Rahab The Prostitute: Joshua 2

Rahab The Prostitute

God is always in the business of using the most unlikely people to accomplish His will

When we look at the twelve disciples Jesus chose they were all ordinary men

Every person God uses is ordinary until the hand of God moves upon them and they surrender to His will

When we hear the term prostitute there are many things that come to our mind

The word dirty and unclean may come to our minds

We may think of sexual activity that is outside God’s plan and against His word

For many God using a prostitute in any way would be the last thing they think God would do

But one of the things we find about God when we examine His word is He loves broken people

The more broken people are, the more God chases after them

Jesus said in Luke 7:47

Luke 7:47 (NASB95)

“For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

This account is about the women who washed Jesus feet with her tears

She was overwhelmed by His love and forgiveness

but the Pharisee failed to understand what Jesus saw

He only saw the woman as unclean

But when God chooses people it is based on His grace and mercy

It is not based on something they have earned

Rahab was such a person

A prostitute used by the Lord to not only protect the spies Joshua sent, but also her name is found in the genealogy of Jesus Christ

Important to know the only thing that qualifies us is the grace of Almighty God

Rahab Intoduced

Joshua 2:1-7

Joshua 2:1–7 (NASB95)

Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there.

It was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.”

And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.”

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.

“It came about when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”

But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.

So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan to the fords; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.

We find out Rahab is a prostitute

Her home is built into the mighty walls of Jericho

This is why she encountered the spies sent from Joshua

We are told that Joshua sent out the spies secretly

Many times when Joshua would take a city spies were sent out

Joshua had personally experienced what a bad report brought to the people could do to the people

The previous generation died in the wilderness because of their lack of faith produced by a bad report of the ten spies

Prostitutes were often used in intelligence operation

They often would have access to those who were not regularly from the city

But Rahab demonstrated fear of the Living God instead of fearing man

When questioned as to whether the spies were at her home she lied and hid them

She protected them

Rahab Fears The Living God

Joshua 2:8-14

Joshua 2:8–14 (NASB95)

Now before they 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 terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted 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 utterly destroyed.

“When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

“Now therefore, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth,

and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”

So the men said to her, “Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”

Through Rahab’s actions she demonstrated true fear of the Living God

In verse 9 Rahab says I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you.

The reputation of what Israel’s God has done has proceeded them

God gave Israel this promise in Deuteronomy 31:1-8

Deuteronomy 31:1–8 (NASB95)

So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.

And he said to them, “I am a hundred and twenty years old today; I am no longer able to come and go, and the Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross this Jordan.’

“It is the Lord your God who will cross ahead of you; He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, just as the Lord has spoken.

“The Lord will do to them just as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when He destroyed them.

“The Lord will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you.

“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”

Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.

“The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

It was God who caused the nations to fear Israel

It was God who gave Israel victory

Rahab’s actions demonstrate that she truly fears the God of Israel

In verse 11 she says for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

Rahab’s concern is for her family

She asks protection for her family members

We are told in Hebrews 11:31

Hebrews 11:31 (NASB95)

By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.

What we see is that she not only feared the Living God, it drove her actions

She demonstrated true biblical saving faith

Faith and action always go hand in hand

Scarlet Thread

Joshua 2:15-21

Joshua 2:15–21 (NASB95)

Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall.

She said to them, “Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.”

The men said to her, “We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear,

unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household.

“It shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be free; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.

“But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be free from the oath which you have made us swear.”

She said, “According to your words, so be it.” So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

Isaiah 1:18

Isaiah 1:18 (NASB95)

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.

The color scarlet is a deep red

In this verse in Isaiah our sins are compared to as scarlet

But it is the precious blood of Jesus that has washed our sins white as snow

The instructions Rahab is given is that her family must be in her house when Jericho is invaded

They must tie a scarlet thread in the window

It is a signal to the armies of Israel that she is protected

Rahab was a gentile

She was not a Jew

But she demonstrated true faith in the Living God

God’s desire is that none would perish but all would come to everlasting life

During the passover night it was the blood of the lamb that protected the Israelites

The crimson blood of the lamb protected Israel from the death angel and God’s judgement

When the wrath and fury of God is poured out upon Jericho it was Rahab’s faith in God that saved her and her household

The spies make it very clear in verse 19 It shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be free; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.

This is truly a picture of what faith in Jesus Christ does for us

Because of Jesus the wrath we deserve was poured out upon Him

God in His mercy look upon a prostitute

God gave her the high honor of being part of the genealogy of Jesus

Matthew 1:5 (NASB95)

Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.

Rahab would be the great, great, great grandmother of King David

She would be included in the genealogy of Jesus

She didn’t deserve any of this

Her sin and her lifestyle disqualified her

But the truth is all of our sin and our lifestyles disqualify all of us

Rahab was chosen by God because of His grace

We are chosen by God because of His grace

Rahab saved herself and her family because of her faith in the Lord and that faith resulted in action

Today many of us have family members who are not saved and may we diligently pray for them to be brought into a saving relationship with Jesus

Ultimately Rahab demonstrated faith in God through obedience to His word

Joshua 2:21 (NASB95)

She said, “According to your words, so be it.” So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

No matter who we are or where we come from God can use us

What opens the door to be used by almighty God and to be saved from His wrath is faith in Jesus Christ