Hebrews 11:31 (NIV) By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. The story of Rahab the prostitute in Joshua 2 is one of the most amazing in the Bible. And to think, if not for the faith of Rahab, that chapter would not even be in the Bible.
I really don’t know of a delicate way of putting this—Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho. She is included in Hebrews 11 because of her faith—a faith that led to action—to demonstrate her faith in God.
James 2:23, 25 (NIV) 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”£ and he was called God’s friend. 25In 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?
There she is again, and this time she is directly compared to Abraham—can you believe it? James referred to Abraham and her in the same short paragraph. Rahab is remarkably unlike Abraham: Abraham was a Jew, Rahab was a Gentile. Abraham’s a man, Rahab is a woman.
Abraham is a good man, Rahab is a prostitute. Abraham is a noble Chaldean, Rahab is a hated and degraded Canaanite. Abraham is a great leader, Rahab is a common follower.
Abraham is at the top of the social order, Rahab at the bottom. We see every possible contrast. Abraham received a lot of divine leadership and divine guidance, Rahab was a total pagan. Abraham received direct revelation from God, Rahab received only indirect revelation.
And yet, when we read Hebrews 11 Abraham is there and so is Rahab. But wait a minute. We’re not done. This is going to blow your mind. Matthew 1 tells us that Rahab was King David’s great-great grandmother. Jesus was a descendent of hers. Let me tell you a couple of things about Rahab. She was a prostitute (have I said that before?) who ran an inn in Jericho. It is important for you to understand who Rahab was and her relationship with God.
(Josh. 2:1-21; 6:22-25) Inns in Jericho were brothels and she had women there who made their living sleeping with men. Now the Hebrews have arrived in Caanan. They are there because, after 40 years of desert wandering, God’s going to give them all the land of Canaan.
Spies are sent to spy out Jericho. They stay at Rahab’s inn—not because she’s a prostitute—but to gather information.
The key to why this chapter is in the Bible, why she is compared to Abraham, and why she is in the genealogy of Jesus is because of her faith: “… the Lord your God is God.”
No matter what had happened in her past, because of her faith she was justified before God. Everybody else in Jericho was scared to death—but they didn’t believe in God. She believed that God was the true God, the God of miracles who had led His people out of Egypt.
She believed that God was the God of power who had defeated the Amorite kings. What she knew about God she believed. He was the true God, and the Bible says it was counted to her for righteousness.
Joshua 2:10 (NIV) We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt…
Notice the word “We.” All of Jericho knew about the Hebrews and their God—the parting of the Red Sea, the miraculous defeat of the Amorite kings.
They are terrified. Rahab is the only one in the city who is not paralyzed by fear. She has put two and two together, taken all she has heard, and decided the Hebrew God must be God. Her faith is embryonic—just in the beginning stages—but she wonders, “Who are these people?” “Their God must be supremely powerful.”
This is the starting point for her faith. She is open to truth. She is looking for something better in life. You know what happens? (This is so cool because this is how God works.) She is searching so God brings godly people to her.
Out of all the inns in Jericho the spies could have selected, they go to Rahab’s. God sends the spies into her life—men who are not interested in her as a prostitute. That made an impression!
I’m sure she thought, “What kind of God produces such moral men? Can their God give me a new moral framework for my life? Can He give me a new identity, a new life?
God always honors this kind of openness. Jesus said, “Seek, and you will find knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7). Even to the smallest expression of faith, God will respond every time.
The spies showed up at her place and immediately she had to make a decision. She made the bold choice to somehow trust this God whom the spies represent. When she did, her life, her families life, and her future changed.
We know so much more about God than did Rahab. We know His love, His providential care, His guidance and encouragement. Are you as willing to obey Him without knowing all the answers as was Rahab?
When you become a Christian you cannot stay the same. It isn’t business as usual. The Bible says you are a new creation. You cannot stay what you were. Rahab became a spiritual new person when she made the choice to trust in the one true God.
Rahab put her life, her dreams, and her hopes on the line for God. This is what true faith does. Faith is a whole lot more than saying “I believe in God.” Most of the people in the United States say that, but they don’t have faith.
It’s more than just coming to church, reading the Bible and singing a song. Faith is being willing to make godly choices. Faith is being willing to give your hopes and dreams and ambitions to God.
