Lesson 2
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Inhabiting the Promised Land
And she said, "According to your words, so be it." Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window. Joshua 2:21
Joshua 2 Read Joshua 2
1. In verses 10-11, What does Rahab confess her people know about the God of Israel.
2. How does she respond to this "foreign" God?
3. What clues do you find in this chapter that indicate her people's response (see also 6:1)?
4. There are to kinds of responses to the Lord. A response of godly fear which in faith produces worship and obedience, or a response of ungodly fear which produces self-preservation which shuts out God. In God's dealing with you now, are you responding like Rahab and counting everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ (Phil. 3:8)? Or are you, like the people of Jericho, resisting the Lord? (Remember, Romans 8:28 says that he uses all your circumstances for your good!) As Rahab responds to the spies so should we respond to the Lord, "According to your word, so be it."
5. Rahab asks for a sign. The sign given is a scarlet cord. The scarlet cord was reminiscent of the Passover sign given to God's people in Egypt (Ex. 12:12-13). These signs serve as a promise of God's deliverance from destruction. What is the means of our deliverance according to the following verses?
Just as God's people in the Old Testament were given signs, so we, the people of the new testament, have been given signs in the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion.We were once the Canaanite--objects of wrath; but now, we are saved by the scarlet cord of Christ's blood given for us. By Rahab's act of faith she was saved and brought into the people of God, the community of faith. She received a new identity and is included in the genealogy of Christ (See Matthew 1). By Faith we are in the same family tree. We are not ancestors of Christ but descendants. Our names are not recorded in his genealogy but in his Book of Life (Rev. 3:5).
6. What do the following verses teach us about
Just as Rahab was given the sign of a scarlet cord that she would be preserved, so we have been given the blood of Christ by which we are cleansed. Because of the cross we who have placed our faith in Christ have very great an precious promises. We have been called out of an earthly city that is doomed to destruction and have been called into a heavenly kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:28). This means that the ordinary and earthly circumstances of our lives take on a supernatural character and meaning.
7. a) Looking again at 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, what hope do you find here as you face spiritual battles and the trenches of life?
b) How does this hope help you this week? "According to your words, so be it."
Copyright © 2007, Carol Duffy. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Read Mark Learn Bible Studies
Inhabiting the Promised Land
And she said, "According to your words, so be it." Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window. Joshua 2:21
Joshua 2 Read Joshua 2
1. In verses 10-11, What does Rahab confess her people know about the God of Israel.
2. How does she respond to this "foreign" God?
3. What clues do you find in this chapter that indicate her people's response (see also 6:1)?
4. There are to kinds of responses to the Lord. A response of godly fear which in faith produces worship and obedience, or a response of ungodly fear which produces self-preservation which shuts out God. In God's dealing with you now, are you responding like Rahab and counting everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ (Phil. 3:8)? Or are you, like the people of Jericho, resisting the Lord? (Remember, Romans 8:28 says that he uses all your circumstances for your good!) As Rahab responds to the spies so should we respond to the Lord, "According to your word, so be it."
5. Rahab asks for a sign. The sign given is a scarlet cord. The scarlet cord was reminiscent of the Passover sign given to God's people in Egypt (Ex. 12:12-13). These signs serve as a promise of God's deliverance from destruction. What is the means of our deliverance according to the following verses?
- Titus 3:5
- 1 Peter 2:24
Just as God's people in the Old Testament were given signs, so we, the people of the new testament, have been given signs in the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion.We were once the Canaanite--objects of wrath; but now, we are saved by the scarlet cord of Christ's blood given for us. By Rahab's act of faith she was saved and brought into the people of God, the community of faith. She received a new identity and is included in the genealogy of Christ (See Matthew 1). By Faith we are in the same family tree. We are not ancestors of Christ but descendants. Our names are not recorded in his genealogy but in his Book of Life (Rev. 3:5).
6. What do the following verses teach us about
- God's ownership of us (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)?
- Our position in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-7)?
- The spiritual battle we face (1 Peter 2:11)?
- The extent of the purity Jesus wants to find in us when he returns (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)?
Just as Rahab was given the sign of a scarlet cord that she would be preserved, so we have been given the blood of Christ by which we are cleansed. Because of the cross we who have placed our faith in Christ have very great an precious promises. We have been called out of an earthly city that is doomed to destruction and have been called into a heavenly kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:28). This means that the ordinary and earthly circumstances of our lives take on a supernatural character and meaning.
7. a) Looking again at 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, what hope do you find here as you face spiritual battles and the trenches of life?
b) How does this hope help you this week? "According to your words, so be it."
Copyright © 2007, Carol Duffy. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
