From Prostitute to Princess

What are you known for?

Good morning! My name is Frank and I am the Mayfair Road Campus Pastor and one of your teaching pastors. If you brought your Bible with you, please open to Joshua 2. If you don’t have a Bible, you can use the ones in the chairs in front of you and we have Bible’s in the Hub in the lobby that you can take as our gift to you.

Joshua is on page 178 in the black Bibles.

When people who know you close their eyes, and think about you, what comes to their mind? What words, labels, and ideas come to people’s mind when they think of you? I love when I see people who go to our church who only know me from the few times I preach come up to me and tell me what comes to their mind when they think about me. Because people think about the fact that I am cuban, I love Disney, and I am a big marvel fan. And all of that is true. I countdown the days between Marvel Movies, I am planning my next trip to Disney World, and I am very cuban. But what do you think comes to the mind of people around you when they think of you? Do you think its good? Do you think its bad? Do you think that something you have done in your past is following you around and when people think of you, you are still known for those things?

There is a woman in the Bible whose name from the Old Testament to the New Testament is always referred to as Rahab the prostitute. She is referred to as Rahab the prostitute almost every time she is mentioned.

And as that may be perceived as embarrassing and shameful, I think God has a reason for that.

Context of Canaan

Before we meet Rahab and understand why I think you should love this woman so dearly we have to go back, over 400 years to God calling out Abraham and making him a great promise.

Genesis 12:2–3 “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

When we read Old Testament we can think that God only cares about Abraham and his family. That God only cares about Israel and God is at best indifferent about every other person on the earth.

But we just read that God has a purpose for Abraham and his family’s existence. God is going to bless Abraham and his family so that they can be a blessing to others. God desire is to offer salvation for all people and he is going to use these people to show the beautiful salvation he is offering.

Israel was to be the conduit that the nations would be blessed. So Abraham, his wife, and his small family head to this land God had for them. So they head to Canaan that was filled with the Canaanites, we will talk about them in a second.

Then in Genesis 12:7 it says, “Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”

God makes another promise to Abraham, this land, that is filled with people who don’t follow or believe in God, this land is going to belong to his family that will be blessed and be a blessing to the nations.

We fast forward a bit to Chapter 15, God is going to tell Abraham what is going to happen between now and the time they take this land.

Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Ge 15:13–16).

And we know this all came ahead. This is what the first half of the book of Exodus is all about. vAbraham’s Great Grandson, Joseph saved his family from a famine by bringing them to Egypt but eventually, as his family grew, Egypt enslaved this family. Just like verse 13 says. And after 400 years, God heard the cries of his people and set them free from slavery and took them out of Egypt. When they did, Israel was able to take with them tons of gold and live stock from Egypt. Just like verse 14 says.

As this fourth generation of Israelites leave Egypt and head back to Canaan, in the land God promised Abraham, God is going to use them to bring judgment to the people living there. Now understand this about the Canaanites, these are not innocent people who are just at the wrong place at the wrong time. For centuries they have done horrific and terrible things that God has been patient with. When God made this promise to Abraham, these people were already doing wicked things but have not yet reached the point where God wanted to bring his judgment on them. He gave them 400 years to turn away from the wicked stuff they were doing but as God’s people are heading back to Canaan, these people’s wickedness would hit a tipping point.

God restated this promise he made with Abraham to Moses in Exodus 3

and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. (Ex 3:8).

Hundreds of years after God made a promise to Abraham in the land of Canaan, the people in the land who were kinda wicked then, were extremely wicked now. These different ethnicities and tribes were squatters on the good land of God has made for his people. These were not innocent people who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. These were evil people doing evil things.

With every passing generation they would continue to worship their false Gods through shameful sexual practices like temple prostitutes who men would sleep with as an act of worship to their false gods. Many of these prostitutes were forced into prostitution by their own family while they were still little girls. And as egregious as that is, what is just as shameful and horrible is the public sacrificing of infants in the flames of the alters to their gods.

If there was a nation today that we heard were trafficking young girls to be prostituted and babies being slaughtered in the name of some regional gods, we would be demanding governments around the world to go there to stop this. We would have protests in the streets for these atrocities. And governments would put sanctions on that country, and eventually would use force to stop this.

But in this time, no one was calling for this evil to stop except for God himself. These were the heinous and disgusting things happening in this good land that was promised to God’s people. And God who wants to reclaim this land back for himself and his people will judge the inhabitants of this land and destroy them using the people he rescued out of Egypt.

These are these arguments from people who want to disprove Christianity or say that our Bible is evil and claim that this was a divinely sponsored genocide. No, this is divine justice. This is the just judgment of God on a wicked and sinful people. There was 400 years of patience and mercy from God for them to stop this and turn away. But they galvanized deeper into their wickedness instead. So God brought Israel out of Egypt, across the red sea, just outside of the land that God has promised them.

