Welcome to the sixth week of Faithlogue’s 2024 Winter Series: “The Women of the Promise.” Please subscribe to receive each week’s post in your email inbox and to receive Faithlogue’s monthly subscriber newsletter. You can catch up on any missed posts here.
Passage: Joshua 2, 6:16-25
When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you.
Joshua 2:11-12
There’s no place you’ll be where He cannot go.
-FAITHFUL, Rahab’s Lullaby[1]
Look at my face, these eyes have seen.
I know the Lord.
We know her by her reputation: Rahab, the prostitute. However, no passage in the Bible describes Rahab practicing this line of work. In fact, the word translated as “prostitute” to describe Rahab can also mean “innkeeper.”[2] In addition, the flax on her roof and the scarlet cord in her home indicate that perhaps she was a linen maker or tailor.
Maybe Rahab had all these jobs. Her concern for her family shows she was affiliated with her parents and siblings, so perhaps she took on many roles to support them.
We can only speculate regarding Rahab’s true occupation. So, let’s get to know her by her faith. Meet Rahab, the believer.
Rahab’s story begins when two Israelite spies enter the kingdom of Jericho through her home. The spies’ mission launched Israel’s campaign to conquer and inhabit the land of Canaan as God promised them. The men acted under the command of Joshua, the leader God chose to succeed Moses. God had commanded Joshua, “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them” (Joshua 1:6).
Rumors of the spies’ presence spread quickly. The king commanded Rahab to “bring out the men who came to you and entered your house” (Joshua 2:3). Instead of complying with the king’s order, Rahab hid the spies under stalks of flax on her roof. Instead of bringing them out, she claimed the men fled at dusk before the city gate closed. Her deception not only rescued the spies but also shut their pursuers outside of the city gates that night.
After this incident, Rahab explained her theological reasons for protecting the spies:
“I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath” (Joshua 2:9-11).
Based on her theological treatise, Rahab clearly believed the Israelites would prevail under God’s command. Therefore, she asked the spies to spare her family in exchange for her kindness in protecting them. The spies agreed, with the understanding that Rahab would display a scarlet cord to mark her window so they could find her and her family. Rahab then helped the spies escape and advised them to hide for three days in the hills.
The spies followed Rahab’s advice and relayed her information to Joshua. When the walls of Jericho fell, and God’s people prevailed, the spies saved Rahab’s family. She settled with God’s people, and “She lives among the Israelites to this day” (Joshua 6:25).
Rahab did not receive a direct promise from God. She was not an eyewitness to God’s rescue of the Israelites from Egypt or His provision for manna in the wilderness. But Rahab heard about God by reputation and believed in His power and sovereignty.
Rahab’s theology by reputation translated into a faith in God that changed the trajectory of history for her family and for the Israelites. She rescued Israel’s spies because of her faith, and in turn, God spared Rahab and her family, and she made her home with His people.
Rahab’s example of faith in action affected generations of Israelites. Although she lived long before Boaz, Matthew demonstrated her influence by including Rahab in Jesus’s genealogy. Likewise, the author of Hebrews included Rahab in the roll call of the faithful (Hebrews 11:31). James also cites her courage as an example of righteousness: “In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?” (James 2:25).
All the women named in Matthew’s genealogy illuminate God’s inclusion of outsiders and sinners in His promises, but their acts of faith teach us about who God is. Rahab’s story teaches us about the vast reach of God’s sovereignty. Through Rahab, we glimpse how God’s promises extend to all who believe in Him, regardless of nationality, occupation, or reputation. Regardless of how we know her, we remember Rahab because she believed in God’s reputation and lived out that faith in her courageous actions.
[1] FAITHFUL, Sarah Macintosh, and Rachael Lampa, “Rahab’s Lullaby (God Above, God Below),” FAITHFUL: Go and Speak (Brentwood, TN: Integrity Worship Music, 2021).
[2] Tikva Frymer-Kensky, “Rahab,” Women in Scripture, Edited by Carol Meyers, et al. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001), 141.
© 2024 Lori Myers Berry
Thought Questions
- Although Rahab was not an Israelite, she understood the power and sovereignty of God. Have you ever been surprised by an outsider’s grasp on the nature of God? Describe what happened.
- How did you come to know about God? Take a moment to consider and discuss the lengths to which God has gone in your life to let you know about His love for you.
- We think of Rahab by reputation as a prostitute. Do you think her occupation matters to her story? Does it matter to the church in general? Why or why not?
Prayer
Sovereign God, you are mighty. Your reputation extends throughout your creation from generation to generation. Thank you for making yourself known to Rahab so we might have her example of faith in action. Please forgive us when we concern ourselves with our reputation and forget yours. Free us to believe and respond like Rahab. Amen.