Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
116 I love the Lord because he listens
to my prayers for help.
2 He paid attention to me.
So I will call to him for help as long as I live.
3 The ropes of death bound me.
The fear of death took hold of me.
I was troubled and sad.
4 Then I called out the name of the Lord.
I said, “Please, Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is kind and does what is right.
Our God is merciful.
6 The Lord watches over the foolish.
When I was helpless, he saved me.
7 I said to myself, “Relax,
because the Lord takes care of you.”
8 Lord, you have saved me from death.
You have stopped my eyes from crying.
You have kept me from being defeated.
9 So I will walk with the Lord
in the land of the living.
15 The house Rahab lived in was built on the city wall. So she used a rope to let the men down through a window. 16 She said to them, “Go into the hills. The king’s men will not find you there. Hide there for three days. After the king’s men return, you may go on your way.”
17 The men said to her, “You must do as we say. If not, we cannot be responsible for keeping our promise. 18 You are using a red rope to help us escape. When we return to this land, you must tie it in the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers and all your family into your house. 19 We can keep everyone safe who stays in this house. If anyone in your house is hurt, we will be responsible. If anyone goes out of your house and is killed, it is his own fault. We cannot be responsible for him. 20 But you must not tell anyone about this agreement. If you do, we are free from it.”
21 Rahab answered, “I agree to this.” So she sent them away, and they left. Then she tied the red rope in the window.
22 The men left and went into the hills. There they stayed for three days. The king’s men looked for them all along the road. But after three days, the king’s men returned to the city without finding them. 23 Then the two men started back to Joshua. They left the hills and crossed the river. They went to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “The Lord surely has given us all of the land. All the people in that land are terribly afraid of us.”
17 It is the same with faith. If faith does nothing, then that faith is dead, because it is alone.
18 Someone might say, “You have faith, but I do things. Show me your faith! Your faith does nothing. I will show you my faith by the things I do.” 19 You believe there is one God. Good! But the demons believe that, too! And they shake with fear.
20 You foolish person! Must you be shown that faith that does nothing is worth nothing? 21 Abraham is our father. He was made right with God by the things he did. He offered his son Isaac to God on the altar. 22 So you see that Abraham’s faith and the things he did worked together. His faith was made perfect by what he did. 23 This shows the full meaning of the Scripture that says: “Abraham believed God, and God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.”[a] And Abraham was called “God’s friend.”[b] 24 So you see that a person is made right with God by the things he does. He cannot be made right by faith only.
25 Another example is Rahab, who was a prostitute. But she was made right with God by something she did: She helped the spies for God’s people. She welcomed them into her home and helped them escape by a different road.
26 A person’s body that does not have a spirit is dead. It is the same with faith. Faith that does nothing is dead!
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.