(Joshua 2)
I can’t help but be filled with excitement and anticipation every time I get to the book of Joshua in my Bible reading. FINALLY, after years of wandering in the desert, after years of disobedience and difficulty, after all the setbacks and disappointments, after all the waiting, the people of God are finally going to receive the Promised Land as their home! The Israelites finally receive the fulfillment of the Lord’s promises to their ancestors. They finally get to enter the land that was promised to Abraham all the way back in Genesis 12. They follow the fearless leadership of Joshua, they are strong and courageous, they win impossible battles with God on their side, and they are free to inhabit a land flowing with milk and honey. They receive a land with large, flourishing cities they did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things they did not provide, wells they did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves they did not plant. (Deuteronomy 6:10-11)
But of all the exciting stories in the book of Joshua, the one that amazes me the most is the story of Rahab. Unlike the Israelites, she didn’t have ancestors who had waited for generations to receive God’s promises. And yet, she demonstrates a faith more bold than any of His own people.
Rahab was a prostitute. A harlot. A slut. She had a past. She hadn’t lived a righteous or honorable life. She hadn’t been raised on the truth of the One True God and the worship of Yahweh. She wasn’t one of God’s chosen people. She hadn’t been taught God’s laws or been invited into covenant relationship with Him. She lived in a pagan nation and a perverted society. She was not a good person. She is not someone who you would expect to be a role model of faith.
But Rahab had heard the stories of how the God of the Israelites had parted the waters of the Red Sea and delivered them from the armies of Egyptians. She had heard the stories of how He had given them victory over the Amorite kings east of the Jordan. She had heard the stories of God’s power and might. She had heard the stories of His triumphant salvation and His faithfulness to His people. They were stories that had caused the hearts of her people to melt in fear and caused their courage to fail. And while the only thing she knew of Yahweh was what she had heard in these second-hand stories, they were enough for her to know that He must be a God unlike any that she had ever known. They were enough to make her believe that this God was the Lord of heaven and earth.
When Joshua sends two spies to look over the land of Canaan, she not only gives them shelter, but she hides them from the king of Jericho, risking her life to keep them safe. She takes them up to her roof, hiding them underneath stalks of flax. When the king’s soldiers show up at her door demanding that she bring them out, she cleverly diverts them saying that the men had come to her, but she didn’t know they were Israelite spies and that they had escaped out the city gate. “Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them,” she tells the soldiers. And so the two spies remain safely hidden, while the soldiers embark on a wild goose chase.
That night, Rahab goes up to the roof to ask a special request of the Israelite spies. She tells them of the stories that have reached Jericho about the miraculous wonders their God had performed and how all the people were terrified on account of them. Then she asks them to promise that when the Israelite armies come to destroy the city, that they will show kindness to her and her family and spare their lives. They assure her that if she doesn’t make their whereabouts known to the king, she and her family will be saved. They tell her to hang a scarlet cord in the window of her house as a sign, and that if she does so, everyone inside the house with her will be allowed to live.
Then Rahab helps the spies escape and they return safely back to Joshua with the report that the whole land is melting away in fear of Israel, and that the LORD will surely deliver it into their hands.
True to their word, when God’s people invade Jericho, the spies lead Rahab and her family out of the city to safety before the entire city is burned to the ground. Rahab and her family dwell among the Israelites from that day forward. She marries an Israelite man named Salmon from the tribe Judah, and becomes the mother of Boaz. Boaz marries Ruth, and becomes the great grandfather of King David. And so Rahab is not only grafted into the nation of God’s chosen people, but also into the line of the Messiah, King Jesus.
The story of Rahab is such a beautiful picture of the Gospel!!! A sinful and undeserving woman with no place of belonging and no hope in this world is destined for destruction. But she hears about the saving power of the One True God. She decides that He is the God she wants to follow, and asks for salvation, deliverance and mercy. And not only is her life spared, but she is given a new identity and a new family. Not only is she given a place in the family of God, but she becomes part of a Kingdom legacy. Isn’t that the story of each of us who recognize God for who He is, and cry out to the LORD for deliverance?
Like Rahab, we have to choose who we’re going to turn to when difficulties arise. Everyone else in the city of Jericho was cowering in fear of Israel and their powerful God. But Rahab chose to step out in courage and asked Him to look upon her with mercy. And you might think, “Well, she was desperate. Who wouldn’t ask for their life to be spared, if they knew their city would come to ruin?” But of all the people in Jericho, only Rahab did. People do a lot of stupid things when they’re desperate. We turn to drugs, alcohol, sex, food, entertainment, relationships. We turn to any method we can find to escape the pain, even suicide. When we’re faced with desperate situations, we have a choice as to how we’re going to respond. Everyone else chose to hide in fear. But Rahab chose to turn to the only real source of hope. This required the humility to admit her need for help, the courage to ask for it, and the faith to believe that God could and would answer her plea. Where do you turn when you’re in trouble? If the first place you go isn’t Jesus, you need to repent and turn back to Him.
Like Rahab, when we cry out to the LORD for mercy, He will hear answer our cries. I imagine that everyone else in Jericho probably assumed that the God of Israel was against them, just as He was against the Egyptians and the Amorites. They assumed that His power had come to destroy them, not to deliver them. But Rahab had the faith to believe that the same God who had the power to destroy those against Him, also had the power to save those who put their trust in Him. She recognized the goodness in God’s character and asked Him to extend His kindness to her. And He did. We have a God who is kind and merciful, and who offers forgiveness, salvation, healing and freedom to all who simply ask. Psalm 145:18-19 says, “The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.” If you call to Him, He will hear your cry and come near. You can trust that the heart of your Heavenly Father is for you, not against you.
Like Rahab, the wrath of God passes over us when we have salvation in Christ. The spies told Rahab to put a scarlet cord in her window as a sign so they would know which house to spare. Similarly, the Israelites in Egypt put the blood of the lamb on the doorframes of their houses as a sign so that the LORD would pass over their houses when He came to destroy the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. When we are in Christ, His blood is the sign of the covenant given to us, so that the wrath of God that we justly deserve will pass over us. Jesus drank the cup of the Father’s wrath so that we never have to taste it. We are no longer objects of wrath. We will all go through judgment at the return of Christ, but those who are covered in the blood of the Lamb will never experience the wrath of God. Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!!! What a marvelous hope we have in Christ Jesus! May we never forget what Jesus went through on our behalf, and may we never cease to be grateful for His gift of Life.
Like Rahab, we now belong to a new family and have a new purpose. By God’s grace, not only does the wrath of His judgment pass over us, but we become adopted into His family and are given a purpose in bringing His Kingdom to earth. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”(1 John 3:1) If you belong to Jesus, you are not alone. You belong to a family. You are unconditionally, lavishly and prodigiously loved by a good Father. And you’re not just a part of the family, but you have been chosen and appointed for a special and specific role in God’s kingdom. Your life has purpose and meaning because you have been assigned a role in building the Kingdom of God, in sharing the truth of the Gospel, and in bringing the love of Jesus to others.
We have a God who can take a prostitute and make her a child of promise. We have a God who brings us from darkness to light, from death to life, from ashes to beauty, from failure to victory, from wrath to forgiveness, from doubt to faith, from fear to courage, from destruction to purpose, from bondage to freedom, and from orphanhood to royalty. It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. The God who redeemed Rahab’s story and gave her a new identity and purpose is waiting to do the same for you. All you have to do is choose to turn to Him in your need and cry out to Him for mercy, and He will come and lavish His love upon you, and fill you with His Spirit so that you can have an eternal impact for His Kingdom.
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