The House Jesus Chose

Sep 20, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: God Chooses the House Everyone Overlooks

Rahab’s story begins in a home built into Jericho’s walls—a place of hidden shame and whispered judgments. Yet God directed spies to this exact house, not to condemn but to redeem. He sees value where others see only failure, purpose where others see mess. Our assumptions about who God can use often limit our vision, but Scripture shows He specializes in rewriting narratives from unlikely places. Redemption starts when we stop dismissing what God insists on restoring. [33:11]

Then Joshua son of Nun sent two spies secretly 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. (Joshua 2:1, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you written off someone (or yourself) as “too broken” for God’s use? How might Rahab’s story challenge that assumption?

Day 2: Broken Pots Mended with Gold

God doesn’t erase our past—He fills its cracks with grace. Like the Japanese art of repairing shattered pottery with gold, Christ takes our fractured stories and makes them radiant testimonies. Rahab remained “the prostitute” in Scripture not to shame her, but to highlight the contrast between human labels and divine redemption. Your worst chapters become showcases for His craftsmanship when surrendered. [40:39]

But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. (Joshua 6:25, ESV)

Reflection: What broken part of your story feels beyond repair? How might God use it as a “gold-filled crack” to reflect His glory?

Day 3: The Scarlet Cord in Your Window

Rahab’s scarlet cord—a marker of both her past and her rescue—became a lifeline for her entire household. This thread points forward to the blood of Christ, our eternal rescue. Just as the cord required her active trust (tying it, staying put), our faith demands practical obedience even when outcomes feel uncertain. Rescue comes not through perfection, but through clinging to the sign God provides. [59:54]

“Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down.” (Joshua 2:18, ESV)

Reflection: What “scarlet cord” (prayer habit, scripture, act of obedience) has God given you to hold onto today? Are you gripping it or hesitating?

Day 4: From Scandal to Salvation’s Lineage

Rahab’s name reappears centuries later in Jesus’ genealogy—not as “former prostitute” but as “mother of Boaz.” God’s redemption echoes through generations. Our surrender doesn’t just change our story; it alters the spiritual DNA of families, communities, and future believers. One yes to God can ripple into eternity. [54:06]

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. (Matthew 1:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: What generational chain might God be building through your obedience? How does this perspective change today’s choices?

Day 5: The Label Only God Can Give

Rahab carried “prostitute” like a crown of thorns—until God replaced it with “ancestor of Christ.” We cling to labels of failure, anxiety, or shame long after God has issued new names. His titles—“Child,” “Redeemed,” “Beloved”—outshout every lie. The altar waits not to rehearse your past, but to seal your identity in His blood. [58:17]

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. (1 John 3:1, ESV)

Reflection: What false name have you worn this week? How would living as God’s named child change your next 24 hours?

Sermon Summary

God’s redemption has a way of walking straight into the places people have already written off. Rahab’s house in the wall of Jericho looked like the last place anybody would choose, yet it became the house God chose. Rahab carried a label everybody knew, and Scripture does not pretend it was not there. God never denied what Rahab had been, but He refused to let her past dictate her future.

Redemption is not God taking a big eraser and acting like the broken chapters never happened. Redemption is God taking what was broken and giving it a new purpose. Like a shattered pot put back together with gold, the cracks remain, but they become part of something more precious than before. The labels of failure, addict, anxiety, depression, shame, or worthless may explain part of a story, but they do not get to write the ending. God sees what other people cannot or will not see.

Rahab’s faith began before she had every answer. She had heard about the God of Israel, the Red Sea, and His mighty power, and something began awakening in her heart. Rahab did not know how Jericho would fall, but she knew she wanted to be on God’s side when it did. Faith was not having the whole road mapped out. Faith was taking the next step of obedience, protecting the spies, asking for mercy, and aligning herself with the God she was just beginning to know.

God’s grace did not stop with Rahab. Rahab’s surrender brought rescue to her family, because grace overflows into houses, workplaces, friendships, children, and generations still to come. Matthew’s genealogy shows that Rahab’s name did not disappear. Her label changed. Rahab became part of the family line of Jesus Christ Himself.

