The Most Famous Prostitute in Scripture
Hey guys!
Welcome to day three of our study on Joshua. Today we are going to look at Joshua 2. Two spies are sent by Joshua to spy on the land and the city of Jericho. Almost immediately, the spies are compromised and need to find hiding. They hurry into the home of a prostitute (who better to hide men than women who do it often?) The prostitute’s name: Rahab.
Rahab is instantly sympathetic to these men, and to Israel as a whole. She hides the spies, and then lies to the “king of Jericho", (pretty gutsy I’d say). She declares allegiance to Israel’s God, "YAHWEH” and knows that he is the one true God because of the victories and favor that rest now on Israel. She describes to the spies that the hearts of the men in Jericho are “melting in fear” because of the stories of Israel defeating Og and Simon.
In exchange for hiding the men and eventually helping them speak out at night, she asks for her life to be spared and the life of her family. An agreement is made, and in the very near future, Rahab will be saved.
As I was studying Rahab and this text, I realized just how often God chose to talk about a woman, and highlight a woman whose life and profession was …how shall we say… colorful.
Rahab is mentioned a lot more in scripture than I realized:
James 2:25 says “ 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?”
Hebrews 11:31 mentions Rahab with the greats of the faith in the Bible: “By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.”
And in Matthew 1 we learn that Rahab was the mother of Boaz…
As in the righteous man who becomes the Guardian Redeemer of Ruth and an archetype foreshadowing the coming of Jesus. That Boaz. Rahab was his mama. Boaz, you will remember with Ruth gives birth to Obed, who has a son named Jesse, who has a son named David. And Jesus… is within her lineage. (Insert mind-blown emoji).
And Rahab kicks starts this whole journey into the Promise Land and into what will eventually be the journey to the cross of Calvary with this moment of faithfulness: she trusts the One True God, and hides the spies.
She is faithful to God, and it’s counted to her as righteousness.
Selah.
What is amazing to me about this text is that our moments of choosing to trust Christ FIRST overshadow nearly every other moment of our lives. Our moments of standing WITH God, overshadow the moments that don’t. And because of the grace of Jesus, what is written about Rahab is the place we chose Yahweh, not every moment before.
God counted her as righteous. Even though she wasn’t. …For her one moment of faith.
In the same way. Jesus counts us as righteous for OUR one moment of faith. Despite our pasts, our poor choices, our false words, are hurtful ways, one moment of saying “Jesus, I’m pledging allegiance to you,” and now forever what is written about us is his righteousness, not our flaws. This kind of grace (on a Wednesday) overwhelms my heart. God used Rahab, highlights Rahab as righteous and decides to plant himself in her lineage. In the same way - he will use me, and you, will count us as righteous, and will plant himself in our families and legacies.
May his grace be strong over you today as you consider His goodness to Rahab - and to you.