meager information, because
no prophet had appeared to teach her the truth; her information consisted only of
rumor, and some of that forty years old; yet she believed! (6) over the religious
convictions of her loved ones, or over their irreligion if that was their state; and (7)
over wild alarm. Think of it. Her covenant required her to remain in the house; and
as the entire complex of city walls came tumbling down, what must have been her
basic urge to flee? In the presence of such violent and alarming danger, she
remained exactly as she promised, within her house. She believed!
Certain characteristics of Rahab's faith are commendable: (1) It was stable in spite
of many temptations to waver, as, for example, when the Israelites were marching
for days around the city with no visible result. (2) It was evangelistic, leading her to
reach out for the salvation of others, all of her loved ones being saved through her
efforts. (3) It was redemptive and elevating, regarding her character, because she
did not continue as a harlot, but as a wife of a prince. (4) It was sacrificial, because,
in the fall of Jericho, which she aided, there was the loss of everything that she had.
How strange that Jericho's harlot should be such a singular example of faith, and
that the entire preceding generation of the wandering Israelites, except Caleb and
Joshua, should have provided nothing to compare with it. Christ found the same
incredible paradox in that "the publicans and harlots" were nearer to God's kingdom
than the religious leaders (Matthew 21:31).
11. PULPIT, “By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that were disobedient,
when she had received the spies with peace. Rahab is instanced also by St. James
(Jas_2:25) as having shown her faith by works. Such special notice of her
is ACCOU TED for by her being so remarkable an instance of a heathen, an alien,
one of the very doomed Canaanite race, being through faith adopted into the
commonwealth of Israel, so as even to become an ancestress of the Messiah (Mat_1:5).
Faith is thus exhibited as the acceptable principle of religious action, not in Israel
only, but in all races, as in all times. Rahab's faith was in the omnipotence and
supremacy of the God of Israel, induced by evidence of which she could not resist the
force (Jos_2:9-12). Her consequent action was to protect the spies, of course with great
risk to herself, lest she should oppose the Divine will as she believed it. Her fellow-
countrymen had the same evidence before them; but it caused them only to lose
courage and faint, not to act on faith at all, either in their own gods or in the LORD;
hence they are hero called "those who were disobedient ( τοῖς
ἀπειθήσασι )," i.e. resisted God's will—the same expression as is used of the Israelites
who fell in the wilderness (Heb_3:18), and of the contemporaries of oah (1Pe_3:20;
cf. Act_19:9). That Rahab was, at the time when she thus evinced her faith, a harlot
(such is certainly the meaning of πόρνη ); that she lied to the King of Jericho's
messengers (Jos_2:4, Jos_2:5); and that she treacherously aided the invaders of her
country;—have been felt as difficulties with regard to the POSITIO assigned her
among the faithful. In reply to such aspersions on her character, it is usual to allege as
follows: As to her harlotry, there is no reason to suppose that her profession was held

in any disrepute among the Canaanites, or that she was aware of it.
12. CHARLES SIMEON, “RAHAB CONCEALING THE SPIES
Heb_11:31. By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had
received the spies with peace.
FAITH is usually considered merely as an assent to testimony; human faith having respect to
human testimony, and divine to that which is divine. Hence the subject of faith is supposed to lie
within a small compass. But there is not a more comprehensive subject within the whole circle of
man’s duties: for whilst faith has respect to every thing which God has spoken, it operates in every
thing which man does. The chapter before us shews how inexhaustible the subject is. Faith was the
one principle by which all the saints there enumerated were influenced: and in every distinct
instance its operations were widely different: so that, though in appearance the same subject is
brought under discussion, it is presented to us in so different a light as to assume a new character.
In considering the fate of Rahab, we shall be led to shew,
I. To what it had respect—
The whole ACCOUNT of Rahab is CONTINUED in the second chapter of Joshua: and to that
chapter we must refer as forming the groundwork of this discourse — — — It will there be found,
that, though she was an inhabitant of Canaan, and had in her earlier life been notoriously dissolute,
she was now a believer in the God of Israel. What she had heard of him had fully convinced her,
that he was the only true God. This she openly avowed to the spies whom she had received: “The
Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath [Note:Jos_2:11.].” But it was not
in a mere general way that she acknowledged Jehovah: she had just and distinct views of him; and
had respect to,
1. His purposes as sure—
[She knew that God had “given to Israel the land” of Canaan for their inheritance [Note: ver. 9.]: and
that his purpose respecting it should infallibly be accomplished. As the Creator and Governor of the
universe, he had a right to dispose of every thing in it: and, having transferred the land to Israel, he
would surely invest them with the possession of it. Thus will true faith present God to our view as a
mighty Sovereign, who orders every thing both in heaven and earth. It will discover him to us as
having shewn distinguishing favour to his peculiar people, in that, whilst he has passed by the
angels who sinned, and left the greater part of mankind also in utter darkness, he has revealed
to them a Saviour, yea, and “revealed him in them” also as the hope of glory [Note: Gal_1:16.]. He