The scarlet cord in Rahab’s window marked the house that would be spared when judgment came. The scarlet cord points beyond Jericho to the cross, where the blood of Christ became the rescue no one can create for themselves. Grace does not say sin was not a big deal. Grace says sin does not have to be the end of the story. Jesus knows every chapter, comes near anyway, and asks for surrender rather than a cleaned-up life.

Key Takeaways

1. Your past cannot write the ending. Rahab’s past was real, visible, and painful, but God did not allow it to have the final word. Redemption does not require pretending the brokenness never happened. God takes the very chapters people want to tear out and writes a future that testifies to His grace. [42:23]
2. Faith takes the next obedient step. Rahab did not know the outcome, the battle plan, or how the walls would fall. Her faith moved before her questions were all answered. Obedience often begins with one clear step toward the God who is bigger than the unknown. [48:21]
3. Grace reaches beyond one surrendered life. Rahab’s rescue reached her whole household, and her surrendered life eventually reached into the genealogy of Christ. God’s redemption is never merely private, because changed lives touch families and generations. A life placed in God’s hands can become a doorway of grace for people nearby. [51:41]
4. The scarlet cord points to Christ. Rahab’s cord marked the place of refuge when Jericho fell. Christ’s blood is the greater rescue, not hanging from a window but poured out at the cross. Grace does not ask broken people to fix themselves before coming near. [1:00:17]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[30:30] - Judging Stories From the Outside
[34:04] - Jericho and Rahab’s House
[37:22] - Rahab’s Label and God’s Grace
[39:21] - Redemption Gives Broken Things Purpose
[42:03] - Your Past Does Not Write the Ending
[43:23] - Faith Awakens in Rahab
[47:05] - Faith Takes Action
[50:19] - Rahab and Her Family Are Rescued
[52:56] - Rahab in the Genealogy of Jesus
[55:35] - The House That Jesus Chose
[59:24] - The Scarlet Cord and the Cross
[1:03:59] - A Personal Story of Redemption
[1:09:11] - Bringing Shame and Labels to the Altar
[1:12:09] - Will You Let Jesus Restore Your Story

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Joshua 2:1
“And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, ‘Go, view the land, especially Jericho.’ And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.” [37:07] [39:08]

Joshua 6:25
“But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.” [50:31]

Matthew 1:5
“and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,” [53:42]

Romans 3:23
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” [01:12:22]

Observation questions

What details in Joshua 2:1 make Rahab’s house an unexpected place for the spies to enter and for God’s work to begin? [36:37]
What had Rahab heard about the God of Israel before she chose to hide the spies, and what does this show about the beginning of her faith? [44:17]
According to Joshua 6:25, who was rescued along with Rahab, and what reason does the verse give for their rescue? [51:41]
What change can be observed between the way Rahab is introduced in Joshua and the way she is named in Matthew 1:5? [54:09]

Interpretation questions

Joshua 2 does not hide Rahab’s past, yet God brings her into His saving work. What does this reveal about the difference between God acknowledging sin and God allowing sin to define a person’s future? [39:21]
Rahab acted before she knew how Jericho would fall. What does her choice to protect the spies and ask for mercy show about the kind of faith God welcomes? [48:21]
Rahab’s rescue included her household, and Matthew later places her in Jesus’ family line. How does her story show that God’s grace often reaches beyond one person? [52:06]
The scarlet cord marked Rahab’s house as a place of refuge. In what ways does this picture help explain why rescue from sin must come through Christ rather than through a person trying to repair their own life? [01:00:17]

