Melting in Fear

JOSHUA 2:1-24

September 17, 2006

As I began to work with this passage, one phrase began to grab hold of my attention. It’s a phrase that first appears in verse 9 and is repeated in verses 11 and 24. The phrase is, “melting in fear.” Do you know what it’s like to melt in fear? I’ve been genuinely afraid a few times in my life, but maybe I’ve come closest to melting in fear during my dreams.

Have you had the dream where someone is chasing you and you’re so fearful, you’re trying desperately to get away from them, but your legs feel like blocks of concrete; they just won’t move? Have you had that dream? That feels like melting in fear.

Fear is certainly one of the most powerful emotions we can ever experience. Sometimes it can move us to great action. But other times, it freezes us and debilitates us. I think that is part of what is happening to these people in the story we are considering.

Fear is a pretty common feature that runs through the story of God’s people trying to cross over into the Promised Land. We remembered the early part of the story last week. God’s people were slaves in Egypt, but God mightily delivered them out of their slavery through the leadership of Moses. He promised them a land where they would be successful and prosperous.
It only took them two years to travel right to the threshold of that land, but then fear overtook them and they refused to cross over and enter into what God had promised. Remember, Moses sent spies to scope out the new land? And they came back and said, “We can’t go in there and claim that land for our own; it’s occupied by giants—they’ll squash us.” So in their fear, they refused to follow God’s leading and found themselves roaming around the desert for the next 38 years.

Well, here we are again. They were once again right on the threshold of claiming God’s promise. Moses was dead, Joshua was the new leader, but one more time we see that fear was a primary factor for these people.

God clearly said to them, “Don’t be afraid and don’t be discouraged because I will be with you through the whole thing. I will make your way prosperous.” That’s quite a promise. Pretty much seems like it ought to deal with the fear.

Not so. They were still terrified of what it would mean for them to cross over from the comfort of what they had known (even though it hadn’t been so good), into the potential of what God had promised. So Joshua, taking a page from the Moses School of Leadership Training, sent out spies again to scope out the land. And that’s when we hear this fascinating story of chapter two.
Now there are clearly some interesting and troubling things about this story. Number one, why would these two spies choose to go and hang out at the house of a known prostitute? I mean that doesn’t seem like a great strategy. Can you imagine how we would react if we sent missionaries to a new country to try and open it up for the church, and when the first reports come back we discover they’re staying at a house of ill repute. I don’t think we’d be too thrilled about it.

However, in this situation these spies probably understood the best chance of going undetected was to show up in her neighborhood. After all, strangers coming and going from her house was nothing particularly new.

And second, why does Rahab occupy such a venerated place, not only in this storyteller’s mind, but in other places in the Scriptures as well, when all she did was lie to the secret service? Do you realize Rahab is included in the family listing of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel? And she’s also listed in Hebrews 11, the so-called “hall of faith”, held up there as model of faith.

And James lists her in his letter as an example of one who was justified by her righteous deeds. How can that be? Is it to remind us that God can literally use anyone who will turn to Him in faith? Whatever can be said, it does seem clear that Rahab was turning to God in faith and trust. The most profound confession of faith in this passage comes from her lips.

Those are interesting questions and we could take a lot of time this morning wondering about them. But we need to be careful not to snag our britches on the moral questions here and miss the truth of this text. Besides, there is a big difference between what the Bible reports and what it recommends. We need to be able to discern that difference as we study the Scriptures.

As interesting as those questions are, there’s something more interesting to me and I believe more central to the text. It has to do with that issue of fear that for so long had kept God’s people from realizing His promise.

The Israelites were afraid of what it could mean for them to cross over. That’s why they sent the spies again. They were living in the assumption that the people in the land hade no fear.

And they were living in the assumption that in order for them to cross over into the new land, the people presently occupying it would have to become impressed by Israel’s strength and might, and they didn’t have much of either.

But listen to what they discovered through the testimony of Rahab: “We are the ones melting in fear.” So the two spies went back and reported to Joshua, “Hey guess what? They are afraid of us! This isn’t going to be as hard we thought because they’re hearts are melting in fear because of us. They know we are out here, they know what our intentions are, and they are terrified.”

