Joel M Bradshaw

8Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof 9and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.10For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11And 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. 12Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign 13that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 14And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”–Joshua 2

Let’s address the elephant in the room right away. “Joel, Rahab lied! How is that showing faith in God?”

Well for starters, Rahab lived in Jericho. Jericho was known for being the main worship center for the Canaanite moon god, Yarikh. Yarikho being said by some scholars to be that city which ‘belongs to Yarikh’. So already she wasn’t a worshiper of Yahweh. We need to be careful judging others who are not already worshipers of our God. If it was the Israelite spies spouting lies, that would be different.

No, the point of Rehab’s story here is that she brings Yahweh into her story. She and her people have heard about this Yahweh and how he protected and provided for his people. Their hearts melted in fear. Well, that fear is the beginning of faith. And you’ll notice Rahab immediately involved Yahweh’s name in a vow with these men. Faith = trust. So her trusting in Yahweh and these two men of Yahweh is the beginnings of her faith.

The men of course saw Yahweh’s hand at work and gave their word. Rahab and all who joined her in trusting Yahweh would be saved. You may think I am reading to much of God into this, but remember it was Rahab herself who started dropping Yahweh’s name into the conversation. As God had done miracles, his reputation began to spread and precede Him!

Rahab’s testimony was used to bolster Israel when the men returned back to camp. We will not be surprised when Jericho falls. But we do wonder if Rahab and the spies would each keep their parts of the vow. Would she truly be saved? Would they remember? And if I can ponder this, imagine Rahab and her family pondering this. They were having to completely trust Yahweh for the salvation that only he could provide. It meant hanging a scarlet cord through a window and hoping it would be seen. That when they trusted in Yahweh, he would spare their scarlet-colored blood.

When we baptize people, the second question we ask is if they trust in Jesus alone for their salvation. That trust is the very faith that saves. That is Rahab’s response here. She trusts in Yahweh and his people alone for deliverance. It means not placing trust in herself, her people, or the god of her city. And for a Canaanite (shoot, for anyone!) that was tremendous faith. She is a model for us all. Move past that she was a prostitute. Her past didn’t determine her future. Rahab trusted God!–JMB