has also prepared an inheritance for them from the foundation of the world, even the heavenly
Canaan; and called them to take possession of it as his special gift, through the merits and
mediation of his Son Jesus Christ [Note: Rom_6:23.]. The manner of taking possession of it also he
has ordained, even by faith in Christ; by whose blood they shall be justified, and by whose Spirit
they shall be renewed. All this will faith regard as unalterably fixed in the Divine counsels; so that
those who possess the first-fruits here, shall infallibly reap the harvest of salvation in a better world
[Note: 2Th_2:13-14.].]
2. His perfections as unbounded—
[Whilst she was convinced that his power was irresistible, she, though of an accursed race and of
an abandoned character, had no doubt but that God’s mercy would extend even to her, if she
sought it with her whole heart. Hence of her own ACCORD she received, and hid, the spies, and
dismissed them in peace, in hopes that she and her family might be spared: and all the security she
required was, an oath in Jehovah’s name, that no evil should be inflicted on her, when the
threatened vengeance should be poured out on all beside. And is she not here also an example to
us? Yes: by faith we must survey him in all his glorious perfections: we must view him as a God of
all grace, whose mercy is infinite; who delights in the exercise of mercy; who “waits to be gracious”
to the very chief of sinners, “keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin,”
and following them with this tender expostulation, “Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will
ye die, O house of Israel?” “As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of a sinner, but rather that he
should turn from his wickedness and live.” To this our faith should have especial respect; because it
is our great encouragement to seek his face. To know that “the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse
from all sin;” that “whosoever cometh to God by him shall in no wise be cast out;” and that “where
sin has abounded, grace shall much more abound;” to know this, I say, and to realize it by faith, is
the richest consolation which a broken-hearted sinner can enjoy. At the same time we should, like
her, assure ourselves, that “God’s counsels shall stand, and that he will do all his will:” we should
bear in mind the records of his former interpositions, and from them be convinced that “there is no
wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord [Note: Pro_21:30.].” Theoretically INDEED
we do acknowledge this: but how few feel it practically! How few are so impressed with the idea
as to despair of escaping his wrath, but by casting away the weapons of their rebellion, and laying
hold on his proffered mercy!]
But this part of our subject will come more properly before us, whilst, in our further investigation of
her faith, we shew,
II. How it operated—
From the instance to which the text directs our attention, we see, that it operated in a way,

1. Of holy fear—
[Rahab did not merely participate the terror which had seized all the inhabitants of Jericho, a terror
that served only to harden their hearts, but a fear associated with a consciousness of her demerits,
and a determination to seek for mercy. And, till this is wrought within us, there is no true faith in our
souls. The very first work of the Holy Spirit is “to convince us of our sins;” to shew us our desert and
danger; to make us sensible that “we are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
Till we are brought to the condition of those on the day of Pentecost, who “were pricked to the
heart,” and with a deep sense of their guilt and misery cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we
do?” there is nothing done effectually towards our conversion to God, nothing that can give any
hope of the salvation of our souls.]
2. Of intense desire—
[Her desire of mercy swallowed up every other consideration. She forgot all which passes under the
name of patriotism, conceiving that she had a prior and a paramount duty to the God of Israel. So
sure was she that God’s purposes should be fulfilled, that she did not for a moment imagine that
any efforts of hers to destroy the spies would at all avail for the protection of her countrymen. She
saw that this was an opportunity afforded her for the preservation of her soul; and, if she let it pass
unimproved, she should only involve herself in the ruin that could not possibly be averted. She
therefore sided with Jehovah and his people against those who were related to her according to the
flesh; and determined at the risk of her life to cast in her lot with the people of the Lord. Thus should
we also postpone every consideration under heaven to the honour of God and the salvation of our
souls. The love of our country is confessedly an important duty, as the love of our parents also is:
but when our duty to God stands in opposition to the wishes or interests of our earthly superiors, the
line of duty plainly is to serve God at all events. The direction given to the Church under the
character of a spouse, is this: “Hearken, O daughter, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own
people, and thy father’s house; so shall the King have pleasure in thy beauty: for he is thy Lord God:
and worship thou Him [Note: Psa_45:10-11.].” Our Lord’s declaration to his followers is plainer still:
“If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren
and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple [Note: Luk_14:26.].” The kingdom of
heaven is a pearl, for which faith will part with all in order to possess it.]
3. Of unreserved obedience—
[Every direction that was given her she readily complied with; and in no instance departed from the
terms on which alone she was encouraged to expect mercy. Nor will any one who truly believes that
he shall be an object of sparing mercy, account “any of God’s commandments grievous.” His