Application questions

Is there a past failure, wound, diagnosis, struggle, or label that has begun to feel like the final word over your life? What might it look like to bring that part of your story honestly to Jesus without letting it define your future? [42:09]
Rahab did not wait until she understood every detail before she acted. What is one clear next step of obedience that you may be delaying because you want more certainty—perhaps forgiveness, confession, reconciliation, seeking help, or opening Scripture regularly? [49:17]
Jesus does not ask broken people to clean themselves up before coming to Him. Where do you tend to believe that you need to become “good enough” before you can receive His grace, prayer, or help from God’s people? [01:01:18]
Rahab’s surrender brought rescue and blessing into her household. Who in your family, workplace, school, or circle of friends needs to experience God’s grace through your faithful presence, prayers, or changed choices this week? [52:12]
The scarlet cord pointed to a place of refuge, and Christ’s blood is the greater rescue. When shame or fear rises, what practical ways can help you remember that your hope rests in Jesus’ finished work rather than in your ability to fix yourself? [01:00:30]
Romans 3:23 reminds every person that all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. How can remembering this truth make you slower to judge people by their visible struggles or their past? [01:12:14]

Sermon Clips

49s

#PastDoesntDefineYou

“God never denied Rahab's past. He simply refuses for her past to dictate her future. God didn't say Rahab wasn't really a prostitute. She didn't really do things she shouldn't. He never covers it up. He doesn't rewrite history. He leaves it there plain as day. Did he do it to humiliate her? No. Did not do it to humiliate her. But what he is trying to say and what he's screaming is, I know what you were, but you don't have to be that.”

33s

#RedemptionRestores

“Redemption, we often think that it's so like we've got to change who we are that somehow or another God's going to take a big eraser and erase our past. But it's so much more beautiful than that. It's so much more beautiful than that. God doesn't say Rahab wasn't a prostitute. He doesn't rewrite history. He doesn't take an eraser and erase any of our past. Redemption means God takes what was broken and he gives it a new purpose. I hope you heard that he takes what was broken and gives it a new purpose.”

73s

#YourStoryIsntOver

“For some of us sitting right here in this room, we are living under a name that God never gave us. Some of us maybe living under the name of failure, maybe some of us are living under the name of addict. Maybe we're living under the name of depression, anxiety. There are so many names out there that the world gives us that God never gave to us. And yet we live captive by them. Your past may explain part of your story, but it does not get to write your ending. I need you to hear me. Can you lock in? Your past is going to be part of your story. It was for Rehab. But it does not get to write the end of your story. The author is not done.”

35s

#RescuedByGrace

“There is something incredibly beautiful about this picture because Rahab needed rescued, her family needed rescued. Quite frankly, we need rescued. But scripture tells us that our rescue is not hanging from a window anymore, it's hanging from across or it hung from across. It's not there. Just like that scarlet cord was her rescue, the blood of Christ is ours. That's a beautiful story to me.”

47s

#GraceChangesEverything

“Isn't that the gospel that we live by, that we love so much? You don't have to be, you don't have to clean yourself up before you come to Jesus. You don't have to fix everything. You don't have to become worthy enough. You just have to realize that you need a little bit of grace. You need a little bit of God, you need redemption. And then grace begins doing what only grace can do, it can change us. It restores us. It works in ways that we don't understand. It touches the lives around us as it touches our lives. That's the beauty of grace.”

30s

#FaithTakesTheNextStep

“Some of you are waiting until you have all the answers before you obey. You're waiting until you're sure of the outcome. You're waiting to make sure everything makes sense. You're waiting until you know how everything will work out, but faith isn't about knowing the whole road ahead. What faith is, is simply being willing to take the next step.”

37s

#SurrenderedLife

“And that's a beautiful picture. Never underestimate what God can do through one surrendered life. It kinda touches the people in your house. It kinda touches the people that you work with or you go to school with. Maybe it touches your card club or or your or your closest friends. But when God begins to come in and change and redemption happens, it's never stuck with one person. For some reason, and I love this, it just keeps overflowing and overflowing and going where it needs to go.”

45s

#OpenYourHeart

“You maybe that someone today. You don't have everything figured out, you don't have all the answers. Maybe you don't even believe in God yet. Maybe you're not even sure what you think about him. But you've heard about him and you're beginning to open your heart. Maybe something inside of you is begin to whisper, maybe God really does care about who I am. Maybe God's grace really is for me. Maybe this story of my life isn't over. And if that's you today, that's a very beautiful beautiful place to be.”

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