GOD’S COMPASSION FOR RAHAB

Study Scripture: Joshua 2: 8 –13; 6: 16 -17

Background Scripture: Joshua 1 and 2

Lesson 4 September 26, 2026

Key Verse

But the city shall be designated for destruction, it and everything that is in it belongs to the Lord; only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in the house shall live because she hid the messengers whom we sent.

Joshua 6: 17

INTRODUCTION

Our Lesson Study tells us plainly that God is in Canaan.

Of course, you know that Canaan is a place of extremely great wickedness where for several hundred years the cup of iniquity built up and overflowed until it was time for God’s wrath to clean up the place.

So if you think that God is not where you are, and that where you are is too wicked for His attention, and also for your attention, you are dead wrong.

It also teaches that when you are presented with a choice of going the way of God or going the way of Satan, a simple indication of where you are and your commitment to do what is right in the sight of God is required.

In the case of the main character in our Study today named Rahab it was a simple scarlet red cord that hung from her house over the walls of Jericho and signified to the people of God and to the eyes of God that she was ready to join them and be with them forever.

She had rejected Satan and the simple marker showed that.

So when you commit yourself to God just start with doing something simple which indicates that you belong to God. In in some cases it is the step of undergoing simple baptism in the name of the Father,, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

It might even involve making the simple step of moving out from where you are, leaving your community of sin and going to the place that God wants you to go to.

In the case of Rahab the simple scarlet red cord was a cord whose color made it visible. It was appointed an identifying sign.

Some of course attempt to say that the scarlet card is a type of the blood of Christ and ignore the fact that any comparison to the value of the sign with something God Himself initiated makes no sense. The spies stipulate the cord as a sign of their sovereign protection. They chose the sign

So let us be very careful when you hear these strange doctrines for the blood of Christ alone provides atonement for sin while in contrast Rahab’s cord identifies the house the Israelite soldiers have sworn to spare.

Neither Joshua nor the New Testament identifies Rahab’s cord as sacrificial blood or directly interprets it as a type of the cross. But there are people from various camps who tried to make that association. All that can be said is you should beware of these strange doctrines and remind yourself that the blood of Christ is in a unique category and its meaning is defined by God the Father Himself.

We will also in our Study Lesson see this shocking account that the spies of Israel went to a prostitute’s house and some will ask what they were doing there when they had been told over 40 years of wandering in the wilderness that they should stay separated from the pagan nations (and their practices) around them and be a pure and holy people for God.

But again people who ask these questions are ignoring the fact that these two men were spies and spies need to avoid getting caught. The house of a prostitute is the kind of place where men come and go frequently and travelers stay overnight and it is a place where it was less likely that these spies would be questioned. So avoid smearing the character of these spies as some are likely to do.

In any case we know that Rahab’s house was built on the high double city wall and her house was therefore built on the beams bridging the two walls and so it was a place where there was a good view of Jericho so that the spies could recognize the entire place quite easily.

So note that there were several practical reasons why spies might be at Rahab’s house.

It is also hoped that the sovereignty of God and the certainty of His promises coming to pass will shine quite clearly in this Study.

But note also that just because God decreed that something would happen for sure that does not mean that one should not disregard the importance of wisdom and prudence on our part.

Despite the sovereignty of God and His promises to us we are not free to act like fools and throw caution to the winds.

So we learn from Joshua that he took the practical position of having spies to help him achieve the extraordinary ends that God had promised.

We need like Joshua to do strategic planning in our battles because human involvement under the control of Satan is always involved. We are to act with wisdom and preparation, remaining confident that God will use every means available so that we will succeed, for God intends to fulfill His promise as He has stated previously to us.

It stands out in this Text that the real reason for the visit of the spies was that God had a divine appointment with Rahab!

So what about God’s appointment with you? One writer comments about Rahab’s encounter with the spies:

“Surely it was God who sent the two spies as his representatives to Rahab’s home for his own purposes: he was going to save Rahab and her family.

And through Rahab’s demonstration of great faith in God, he was able to fulfill the promise that he made to Abraham, that through Abraham’s faith, all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

Rehab and her family were the first fruits in Canaan of that promise!

What a surprising person to exhibit such courageous faith! Rahab was all the wrong things.

She was from the wrong people, the idolatrous Canaanites.

She was the wrong gender, a female in a totally male world.

And she was in the oldest and most shameful profession.

And yet God sent his spies to her, because he knew something that no one else knew yet”.

