Rahab is one of those unique characters in the Bible because she wasn’t an exemplary person with a few flaws. Rather she was a despised person of ill-repute (Prostitute) who saw a God-moment coming and seized an opportunity to help further it along. Below I’d like to list three things that Rahab embraced that we would do well to emulate.
Rahab Stayed Up-To-Date With Social Atmospheres
Staying aware of social atmospheres is not one of my strongest suits. I tend to be occupied with my thoughts more than shifting dynamics. However, I see the importance of staying up-to-date. This is something I, and anyone can learn from Rahab.
In Joshua 2, we see Rahab explaining to the Israelite spies why she is helping them. She has heard of the reports from other Canaanite states like Og. She has heard how the Lord destroyed the cities and was clearly fighting for Israel. She knows Israel has turned their sites on Jericho, which is why the spies are there anyway. In addition, she knows about the crippling fear the king and the city are facing in confronting Israel. To say the least, Rahab knows what’s up, and is taking an opportunity to change her family’s fate.
Rahab Created Value to the Spies By Protecting Them
Rahab could have easily turned over the spies to the guards who inquired of her. (As a local prostitute, she not only did business with her body, she also did business with information). She misdirected the guards, hid the spies, and offered to help them out of the city. By doing so, she created value for them. She threw her towel in with enemy spies over her own countrymen.
Rahab saw what was coming to Jericho and seized an opportunity to change her fate by helping out Israelite spies. She created value for them (helped them advance their cause by sparing their lives), and was then able to extract a vow from them to spare her and her family.
Rahab Relied on Faith and Hope in the Spies and Ultimately God
Even by helping out the spies and getting an oath from them, Rahab still had to rely on faith in men whose words (or lack thereof) could mean her life. Had the spies not reported to Joshua and forgotten her, Rahab and family would have been utterly destroyed with everything else. This I was a tenuous situation for Rahab. She already betrayed Jericho (treason) for Israelite protection. She could have betrayed the spies (oppose Israel’s God) for Jericho’s protection. In the end, she had to hope the spies would deliver. It is a harrowing thing to place you life in the hands of strangers from your nation’s enemies. Ultimately, Rahab saw the Lord leveling Canaan for the Israelites. Nothing had stopped them. Were she to have a chance at survival, she had to trust the Lord would notice her efforts to help the spies. She had to trust the spies would hold to their word.
There are many more things we can learn from Rahab. These are just three. You can hear the full message here.
What are your reflections on this post about Rahab. Let me know in the comments. Don’t forget to subscribe.