I have been reading about Rahab the harlot. Her story is impressive. She lived the first part of her life in all the wrong ways. Yet she is mentioned in the Sunday of the Genealogy as one of the great great … grandmothers of Our Lord Jesus. Saint James says of her that she was justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way. This should not be all that surprising to you. Think of how many dramas and movies carry on the idea of the evil person who, at the last moment of their life in this world, does just the right thing and becomes a hero. Now, here is an extremely important point. There is no indication that Rahab is an evil person. She is doing sinful things, but there is no indication that her mind, soul, and spirit have thoroughly turned to evil. In fact, when the Israelis spies turn up, she endangers her life to protect them. She is doing quite sinful things, but when she is confronted by the presence of the Lord, in the identity of the proto-Israelites, she responds. She is a person who is typical of those who have never heard of the Lord, but when they hear, they respond and run on in.
In talking to one of the women in my church, she makes an additional point. We do not know the social situation in Jericho, at the time of the invasion by the proto-Israelites. We have examples from the 19th century USA and Britain of “soiled doves,” that is, women who had run out of options and feel that they have no option but to turn to prostitution. The play (and movie) Les Misérables points to the miserable life many women led back then, and at various time in world history. When the choice was the workhomes or prostitution, there were many soiled doves who chose prostitution. Neither the play nor the movie excuse the action that people have taken. In many cases, they pay for it with their lives. Yet, at the end of both the play and the movie, there is a scene when the character played by Anne Hathaway, Fantine, is shown to have received forgiveness, in part due to her maintaining hope even in the midst of her trials. For all we know, Rahab is a Fantine-type character who has found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. All that we know is that when God arrived, she turned to him. We know nothing of her background. We looked up the DBS cost so that we could do a background check. But, there is another part that interests me. When Rahab speaks to the proto-Israelis, they make a very strong statement. First they promise her and her family mercy for helping out, but then they say:
“We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home. So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.”
Safety is only promised if one remains within the walls of the household. I would suggest, however, that you read the passage very carefully. Nowhere does it say that if you are outside the household, you will die. All it says is that if you are outside the household and you die, then your death is on you alone. But, the verses make it quite clear that if you are inside the household, you will be safe. There is protection promised inside the household. There is safety inside the household. There is no protection or safety outside the household. At the same time, it is important to recognize that there is no certainty of death outside the household.
And, that is the situation in which we find ourselves. For those of you who read The Very Rev Fr. Peter Guillquist’s book, “Becoming Orthodox,” you know that much of the search in which they engaged was the search for the household of God. With the multiple denominations and jurisdictions present within Christianity, the question of what the household of God is becomes a very real question. If one values Truth at all, it quickly becomes obvious that not every denomination and jurisdiction could possibly be the household of God. If one is assiduous; if one is philosophically inclined, one can come up with various reasons why every Christian denomination and jurisdiction is part of the household of God. But, if one has any type of love for Truth, one has to admit that it is impossible, both logically and validly, that every existing group is a full member of the household of God, save by some very fancy philosophical footwork. At best, if one is careful, one can argue that God is merciful even to some very mistaken Christians (and non-Christians). Here is the problem. If one drives that argument far enough, one ends up with universal salvation. That is, how far does someone have to go to be so mistaken that they are not part of the household of God? How far does one have to go as a non-Christian in order to be completely outside of salvation.
But, both in Romans 1 and here in Joshua, you have an indication that safety is only, and ever, found inside the household of God. Everyone outside the household may still be saved, but the assurance is only for those within the household of God. So, it is important that we ensure that we are within the household of God. We should not take it for granted that just because we are within a Christian-named group that we are within the household of God. We should not go to the point of saying that salvation is so individual that it does not matter what we believe on most issues. What we can say is that those within the household of God shall be saved. And, Rahab’s and Cornelius’ example is that those who seek God shall find him. Outside of that, there are not guarantees.
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