Bible Verse of the Day:
"So the men went to Jericho and stayed at the house
of a prostitute named Rahab."
Joshua 2:1
Yup. You heard me. I said it. Prostitute. Ugly word, isn't it? Some versions of the Bible use the word harlot. In the past people have called them courtesans, floozies, strumpets, ladies of the night. Today's words have more of an edge to them. Streetwalker. Hustler. Working girl. Whore.
But that's exactly what she was. A prostitute. A harlot. A woman who sold her body in exchange for money. A woman who gave herself to the highest bidder, without gumption, without regret, knowing full well how to put her feminine assets to work for her. And she was apparently pretty good at it. The Bible tells us that she lived in a house that was "built on the city wall" in Jericho. Now, Jericho's walls were massive, high and wide. While most people lived on the ground within the city walls, Rahab was enjoying million dollar views from atop of them. Her house was prime real estate. (Think penthouse!) Rahab must have been quite a shrewd business woman. Her assets were definitely working for her.
But something was happening in her life. From atop of her luxurious home, she'd heard disturbing stories. Stories about a God so powerful that he had parted a sea and destroyed the Egyptians, one of the most powerful armies at the time. A God so merciful that he had parted a sea and allowed His people to walk through to the other side in safety. She'd heard about the wonders that this God had performed while His people wandered through the wilderness. The pillar of fire by night. The cloud that guided them by day. The mystical holy food that fell from the heavens to feed His people. The earthquakes and caused the ground to split open and swallow up those who sinned against Him.
Oh, she had heard. Everyone had. Her people's gods paled in comparison to this mighty One. They had never done anything for her. Hadn't loved her when she felt lonely. Hadn't comforted her when the tears slid down her cheeks. They hadn't protected her as a child when that man had used her and thrown her away like a dirty rag. They hadn't come to her defense whenever a client got too out of control and hurt her.
No. Her pathetic gods had done nothing for her except be silent. But this God...maybe this one was different....
So when the military commander of the Hebrew people, Joshua, sent out two of his men to spy on the city of Jericho, Rahab took them in. They accepted her help, even though she was a prostitute, a fallen woman. And when the King's men came looking for the spies, Rahab hid them on her roof, beneath huge stalks of flax, and lied to them, telling the guards that the two Hebrew men had already left the city for the hills.
Rahab could've gotten in big trouble had she been caught. She could've lost everything she had "worked" so hard to get. But she took a risk. A chance. She gambled on this foreign God and for the first time in her life, she felt her lifeless soul slowly stir.
What motivated her to take that risk? Was she afraid? Probably. Who wouldn't be fearful of a God with such a reputation? A little bit of fear is healthy. Psalm 111:10 says "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Rahab herself told the spies: "...Everyone living in this land is terribly afraid of you..." (Joshua 2:9)
Was it selfishness? The belief that in helping His servants, this God might return the favor and help her? Rahab asked the two spies: "Promise me before the Lord that you will show kindness to my family , just as I showed kindness to you...Allow my [family] to live. Save us from death." (Joshua 2:12-13)
How many of us have bargained with God like that? Cure me of this disease and I'll serve you forever God. Let me get this job and I promise I'll go to church every Sunday God. You scratch my back, God, and I'll scratch yours.
Hah! As if God needed anything from us!
Maybe it was faith that motivated Rahab? Faith in this God she had heard so much about. Faith that perhaps He would see past her sins and her profession, past the perfume and silks and elaborate hair, past the stains and blemishes of her soul, and look into her heart. Maybe He would see that she was just a regular girl, lonely and hurt and afraid. Maybe He would forgive her for her past mistakes and love her like she'd always wanted to be loved. Maybe this God would offer her a new start, a new beginning. Another chance at life.
Rahab admits to the two spies that "the Lord your God rules the heavens above and the earth below." So by now she knew. She knew that this was no ordinary God. He was mighty. He was powerful. He was her Creator. Would he love her and show her mercy? Could she, too, become one of His people?
But something was happening in her life. From atop of her luxurious home, she'd heard disturbing stories. Stories about a God so powerful that he had parted a sea and destroyed the Egyptians, one of the most powerful armies at the time. A God so merciful that he had parted a sea and allowed His people to walk through to the other side in safety. She'd heard about the wonders that this God had performed while His people wandered through the wilderness. The pillar of fire by night. The cloud that guided them by day. The mystical holy food that fell from the heavens to feed His people. The earthquakes and caused the ground to split open and swallow up those who sinned against Him.
