Did you know that our Northside Writers’ Group writes devotions for Table Groups? What’s a Table Group, you ask? Head back over to the Northside Women main page and click the link at the bottom of the page to find out! (You’ll be glad you did.) This year, all of our devotions will be exploring God’s faithfulness to women in the Old Testament. The following is adapted from our June devotion:

God’s Faithfulness to Rahab

By: Betsy Borella

“Rahab the prostitute.” Yikes! That’ll grab your attention. One of the Old Testament’s bravest characters and yet she is remembered in the New Testament, still, as Rahab the prostitute (James 2:24). Have you ever had a dubious designation you wish could be erased forever? I know I have! In kindergarten, my body grew faster than my bladder, leading to a bit of a urinary urgency and incontinence issue. During our Christmas caroling at the Veterans’ Home, there was no time for a restroom break, my bladder gave, and I peed all down my bright pink parachute pants. For the rest of the school year, I was Betsy Wetsy. Luckily, I haven’t had a classmate call me that in quite some time!

During my study of Rahab, I gleaned understanding of why some of God’s bravest followers were remembered by a dubious designation most of us would want left behind. Let’s first look at Romans 5:8: “But God proves his own love for us in that while we are still sinners, Christ died for us.” What I take away from this is God has never seen any of us as a “fixer upper.” We are going to talk about the eras of Rahab’s life and how God realized her potential before her story began.

Rahab’s Pagan Era

Joshua 2:1-7 tells us Rahab is a sex worker and inn keeper, living in (or between) the wall of Jericho, a pagan city. Joshua 2:8-14 tells the story of Rahab hiding the spies from the king, sharing with them her belief that their God was the one true God. She told them she knew this was their promised land and recounted his miracles at the Red Sea and the defeat of the Amorite Kings. She knew the God of Israel was powerful enough to crush Jericho, and she took the opportunity to obey. Enter “Rahab the Obedient.” The spies agree to spare Rahab and her family, offering to shed their blood to spare her, reaffirming the theme of the shedding of innocent blood on behalf of the guilty seen throughout scripture.

Rahab’s Spy Era

Joshua 2: 15-21 & 6:25 recall the scarlet cord used to mark Rahab’s home as spared, just as the blood of the lamb on the door posts during the Passover spared the first-born Israelites. There was risk for Rahab as a spy. She had already told the king the spies had left out of the city gate, a lie punishable by death. What if her faith was misplaced and the Israelite army slaughtered her family anyway? What if the Israelites weren’t successful and she was found out as an accomplice? For three days Rahab waited, (which, to me, foreshadows the wait between Jesus’s death and resurrection). During the wait, we find “Rahab the Faithful.”

I think it is important to note that Rahab was not removed from her home by the Israelite soldiers before the wall fell. Joshua sent for her after they had already gained entry to the city. This shows that only God could have spared Rahab by the selective demolition of the wall that left her home intact. Rahab’s faith during her wait demonstrates God’s presence with us even when things around us are crumbling. For 400 years God had invited Jericho to repent. But His truth was revealed to a young pagan sex worker who was worth redeeming as she was.

Rahab’s Redemption Era

Hebrews 11:31 & James 2:24-25 highlight Rahab’s redemption and justification through obedience as an act of faith. She was remembered by her community and her God as a woman of character. She went on to marry Salmon (Matthew 1:5) and bear Boaz, making her King David’s great-grandmother and part of the lineage of Jesus.

John Newton--a former sailor, then slave, then slave ship master--turned from the slave trade in the late 1700s to become a clergyman & abolitionist. He is famous for writing the hymn “Amazing Grace.” This song reflected his journey to redemption. During this era of Rahab’s life, we see her “once was,” has transitioned to her “but now,” just as written in Newton’s timeless hymn.

Rahab’s Legacy Era

Ruth 2:1, 8-9, & 12 reveals generosity, gentleness, and kindness at the hands of Boaz, Rahab’s son. He is a man of standing and power. Yet, he saw Ruth, an outcasted foreigner, much like his mother would have been during her first days in the nation of Israel. He protected and provided for Ruth once he heard of her loyalty to Naomi.

Closing Points

1. Though Rahab is entered into Scripture, God’s breathed Word, as a prostitute, let us remember her dubious designation (and ours), speak to the glory of our redemption, not the darkness of our past.
2. Rahab was spared to serve, reflecting that all believers redeemed by Christ’s blood are worthy to serve in the church, no matter their “former.”
3. Immediate obedience with adjustment to self is the faith in action that led to Rahab’s DNA being in the very blood that washed away our sins on Calvary.
4. 
   

“Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will.” (Isaiah 46:9)

Resources used:

Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Joshua by Robert Smith, Jr.

Women of the Bible Podcast: Rahab (episodes 1-6) with Erin Davis by Revive Our Hearts