“Rahab the prostitute is another example of this. She was made right with God by her actions — when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.” James 2:25 NLT.

Rahab wears the scarlet letter. She is one of only two women mentioned in Hebrews 11, the chapter of faith. The other is the wife of Abraham, Sarah. These two women have virtually nothing else in common except for the fact that they both believed in Jehovah.

The story of Rahab is surely one of the most interesting and fascinating in the entire Bible! Joshua secretly sends out two spies from the Israelite camp to “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” Joshua 2:1 NLT.

The men came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night. Rahab lived high up on the wall of the city near the main gate in a large house. She was an innkeeper and provided accommodations to travelers, but was also a harlot. This was not uncommon in those days.

The king of Jericho finds out about the spies and sends orders to Rahab to bring the men out. But Rahab lies and says that they were there earlier, but they left. In reality, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them underneath bundles of flax. If the spies had been directed to any other house in the city they would have been turned in!

Before the spies went to sleep Rahab went up to talk to them. “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt…our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you.” Joshua 2:8-12 NIV.

The citizens of Jericho lived in fear of the Israelites, there were 3-4 million of them camped just five miles from their fortified city. But they were no match for an army of that size! And even if they were, they had heard of their God!

Rahab believed, and according to her, so did the rest of the city.

But there was one difference between Rahab and the rest of the population; Rahab puts her faith into action. And when she does she changes the course of history!

She hid the spies and then sends them off by a different road so that they won’t be caught by the king’s men!

The spies agree to spare the lives of Rahab and her entire household if she keeps a scarlet rope hanging in her window when they come to destroy the city.

And God considered her righteous! “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. 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? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” James 2:24-26 NIV.

Hiding them did not save her but her faith did. “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.” Hebrews 11:31 NIV.

One of my favorite parts of the story is the red rope…it reaches down and saves her entire family! The Bible doesn’t tell us if they believed or not, we assume they had to at least have some faith because the spies insisted that they had to be inside the house and they could not leave at all or they would not be saved. That red rope was the covering that brought salvation to the house of Rahab.

Just as when the Israelites put blood on the doorpost of their house, the Angel of death would “pass over” and they would be spared. This was a foreshadow of what Christ would do for us on the cross!

But we dare not leave out the most exciting reward Rahab receives for her faith! Matthew 1:5, “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.”

Did you catch it? Rahab was the great-great-great grandmother of David! She was an ancestor of Jesus our Lord!

She never asked for that, she just wanted out of Jericho. Her faith was rewarded with a place in the ancestry of the King!

If you have faith like Rahab, faith enough to go by a different road, to ask to be delivered, not just for yourself, but for your entire family, God will honor that request and may give you more than you ever dreamed.

 

Many thanks to my sister site Scripturesquegraphics.com for the cool video! They are my graphics creator for all of my posts here on the blog and true artists. I would love for you to visit them and see their work!

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