So we hope that this Study Lesson will point you again to 2 Chronicles 16:9:

“The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His”

Our Lesson today raises many issues which concern both sinners and saints, and the matters raised have therefore troubled and disturbed many people over the centuries. In this Lesson we will be looking at these matters through the lens of the life of Rahab, a woman the Bible clearly calls a prostitute.

But first let us bear in mind some Lessons that God wants us to learn:

God does not romanticize or hide His people behind a respectable title even after He brings them to Him. You are what you are and that is why the Apostle Paul told the brethren you people in the church are from the worst of the worst. But note the difference now in yourself for you have been washed in the blood of Christ and so you are now different.
You might be in a city or country under divine judgment, but yet once you hear of the mighty acts of the Lord, and you are prepared to acknowledge His gift of the land to Israel, and the gift of His blessings to His servants who seek mercy and will obey the terms of the rescue from God, you too can benefit from God’s mercy and His rescue mission.
Remember that a believing woman from condemned Jericho was spared and brought in among the chosen people of God, while an Israelite such as Achan came under judgment for covenant breaking rebellion. God’s judgment is distinguished according to His truth and His mercy reaches the person who takes refuge in Him, says one writer.
Note that the same revelation of the mighty acts of God will lead to different responses in human beings. Some will be like the sheep, and some will be like the goats. Some like the King of Jericho will respond by hunting the people of God and the spies and so the city under their control will remain set against the people of God, whether they are Israelites or Gentiles. But some on the other hand will acknowledge the universal supremacy of the Lord and by faith like that of Rahab can be contrasted with those that are disobedient, showing us that
Rahab’s actions and our actions are evidence of living faith. So we pray that you will respond like Rahab.
Notice that when she asks the men to save her she asks them to swear by the Lord and show kindness to her family because she had shown kindness to them. She had committed herself to action on their behalf and this describes loyal kindness. She wanted a reliable pledge not merely information or a private assurance. So when you come to God you make sure that the brethren that have brought you to God and who are around you understand that you are seeking a reliable pledge of support from them and so they must understand that they are swearing loyal love by the Lord.
Coming to the Lord requires courage. So if you showed loyal kindness to God and to the brethren, the brethren in turn must pledge faithfulness. This is important for you are going to abandon Jericho’s defiance, confess the Lord and cast yourself upon His mercy.
Loyalty and commitment to God overrides all other loyalties. Obedience to the plan of God is required by all creatures for God intends to save His elect and nothing will be allowed to stand in His way.
God in His gracious way will call sinners irrespective of their circumstances, profession, tribe, race, or environment for His grace is sufficient for all sins and for all situations. God cares for those people who are presently not inside the covenant and He cares for those that are in the covenant.

So let us look a little bit more at this woman named Rahab for she is a model for us.

This woman has the honor of being in the famous list of saints in Hebrews 11 and included in the very top of the list of the “great cloud of witnesses” who encourage all of us professing believers to faith and endurance.

Moreover, she is listed in the genealogy of Jesus, pointing out clearly that she was one of the great- great grandmothers of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Some commentators believe her faith is illustrated and explained by her great-great-grandson when he wrote Psalms 111. They surmise the inspiration for the sentiments in that Psalm could very well have come from David meditating on the experiences of his great ancestor; for so many of the statements in that Psalm in almost every respect, explains what God did for Rahab and why He did it. The Psalm reads in part:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: A good understanding have all they that do his commandments; his praise endureth forever.” (Verse 10).

Thus David begins his Psalm with praise:

“Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.

His work is honorable and glorious: and his righteousness endurerh forever.

He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.”

This Psalm is one that we should all memorize and keep close to our hearts.

We should be faithful to the words of Scripture, and if we are, we should recognize that the Study Text deals with a woman, a woman that we would call one of the “bad girls”. As a prostitute, she would not be considered one of the nice, pure womenliving in her city. She would be a woman accustomed to driving a very hard bargain with any man that she met. She would certainly not be what we would call a “wilting flower”. She was in a dangerous occupation and was well equipped to handle the many dangers that she faced.

Like many of the women in those days which chose or were forced into prostitution as a way to survive, she likely would have been quite poor. She seemed to be also a textile worker and this income she combined with that from prostitution. But as a survivor who lived a difficult life on the edge, she still remembered and cared for her own, and did not seek salvation apart from her family.

The Lesson in an important way addresses the desperate situations in which many women find themselves and we should not ignore the fact that this story has a ‘suffering’ woman at its center.

