![Rahab Contra Mundum](https://www.thinkandactbiblically.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/rahab-768x802.jpg)
It would be a miracle greater than the Jewish crossing of the Jordan or the falling down of the walls of Jericho if Rahab, the Amorite prostitute, knew Latin. This was because Latin didn’t come to Palestine until the Roman conquest, which was about 1000 years after the days in which she lived. But if Rahab had known Latin, Rahab might well have described her situation in Jericho as “Rahab contra mundum,” which means “Rahab against the world.”
It would be a miracle greater than the Jewish crossing of the Jordan or the falling down of the walls of Jericho if Rahab, the Amorite prostitute, knew Latin. This was because Latin didn’t come to Palestine until the Roman conquest, which was about 1000 years after the days in which she lived. But if Rahab had known Latin, Rahab might well have described her situation in Jericho as “Rahab contra mundum,” which means “Rahab against the world.”
The final thing I want to say is that Christian leaders must also demonstrate genuine faith in God. Joshua was preeminently a man of faith. God told Joshua, “This is the land and I’m going to give it to you.” Joshua believed God, so when he went into the land with the other spies and searched it out, he didn’t care if there were giants. It didn’t bother him that there were walled cities.
There’s a third thing I want to mention, and that is that a person who would be a leader must know, and have, and study, and meditate upon God’s objective revelation. It’s important to say that because that subjective and specific call must always be evaluated by, and at times, corrected by, the objective Word of God.
Secondly, Joshua received a specific call, which we find in Joshua 1. Now when we talk about a call, we have to say that there is a sense in which all of us at all times as Christians have a general call. None of us is left to do nothing. We are all called to be disciples of Jesus Christ.
We’re all called to do good works. That’s just part of what it means to be a Christian. But that’s not what I’m talking about here when I’m talking about a call to leadership. I’m talking about a call to something specific—that is, to a task that a particular individual is given to do.
The third thing that is impressive about the early life in the faithful past of Joshua concerns the earlier incident where Moses sent the spies into the Promised Land.
There are two main sections to the first chapter of Joshua. The first part, in verses 1 through 9, contains an account of Joshua’s commissioning by God. The second part, verses 10-18, tells us how Joshua assumed command of the people and began to make preparations for the invasion of the Promised Land.
Yesterday we looked at the first two elements of Joshua’s commission. Today we look at the last two, and also conclude our study of Joshua 1:1-9.
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