Oh, she had heard. Everyone had. Her people's gods paled in comparison to this mighty One. They had never done anything for her. Hadn't loved her when she felt lonely. Hadn't comforted her when the tears slid down her cheeks. They hadn't protected her as a child when that man had used her and thrown her away like a dirty rag. They hadn't come to her defense whenever a client got too out of control and hurt her.
No. Her pathetic gods had done nothing for her except be silent. But this God...maybe this one was different....
So when the military commander of the Hebrew people, Joshua, sent out two of his men to spy on the city of Jericho, Rahab took them in. They accepted her help, even though she was a prostitute, a fallen woman. And when the King's men came looking for the spies, Rahab hid them on her roof, beneath huge stalks of flax, and lied to them, telling the guards that the two Hebrew men had already left the city for the hills.
Rahab could've gotten in big trouble had she been caught. She could've lost everything she had "worked" so hard to get. But she took a risk. A chance. She gambled on this foreign God and for the first time in her life, she felt her lifeless soul slowly stir.
What motivated her to take that risk? Was she afraid? Probably. Who wouldn't be fearful of a God with such a reputation? A little bit of fear is healthy. Psalm 111:10 says "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Rahab herself told the spies: "...Everyone living in this land is terribly afraid of you..." (Joshua 2:9)
Was it selfishness? The belief that in helping His servants, this God might return the favor and help her? Rahab asked the two spies: "Promise me before the Lord that you will show kindness to my family , just as I showed kindness to you...Allow my [family] to live. Save us from death." (Joshua 2:12-13)
How many of us have bargained with God like that? Cure me of this disease and I'll serve you forever God. Let me get this job and I promise I'll go to church every Sunday God. You scratch my back, God, and I'll scratch yours.
Hah! As if God needed anything from us!
Maybe it was faith that motivated Rahab? Faith in this God she had heard so much about. Faith that perhaps He would see past her sins and her profession, past the perfume and silks and elaborate hair, past the stains and blemishes of her soul, and look into her heart. Maybe He would see that she was just a regular girl, lonely and hurt and afraid. Maybe He would forgive her for her past mistakes and love her like she'd always wanted to be loved. Maybe this God would offer her a new start, a new beginning. Another chance at life.
Rahab admits to the two spies that "the Lord your God rules the heavens above and the earth below." So by now she knew. She knew that this was no ordinary God. He was mighty. He was powerful. He was her Creator. Would he love her and show her mercy? Could she, too, become one of His people?
The Bible tells us then that Rahab helped the two spies escape from her house by dropping a rope down her window. They climbed down the wall and went back to their camp. They told Joshua what had happened with Rahab and they explained their promise to keep her and her family safe when they took the city. Joshua, wise leader that he was, upheld the promise and a few days later, when the mighty walls of Jericho came crashing down with one mighty sweep of God's hand, the only wall left standing was Rahab's. Joshua ordered that her family be given safety and shelter outside of their camp and then proceeded to burn down the city and everything in it.
Rahab's risk,
Rahab's leap of faith,
Rahab's hope
had saved her.
But God had saved more than just her physical body. God saved her soul as well. Rahab must have done a complete 360 because once she joined the Israelites, she found a good man and settled down. Everyone knew she had been a harlot (the Bible continually calls her "Rahab the prostitute"), but still, some wonderful, loving man must have seen how she'd changed her life and fell so deeply in love with her that he shut away her past and married her. And although the Bible doesn't talk about her life after that, it does say that she married a guy named Salmon and had a son with him named Boaz. Boaz then married a girl and had a boy named Jesse. And Jesse, who lived in the small town of Bethlehem, had 7 sons, the youngest of whom was a shepherd boy named David. Rahab, the pagan prostitute from Jericho, the harlot who had taken a chance on God, became the great-grandmother of the mighty King David, the same David from which Jesus Himself descended.
Yup. You heard me right. Jesus, the son of God, could trace his lineage all the way back to Rahab, the prostitute from Jericho. Talk about redemption!
And just like God redeemed Rahab, changed her heart, and filled it with fear and hope and faith in Him, He can do the same for you. Nothing you've done in your life is evil enough for Him to turn away from you. Jesus Himself tells us in Mark 2:17
"It is not the healhty people who need a doctor, but the sick.
I did not come to invite good people, but to invite sinners."
If you come to him with a truly repenting heart, one filled with faith and hope, He will redeem you. He will forgive you. He will give you that second chance.
Just like He did for Rahab.
"God says that the more hopeless your circumstances,
the more likely your salvation.
The greater your cares,
the more genuine are your prayers.
The darker the room,
the greater the need for light.
God's help is always near and always available,
but it's only given to those who seek it."
From He Still Moves, by Max Lucado
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