We should not shut our minds off from thinking that Rahab might have been crying a lot when she thought about her situation, especially at night when she plied her trade.

She really did not know if her pagan God was there for her. She probably quietly sought and listened for any news of a really different and powerful God somewhere that would take away her pain and save her.

She was obviously prepared to risk her life to find that kind of beautiful and caring God.

We should consider her likely unhappy life. She heard about this strange God of a strange people, and would’ve waited for an opportune moment to meet this God, praying desperately for an answer to her prayers.

The Text focuses on this unlikely ancestor to Jesus but is also one of promise, for God promised Abraham three things when he entered the land of Canaan in obedience to the call of God; namely:

-to give him the land of Canaan

-to place and establish his descendents in that land

-to make Abraham a spiritual blessing to everyone in the world. Genesis 12:1-3.

In a real sense, though the Text introduces the fulfillment of the second promise, it focuses on the third promise which reflects God’s concern for the world, for Jew and Gentile. God gave the matter of Gentile inclusion in His plan of salvation great importance in His word, by making this Canaanite woman Rahab the focus of the Text.

The Father was signalling that He was quite prepared and ready to call Gentiles to Himself.

This immediately brings to mind how Rahab had a very different approach to life from people today. The masses of people want to believe whatever they want and simply ignore the fact that the Bible has recorded stories for their guidance. Many today are like the people of Jericho. They hear the testimony, learn about the powerful works of God, cower in fear and yet reject God. They prefer darkness to light and salvation.

Rahab surrendered herself when she heard about the power of the Creator. She changed the way she believed and thought. The change of mind changed her future.

She stands as an example of what the power of God can do to change any person. She was the only one in the city who came to believe in the true God. She was rewarded by being one of the five women in the Bible that is listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ recorded for us in the first chapter of Matthew.

Centuries had elapsed since God promised Abraham and his ‘seed’ a ‘land’. But God is a God of grace and He did not allow the descendents of Abraham to enter the land and possess it, until the iniquity of the inhabitants of the land had reached and surpassed the point of no return for them spiritually.

They had by themselves sealed their fate and removed any hope of salvation for themselves. (Genesis 15:16)

Now over FOUR hundred years later Abraham’s descendants were poised to enter Canaan, the ‘land of promise’. Just a little over forty years earlier they had reached the borders of Canaan after their long trek from Egyptian slavery. But an unpardonable display of lack of faith on the part of the people incurred God’s judgment and they were consigned to an additional forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

But note that the misbehavior of the Israelites was used by God to give the inhabitants of Canaan more time for repentance. God apparently had not given up on them as yet. God waited and while He waited He prepared the heart of ‘one person’, so that He could save this woman and her family.

No wonder David said that the works of the Lord were wonderful! And note in addition he said that these works should be remembered forever!

Note as well that our story introduces the idea of divinely directed conquest. This idea has been corrupted into the Islamic idea of jihad or holy war.

The difference here is that God was merciful to the heathen nations and gave them many centuries to repent and to change their ways. Now given that they heard the testimonies about the great power of Jehovah, He intended to be glorified and would destroy those that were still practicing horrible sexual perversions, abusing men woman and children horribly, even offering their children ‘to the fire’ (sacrifice) and committing all kinds of abominations.

They were hostile to the plans of God, and in this ‘holy warfare’, these people were to be vanquished by the Israelites who were required to show exemplary obedience to the command of God. God required Israel to be in the “land of promise” so that the process toward giving birth to Messiah would be completed on His timetable.

Now once again the people of Israel camped on the borders of Canaan and looked to enter, led by the faithful assistant of Moses, their great leader Joshua. Entrance into the ‘land of promise’ would be facilitated by the faith of a pagan woman in Yahweh. Her actions involved tremendous risk to her life and helped to pave the way for entry and eventual conquest of Canaan by God’s people.

The story of Rahab’s involvement with the Israelites makes a good plot for any spy thriller. There is drama, suspense, betrayal, loyalty but behind the entire scene, is the unseen and providential hand of God, showing faithfulness to His people and merciful grace to all who will believe in Him, Jew and Gentile.

THE TEXT

Verses 1-7. The Israelites were camped at Shittim about five miles east of the Jordan River and about a two days journey. Jericho was a well fortified, walled frontier city a little distance west of the Jordan and about the same latitude as Shittim. It was a gateway of sorts to Canaan and thus it was squarely in the path of the advancing Israelites, unless they decided to divert to the north or the south.

