Perish the Thought
Today's Verse:
By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. ~Hebrews 11:31
When someone uses the phrase “perish the thought,” he is saying, “Don’t even think of it.” It has the idea of removing any negative thoughts about something. Our devotion centers on how a woman named Rahab did not perish with the unbelieving inhabitants inside of her city. She is included in Hebrews 11 because of her faith. Her faith is a powerful testimony concerning saving faith and how a person who is saved from his sins is always saved.
We see Rahab and her character.
Rahab is referred to as “Rahab the harlot.” She had the dubious reference as a woman of ill repute. She was marked by her associations. She was marked by her lifestyle. She was a sinner. Nothing she did could change the fact that she was a sinner. All of us are born into this world as sinners. We cannot cover up our sin. We cannot sanitize our sin to make us look better. We are, in fact, sinners and outcasts from the presence of the Lord. "The wages of sin is death." The city of Jericho was doomed to destruction, and Rahab was an inhabitant in that city.
We see Rahab and her confession.
Rahab “received the spies with peace.” Two spies came to survey Jericho. Rahab knew that these men were men of Israel. She told them that she had heard of how God had delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians through the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea on dry land. Even though she was a pagan, she told them that she knew that “the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.” She then asked for mercy and to be saved from the judgment of God on Jericho. Rahab made an open confession that she knew that judgment was coming and she did not want to perish with the rest of the city. There was fear in her confession. There was faith in her confession. She had faith that God could save her.
We see Rahab and her counterparts.
Her counterparts are described as "them that believed not." The people inside of Jericho heard the same news about how the Lord had dried up the Red Sea so that Israel could cross over. They heard the same message of how Sihon and Og were destroyed. They knew that Israel was marching forward in taking possession of the land. However, unlike Rahab, all the other inhabitants chose to believe not. These people chose to cling to their idols and pagan beliefs. They chose to remain in their pagan lifestyles. They had faith in their walls made by hands. They did not believe that they would perish.
We see Rahab and the condemnation.
The day came when the walls of Jericho fell flat, the inhabitants were slain by the men of Israel, and the city was burned. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Judgment is coming. Judgment is inevitable. There are no walls that can protect a sinner from judgment. There are no works of men that can save a sinner from judgment. There is no wisdom in this world that can save a sinner from judgment. Judgment is coming.
We see Rahab and her keeping.
"Rahab perished not with them that believed not." Even though the walls fell down flat, Rahab and her family were saved! The place where their little dwelling was did not fall flat. She was identified by a scarlet thread in the window. We read, “And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household.” Joshua did the saving, and all that she needed to do was exercise faith. God does the keeping in salvation. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
Once you place your faith in the shed blood and death of the Lord Jesus for your salvation, you are forever saved. Perish the thought that you can ever lose your salvation. That’s a guarantee from God!
Have a secure God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Isaiah 45-48
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