The Bible’s Unlikely

From a nobody to the One | Joshua, Chapter 2 & 6

Rahab was a harlot who lived in the city of Jericho at the time when the people of Israel advanced into the promised land. She is always remembered because of her different story, quoted in the Book of Joshua but also in other parts of the Bible. Rahab in Hebrew means wide.

Joshua the son of Nun sent two men to view the land, and especially Jericho. Rahab’s house was between the walls of Jericho, and two spies of Israel were sent by Joshua. Somehow the news that the spies were in the city of Jericho reached the King, and the King then demanded that the spies be found and brought to him. This caused Rahab to hide the men under the stalks of flax that were drying on the roof. And she gave the king's messengers a false clue saying the spies had escaped at night before closing the gates.  When the King's officers left, Rahab returns and talks with the spies, and there, Rahab makes her confession of faith in the God of the Hebrews. She heard about the miracles that God did to deliver his people from Egypt, the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the death of Pharaoh's army in the waters, and the defeat of the Amorite kings Sihon and Og, east of Jordan. Rahab also revealed to the spies that she knew that the Lord had given the land to the children of Israel, showing faith, and even spoke about the great dread the people felt in knowing that the God of Israel is God in heaven above and on earth below. Rahab then begged for her life and for her family.

And the spies agreed to Rahab's request, that if a cord of scarlet thread should hang in her window, her family inside the house and that would be the signal. Then Rahab let the spies down through the window of her house that faced the wall, which was the same window where the scarlet thread was to be affixed.

Rahab advised the spies on the path they should take, and then when the city of Jericho was taken by Joshua and his army, only Rahab and her family were spared.

In the face of this story, let's analyze what God has for us.

In ancient Babylon, the term ''whore'' is equivalent to the house of a harlot, or innkeeper. Based on the code of Hammurabi, a text from Mesopotamia, with a set of written laws, a tavern or inn was a place where any man could stay, but the presence of criminals had to be reported to the king. So, in this sense, the woman in charge of the place did not have a pejorative title. Other documents from the time in Mesopotamia also report cases of other innkeepers talking to their guests. Although many commentators based on the works of Flavius Josephus hold the view that Rahab would not necessarily have been a prostitute, the New Testament Word of God in Matthew, James, and Hebrews, when referring to Rahab, uses the Greek word meaning prostitute.

So, we can conclude that Rahab was a prostitute although it is still possible that Rahab's house was an inn, for otherwise how would the spies end up there? And how would the King learn of their presence there?

In Joshua 6, Rahab was received with all honor by Israel. Her faith in God was transformative in her life and it changed her. We know that she marries into a very honored family of the tribe of Judah, as was the family of Salmon. Rahab of Jericho, then married Salmon, was the mother of Boaz, grandfather of David's father and later ancestor of the Lord Jesus (Matt 1:6). 

The fact that Rahab was chosen by God to be an ancestor of Jesus, in the flesh, is a clear example of the transforming power of God's grace that made a prostitute, a foreigner and a pagan, a mother in Israel, of the lineage of King David and the promised Messiah. And more, the story of Rahab is remembered in chapter eleven of Hebrews in the gallery of the heroes of faith. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews, emphasized Rahab's faith that inspired the decisive response by her. In James chapter two, the works of Rahab are described as an expression of her true faith.

You may be feeling like you are worthless, like there is no hope of change because of your past? Why? Do you think your sins are too big and do you diminish yourself in front of others? Maybe you are new in your faith and think God doesn't know you? This story is for all of us and a demonstration of the great power of our God, who takes the unlikely one and transforms him/her into someone worthy of respect and honor. God looks at the heart and at faith, to transform a story of defeat and failure, into a testimony of victory! Rahab, which means broad or wide chose the narrow path. She chose the God of Israel. Which way do you choose today?

“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound things which are mighty.” 1 Corinthians 1:27

About the Author

Pastor Ira Knupp

Pastor of our Brazilian Ministry and longtime member of our church