LEARNING DAILY

Joshua 2:1, And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.

Pastor Ed Newton shared some thoughts about Rahab this weekend at Community Bible Church. You probably know the background regarding Joshua sending spies into Jericho (the Promised Land); they came to Jericho and they came to the house of Rahab. I found the English Standard Version interesting regarding her house. “Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall.” Look at the emphasis in this verse. Pastor explained she lived between the city walls with a window facing the outside of the city. 

Rahab was a prostitute. “She had a tainted past, an outcast, who lived on the outside of the city looking in; she was pursued only when someone wanted her” (EN). Romans 3:23 states, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!” So, before any of us looks down on Rahab, we must remember that we too have sinned and fall short of God’s desire for our lives. But when we said “yes” to the salvation Jesus offers, we were washed clean. “God uses unlikely people to do His will; our past does not define us” (EN).

Verse 11 states, “And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” Rahab and others had heard testimonies of what God had done for His people as He led them out of Egypt. Rahab, a “Canaanite woman emersed in the Canaanite worship of many false gods, heard the testimonies about a God who cared for her, repented and her life changed direction” (EN). Pastor continued, “It still happens today for those living in walls (ie. Doing the right things with the wrong motives); God saves them, changes them and changes their story.” Do any of you relate to the change Jesus Christ brought into your life when He saved you and set you on a narrow way into His kingdom?

 The king of Jericho was looking for the spies. Rahab hid them and eventually let them down the wall so they could report back to Joshua. Verse 18, “Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father 's household.” She let them down with a scarlet cord, the same cord that she let men down from her room so they would not be seen. “The tool of sin became a tool of salvation for Rahab and her family when Joshua and the people walked around Jericho and when the walls eventually fell” (EN). It saved her and her family because of her hope and faith she had placed in God. “The most unholy place in Jericho became the place of redemption” (EN).

God had changed Rahab’s story. She is mentioned three times in the New Testament. Her name is mentioned in the lineage of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:5 – Pastor emphasized that the word prostitute had come off the association with her name. She was the Great Great grandmother of King David (Listener Guide). She is mentioned in Hebrews 11:31 (the Hall of Fame for heroes in the Bible) as the mother of Boaz who married Ruth. And she is mentioned in James 2:25 as proving her faith through the works she did.

The parting words Pastor Newton spoke are probably words each Believer reading this can relate to. “When God gets into one’s story, He changes everything!” Take a few minutes to just thank the Lord Jesus Christ for stepping into your life, saving and changing you and your story!