determination through grace will be to be found in God’s appointed way, fulfilling all righteousness,
and “walking in all the statutes and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” One particular
commandment given to her I will here notice as of more than ordinary importance, namely, that of
binding the scarlet line in her window, as the memorial of her faith, and the means of her
preservation. Had this been neglected, she had perished with the rest of her countrymen: but by this
her safety was SECURED . There is a corresponding command given to every one that desires to
obtain mercy, which above all he will be anxious to obey, namely, that of believing in Christ
[Note: 1Jn_3:23.], and “abiding in him,” as the branch abides in the vine [Note: Joh_15:4-7. The
injunction to abide in him is repeated four times.]. Faith will teach him, that, if he be NOT FOUND
in Christ, the sword of divine vengeance will surely cut him off, as that of the destroying angel did
the first-born, whose doors were not sprinkled with the blood of the paschal lamb. In a word, as
soon as true faith is formed in the soul, the one inquiry will be, “Lord, what will thou have me to do
[Note: Act_9:6.]?” and from that time the believer’s desire will be to “stand perfect and complete in
all the will of God.”]
In the account given of her faith, we see,
III. What it obtained—
1. A deliverance from that destruction which came on all her unbelieving neighbours—
[In Jericho nothing that breathed was left alive, with the exception of Rahab and her family: but to
them the promised mercy was vouchsafed. And who that believes in Christ shall perish? Against the
unbelieving world the deluge of God’s wrath will prevail, and sink them all without exception into
everlasting perdition: but to those who are in Christ, no evil shall accrue. They are in the true ark,
against which the winds and waves shall beat in vain. In the great day of the Lord, there will be a
separation made between the sheep and the goats; nor shall one of either flock be found through
any mistake confounded with those whose nature so widely differs from his own: not a lamb shall be
found amongst the goats; nor a kid amongst the sheep: but each will have the portion assigned him
by the Judge of all,—the unbelievers in the lake of fire and brimstone; the believers in the regions of
eternal bliss. Amongst “the chaff that shall then be burnt up with unquenchable fire,” not the
smallest grain of wheat shall be found [Note: Amo_9:9.].]
2. A portion among the chosen people of the Lord—
[This is particularly noticed in the subsequent history of Rahab: she was incorporated with Israel,
and made a partaker of all their privileges [Note: Jos_6:25.]. So, though we have been aliens from
the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, we shall be made nigh
by the blood of Christ, as soon as we believe in him; and from being “strangers and foreigners shall

become fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God [Note: Eph_2:12-
13; Eph_2:19.].” Look through the Holy Scriptures, and see all that belongs to the saints, either in
this world or the next, and you will read only the catalogue of your own possessions: for “all things
are yours, when ye are Christ’s [Note: 1Co_3:22-23.].”]
3. The transcendent honour of being brought into the nearest relation to Christ himself—
[Who would have thought that this poor Canaanite, of an accursed nation, and once of an
abandoned character, should be chosen of God to be an instrument of bringing into the world the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world? Yet so it was: Salmon, one of the
progenitors of Christ, married her: and their son Boaz married Ruth, the Moabitess, from whom
descended in an immediate line Obed, Jesse, David. And will the parallel hold good here also?
Shall we, on believing in Christ, become thus intimately united with him? Yes, and far more
intimately; for she, as his ancestor, was one with him only corporeally; whereas by faith we become
“one spirit with him [Note: 1Co_6:17.].” As relating to the flesh, we are no nearer to him than others;
but as relating to the spirit, “we are members of his body, even of his flesh and of his bones
[Note: Eph_5:30.].”]
From this subject then we learn,
1. How sovereign God is in the dispensation of his gifts!
[Of all that were in Jericho, we read not of any to whom true faith was given. Others, like the devils,
believed, and trembled: she alone “believed unto righteousness.” It is pleasing to reflect, that,
amongst the most avowed enemies of God and his Christ, there may be some hidden ones, whose
heart God has touched with true repentance, though their views of salvation be very indistinct; and
who shall be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus, whilst millions, who have enjoyed the brighter light
of the Gospel, will be cast out into outer darkness. It is a rich consolation also to know, that the most
abandoned sinner in the universe is not beyond the reach of mercy; but that, as God’s grace is his
own, and he divides to every one severally as he will, we may all without exception look to him for
mercy with a full confidence of acceptance through the Son of his love. Let any one that is
discouraged through a sense of his own unworthiness, remember Rahab, and, like her, cast himself
upon the mercy of the God of Israel.]
2. How certainly faith shall avail for the salvation of the soul!
[We are told by St. James, that “Rahab was justified by her works [Note: Jam_2:25.].” But can any
one suppose that the mere act of receiving the spies, and dismissing them in peace, formed her
justifying righteousness before God? Assuredly not: for it was attended with great infirmity, seeing

