Rahab Hides the Spies
July 4, 2022
Commentary
We all have a past. There are very few people today that have not been touched by divorce. We have all heard the statistics that cite that roughly one-half of every marriage ends in divorce. Forty percent of young women before the age of 20 become pregnant here in the United States. Many raise children as single moms, which has become one of the fastest growing segments of the American population. There are a lot of hurting people who become labeled as losers, failures, troublemakers, or insecure, all because either they or someone else close to them made mistakes. However, it is important to know that your past doesn’t have to keep you out of the plan of God.
Rahab was a woman with a past. She came from a pagan background (wrong religion) and was a harlot (wrong profession). If ever there was a person who’s past should have hindered them, it was Rahab. Her past was shady at best and immoral at worst. She was not the type of person you would want to teach your children in Sunday School. Many churches wouldn’t even want a woman like Rahab attending for they would be afraid that people would talk. It is interesting to note that in Matthew’s account of the linage of Jesus, three women mentioned were involved in sexual sin. Rahab was a prostitute, Bathsheba, an adulteress, and Tamar committed incest with her father-in-law. Yet Rahab became the great, great grandmother of King David.
Remember that the only two women mentioned in the Hebrew 11, “Hall of Faith” are Sarah, the godly wife of Abraham, and Rahab, an ungodly Gentile who was a harlot. Talk about the wonderful grace of God. Those who say that God’s gracecan’t be found in the Old Testament need to look at Rahab. By faith, she did not perish, and by faith, she received her inheritance. She chose to step out in faith. Listen to her words as she speaks to the spies (vv. 9, 11).
Application
I have a choice of who I am going to believe, Satan or God. If God could take a prostitute and include her in His plan, He’ll certainly has a plan for my life.
Joshua 2:1– 11 (NET)
1 Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them: “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.” They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there. 2 The king of Jericho received this report: “Note well! Israelite men have come here tonight to spy on the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab: “Turn over the men who came to you —the ones who came to your house —for they have come to spy on the whole land!” 4 But the woman hid the two men and replied, “Yes, these men were clients of mine, but I didn’t know where they came from. 5 When it was time to shut the city gate for the night, the men left. I don’t know where they were heading. Chase after them quickly, for you have time to catch them!” 6 (Now she had taken them up to the roof and had hidden them in the stalks of flax she had spread out on the roof.) 7 Meanwhile, the king’s men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River near the fords. The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them.
8 Now before the spies went to sleep, Rahab went up to the roof. 9 She said to the men, “I know the Lord is handing this land over to you. We are absolutely terrified of you, and all who live in the land are cringing before you. 10 For we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan. 11 When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you. For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below!
Illustration: A man who was hopeless
I heard the story of two friends who were talking to each other. One remarked to his friend and said, “Man, you look so depressed. Whatever could you be thinking about to depress you so?” His friend quickly replied, “My future.” “Your future?” his friend said. Whatever in the world would make it so hopeless?” to which his miserable friend sighed and unhappily said “My past.” (Source unknown).