About Rahab | From Harlot to Woman of Faith

Some Background

Late spring, I was invited to join a Precept Bible Study. I’d never heard of it before… but I was being gifted the material and I went for it.

I’m so glad I did.

The study was on the book of Joshua, and I’d never experienced such a way of looking at this book. The way Precept Ministries has you slow down, pause and really take in the scriptures was new to me. I went to Bible School. I’m a pastor’s kid. I’ve been in church all my life and gave my life to Jesus as a child.

Maybe it’s that Bible School was a long time ago (twenty-one years… how?). Maybe it was the discussion around my friend’s table with more new friends … I loved it. Even the keyword drawings (and I’m not talented drawing-wise), all the homework.

All right, all right, that’s enough of a plug for Precept.

The thing that still has me pausing today, a month after the last session … is Rahab.

Rahab’s Story is Wild

We don’t know why the spies picked her place. She was a harlot … what made them go there?

Here’s some of what we do know:

Rahab had heard of the miracles God did for the Israelites.

She believed. She had more fear of God than of her own city’s officials. Had she been caught, she would have been deemed a traitor.

She was brave.

Rahab Dared to Ask for Her Family Too

She dared to ask for more. Not only did she ask for her own life to be spared, but for that of her father’s entire household.

Pause and read Joshua chapter 2, slowly and fully. You can read it on Biblegateway.com, then come back here.

What else do you notice about Rahab in this passage? Feel free to go back and read Joshua 2 again.

What Was Rahab’s Life Like in Jericho?

I wonder what life had been like for her in Jericho that she was willing to hide two Jewish spies. That she feared their God more than her own city’s officials.

I don’t think she wanted to be a harlot, but scripture doesn’t say. I think her life was hard and she was given hope outside the city walls.

I see in Joshua 2 that Rahab was redeemable. And that gives me hope that anyone is redeemable.

Let’s look at Hebrews 11:29-31 (if you’re unfamiliar with this passage, it’s basically a list of people of faith … imperfect people, God used).

By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
Hebrews 11:29-31 ESV

What’s wild to me is that Joshua’s name isn’t even mentioned here, but Rahab’s is.

No Matter Who, No Matter What—You’re Redeemable

No matter where you come from, or where you’ve been, what you’ve done. You and your past are redeemable, my friend.

Rahab was even in the lineage of Christ (see Matthew 1:5-16). She lived with the Jewish people from the moment she was rescued from the walls of Jericho, her and her family and all who belonged to her (see Joshua 6:25).

But here’s another thing. Remember how Rahab asked for her father’s household? Do that. In prayer, bring your family. If you won’t pray for them, who will? Dare to ask God for more. Never cease praying and believing for your entire household to be saved. To be redeemed. Don’t look to what you see, but believe that with God all things are possible.

If Rahab were alive today, I think she’d say this: your past is redeemable. Mine too. She’d want us to know that.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Further Reading
2 Corinthians 4:16-18, James 2:24-26, Joshua 6

A Moment of Worship

Don’t skip this! 🙂 Listen to it while you read over the prayer further down.
This is one of my favorite songs right now. Enjoy!
(This Really is Amazing Grace by Phil Wickham & Crowder)

A Prayer

Lord, help me to believe that the price Jesus paid on the cross covers all my sin. That when I repent, you cast my sins as far as the east is from the west, that’s how far you remove them from me. If Rahab can become a woman of faith, her past redeemed, so can mine. Help me to see others this way too. Thank you for this great gift of forgiveness, redemption, of freedom. I want to become more bold in the way I pray for my family. Thank you that you love them even more than I do and desire them to live in this freedom too. It really is amazing grace. Thank you, Jesus.
Amen.