that she had recourse to falsehood to conceal her conduct, because she knew not how to trust in
God to protect her from the consequences of it [Note: Jos_2:4-6.]. But, imperfect as her works were,
they evinced the sincerity of her faith, and proved her to be indeed in a justified state before God. If
then a faith, so obscure as her’s was, and so imperfect in its actings, justified her before God, let no
one doubt but that a full affiance in the Lord Jesus Christ shall assuredly bring him into a state of
acceptance with God, and ultimately prevail for the salvation of his soul.]
3. How certainly faith will also be productive of good works!
It is in confirmation of this sentiment that St. James adduces the examples of Abraham and of
Rahab as justified by their works. He is shewing that faith without works is dead; and that their
works proved them to be possessed of a living faith. Undoubtedly her faith was, as we have before
observed, not very distinct, though we doubt not but that it was afterwards enlarged, as her
knowledge of the Mosaic writings increased. But indistinct as it was, it wrought, and powerfully too,
yea, so powerfully as to overbalance every other consideration that could operate upon her mind.
And thus it will do in every one: it will work, and effectually too, to overcome the world
[Note: 1Jn_5:4.], and purify the heart [Note: Act_15:9.]. If then it do not evidence itself by such fruits
as these, let us not imagine that we are possessed of it: if it work not thus, our faith is no better than
the faith of devils. Whoever then professes to be interested in “the grace of God which bringeth
salvation,” let him learn from it, what it invariably teaches to all who have received it, “to deny
ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live righteously, soberly, and godly in this present world
[Note: Tit_2:11-12.].” If any have this hope in him, let him walk as Christ walked, and “purify himself
even as he is pure [Note: 1Jn_2:6; 1Jn_3:3.].”]
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time
to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah,
David, Samuel and the prophets,
1. BAR ES, "And what shall I more say? - There are numerous other instances
showing the strength of faith which there is not time to mention.

For the time would fail me to tell - To recount all that they did; all the
illustrations of the strength and power of faith evinced in their lives.
Of Gedeon - The history of Gideon is detailed at length in Judges 6–7, and there can
be no doubt that in his wars he was sustained and animated by strong confidence in God.
And of Barak - Judges 4. Barak, at the command of Deborah the prophetess, who
summoned him to war in the name of the Lord, encountered and overthrew the hosts of
Sisera. His yielding to her summons, and his valour in battle against the enemies of the
Lord, showed that he was animated by faith.
And of Samson - see the history of Samson in Judges 14–16. It is not by any means
necessary to suppose that in making mention of Samson, the apostle approved of all that
he did. All that he commands is his faith, and though he was a very imperfect man, and
there were many things in his life which neither sound morality nor religion can approve,
yet it was still true that he evinced, on some occasions, remarkable confidence in God, by
relying on the strength which he gave him. This was particularly true in the instance
where he made a great slaughter of the enemies of the Lord, and of his country; see
Jdg_15:16; Jdg_16:30.
And of Jephthae - The story of Jephtha is recorded in Judges 11. The mention of his
name among those who were distinguished for faith, has given occasion to much
perplexity among expositors. That a man of so harsh and severe a character, a man who
sacrificed his own daughter, in consequence of a rash vow, should be numbered among
those who were eminent for piety, as if he were one distinguished for piety also, has
seemed to be wholly inconsistent and improper. The same remark, however, may be
made respecting Jephtha which has been made of Samson and others. The apostle does
not commend all which they did. He does not deny that they were very imperfect men,
nor that they did many things which cannot be approved or vindicated. He commends
only one thing - their faith; and in these instances he particularly alludes, doubtless, to
their remarkable valour and success in delivering their country from their foes and from
the foes of God. In this it is implied that they regarded themselves as called to this work
by the Lord, and as engaged in his service; and that they went forth to battle, depending
on his protection and nerved by confidence in him as the God of their country.
Their views of God himself might be very erroneous; their notions of religion - as was
the case with Jephtha - very imperfect and obscure; many things in their lives might be
wholly inconsistent with what we should now regard as demanded by religion, and still it
might be true that in their efforts to deliver their country, they relied on the aid of God,
and were animated to put forth extraordinary efforts, and were favoured with
extraordinary success from their confidence in him. In the case of Jephtha, all that it is
necessary to suppose, in order to see the force of the illustration of the apostle is, that he
had strong confidence in God - the God of his nation, and that, under the influence of
this, he made extraordinary efforts in repelling his foes. And this is not unnatural or
improbable, even on the supposition that he was not a pious man. How many a Greek,
and Roman, and Goth, and Muslim, has been animated’ to extraordinary courage in
battle, by confidence in the gods which they worshipped! That Jephtha had this, no one
can doubt; see Jdg_11:29-32.
(It is not likely that Jephtha’s faith would have found a record here, had it been of no
higher kind than this. Peirce admits his unnatural crime, but supposes him to have
repented. “It must be owned,” says he, “that if Jephtha had not repented of this very
heinous wickedness, he could not have been entitled to salvation. The apostle, therefore,
who has assured us of his salvation, must undoubtedly have gone upon the supposition
that Jephtha actually repented of it before he died. That he had time to repent is beyond
dispute, because he lived near six years after this. For it is expressly said he judged Israel