It was situated on a very fertile plain and the area was celebrated for its palm trees and balsam shrubs.

God assured Joshua of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites (Joshua1:1-8) but he was not told the details of how God would achieve the victory. As wise military strategy indicates, information concerning the layout of the enemies’ defences, troop morale and preparedness are important factors to any military campaign.

One writer notes: “Faith in God’s promise ought not to supersede but encourage our diligence in the use of proper means. Joshua is sure he has God with him, and yet sends men before him. We do not trust God, but tempt him, if our expectations slacken our endeavours”. (Matt.4:6-7).

Another writer advises:

“Faith in the Lord’s provision should never lead to presuming on God’s decrees or sovereign actions, our intuitive feelings, or on our wants and desires. Faith looks for the principles of Scripture that might be applicable, gathers information or the facts needed in making wise decisions, and then, based on biblical principles and the facts known, moves ahead trusting in the provision and directions of the Lord (Luke 14:31). If the Lord wants to intervene in some miraculous way as with Jericho, that’s great, but we should never presume on His sovereign ways”.

It goes without saying that espionage can only be successfully conducted in secrecy both at ‘home and abroad’. Joshua maintains secrecy in Israel’s camp about the reconnaissance mission. No doubt the debacle of their last spy mission in which Joshua himself was personally involved (Numbers 14, 26) where a faithless report by the majority of the spies (Joshua and Caleb being the exception giving a positive report of victory guaranteed) demoralized the people. The experience would certainly be still fresh in Joshua’s mind.

The word used to describe what Joshua did could be interpreted to mean that the two spies were given the instruction secretly, but it could also mean that they were sent out secretly to avoid the Canaanites hearing of it. The Canaanites would obviously be watching the Israelites and charting their progress and we will learn later that they did know that spies from Israel were around.

Beyond this, leaders must be wise and this means being under the constant guidance of the Holy Spirit. God was with Joshua and at this time it was more important that the people be reminded of God’s person, promises, principles and purposes, rather than the immediate problem of engaging the enemy. Sometimes it is good to call everyone’s attention to the problems, other times it is not, (Neh. 2:4-17).

Joshua had particular interest in Jericho as a military objective. For, besides being in the direct path of the Israelites, it was a formidable fortress and its defeat would give the Israelites a strong foothold in Canaan and also strike a serious psychological and demoralizing blow to the rest of the Canaanites. It would also give them access to very fertile lands which would meet much of their immediate food needs. The mission then was to explore their entry point especially Jericho, to determine when and how to attack, not whether to attack.

Because Rahab’s name appears in the list of Jesus’ ancestors and she is called a harlot,some writers and historians are uneasy with what they see as a sort of smear on our Lord. They suggest she was in fact only an ‘innkeeper’. In several other instances in Scripture however she is called a harlot (porne = Greek from which we get pornography, Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25). Implicit in this view is the erroneous idea that she had to clean up her act before she could get saved or before God could work in her heart. But note, even the vilest of sin is no bar to pardoning mercy if one is truly repentant. We read of publicans and harlots entering into the kingdom of the Messiah and being welcomed to all the privileges of that kingdom, Matthew 21:31.

Others would not have the ‘Israelites’ stay at the house of a prostitute, so they too call Rahab an “innkeeper”. “Innkeeper” and “prostitute” however, were synonymous terms in that culture and up to this day there is a surviving link between both businesses. Interestingly, in our day prostitutes often provide a very intriguing aspect in many espionage cases that come to light and were also a regular part of the espionage scene back in antiquity.

Another consideration is that Rahab’s house was the only place the spies could stay without being detected and where valuable information might be gathered from tongues loosened by ‘house spirits’. As one writer notes: “…what better place to gather information than at a bar…”. Others note Rahab’s house afforded an easy way of escape since it was located on the city wall (v. 15).

Some surmise Rahab might have met the men in the street during the normal course of her work and brought them home after she recognized them as strangers and possibly Israelites. By this time Rahab believed that Israel’s God was the true God and was anxious to link up with Him and His people.

God’s sovereign control over nations and individuals, a recurring theme in the Scriptures is again in view in our Text. While He orchestrates the fortunes of His chosen people, He often seeks out and finds one individual in an entire city for His particular grace. Here He brought the spies and Rahab together for their protection and her blessing. Remember the case of Lot in Sodom.

