August 25, 2024 – A Study of Matthew – Active Faith

Active Faith

Joshua 2:1-16 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

² The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” ³ So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”

⁴ But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. ⁵ At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” ⁶ (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) ⁷ So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

⁸ Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof ⁹ and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. ¹⁰ We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. ¹¹ When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

¹² “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign ¹³ that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.”

¹⁴ “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”

¹⁵ So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. ¹⁶ She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.”

Where did the two spies that Joshua sent go (verse 1)?

Who sent the Rahab the message to “bring out the men who came to you and entered your house” (verse 3)?

What two things did Rahab do to protect the men (verses 4 through 6)?

When was the city gate shut (verse 7)?

What did Rahab know about the land (verse 9)?

What did Rahab know about the Lord (verse 11)?

How did Rahab want the spies to swear to her (verse 12)?

When would the spies treat Rahab “kindly and faithfully” (verse 14)?

How did Rahab let the spies down (verse 15)?

Why did Rahab tell them to “go to the hills” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, where is faith revealed in these verses?

Matthew 1:4-5a – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

How are four of the people here identified (verses 4 and 5a)?

Who was Rahab (verse 5a)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, where is faith revealed in these verses?

In your opinion, what does Joshua 2:1-16 reveal about Rahab that makes her appearance in the Matthew 1:4-5a genealogy of Jesus surprising?  What is revealed about Rahab in Joshua that makes her appearance here possible?

Hebrews 11:30-40 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

³¹ By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

How did the walls of Jericho fall (verse 30)?

Why was “the prostitute Rahab” not killed (verse 31)?

What do Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets have in common with Rahab (verses 32 and 33)?

What does welcoming spies have in common with conquering kingdoms, shutting the mouths of lions, escaping the edge of the sword, and routing foreign armies (verses 31 through 34)?

Why did the people who were tortured refuse to be released (verse 35)?

What was “not worthy of them” (verse 38)?

Why did these people not receive “what had been promised” (verses 39 and 40)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, where is faith revealed in these verses?

In your opinion, how does reading Joshua 2:1-16 help us understand the faith that Rahab was commended for in Hebrews 11:30-40?

In your opinion, how does Paul including Rahab as part of his discussion in Hebrews 11:30-40 help us better understand why she is included in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:4-5a? 

James 2:18-26 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

How will James show his faith (verse 18)?

What do demons believe (verse 19)?

What did Abraham have working together (verse 22)?

When was it credited to Abraham “as righteousness” (verse 23)?

What alone doesn’t cause someone to be “considered righteous” (verse 24)?

Why was Rahab “considered righteous” (verse 25)?

When is faith “dead” (verse 26)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, where is faith revealed in these verses?

In your opinion, how does Rahab’s faith Joshua 2:1-16 support the argument in James 2:18-26 that faith leads to action?

In your opinion, what more does James 2:18-26 teach us about why Matthew 1:4-5a has Rahab in the genealogy of Jesus?

In your opinion, how are most of the people of Jericho in Joshua 2:1-16 like the demons in James 2:18-26?  How was Rahab different?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Matthew, Hebrews and James teach us about faith?

In your opinion, in what ways can we demonstrate active faith today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)