Rahab

Jet skiing with Tamara.

Her experience and my experience were two very different things.

I had a blast because I was in control

Tamara was along for the ride and unable to see what was coming next

She had to absorb and accept the shifts, turns, bumps, and speed

Sometimes that’s how life feels. You feel like you really don’t have any control over what’s happening or what direction your life is taking. Life seems to be made up of doing your best to absorb hit after hit and blow after blow. No idea what’s coming so your just hanging on for dear life hoping that at any moment you may have some reprieve from the constant battle of hurt and experience just a little bit of joy.

There’s not a sense of hope in anything to come and we feel like there’s nothing we can do.

That’s what I love about the story of Rahab. In the 2nd chapter of Joshua we’re introduced to her.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2

Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there.

Joshua sent a couple of spies out to scout Jericho and they end up going to Rahab’s house. There are several reasons why they would have ended up here.

They wanted a place where they could be inconspicuous.

Her home was on the city wall, so it could have provided a quick get away if they needed.

Several scholars believe it would be a good place to gather information. A common stop to gather information for spies were taverns, inns, and brothels.

But to be honest, it doesn’t really matter at this point because they’re not the main character in this story.

We’re introduced to Rahab, the prostitute. I love that the writer of Joshua tells us that because this is one of those Equal Opportunity statements.

The first objection you always have when you’re talking about God transforming and using people is, “Yeah, but Aaron, that’s a Bible character. Of course God used them.” But the very first verse in this chapter tells us she’s not just any Bible character.

She’s a pagan Cananite woman working as a prostitute.

She’s a lady who was not a follower of Yahweh (not a Christian)

Worshipping and serving other idols and gods

She’s living a life of sin

Prostitution was either a profession of choice or of force. (families would often have to sell a daughters into prostitution to pay off a debt) Which is a good possibility of what happened here.

What we know is that there’s not a little girl anywhere in the world who dreams of one day becoming a prostitute.

Her life is one marked and scarred by painful hurt after hurt and tragedy after tragedy

Living in a city that is about to be destroyed and everyone in the city knows it.

The spies aren’t the main character in this chapter. Rahab is. I believe the story of Rahab and the spies is to show us

There’s no situation that God cannot step into and radically transform

There’s no life or person so far gone that is beyond God’s ability to rescue and restore

There’s no story in process that God cannot give a new ending to

That’s what redemption is.

Redemption happens when God takes someone who is lost and broken and finishes their story in a way they could never imagine. Eph 2:10

Rahab was just living her life and God showed up and invited her to follow Him.

He invited her to allow Him to write the rest of her story

2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land.”4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 At nightfall, when the city gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!” 6 But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof. 7 The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they left to pursue them, the city gate was shut.

She had a decision to make. Which direction was she going to step in? She was entrusting her life to the kings men or she was entrusting her life to the two spies.

I love that Rahab revealed her faith through her action before she ever verbally spoke it. This is what James mean when he says, “Show me your faith without works and I’ll show you my faith by my works.” - James 2:18

He’s saying the life we live should reflect the faith we have. Rahab in this moment placed her faith in God. She could have been arrested and killed for treason for hiding the spies. But she placed her faith in God and took a step towards Him.

Rahab is talked about in the book of Hebrews in the Hall of Faith. These people throughout the O.T. scriptures who exhibited incredible faith. Not because of what she said, but because of what she did.

As I was studying this I was shocked at how much time most of the commentaries spent of the fact she lied. What they were doing was trying to justify why this lie wasn’t really a lie.

She was choosing the lesser of two evils

She wasn’t an Israelite and bound to the same laws

The rules of war allow exceptions to full transparency

I’m not saying any of those are untrue but that shows us that we have a hard time living in what we believe.

God is more interested in your progress than your perfection.

He knows you’re not perfect. That’s why Jesus came to earth and gave His life. Does God want sin in our life? No. Because it destroys the very life He’s rescued.

The story of Rahab is a perfect picture of a Christian life. It’s a story of an imperfect person imperfectly following Jesus.

The desire to justify or sanitize sin shows that we give sin too much power in our life.

A perfect example of this is the phrase, “If I could, I wouldn’t change a thing about my past. Because it made me who I am today.”

I did a whole lot of dumb stuff that I’d change in a heartbeat if I could. I’m not even talking about when I was a kid. I’m talking about last week. Maybe even this morning.

You are not your sin and they do not determine who you become

You are not who others say you are

It is not opinions or past that makes you who you are today. If you are a Christian it is God, and only God who determines your value and identity. - Romans 8:28