Rahab: Transformed!

Joshua 2

The Ten Signposts of the Bible
CAMDE—400—CALY
Creation. Abraham. MOSES. David. Elijah. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to Come.

Joshua learned much from his mentor, Moses, including what to do and what not to do. When Israel was ready to enter the promised land forty years earlier, Moses sent twelve spies to scope it out. It didn’t go well. Ten came back fearfully reporting that there was no path to victory because giants were in the land. Only Joshua and Caleb disagreed. But the people went with the majority report. As a result of their disobedience, Israel wandered in the desert for the next thirty-eight years until every person twenty years or older had died. 

For this second reconnaissance mission, Joshua sent only two men to scout Jericho, the first city Israel would encounter after crossing the Jordan River. 

As the spies entered the heavily guarded city, they knew exactly what to look for. However, they were discovered, so they went to the house of a prostitute named Rahab. From a human perspective, a brothel might have seemed like a good place to hide among men. But as we’ll see, God was sovereignly guiding the mission. 

The walls of Jericho were up to ten feet thick, with an outer and inner wall. Houses were built on top of the walls. That’s where Rahab lived and worked. It’s possible that from her vantage point, she could see the vast number of Israelites camped across the Jordan River in the plains of Moab. Rahab had heard about the God of Israel and longed to know him. When she learned the spies were Israelites, she took them to the roof of her home and covered them with stalks of flax. 

When the king of Jericho sent men to demand that Rahab hand over the spies, she replied, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them” (Josh. 2:4-5).

With the king’s men heading outside the city, Rahab told the spies that news had reached her people about the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. Defeating the Egyptian army seemed impossible, but Israel’s God was victorious. Those in Jericho also heard about the Amorites’ defeat. Rahab said, “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” (Josh. 2:10-11).

She wanted Israel’s God to be her God. 

Knowing Israel would likely defeat Jericho, Rahab asked for mercy. The spies promised to “deal kindly and faithfully” with her and her family. They saw a scarlet cord and told Rahab to tie it to the window they were using for their escape. This was the sign to spare the lives of any of Rahab’s family who sought refuge when the Israelites attacked.

Rahab told the spies to hide in the nearby hills for three days. Then they lowered themselves down by a rope through the window, possibly using the scarlet cord. After they escaped, she tied the scarlet cord in the window (Josh. 2:21).

When the men reported back to Joshua, they said, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us” (Josh. 2:24).

Let’s take some time to consider Rahab. 

First, she was a prostitute. In Canaanite culture, prostitution was likely seen as a viable job. In fact, according to Genesis 15:16, God waited four hundred years for the sins of the Canaanites to reach a deep level of immorality. Rahab’s profession was part of that corrupt environment.  

Anyone who says, “It’s worse today than it has ever been!” needs to spend some time reading the Bible! 

In Rahab’s culture and in the Roman culture where the church started, immorality was accepted. When Rome ruled the world, a man had a wife to have children and continue his lineage, but he also kept concubines, mistresses, and prostitutes for pleasure. This was seen as normal. However, God confronts culture with truth. He did this with Jesus in the Roman world and with Rahab in the Canaanite world. 

God was stirring in the heart of a prostitute. There is no other explanation for her to declare, “for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath” (Josh. 2:11). She had heard stories of God parting the Red Sea and giving Israel victory over the mighty kings of the Amorites. Even though she lived in the most fortified city in the known world, she knew that thick stone walls were no obstacle for this God. 

Rahab trusted God instead of human strength. That is the essence of the good news! We surrender ourselves to trusting in God. We trust in his power and his promises. We believe that God demonstrated his love in this—while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us (Rom. 5:8). And like Abraham, we are “fully convinced that God [is] able to do what he had promised” (Rom. 4:20-21). 

By his love and grace, God saved Rahab the prostitute, just as he saves all who trust in him. 

God had great plans for Rahab. After Israel conquered Jericho, Rahab followed Yahweh and became part of God’s people. She married a man named Salmon (could he have been one of the spies?) and they had a son named Boaz, who later married Ruth. Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed, who had a son named Jesse, whose youngest son was David. And David became the king of Israel, and the King of kings came through his lineage (Matt. 1:5-6). That’s why Rahab’s name appears in the fifth verse of Matthew’s Gospel! 

James uses Rahab to show that trusting in God produces good works (James 2:25). The writer of Hebrews also places Rahab in the “Hall of Faith.” He writes, “By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies” (Heb. 11:31). 

The story of Rahab the prostitute is indeed a story of faith. God redeemed her past and gave her a new identity among his people. He can do the same for you.  

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read and reflect on Joshua 2: Where in your life are you tempted to trust in “walls” of security instead of fully trusting God?

Talking to God: Ask God to help you trust him for your next steps. 

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