Standing Apart From The Rest – Rahab’s Story
It’s not easy going against the popular opinion of the one person who says ‘no’ when everyone else says ‘yes’. It’s not easy being the only kid in class who doesn’t want to mess with the substitute.
It’s not easy being the only coworker who won’t go out for drinks (and more drinks) to forget the awful day at the office. It’s not easy being the one to stand against sin when everyone else sees it as progress.
Thankfully, Rahab didn’t let her fear stop her from doing what was right.
Rahab’s Story
This was the Promised Land God had led them to and they had finally arrived. And one more thing about Rahab…she was a prostitute.
When the two spies Joshua sent to Jericho arrived to scout things out, they ended up at Rahab’s house.
Okay, so the question on most people’s minds is why the two spies went to see a prostitute.
First of all, we don’t know if that was their intent or whether it was the fact that her house was built along one of the cities making it possible for them to escape more easily and quickly.
It might also have been because she most likely had a duo-purpose business; food, lodging, and…. Or even more plausible, God led them to Rahab’s house (directly or indirectly).
Whatever the reason, they were there and the king of Jericho found out about it.
When the king’s men came to her house, she said that the men had been there, but had left. She even told them which direction they had ‘gone’.
Later on that night, Rahab went to the roof of her house where she had hidden the spies and used a rope to let them down from the roof over the city wall. Before they left, however, they made a promise to Rahab.
The promise: because she had saved their lives, she and her family’s lives would be spared when the Israelites took over the city of Jericho.
All she had to do was put a red cord in the window to identify it and distinguish it from the others.
Joshua and his army made good on that promise and Rahab became a strong believer in God and worshipped him for the remainder of her life.
She married a man named Salmon and the two had a son they named Boaz.
Boaz and his wife, Ruth, were King David’s great-grandparents; making Rahab King David’s great-great-grandma and also making her part of the lineage of Jesus.
What We Can Learn From Rahab
What a story, right? A story with lessons to be learned…
Lesson One:
God’s grace and mercy are non-discriminating.
God doesn’t accept us into his family because of what we’ve done, who we’ve been, how much money we have, or how pretty we are.
God accepts us into his family when we come to him saying none of that matters anymore; that what matters is starting a life right then and there of obedience and faith in him.
Lesson Two:
Obedience to God is number one.
Rahab was risking her life by lying to the king and his men. And for who? What? Joshua 2:8-11 reveals that Rahab had not only heard of God but that she feared him and believed that he was the one true God.
So in spite of the fact that she was a lowly Canaanite prostitute, she understood the impact of aligning herself with God and his people.
While history does have a way of repeating itself, it is safe to say we are living in some very perilous times for Christians.
You need to be willing and ready to stay true to God and to the words of the Bible; to be obedient and faithful no matter what society, family, friends, or co-workers are telling you.
Lesson Three:
God blesses those who obey him.
Had Rahab turned the spies away or turned them over to the king and his men, she and her family would have perished along with the rest of Jericho.
God’s love for all creation is never-ending and undying. He cannot, however, bless us unless we are close enough to him to receive his blessings, recognize his blessings for what they are, and be thankful for his blessings.