Unprecedented Faith
“Rahab: Getting Serious About Faith”
Hebrews 11:30-31
Watch on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVKWQs_TX8w&t=76s
A man fell off a cliff but managed to grab a tree limb on the way down.
Fortunately, this doesn’t describe the person we’ll be examining today. Today, we’ll look at a woman who, by the world’s standards, would be seen as unfit, unprepared, and ill-equipped to serve as a shining example of a “good citizen.” Yet, despite her immoral lifestyle, God radically transformed her so much that she is not only mentioned in the greatest genealogy ever recorded but also included in God’s Hall of Faith.
Now, when we look at her life, we might think she has nothing to say or teach us about faith. That being said, consider those people others had written off.
And this is what we would have said about this woman whose faith we’ll be looking at today, which is Rahab, or more commonly known at that time as “Rahab the Harlot.”
In Matthew Chapter One, four women from the Old Testament are mentioned. They are part of the greatest genealogy ever recorded—that of Jesus Christ. These women are Tamar, Bathsheba, Ruth, and Rahab. The genealogy features some of the most prominent figures in the Jewish faith. It includes men like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as kings like David, Solomon, Jehoshaphat, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
But then you have these four women, and it is quite remarkable that they are listed in the first place because it was unheard of in those days to include women in a genealogy. Additionally, two of these women were not even Israelites—Ruth and Rahab—and the other two were not as virtuous as you’d expect in such a genealogy. Yet, God includes them, and one of them, Rahab, ends up in the Hall of Faith.
Why???
Well, let’s see what the writer of Hebrews states.
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.” (Hebrews 11:30-31 NKJV)
Let’s take a moment to examine this story. It took place immediately after the children of Israel entered the Promised Land, following their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. The first test of their faith came in the form of a well-fortified city just six miles away called Jericho.
When I say well-fortified, that’s exactly what it was. It was said to have two fortified walls, with a total height of about four stories, and into the outermost walls, stores and inns were built to house and cater to the less savory crowd. One of these places was where Rahab lived.
Now, to examine these fortifications and see what they were up against, Joshua sent two spies, and the best way to gather this sort of information without causing a fuss was to go where talk was cheap and conversations flowed freely.
Now we might say that Rahab had been around the block a few times and therefore understood the purpose of these two men. It wasn’t for hospitality, but for information. It also seems to have caught the attention of others, and it wasn’t long before the king of Jericho learned about it.
Immediately, he ordered Rahab to turn over these two young men, but instead of handing them in and getting a reward, she hid them on her roof when the king’s men came looking. She said, “I know who you are talking about, but they left a little while ago before the gate was shut. If you hurry, you might be able to catch up with them.” (Joshua 2:4-5 paraphrased)
Now, this is not an endorsement of lying, nor does the Bible endorse it. Instead, the Bible records what she did, which is one reason we know what is written is true, because it doesn’t sanitize the story; it honestly shows humanity with all its faults and failures.
There is a valuable lesson here, especially regarding our faith relationship with God.
God Accepts Us Just as We Are
God is so gracious because He doesn’t tell us to clean up our act before He accepts us; rather, He takes us just as we are. He doesn’t demean or condemn us but starts where we’re at, and then, as we walk with Him, He polishes us and transforms us from the inside out. As the Bible describes, He changes us from glory to glory, or even better, into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. It’s called transformation, and this process is known as a walk of faith. It involves being part of a living, loving relationship with Jesus Christ.
Now, Rahab realized she hadn’t been living the way she should have been. It’s called having a conscience. She understood that even though she was in this lifestyle, it just wasn’t right. It was accepted and tolerated by society, but she was beginning to hear God speaking to her heart and now finds herself saying, “This isn’t right, and I’ve got to make a change, and I’ve got to make that change now.”
Now, this process began long before the spies arrived. She had been hearing about the God of Israel for some time. She learned how He dried up the Red Sea, leading the children of Israel through on dry ground while drowning the Egyptians. She heard about how God kept them in the wilderness and how He helped Israel defeat their enemies. As a result, she concluded that the Lord is God and that her gods weren’t, and the Lord began to work in her heart, revealing who He truly is and that He genuinely exists.
We observe this in her statement to the two spies.
“I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us … for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” (Joshua 2:9a, 11b NKJV)
Her faith in God began when she came to understand who God was, and the same applies to us: our faith begins when we understand who God truly is.
And we’re told this in Hebrews 11:6, where it says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
She chose to identify with the God of Israel rather than with her people’s gods. Therefore, she hid the spies and asked that they spare her and her household when the Israelites conquered the city.
The spies agreed and told her to hang the scarlet cord she used to lower them from her window, so that when the city was defeated, she and her household would be saved. By her faith in God, she would be given a new beginning, a new chance at life, and the opportunity to live with God’s people and serve the Lord.
Now, take a look at Rahab’s response.
“According to your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.” (Joshua 2:21 NKJV)
Now, this binding of the scarlet cord reminds us of the first Passover in Egypt. The Jews placed the blood of the lamb on the lintel and doorposts of their homes so that when the angel of death passed by, he would spare those covered by the blood. Therefore, putting the blood on the doorpost saved their lives.
And that is what happened here. Rahab hung the scarlet cord outside the window of her home. When the troops saw this red cord, they passed over that house, and Rahab and her family were saved. In the New Testament, we are told that these events were a shadow of things to come, but the substance is Christ (Col. 2:17).
