Rahab - Societal Reject
Refreshing Stories from the Bible • Sermon • Submitted
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1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there. 2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. 3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. 4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: 5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. 7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate. 8 And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 9 And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: 13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. 14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. 15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. 16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. 17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee. 19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. 20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. 21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
Introduction
Introduction
So far we have looked at two different episodes in the Bible that seemed to be downright depressing stories of human failure.
Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden.
Joseph’s abuse at the hands of his brothers.
Within each of these stories, we see that God is not bound by the mistakes of men.
His grace supersedes our faults.
His love for us is overwhelming.
We find refreshment in God’s ability to bring good from the worst of circumstances.
It’s one thing to quote Romans 8:28 “28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
It’s another thing to see it play out in real life over and over again.
Tonight we are going to look at another example of someone who found God to be abundantly more generous than they could ever imagine.
That person is Rahab.
You’ll never believe all that God overcame in her life.
Rahab has a lot going against her.
Rahab has a lot going against her.
In verses 1-7 we learn a lot about Rahab, but by understanding her, we actually learn more about God.
We actually get a small glimpse of this in a statement that has nothing to do with Rahab.
If you remember, when Moses sent the 12 spies into Canaan, he sent well-known representatives from every tribe.
In Numbers 13, the names of these men are listed.
These men brought back an evil report.
They swayed the people from God’s will.
The nation was sent back into the wilderness for 40 years.
When it came time to go back to the land, Joshua again sent spies into the land.
This time he only sends two instead of twelve.
This time neither man is named.
They remain anonymous.
They were also young men, as we find out later.
In this we begin to see that God doesn’t require societal acceptance or notoriety in order to use a person.
God takes the humble, unknown, and broken and confounds the world.
This theme remains as we look at the main human player of our account.
Verses 1-7 show us 4 things about Rahab.
She is a Canaanite.
To the Jews she was included among the people that were tagged for destruction.
Her people were rebels against God.
She knew of God’s power according to Joshua 2:9-11
9 And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
She is a woman.
Socially, she has little value.
This is especially true in the pagan culture of the Canaanites.
She has no agency of her own.
Her future is tied to her usefulness to the men in her life.
She is a prostitute.
Rahab’s post-God testimony has caused some to try and white-wash her past.
Josephus may have been one of the first to do this.
He said that Rahab was simply a hotel owner, not an actual harlot.
This is based on an obscure interpretation of the Hebrew word that is used to describe her.
This might be acceptable if not for the fact that the New Testament uses the word porne 2x to describe her.
She is a liar.
This has caused people a lot of consternation.
The story before tells us that news spread through the city that Rahab had received the strangers into her house.
The king of the city sends his men to demand that she produce the visitors.
Though Rahab had hid them on her roof in the flax that was drying in the sun, she lies to the king’s messengers.
She lies and tells them that the two men had been there, but they had left at sundown.
She lies again and tells them that she has no idea where they are now.
Of course, the soldiers have no reason to doubt her.
So, they head out of the city to try and track down the spies.
We look at Rahab and can make a few inferences about her standing even in Canaanite society.
The presence of flax on the roof.
Flax was a poor person’s crop.
They would use it to create fabrics that could be sold.
The location of Rahab’s house.
She literally lives on the outskirts of her own society.
She is not included among the other residents.
She must live on the fringes of the city.
Rahab has the most important conversation of her life.
Rahab has the most important conversation of her life.
We’ve already read the verses, but we see that Rahab starts with a recognition of God.
There are several parts to her declaration about God.
She accepts His authority to give the land to Israel.
This is based on the actions of God in delivering His people from the Red Sea as well as the kings of the nations.
Rahab has watched the hearts of her countrymen melt in the face of God’s power.
She had never seen anything like this.
All of these observations lead Rahab to declare that Yahweh is the God of heaven and earth.
I believe that this speech is the evidence of a personal conversion that took place in Rahab’s life.
This change in relationship with the God of the Hebrews is what motivated her to save the lives of the spies.
In response to her kindness she now asks them to return the favor.
Rahab asks the spies to spare her and her whole house when they overthrow the city.
The men agree, with the understanding that she remain discreet regarding her interactions with them.
She agrees.
The sign for her safety would be a scarlet cord hung from her window on the wall.
The results of Rahab’s faith.
The results of Rahab’s faith.
When the Israelites prepared to move on the city, Joshua gave them instructions not to harm Rahab the harlot or anyone in her house. Joshua 6:17
17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
After the walls fell, Joshua sent the two young spies to go and get Rahab and bring her to safety. Joshua 6:22
22 But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her.
Joshua then welcomed Rahab and her family into the number of the children of Israel. Joshua 6:25
25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
These are all amazing events.
With Rahab’s background, isn’t it incredible that she found such acceptance among God’s people?
I mean, she’s a harlot, shouldn’t she like be on the top of the list of Canaanites that deserved God’s judgment?
Probably, but she learned the truth about God and it changed her.
This change saved her life and those of her family.
Salvation from destruction and inclusion with God’s people are not the only benefits that Rahab received.
She also found a husband. Matthew 1:5 “5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;”
How awesome is this?
This woman who had been used by so many men, finds love, gets married and has a family.
Her family wouldn’t be just any family.
There would be a man in her line named Boaz who would marry Ruth.
There would be another man named Jesse who would have a son named David.
David would establish the throne that would later be occupied by none other than Jesus, Himself.
But even this is not the end of the Bible’s words on Rahab.
31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
Rahab’s story has been told and retold for thousands of years.
She went from an outcast of pagan society to a pivotal player in God’s story of redemption.
Which is all the more powerful considering the redemption she experienced.
She was spared the death she deserved.
She found acceptance among a people completely foreign to her.
She became a part of the lineage of kings and the Savior of the world.
Her faith was immortalized in the Biblical record.
There is refreshment in knowing that God is still transforming people like Rahab.
There is refreshment in knowing that God is still transforming people like Rahab.
Maybe you’ve struggled to find your place in the world.
Everything about you seems to be the wrong thing.
Wrong height
Wrong color
Wrong education
Wrong experiences
Wrong, wrong, wrong...
Because of that, you’ve never felt like you fit.
Every where you’ve ever gone, you felt like an outsider
In society, you are shunned.
In your family, you weren’t the favorite.
In God’s plan, you weren’t included.
God helped Rahab find her place.
She found her place within the nation.
She found her place in her family.
She found her place in God’s plan.
Rahab is an example to us of the extreme change that God can bring into our lives.
It still comes when we realize the power and authority that God has.
Jesus died for us on the cross to redeem us unto Himself.
He brings us in and makes us a part of His family.
We become citizens of His kingdom.
He gives us a mission to fulfill.
A word to those who already a part of God’s family.
Can we be like Yeshua?
Receive people that come to God in faith?
Integrate them into the family and into the kingdom?