Growing up, I thought it would take 40 years to walk from Israel to Canaan, but that isn’t the case. They actually got there soon after they left Egypt. God called for 12 spies to go into the land to see what was there so they can then take it. Now remember, God has said over and over again, “ I will give this land over to you. Look at what I did in Egypt. You just have to have faith in him.”

The 12 spies went in to the land and when they came out, 2 of them said, it was awesome and we are going to do well, lets do this! The other ten said, no way! The people in there are like giants, we will get squashed like bugs. And the people of Israel, listen to the ten cowards over the 2 men who saw and believed what God was promising them.

Because of their choice to be afraid, God allowed his people to wander the wilderness for 40 years until that older generation who didn’t have faith died off. The only people who didn’t die from that generation, who was going to see the conquest of the land were the two spies who trusted in God.

40 years later, Moses has died and Joshua is now leading Israel towards the land. Joshua, was one of those spies who trusted in God. Joshua sends out two new spies in to the land as they plan their attack to take this city called Jericho. These spies were not very good because they immediately alerted the guards in the city.

Rahab’s Faith In Action

They end up and an brothel that was ran by a prostitute named Rahab. I know that sentice was crazy, but hang with me. They are hiding out on her roof when the king's soldiers interrogate Rahab.

Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.”(Jos 2:3).

This woman is confronted with a choice, tell the soldiers that the men are hiding on her roof and likely be rewarded. Perhaps be declared a national hero and seen as a patriot to her nation. Or deceive them, commit treason and risk going to jail or more likely, be executed.

Well, Rahab isn’t a narc and she ain’t no snitch! Count how many times she lies in these two verses.

And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. (Lie) And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. (Lie) I do not know where the men went. (Lie) Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them. (Lie) (Jos 2:4–5).

Rahab lied four times to these soldier. They far enough away to give the spies time to get away.

Rahab’s Confession of Faith

This passage gives up some explanation as to why Rahab did this and what is going on.

“Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, “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 2:8–11)

This is Rahab’s confession of faith. She doesn’t think God has given them the land, she knows. And it has brought fear into the hearts of everyone. They are melting in the thought of what Israel might do to them. Look what brought them fear. She heard about what happened in Egypt at the Red Sea. Isn’t that crazy. 40 years ago, the story of what God did in Egypt made it all the way to Canaan and it terrified them. The people who witnessed it first hand were too scared to take the land God has promised them. But the people in the actual land were scared that God would do to them what He did in Egypt.

The people of Israel saw with their own eyes what God could do and they didn’t have faith in Him. This woman only heard about it, and she believed. May we have the faith of Rahab!

She doesn’t just hang her hat on what happened in Egypt. She mentioned two more recent battles where God gave them victories for them in war. It says their hearts melted but look at how the people responded. The entire nation is afraid of what God is going to do, so they prepare themselves to fight to save their city. Rahab melts, but she melts into faith. She says, “for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” As a born and raised Canaanite woman, she would have believed in multiple gods but this was her defecting from Canaan and converting to the faith that belongs to the people of Israel.

We see her verbal confession of faith however, don’t we find it funny that her first action of faith was to lie. Her first bold action of faith was to deliberately deceive the soliders and make them go on a wild goose chase. There has been a lot written about if what Rahab did was sinful or not. Was it wrong for her to lie. I have read more articles and commentaries this week about the biblical ethics of lying and you know what I concluded. “It doesn’t matter.” That is not the point of this text. Whether Rahab sinned or not is irrelevant, Joshua is trying to show us that a lying pagan prostitute has more faith and trust in God than the ten men who witnessed the fall of Egypt. Joshua is trying to show us that God can use a lying pagan prostitute for his kingdom and for his glory.

Rahab has one more both faith request.

“Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” (Joshua 2:12–13)

Rahab knows that God is going to level the place and everyone in it. She asks that her and her family be spared from the judgement and wrath of God to her city. Her life is in the hands of these men.

However, Rahab as three things going against her right now.

She is ethnically different. Her hair is different, her skin color is different, her facial features are different. She is a foreigner to the people of Israel in every way.

She is socially different. To Israel and even amongst her own people, she was an outcast. Her profession as a prostitute put her on the outer ring of society. People don’t go out their way to associate with her and to be seen with her would bring shame.

She is morally different. To Israel, she is an unclean woman. To Israel, sure she can say she believes in their God but her first act of faith was to lie. She is a prostitute, how many men has she slept with? How many men has she commited adultery with? She worshipped false gods and by every standard, she doesn’t fit the kind of person Israel was suppose to represent.

So what are the men supposed to do? Perhaps, they remember the promise that God made to Abraham all those years ago in Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

These men were saved because of the quick thinking and actions of a lying pagan prostitute. Because of her faith, these men were still alive and because of her faith, the promised land would be theres. So these men promised that if she marks her home with a red rope around her window, she will be spared from the destruction that will happen to the city. So she does, and her and her family are spared and brought into Israel and converted Israelites.

Rahab’s Story Is Our Story

So what do we do with this story?

