The Salvaging of a Sex Worker

Joshua 2:1 Then Joshua secretly sent out 2 spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them "Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.

Joshua had sent two men to spy on the city of Jericho and report back to him. He had had a mandate from the Lord in the course of his military advancement, to capture the city and “devote” it for him. ‘Devote’ in KJV actually means the opposite of what it means today! What it meant was to ravage or annihilate. Today it means to care or preserve! (This is a case for reading the modern translations).

Here we are introduced to a woman, a very shady character. She was a sex worker, and her name Rahab. The remarkable fact is that in the New Testament she is listed with those who are commonly called the heroes of faith! “It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies (Hebrews 11:31 NLT). Whether Rahab really practiced the world’s oldest profession is doubtful. Contemporary Jewish records say she was one of the world’s four most beautiful women--the other three being Cleopatra, Esther and the queen of Sheba.  Apologists also say she was a businesswoman dealing in purple, considered a respectable and profitable occupation).  We meet another female purple merchant in the New Testament, Lydia—Paul’s first European convert. 

Another startling fact is that Rahab is in the genealogy of Christ! The New Testament opens with that genealogy and you don’t read five verses of the New Testament until you come to this woman’s name. How did she get into the genealogy of Christ? She got there by faith. As you can see, the chapter before us introduces a remarkable woman.

She told her king an outright lie to protect these men. And in doing so, she actually jeopardized her own life. Now, why would she put her life on the line like this? Why did she lie to her own people and protect the enemy? Is it possible to condone Rahab’s action? The scripture is very clear on the fact that we, as children of God, are to obey those who are in authority.

A believer should certainly obey the authorities and those who rule over us. A Christian should be the most law-abiding citizen in the land. But when the laws of a state conflict with God’s revealed will, then the Christian has no choice but to obey the command of God. The Hebrew youngsters in the book of Daniel defied the law and refused to worship the emperor’s statue. When the authorities attempted to silence Peter and John, this was their response: “But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;  for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.’ ” (Acts 4:19-20). The believer is to obey the Word of God today rather than the word of man. That should be our attitude as children of God. Now we will let Rahab answer our first question: why did she lie to protect the enemy?

She said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you (Joshua 2:8, 9)

She gives an insight into the thinking of the Canaanites at that time. The word is out that a great company of people is coming into that land. They believe they are going to take the land. The population is stirred up, and they are afraid. This is the report that Rahab gives the spies. She must have been in a position to get all the gossip, and she could see that all of her people were terrified because of Israel’s advance.

“For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed” (Joshua 2:10).

Rahab makes this amazing confession: “For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt’’. How long ago was this? That happened forty years before they arrived at the Jordan River! During those forty years, God had been giving the people of Canaan an opportunity to turn to Him. How do we know that? Because God had said to Abraham that his seed would be strangers in a foreign land for 400 years; then in the fourth generation they would come again because “After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” (Genesis 15:16). That was 420 years before this. In other words, God was going to give the people of Canaan 420 years to decide whether or not they would turn to Him.

There are people who theorize that the God of the Old Testament was a great big bully, who went around throwing around His weight! When God gave the people of Canaan 420 years to repent, it was long enough. But God extended the time by forty more years and saw to it that they heard how He had revealed Himself by delivering His people from Egypt. God did not destroy a people that had not heard about Him. He gave them ample opportunity to turn to Him.

In the New Testament God has not changed. He has made it very clear that those who reject Jesus Christ were going to hell. When God’s judgment falls, I am sure there will be some soft-hearted and soft-headed folk on the sideline who will say, “He should have given them more time.” More time? Dear friend, more than 2000 years have gone by. God is patient; ‘The LORD is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty” (Numbers 14:18) How much longer do you want Him to give us? He has been giving the world ample opportunity to turn to Christ.

When Jonah finally arrived at Nineveh (via the stomach of the whale), he started to preach reluctantly. He delivered his message as a summary judgment, not mentioning a word about repentance and forgiveness, concealing the possibility of an escape from divine wrath through a change of heart. His half-hearted message was sufficient for the notoriously cruel and arrogant Assyrians to repent, right from the king to the meanest slave.

When Nebuchadnezzar realized Daniel’s three friends were not singed by the fiery furnace, he declared  “It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. How great are His signs! And how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and His dominion is from generation to generation”. This was from a man who had only recently declared he was God and had to be worshipped!

And if the king of the city of Jericho had turned to God, he would have been saved. In fact, the whole city could have been spared if they had believed in God. The Canaanites had had enough time. Now it was too late. Rahab had  insisted, “We have heard.” And notice the reaction.

“No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below” (Josh. 2:11).

Not only did they hear this, but they knew it was true. Even so, they did not turn to God. There are a great many people today who know as a historical fact that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again, but they are not saved. What saves you? It is trusting Him as your personal Savior and having a personal relationship with Him.

She was probably the only one who believed, and she is acting on that belief. This is her reason for putting her life in jeopardy to protect enemy spies. She heard; she believed; then she acted upon her belief. This is all salvation is about. When you hear the gospel, the good news of what Christ has done for you, you must not only believe it as a historical fact, but you must also trust Christ yourself. So this woman trusted the fact that God was going to give them that land. She turned to the living and true God. “It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies (Hebrews 11:31) The spies promised to spare all of her family that is with her in the house when Jericho was attacked, and they kept their promise.

Rahab, the Canaanite was totally assimilated into the Israelite society. Her son Boaz married Ruth, the Moabitess, (Naomi’s daughter-in-law). The couple’s great-grandson was King David. Of Rahab’s lineage came 21 kings and one queen and eventually the Saviour of the world.

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