Jesus put it this way: Matthew 10:38 (NIV) Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. If you are not willing to take up your cross—the cross, an implement of death, an instrument of painful torture, an emblem of excruciating death—and follow Him, you are not worthy to be His disciple. Those are the words of Christ!
Taking up your cross does not mean enduring sickness or hardships. Those are part of everyone’s lives. Taking up your cross means that you try as hard as you can in Christ’s strength, to live a Christian life at all times.
Are you willing to be like Rahab and put everything on the line for Christ? The issue is not do you go to church, do you read your Bible, and do you have a little spiritual activity? The issue is your relationship with God.
Is your faith in God more valuable than everything you hold most dear? Are you willing to put your life on the line because of your faith? Will you give all your dreams and hopes to God. Will you obey Him in all things? Your relationship with God—that’s the issue.
Joshua 6:25 (NIV) But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her…
This is an amazing thing. She loved her family. She convinced them to trust the God of Israel with whom she now has a relationship. How did that happen? Because Her family saw the difference her faith in God made in her life. Always our actions speak louder than our words.
Otherwise they wouldn’t have trusted and waited for the Israelites to show up. Your family and friends should know of your faith in Him. Your family should see in your life something that makes you different.
It is extremely important that you understand that she was saved by grace through her faith. Why? Because you might think she was saved because she saved the spies.
No, she was saved because she believed in God. Rahab confessed her faith in Josh. 2:11 (NIV) …for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. That was her confession of faith.
It was her new faith prompted her to action. The spies told her to bring all her family into her house and to tie a scarlet rope in her window so that they could see it, and when Jericho fell, she and her family would be spared. What a test of faith!
When she hid the spies she put her life on the line. When she helped them to escape, her life was on the line. She was living her faith.
And when she tied the scarlet rope in the window, she was showing her faith. That scarlet rope is symbolic to us. The townspeople had no idea what that red rope was in the window for.
Our world sees the cross everyday but do not understand its meaning. People will never understand it until we are willing to wear our faith on our sleeves, so to speak.
We are protected and sheltered from the wrath of God by God’s scarlet cord—the blood of Jesus. The scarlet rope in the window anticipated the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross to pay the price for the sins of the world.
The shed blood of Jesus Christ on that cross is able to cleanse every sin—even everyone who lived before His death and resurrection. 1 John 1:9 (NIV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9).
Rahab confessed her faith in God. But before she did, she hid the spies on her roof. Then she confessed what she already believed in her heart. She committed her heart and soul to the Lord. It was what was inside that mattered. Trusting in Jesus alone is what saves you. Then you confess with your mouth because you already believe.
How do we know that she was saved by grace through faith? Because she demonstrated her faith in God in her every action from the time the spies arrived at her house. She trusted God to save her and her family.
She and her family were not saved because she hid the spies and tied the scarlet rope to her window. She was saved because of God’s grace. She put her faith in God. That’s why she was saved. What was true then is still true today. God saves in response to our faith.
It is easy for someone to say, “I believe.” But true faith can always be seen by how we act, what we say, and how we treat one another.
Rahab’s faith was seen by the fact that she hid the spies, helped them to escape, and tied the scarlet rope to the window. It was faith in action. She acted on what she knew to be true.
Some of you pious, holier-than-thou people are thinking, “But she was a prostitute!” God does not tell us to get our lives straightened out and then He’ll think about accepting us. He doesn’t say, “Clean up your act and maybe I will save you.”
No, you’d better be thankful that God takes the initiative and comes into our sinful lives and changes us from the inside out. His grace is for those who need it. Sinners all qualify. Self-righteous people don’t need to apply.
God was at work in this pagan woman’s heart. Yes, she was a prostitute. But God loved her. His grace saved her. His power changed her. He always takes us right where we are in whatever condition it finds us.
Aren’t you thankful that God loves you in spite of the fact that by nature you are His enemy. The Bible tells us in Romans 5:8 (NIV) God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God’s Word, tells us that Jesus is the absolute only way of salvation. Not a one of us is any better than Rahab the prostitute. Everyone of us needs God’s saving grace. Everyone around us needs God’s salvation. This is why we are here. Faith motivates us to respond to His grace with thanksgiving and service.