Rahab: A Life Rewritten
A life rewritten. It is not the script of Rahab’s life that was rewritten. The script of her book, as per Psalm 139:16 was very much intact. Rather, it is the drastic turns of her life that make it appear as though she was living her life from completely different books altogether!
The first time we meet Rahab, it is written of her:
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
Joshua 2:1
Rahab was a prostitute. A prostitute who would play a grand role in God’s master plan, as it is written of her:
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse the father of King David.
Matthew 1:5-6
Rahab the prostitute, became the mother of Boaz(yes, that Boaz) and the great great grandmother of David, from whom Jesus came.
And that is not all that is written of her. Rahab is mentioned alongside the heroes of faith listed in Hebrews 11:
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
Hebrews 11:31
So how does a prostitute join the genealogy of Jesus Christ and gain a mention in the faith ‘hall of fame’, alongside Abraham and Moses?
1. A Cross Road
So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”
Joshua 2:3
Rahab had a decision to make at this moment. She could either obey or disobey the king’s orders. The decision she would make would change the course of history for her generations.
Disobedience would be tantamount to treason. Yet with this real threat, Rahab chose disobedience to the king.
But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid on the roof.)
Joshua 2:4-6
Why was Rahab fearless in her decision to side with her country’s enemies?
… I know that the LORD has given this land to you[…] we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you[…] When we heard of it our hearts sank and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.
Joshua 2:9-11
Her disobedience to the king was in effect obedience to God. At the crossroad of the difficult situation she was placed in, she chose to stand with God. God, whom she did not know personally. God, whom her people did not worship. But God whom she chose based on what she had seen and heard.
Your Turn:
To gain the king’s favour or to earn the favour of the King of kings?
To choose the path of the majority, or to stand fearlessly alone?
To choose the easy path or to choose the right path?
I cannot imagine what was going through Rahab’s mind as she made the decision to stand with the spies. She must have known the immense danger she was placing on herself. Yet, she made the God choice, which is always the right choice.
Will you make the God choice at your crossroad, no matter the cost?
2. An Oath
Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you […] “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land.” […] This oath will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord […]
Joshua 2:12-18
The oath had a promise, an obligation and a sign.
The promise: safety for Rahab and her family
The obligation: Remain faithful to Israel
The sign: Scarlet cord
The promise was dependent on the obligation and the sign.
Then they burned the whole city and everything in it […] But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho –and she lives among the Israelites to this day.
Joshua 6:24-25
The oath was fulfilled and Rahab was adopted into the family of God’s people.
Your Turn:
Numbers 23:19 assures us:
God is not a man that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfil?
If you be in Christ, you are in covenant with One who can be trusted to fulfill His obligations.
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:32
But we have an obligation:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
And we have a sign as per Ephesians 1:13-14:
[…] Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.
My Turn:
Usually when we think of vision, we think of what we want. The type of life we dream for ourselves. And while those dreams may very well be divine, we must never forget the Hand of the Divine in fulfilling His vision for us.
When I started writing this post, I thought it would focus on Rahab’s courage, fearlesness, negotiating skills… I did not think it would lead back to the cross. But here we are, at the cross. For what purpose is there in living a life full of achievement and material wealth and missing the true reward of Christ? More and more, I am realizing how brief life is. My grass will fade, my mist will disappear and I will have to face my Father. Am I ready to face Him? Are you ready to face Him? So in the conversation of vision, let us NEVER forget the cross.
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Colossians 3:1-2