Well this story of this woman went down in history as one of the greatest examples of faith of any person who has ever lived. James, the half brother of Jesus goes out of his way to mention her great faith.

I love how the author of Hebrews wrote this.

“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Now see this.

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—” (Hebrews 11:30–32)

The author of Hebrews is like, look at how amazing Rahab the prostitute, because of her great faith didn’t die when Jericho was defeated. And we could talk about King David but we don’t have time. This woman’s faith was so legendary that it bumped King David’s stories from getting mentioned.

Rahab’s story is so significant to the great story of scripture that we know this! Go to Matthew 1 in your Bibles. The first page of the New Testament. It is on page 807 in the black bibles.

Matthew 1–6 “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon,

It pronounced Sal-mon not Sa-lmon. He is not a fish, put some respect on his name.

and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab,

We don’t know much about Salmon but Jewish tradition believes that he was one of the two spies that Rahab hid on her roof. Rahab married Salmon and they gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Boaz. Boaz grew up and married another very famous woman of the Bible, Ruth.

and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.

So the Lying Pagan Prostitute is the great great grandmother of the greatest king of Israel, King David. So I think its time we stop calling her a prostitute. Because God changed her name. She has been grafted in to a royal blood line. A blood line that will be a blessing to the whole world like the promise God made to Abraham. She is no longer Rahab the prostitute but now, Rahab the princess.

Go down to Matthew 1:16 “and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.”

The once lying Pagan Prostitute became a princess and is the ancestral mother of Jesus Christ himself. This is what redemption look like.

However, what if we never got past the fact that she was a prostitute. What if those two spies, when they were standing in front of Rahab only saw a strange looking woman, from a strange city, with a strange occupation. What if they wrote her off as an unfortunate casualty of the conquest and left her to die because of their prejudices because of their preconceived value that they saw in her. This story would go very differently .

The reason Rahab is so woven in to the grand story of Scripture is to stop us from allowing labels to block the blessings God has for people. How often do we write off people because we think we know their story. “Do you see that single mom with 3 kids and none of those kids look a like.” “Did you hear that he is getting divorced.” “That person has a Harris bump sticker on their car.” “I saw that person had a MAGA flag outside their house.”

We think we know someones story because of a few labels that are attached to them. But here is a problem with stories, there are a lot of details you have to learn to create the narrative that you are seeing and stories take a long time to finish.

You may see the person next to you as Chapter 20 but you missed the preceding 19 chapters that got them to that seat and you have no clue how this story is going to end.

This isn’t Scripture but based on the historical clues here is something that may color Rahab’s story for you.

No little girl dreams about being a prostitute. In that time, a woman ended up in prostitution likely because of evil men doing evil things and family members trying to make money off of her. She may had very well been one of those temple prostitutes when she was only a little girl, being taken advantage of by evil men in the worship of their false gods. As she got older, she became the head maiden of a brothel because this is the only way she knows how to survive.

And in a world where people would sacrifice babies in the worship of their gods, it stands to reason that she gave birth to one or maybe more babies from the men who sought to take advantage of her and perhaps was forced to give her baby up in the worship of these false gods.

The brokenness and pain this woman must have experienced. Life could have hardened her. However, she heard about a God that was protecting the life of baby boys in Egypt. She heard about a God that was bringing justice to evil men and evil worldly powers and as the people around her melt in fear she melt in faith believing that if this God were to come to her city, she will do anything to receive the mercy and compassion of the God Israel. Rahab not only recieved that mercy and compassion she recieved the grace of having a label change from prostitute amongst pagans to Princess of the Prince of Peace.

Friends we have a terrible tendency to be a hinderance of the spreading of the kingdom of God because we think we know people’s stories. Because we see the labels and think all they will ever be is what we see in front of us right now.

But God didn’t do that to you. You do realize that Rahab is your story. You may not have been a pagan prostitute but you were far from God outside of being worthy of his compassion and love and God loved you too much to leave you where he found you in your story. He changed your label, he changed your story and you have been grafted in to the royal family of Jesus Christ.

So why do we talk so recklessly because someone may be voting blue or red this November? Why do we act so callous because of where a person grew up or the type of family they came from? Why is it that we get so passionate for the merits of our political parties but not get on our hands and knees and cry out to God for the souls of our neighbor.

Hear me clearly. Who you vote for is important. What happens in the next four years of this country is important. But that doesn’t supersede the mission of being citizens of the kingdom first and being a blessing to every family in the world. That promise God made to Abraham, that is seen in the life of Rahab, applies to us. When we allow our prejudices or our preconceived notions of labels and stories get in the way, we show our citizenship is more for a temporary kingdom than the eternal kingdom.

Rahab had a choice to be loyal to the kingdom of her physical home or by loyal to the kingdom of her eternal home, and she didn’t stutter.

May the life of Rahab remind us that your story is not done and the labels of your past don’t define. So as citizens let us not let labels of the past of others stop us from be a blessing to them and showing them that the Kingdom of God is so much better than any temporary kingdom here on earth.