six years, Jdg_12:7, and it is as certain he made this vow in the beginning of his
government. What evidence the apostle had of Jephtha’s repentance I cannot say. He
might know it by the help of old Jewish histories, or by inspiration.”)
Even in the great and improper sacrifice of his only daughter which the obvious
interpretation of the record respecting him in Jdg_11:39, leads us to suppose he made,
he did it as an offering to the Lord, and under these mistaken views of duty, he showed
by the greatest sacrifice which a man could make - that of an only child that he was
disposed to do what he believed was required by religion. A full examination of the case
of Jephtha, and of the question whether he really sacrificed his daughter, may be found
in Warburton’s Divine Legation of Moses, book 9, notes, in Bush’s Notes on Judges 11;
and in the Biblical Repository for January 1843. It is not necessary to go into the much
litigated inquiry here whether he really put his daughter to death, for whether he did or
not, it is equally true that he evinced strong confidence in God. If he did do it, in
obedience as he supposed to duty and to the divine command, no higher instance of faith
in God as having a right to dispose of all that he had, could be furnished; if he did not, his
eminent valour and success in battle show that he relied for strength and victory on the
arm of Yahweh. The single reason why the piety of Jephtha has ever been called in
question has been the fact that he sacrificed his own daughter. If he did not do that, no
one will doubt his claims to an honored rank among those who have evinced faith in
God.
Of David also - Commended justly as an eminent example of a man who had faith in,
God, though it cannot be supposed that all that he did was approved.
And Samuel - In early youth distinguished for his piety, and manifesting it through
his life; see 1 Sam.
And of the prophets - They were men who had strong confidence in the truth of
what God directed them to foretell, and who were ever ready, depending on him, to make
known the most unwelcome truths to their fellow man, even at the peril of their lives.
2. CLARKE, "Time would fail me - Με διηγουµενον ᆇ χρονος. A very usual mode of
expression with the best Greek writers, when they wish to intimate that much important
intelligence remains to be communicated on the subject already in hand, which must be
omitted because of other points which have not yet been handled.
Gedeon - Who by faith in God, with 300 men, destroyed a countless multitude of
Midianites and Amalekites, and delivered Israel from oppression and slavery. Judges 6,
7, 8.
Barak - Who overthrew Jabin, king of Canaan, and delivered Israel from servitude.
Judges 4.
Samson - Who was appointed by God to deliver Israel from the oppressive yoke of the
Philistines; and, by extraordinary assistance, discomfited them on various occasions.
Judges 13-16.
Jephthae - Who, under the same guidance, defeated the Ammonites, and delivered
Israel. Judges 11, Jdg_12:1-15.
David - King of Israel, whose whole life was a life of faith and dependence on God; but
whose character will be best seen in those books which contain an account of his reign,
and the book of Psalms, to which, and the notes there, the reader must be referred. It is
probable he is referred to here for that act of faith and courage which he showed in his
combat with Goliah. See 1 Samuel 17.

Hebrews 11 31 40 commentary

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Hebrews 11 31 40 commentary