Now think about this. The Israelites had lived for over 40 years under the assumption that they were the ones with something to fear. Turns out, the people who inhabited the Promised Land were the ones “melting in fear.”

Isn’t that the way it is with fear? So often, our fears are so much bigger than the reality. Now we need to understand carefully why the Canaanites were afraid of Israel.

It wasn’t because Israel had an awesome army. It wasn’t because Israel was particularly intimidating to them. It was because they had seen and heard about the power and might of Israel’s God.

They heard the story of how God dried up the Red Sea so Israel could pass through, escaping the press of Pharaoh’s army. They heard how God had mightily delivered them from enemies during their time in the wilderness.

And now this is Rahab’s confession of faith: “The Lord your God is god in heaven above and on the earth below.” Do you see the irony? Rahab the prostitute understood far more about the power of Israel’s God than Israel herself.

Israel thought she was weak and unable to cross over into what God had promised. But Rahab and the people of Canaan understood Israel was awesome and powerful, not by themselves but because of Yahweh.

And once again, I think this story provides for us a wonderful and penetrating picture into our own lives. As we talked last week, God has offered us a wonderful promise of new land, spiritually. A new land of freedom and joy and peace. And yet so many of us have failed to cross over into that new land.

We find ourselves stuck in the past, allowing our future to be defined on the basis of what we’ve known before. And I also believe a large part of why we fail to cross over into God’s new future is because of fear.

Fear keeps us from crossing over. And yet, like Israel, most of our fear comes out of false assumptions we make about ourselves, about the world, and about God. We assume we have to be strong enough to break the barriers that lie before us. We assume we have to be good enough to overcome the obstacles between us and God’s offer of a new land.

Somehow, we need to gain the perspective Rahab had. If we could begin to see things from God’s perspective, we would realize the barriers and obstacles hold us back are “melting in fear” before us.

And the reason is not because of us. It’s not because we are strong or able. It’s because He is able. The barriers are falling down before us because of the mighty power of our God—for He goes before us to prepare the way.

Therefore, we can move forward, we can cross over in the strength and courage of the Lord. That’s why the Lord, with a straight face, could say to these otherwise pitiful people, “Be strong and very courageous.” He wasn’t telling them what they already were. He was challenging them to live on the basis of what He was calling them to be. He was not saying to them, “Work hard to screw up your courage for this deal.”

He was simply saying, “You can be fearless as you cross over into this thing, because I am in front you. I have gone before you. I am preparing the way. And the truth is the obstacles and barriers that have you so terrified are actually melting in fear before you.”
Brother, sister, what is the fear that has you by throat and keeps you from crossing over from the past into God’s new future for you? What are the barriers you see that just seem totally insurmountable? Can you see today, that because God is calling you forward, those obstacles and barriers are melting in fear before you?

If you can trust God with the past and move into the future, you will discover those things you’re afraid of that seem so big now, won’t seem nearly so big all of the sudden. And sometimes those fears come because the world so regularly tells us we’re crazy to believe God. The world tells us if we were truly to surrender our lives totally to Christ, life would be over. So they tell us it’s stupid to follow God; it’s silly to think you can cross over into anything really new. But you know what? If you experience the world against you as a Christian, if that’s the source of your fear of fully giving your life to Christ, remember the world is not against you because they believe you are wrong.

They could ignore you then. If the world is against you, it’s because they are so terrified that you could be right. They are melting in fear in the presence of almighty God.

What is the fear that keeps you from crossing over into all God has in store for you? The truth is, you have nothing to fear. Because the God who calls you has already gone ahead, preparing the way.

If crossing over means coming to grips with your past, if it means confessing sins of the past and seeking the forgiveness of another person, don’t let fear keep you from it. Because if that’s what He’s calling you to do, He has already prepared the way, and those obstacles are melting before you even now.

If crossing over means letting go of another security you’ve held onto for years, don’t be afraid to let go, because you will see God is enabling you to move on, to something much better that you won’t believe until you experience it.

Be strong and take courage. For the Lord your God is with you. He is not calling you to cross over alone. He is going ahead of you and you have nothing to fear.