Today I'm looking at the story of Rahab and how she is a woman of God!
A little bit of background information, the 40 years in the wilderness was up, and the only people left from that generation was Moses, Joshua and Caleb. They approached the promised land for the 2nd time, and this time nothing could stand in their way. They had already defeated many kings and places that I dream of being able to pronounce. They designated Joshua as their leader and they were preparing to cross the River Jordan to get to Canaan.
This story is found in Joshua 2-6 :) The whole story is great, but really all i'm focusing on today is Rahab and her role in all of this. Joshua sent two spies into the city of Jericho and they ended up in Rahab's house. Now Rahab was a prostitute so it was probably normal for men to come into her house without anyone questioning it. But, someone must have spied the Israelites, as someone told the king of their whereabouts. The King demands that Rahab brings the men out, but instead she hides them and tells the kings men they had already left. Rahab then tells the men that everyone in Jericho is pretty frightened because their God had given them that land. She admits the God rules over the heavens and the earth and pleads with them that when they destroy Jericho, they will show her and her family kindness like she had shown the spies. She then is told to tie the red cord round her window and keep her family inside when they attack and they will all be saved.
They conquer Jericho, and Rahab and all her family are saved in the end!
What's the significance?
She's a prostitute, she's got a sexually immoral background and a past. But God does amazing things through her!
There is absolutely no coincidence that the spies went into her house, it's God's leading that they did, because she saved their lives by lying to the King's men about the whereabouts of where they were.
She had heard of this "God" and heard about things he had done like drying up the Red Sea when they came through Egypt. She knew that if these men promised before God that something would happen, it would happen. And so it was. They promised she would be spared, and she was!
She puts her faith and her trust into this God she knew little of, and of these spies. She could have been killed as a result but that one step of faith changed her life and others. . .
In Matthew 1v 5 "Salmon was the father of Boaz. Boaz's mother was Rahab.) She becomes part of the genealogy of Jesus!
But not even that, later on in Hebrews, Chapter 11 is talking about people who have great faith, and those who trust in God and guess who features!
Hebrews 11:31 - It was by faith that Rahab, the prostitute, welcomes the spies and was not killed with those who refused to obey God
And in
James 2:25 - Another example is Rahab, a prostitute who was made right with God by something she did. She welcomed the spies into her home and helped them escape by a different road.
And she showed her faith through her good works!
How does this apply to me?
It doesn't matter about our past, God can do amazing things through us, through the bad situations we've been in, through our sin that can be a positive thing in the future. Whoever has a past, God alone can give them a future!
God is a good God, he has everything under control and he definitely keeps his promises.
Lastly, Rahab had faith, a lot of faith in God and the spies. That's a really admirable trait to have, and as women of God we should be full of faith as well!
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