Note that we have been introduced to an individual who has in the past worshipped a false god, sold her body for a living, certainly had problems with what we would consider to be moral absolutes, had a conscience trained to sin and as yet had no direct revelation of God. Here was a woman who was definitely outside of the covenant. She lived in a place where one would not expect to find faith, especially the kind of faith that one would look for only in Israel. The centuries had passed and it was clear that God had not found faith in that place. He was ready to destroy the faithless.

So we wonder at this stage why God had His people make contact with this particular woman. It might be that the real reason for the visit of the spies was that God had a divine appointment with Rahab.

In fact, Joshua did not even have to fight any battle in Jericho to conquer the city. The conquest was simply done through God’s strange, difficult to believe and supernatural work. God didn’t seem to need any spies at all to give him any information, for He did not intend any real, conventional battle. Rather strange. Still we must bear in mind that at this point Joshua did not know how God would deliver Jericho into their hands. He sent the spies as part of sound military strategy.

We can easily imagine how the identity of the spies might have become known. They must have dressed so as to blend in with the local populace but language or other traits were likely noticed. Again if they asked any questions, maybe too many and someone soon ‘put two and two together’ and the king was informed.

Strangers entering the house of Rahab were not likely to attract undue attention, though the entire city was on ‘red alert’ and all strangers would be getting a second look and viewed with some measure of suspicion. Everyone knew Israel was camped out on the east side of Jordan and looking to go west; these were tense times in Jericho. Strangers coming in at this time would stand out for sure and even though this might have normally been a good place to hide out, this was now an awkward place.

It was duly reported to the king of Jericho that there were strange men around and that they seemed to be from the children of Israel. It was also reported that their mission was to spy all the land. Obviously, despite their best efforts, the spies were spotted.

The king of Jericho immediately ordered Rahab to turn over the spies for he had already decided they were spies on a mission to search out Jericho. While oriental hospitality might have weighed on Rahab to protect the spies, protection of the enemies of the state was treason and punishable by death.

The king assumed Rahab’s loyalty to Jericho and expected her to do her patriotic duty and turn over the spies.

Here Rahab’s actions have generated considerable debate. She concealed the spies, lied to protect them and sent the soldiers of the king on a wild goose chase. The king believed her story because to do otherwise was an act of treason and punishable by death and so he didn’t bother to search her home.

Let us look at it from the woman’s point of view. Here was a woman who was desperate. She knew that her only hope lay in God, and she threw herself right at Him. She would have had to go to great lengths and use all her feminine charms on the representatives of the king to persuade them not to search her house and to believe her that they were not there.

So here we have something more than just simple lying but a great performance, which could only have been done by someone who was well accustomed to acting skilfully toward men. Of course we know that God also influenced the minds of the men as well as that of the king. But it should be clear this was a determined woman who was down low, knew it, did not fool herself about her position, knew precisely what she was doing, held onto God tightly and thus exercised great faith. There was nothing in her appearance to the king’s men that gave any hint of deceit. Clearly we are looking at an unusual as well as a great woman.

After all, all Jericho knew the Israelites had already defeated the Amorites kings and their intentions towards Jericho was known, they would soon be coming to attack their city.

Three obvious questions that immediately come to mind are: was Rahab wrong in giving aid to her country’s enemies? Was she guilty of treason? and was she right for lying?

The Scriptural view of her actions can be seen in the following texts:

Hebrews 11:31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.

James 2:25 And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

Joshua 6:17 And the city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the LORD; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.

The New Testament texts attribute her actions to her faith in God and Joshua’s statement showed that she believed in the God of Israel. We are told in these verses that she was not disobedient, clearly not disobedient to the call of God to repent. Her behavior would have to show the fruits of repentance.

God does not condone lying, but in this case He saw faith, and a desire to pursue the truth above all else, taking a great risk and trusting that God would deliver her. It was probably not to be expected that she would have a high level of faith at this stage, so that her actions would be totally in line with that of a mature believer. Remember that there are not as many mature believers as we like to think who faithfully follow the commandments of God. It is important to note that the Bible records Rahab’s lie without praising it or excusing it.

Hiding the messengers was an outworking of her faith and shows the inextricable bond between faith and works; saving faith will be manifested in good works. One writer explores the issue:

First, what Rahab did was a matter of faith. She had come to believe that the God of Israel was indeed “God in heaven above and earth beneath” (2:11) and she is listed in the faith Hall of Famechapter.

