Joshua 2:1- Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies. “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 6:17- The city and all that is in it are to be devoted[a] to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent.
Hebrews 11:31-By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
James 2:25- In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
What do you notice about every Scripture that I just read? Rahab’s name was used in conjunction with her lifestyle. It seems the writers of each Scripture want to drill it in our heads that Rahab was a prostitute. It’s a little overkill, don’t you think? You think one mention would be enough, maybe the Old Testament mentions would be adequate, but to continually bring up who she was seems a bit much. Why the consistent emphasis on her profession as a prostitute?
There is one other place in Scripture that mentions Rahab’s name. It is the only reference to Rahab that doesn’t also reference her sin. It is the mention she gets in the lineage of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel. She is the second woman to have her name inserted into the line-up. We read in Matthew 1: This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judahand his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.
A prostitute was included in the ancestry of Jesus? Wouldn’t you think the Gospel writer would have tried to keep her story “hush-hush?” When her name was read it would be associated with her profession immediately. Everyone knew what Rahab did for a living. If Jesus was going to have credibility with the Jewish people as the Messiah, wouldn’t you want to doctor up the family tree? Like Tamar, the very inclusion of Rahab in this list of Jesus’ ancestors, contains messages for each of us about why Jesus came and what He can do to and for those who will turn to Him.
Read Joshua 2 for the details. Here are a few takeaways from this amazing story.
Rahab demonstrated her faith. Because she believed what she had heard about God, without ever seeing that Red Sea miracle for herself, without personally seeing the ways God had provided for His people in the wilderness for herself, but trusting what she had heard, she acted in faith. Yes, she was trying to avoid being destroyed, but doing what she did could have ended in destruction for her as well. If it became known that she was hiding and informing the Hebrew spies, her life could have been taken by those in charge in Jericho. The possibility of death loomed either way. She chose, however, to believe that the God who delivered the Hebrews from slavery could deliver her, and so she put action to her faith.
This is why Rahab makes the Hall of Faith chapter in Hebrews 11. What she did, she did by faith. God commended her for it. He rescued her because of it. The demonstration of faith pleases God. (Hebrews 11:6) How can you demonstrate your faith this Christmas season? How can you show others where you have placed your faith? How can you act on what you believe about the Messiah’s coming into the world?
Rahab declared her deliverance. When she hung that scarlet cord in the window, she was making a statement. She was confessing that her house and her family were going to be kept safe during impending doom. She was declaring that promises that were made were promises that were going to be kept. She was living NOT for the moment of destruction, but for the moment of deliverance. She had made up her mind that she would be saved.
I wonder if the people who passed by Rahab’s house wondered what was up with the scarlet cord. Maybe they thought it was a new decoration or some symbol of a new service she was offering through her “business.” Do you think as they walked by, they asked each other, “What’s up with the scarlet cord?” It had to draw attention. It had to create questions among the townspeople. Those communities were small and tight. It wouldn’t go unnoticed. I don’t know how Rahab handled any questions that were raised to her.
It didn’t matter what people thought. The cord was there as a declaration that she had believed what the spies had promised to her. It was there as a sign that she was counting on them to make good on their promise. It was there as a statement to the attackers that she was being marked safe. She didn’t care if it raised suspicion. She didn’t care if people criticized her décor or speculate about her life. She was determined to make herself available to the way that had been spelled out.
I also believe the cord served to reassure her. As she saw it, as she passed by it, as she looked out the window, she would say to herself, “I will be safe. Deliverance is coming. I have a way out. A way has been made for me. The scarlet cord is visible to those coming after Jericho, so I am good to go.”
Listen, if you have applied the blood of the Lamb, if the scarlet cord of Jesus’ blood has been hung over your sin to cover your sin, you have a spiritual right to dwell in peace and safety. You can declare it in faith. You plead the blood of Jesus over your life and your family. It may not be popular to talk about the blood. It may raise suspicion about just how far out you are with this Jesus’ stuff, but I’m telling you the blood of Jesus is the symbol of the promise God has made to keep you safe and to deliver you from death into eternal life in Heaven. It is your safety, it still holds power for you today, and it will cover you in any circumstance. Declare your deliverance through the blood of Jesus!
Rahab determined to help others to safety. She gathered her relatives and brought them to her house. You know when she went to them and told them that they needed to get to her house asap she had to give them the details. They were going to have lots of questions. No one was moving into the brothel just because it seemed like a fun idea to have a family reunion. She had to explain to them all that had transpired. She had to convince them of her belief in the one, true living God. She had to tell them that she was switching sides, that she was forsaking the pagan gods that had been worshiped in Jericho, and that she was seeking a whole new way of life. She had to explain the reason for the scarlet cord. And listen, they had to believe her in order to follow through with her request to get under her roof. She had to be quite a convincing, evangelist. She had to passionately plead with them to get them to join her.
How concerned are you for those who haven’t been marked safe by the blood of Jesus? When was the last time you prayed for the salvation of your loved ones? If Jesus came back today to end things as we know them, does it pain you to think about the people you know that would go to Hell for eternity? Who have you passionately talked to about Jesus? With whom have you shared how Jesus, the Messiah, has changed your life and your eternal destiny? How passionate are you to make sure that other people escape the judgment that is coming to those who have rejected the way to salvation?
Demonstrate your faith. Declare your deliverance. Determine to see others saved.
Rahab was a prostitute who landed a spot in the Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11. When a female, Canaanite, prostitute can wind up in God’s Hall of Fame of Faith she is proof that with God all things are possible!
That is why we need to know what she was…because her identity says a whole lot about the grace of God. Your story is bigger than you! Your story is bigger than your sin! God wants to redeem your story because God wants you to be part of HIStory!
Matthew wasn’t ashamed to list her in the genealogy because he was in awe of what God did for her and subsequently did through her. These are more incredible Christmas messages from the mess of a person who made the strategic decision to turn to God in faith.
