Rahab of Jericho
Ancient Woman
The first time we met RAHAB OF JERICHO she was a pagan woman during the siege of Jericho when the Children of Israel laid siege to the city. She was a prostitute. When the two spies entered the city she saw something in them that told her life in Jericho would never be the same. She was afraid for her life and for the lives of her family members. The Bible does not tell us a lot about Rahab but we can make some assumptions from her actions. You can learn a lot about a person by watching what they do and how they live.
Fear makes people do strange things, but Rahab assessed the situation and made a choice. She already knew that the Israelites were coming! The stories preceded the march of this great people after they crossed the Jordan River. Everyone in Jericho felt feared for their lives and determined to hold out as long as possible. Two spies went into the city to get the lay of the land. When it was discovered that the spies were in the city they were hunted from house to house. In this moment Rahab made a choice that changed her destiny and the destiny of her entire family.
The hunt was on for the two spies. As they ran for their lives a woman dressed in the robes of a harlot motioned them into the house on the city wall. They followed her into the house and up to the roof top where they hid. The harlot met the pursuers at the door and pointed them away from her home. As their footsteps died away in the distance she went back to the rooftop to confront the spies.
This must have been a strange meeting. The spies were wearing forty year old clothes and shoes that had not worn out during their desert travels. They were most likely dirty, dusty but fierce in their zeal to claim this land that God had promised them. After forty years wandering in the wilderness and desert there was no mercy in the faces of these men. And yet, there was justice. The harlot approached them with honesty and freely admitted that everyone in Jericho was in fear of their lives. She wanted something from them. She made them an offer they could not refuse!
Rahab promised to help them escape and let them down the side of the city wall if they would promise not to kill her or her family when they came to take the city. The spies agreed to the terms. RAHAB told them to run to the hills and hide for three days. She knew that the men of Jericho would return to the city when the spies could not be found. The spies told her to take the scarlet cord that she was planning to use to let them down the wall and hang it in the window during the coming battle.
The spies returned to JOSHUA and told him what had happened. On the day of the battle Joshua sent the spies into the city during the battle to the home of Rahab where she had hung the scarlet cord in the window. They rescued Rahab and every member of the family with her in her home at the time. Rahab was a convert who eventually married a leader in Israel. Much discussion has taken place and some believe she actually married Joshua, the leader who followed Moses. Others believe she was the wife of Salmon, who was the head of the tribe of Judah and in the lineage of Jesus Christ.
Rahab is a wonderful example of how one woman who was at the lower end of the scale in the view of society can make a difference. God loves everyone without exception. To be used of God does not require social stature or even social acceptance. Only one thing is required of you to be used of God. Be willing to change. Be willing to serve. Be willing to do what ever God asks you to do. Rahab is a shining example of how one loose woman found a place in history and and whose name is remembered thousands of years after her death!
You can read Rahab’s story in the BOOK OF JOSHUA in the Old Testament. Joshua 1-6
