Sweet Sisters,
Last Wednesday night in our bible Class in James 2, we talked about Rahab. Rahab is another strong woman in the Bible whose story I love.
We first find Rahab in Joshua 2. Joshua is planning an attack on the city of Jericho so he sends two spies to check things out. They end up at the house of Rehab, which was actually a brothel.
Let me explain where Rahab’s house was located. The city of Jericho was built almost like a stadium. There were huge walls that were 13 feet high and about 5 feet wide that were backed up against a funnel shaped watch tower that was 30 feet in diameter at its base and 23 feet at its top. Archaeologist believe that Rahab’s house was built into the walls on the north side of the city. Interestingly, a small part of this wall did not fall. It was located close to the hills that led into the Judean wilderness. This area seems to have been the “low rent” area of the city.
The spies probably thought they would be safe at her house because men were constantly coming and going. The Bible refers to the house as “Rahab’s house” which implies that it belonged to her. Her family did not live with her because the spies tell her that they must come to her house if they want to be spared.
The King finds out that the spies are staying at Rahab’s house and sends his men to her to bring them out. Rahab hides the spies on her roof and tells the King’s men that they had been there but had left and if they hurry, they can catch them. When the King’s men leave, she goes up on the roof to talk to the spies.
She tells the spies how her people have heard all the stories about how powerful their God is and how He had helped them fight against their enemies. She says her people are afraid and not one of the men is willing to fight against them.
In Joshua 2:11 we learn what Rahab thinks about the God of the spies.
11 When we heard of it, 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.
Rahab doesn’t know much, but what she does know is that “The Lord, your God, is ruler over everything.” She believes this so strongly that she risks everything on that belief. She has already put her life in jeopardy by hiding them to begin with. Now she asks the spies to return the favor and protect her and her family when they return to take the city.
They agree. Because Rahab’s house is built into the city wall she is able to use a red rope to lower them over the wall to safety. They tell her to leave the rope in the window (no one from inside the city can see it) so that they can find her and her family when they return.
In Joshua 6:22-23 we see that Joshua honored the promise the spies had made to Rahab and sent them to get her and her family and put them in a safe place outside the camp of Israel during the battle.
We find Rahab mentioned again in Matthew 1:5.
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David.
Rahab was the wife of Salmon and the mother of Boaz.
There is conjecture that Salmon was one of the two spies that came to Jericho, but the Bible doesn’t mention this. We do know that Salmon came from a very prominent Israelite family.
Another point I need to make here is that there is a lot of discussion about how the Biblical writers did genealogies. Some believe that Rahab was the mother of Boaz. Others believe that she was the grandmother or great-grandmother. Sometimes the writers did not mention all of the generators between names.
We also find Rahab mentioned in Hebrews 11:31.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient
The Hebrew writer praises Rahab because of her faith and her willingness to act upon it.
I began this lesson by saying that Rahab was mentioned in James 2:25.
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?
Rahab’s actions revealed that her faith in Israel’s God was more than simply opinion; it was genuine faith. Rahab demonstrated that she had real saving faith – she “was considered righteous”, as James is using the term here – by courageously trusting the God of the Israelites…
I love Rahab’s story because it illustrates how God is not looking for those who have “all their ducks in a row” or have it “all together”. He is looking for those who have caught a glimpse of the God of heaven and fallen in love with what they have seen. They are willing to risk all they know that He is who He says He is and that He can do all He says He can do. In His eyes this is the definition of faith.
Debbie