The Apostle Peter said, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life…but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:18-19 NIV)
And so, what we are being taught through the story of Rahab is that she took her faith seriously, and forgiveness was achieved. She grabbed hold of faith and did something with it, and it transformed her life and gave her a brand-new beginning.
Now, many people have been forgiven, but there is little, if anything, to show the change that such forgiveness brings. Therefore, God uses Rahab’s faith and forgiveness to teach us what it truly means to have faith.
We need to take our faith and the forgiveness we’ve received seriously, rather than just using it to ease our guilty conscience. We must act on what we say we believe in.
Returning to another cliff-hanging illustration. Let’s say we slip off a cliff and are hanging on for dear life. We cry out for help, and someone above us asks, “Do you need some water? How about a Big Mac? Maybe you need a laptop to watch the Internet.” We reply, “I don’t want water, a Big Mac, or the Internet. I need help. Send me down a rope.”
Well, they get a rope and drop it right next to us. Now comes the question, “What do we do?” Do we start singing, “Amazing Rope, how sweet you look, to save someone like me,” or “Rope of Jesus, dropped for me, let my eyes gaze upon thee.” No, we don’t sing about the rope; we grab hold of it and get serious about getting ourselves out of our predicament.
Well, faith is that rope, and for it to do us any good, we have to grab hold of it and use it to get out of the mess we’re in and the mess we’ve made of our lives.
Rahab understood she could lose everything. She might have been caught, imprisoned, convicted of treason and being a traitor, and executed. But she seized this God-given opportunity by faith and was saved.
Look at the outcome.
“And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.” (Joshua 6:25 NKJV)
Forgiveness is available to all of us, but it comes at a great cost—one that was paid dearly. Jesus paid that price when He died on the cross, taking the punishment for our sins and offering forgiveness to anyone who accepts it by faith, that is, grabs hold of it.
It’s like Jesus is saying, “Take hold of the forgiveness I have for you and use it to free yourself from the sin, pain, and shame that keep you trapped in despair and disillusionment. I paid the price, and I am offering it to you.”
And so, let’s grab hold of God’s forgiveness through faith, trusting in what Jesus did for us on the cross, as He died the death we deserve for our sin and took our place. Therefore, by faith, hold on to it.
The first lesson is that God accepts us just as we are, and because of that, we can now step into His plan and purpose for our lives.
Take Our Place in God’s Plan
Rahab embraced God’s forgiveness and acted on it. This is what the Apostle James refers to when he mentions Rahab to illustrate this point.
“Was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:25-26 NKJV)
Rahab acted in faith, made a commitment, and became a follower of God. Faith is meaningless unless it is put into action and results in a commitment to God.
I really appreciate the way the writer of Hebrews and the Apostle James present Rahab. Hebrews highlights her faith, while James focuses on her actions. The point the Apostle James makes is that faith without action is dead.
Rahab believed; she had the right words, understood who God was, and then she acted according to her belief. When she was offered forgiveness, she responded and made the change. She left her old way of life, abandoned her home, and moved in with the people of God. She accepted her place as one of God’s children.
There’s a lesson from Rahab’s life for all of us: and that is, our lives should match our words.
There is a story about four preachers discussing the merits of different Bible translations. One preacher preferred the King James Version for its poetic language. Another liked the American Revised Standard Version because it was closer to the original Hebrew and Greek texts. The third preacher favored the New International Version because of its updated vocabulary. But the fourth preacher was silent for a moment and then said, “You know, I like my mother’s translation best. She translated it into life, and it was the most convincing translation I ever saw.”
It has been said, and rightly so, that our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. So, how effectively are we living out the words of the Bible?
God was so pleased with Rahab’s faith that He placed her in the genealogy of the Messiah. She was the great-great-grandmother of King David. Look at the genealogy.
“Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.” (Matthew 1:5-6a NIV)
And as a side note, it has been said that eight of Rahab’s descendants were prophets, including Jeremiah.
And so, this woman of questionable reputation, by faith, took hold of God’s forgiveness, got serious about it, and took her place in God’s plan for our redemption. How great is that?
Conclusion
God used the humble, the despised, the abused, and the rejected to showcase His wonderful and marvelous grace, as well as His kingdom’s purposes. And if God can use someone like Rahab, then there are truly no limits to who He can use today. What is in our past becomes irrelevant once we trust, by faith, the forgiveness God offers.
Rahab was once a woman of ill repute, but through faith, she became a child of God and the mother of Boaz, who would grow up to be the great-grandfather of King David. The forgiveness she received was also passed down to her children.
This truth is evident in the story of another foreign woman included in the genealogy of Jesus. Her name was Ruth. She was a Moabite who accompanied her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Israel. In other words, Ruth, like Rahab, understood who God was. She said, “Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.” (Ruth 1:16)
Now, Boaz, Rahab’s son, saw that Ruth understood the pain of being an outcast because he was taught well by his mother. His grace, mercy, and compassion toward Ruth were direct results of Rahab’s teachings about what it was like. So, he took up the mantle, stepped forward, did what was right, and took Ruth as his wife, being her kinsman-redeemer.
We all have a voice in shaping future generations through what we teach, how we demonstrate our faith in God, and the grace we receive through Jesus Christ.
Therefore, let’s take our faith and the forgiveness God offers through faith in Jesus seriously, and make a difference for the next generation by helping them understand who God is, the forgiveness He provides, and His great and glorious plan and purpose for all of us.
Forgiveness is a rope to be used, not a trophy to be placed on a shelf. So, take hold of it by faith, get serious about it, and then watch what God can and will do in your life.
Rahab became serious about her faith, and it changed the world.