Second, Rahab’s faith, which gave her strong convictions about God, caused her to act on her faith to the point of putting her life on the line. She knew eventually Israel would attack the city and destroy it because their God was the true God, and she wanted to be delivered and to become a part of Israel. She did not know a lot about Israel’s God, His laws of righteousness, or the way of salvation, but she knew He was the supreme God.

What about Rahab’s lie? Was it justified? Does Scripture condone it? Most commentaries approve of her faith, but disapprove of her lie. In essence, they approve of her hiding the spies, but not telling the lies. For instance:

Dr. Campbell writes, “To excuse Rahab for indulging in a common practice is to condone what God condemns. … The lie of Rahab was recorded but not approved. The Bible approves her faith, demonstrated by good works, but not her falsehood.”

Dr. Unger writes, “Rahab’s lie, of course was morally wrong.”

Pink agrees and says, “She failed to fully trust the Lord, and the fear of man brought a snare. He whose angels had smitten the men of Sodom with blindness (Gen. 19:11) and who had slain the fifty men sent to lay hands on His prophet (2 Kings 1:9-12), could have prevented those officers finding the spies.”

But is this correct? What was she supposed to say? “If you think they are here, come on in and search the house.” Please note, this is a matter of warfare.

In 6:17 Joshua explained that Rahab was to be spared because she hid the spies, and she did this as an ally. Let’s be honest here. When you take a vacation, do you leave a light on or have the TV come on in the evening to give the impression you are home when in truth, you are gone? We do this to deceive intruders, but it’s not the truth.

Note what Expositors Bible Commentary says: “Rahab lied as much in what she did as in what she said. Deception is an important strategy in warfare. Espionage would be impossible without it. When Rahab hid the spies, she sided with Israel against her own people. It was an act of treason!”

Another writer expresses another view as follows:

“For one to lie in this manner is for one to assume that he knows the outcome of a situation which, in fact he does not. God has control of every situation and therefore it might well be the will of God that the spies should die. It is the job of the believer to represent the truth and allow the Lord to care for the situation.”

Though the spies were spared, Jericho destroyed and Rahab venerated for her faith, one should not think that God condones lies or any kind of sin. Rebekah and Jacob desired the spiritual blessing, a good thing and engaged in deceit and this led to grief for them both. Moses was instructed to speak to the rock but struck the rock instead. God still allowed water to come from the rock but Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land because of his disobedience. God is gracious and merciful and does not discipline us to the extent His holiness demands. Nonetheless we must always be aware of God’s holiness, His high standards and seek to obey Him at all times and not try to justify sin.

Apart from the obvious lie of Rahab, believers are called to obey governments. Love of country is both natural and right. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God, Rom.13:1. While this is an important principle, it is not the most important. Loyalty to one’s country or to one’s people is not the highest good. Loyalty to God and love of God and His people is the over-riding good. Rahab chose to obey the higher authority, a principle espoused by Peter and John in Acts 4:19. Jesus used an overstatement to make the same point in Luke 14:26.

Rahab accepted that God’s movement among the nations was both right and irresistible and so it was both wrong and foolish to resist. Ultimately she acted on what she knew of Israel’s God. He was the true God, the God of heaven and earth.

Verses 8-11. In these verses, Rahab’s disinformation sends the pursuit to the east, as the spies were assumed to have headed for the fords to cross the Jordan and back to their camp on the east side. Meanwhile the spies headed west to hide out in the hill country till the danger passed.

Interestingly, Rahab’s information about the terror that had come upon Jericho and the Canaanites because of the Israelites and the fact God had given them the ‘land’ was in fact a fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel in Exodus 23:27:–

I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.

This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee,

Deut.2:25. (See Deut.11:25).

…utterly destroyed…translate a technical Hebrew term that refers to the practice of obliterating the spoils of war as a way of consecrating them to a deity.

…our hearts did melt…a picture of utter despair.

Rahab expressed unflinching confidence and conviction in the power of Israel’s God. Apparently news of His deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and His awesome display at the Red Sea travelled far and wide, with the result that all who heard the news quaked in fear. This was over forty years ago but the fear had not abated in Canaan and with Israel on their doorsteps, it had become palpable.

Note God makes his wonderful works to be remembered(Psalms 111:4), so that men shall speak of the might of his terrible acts, Psalms 145:6.

While all pagans and certainly Rahab believed in and worshipped many gods, Rahab seemed to have come to the conviction and was confident that Israel’s God (Yahweh) was the one and only true God who ruled over heaven and the affairs of men. Her statement in verse 11, “… for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath,” is more than a statement that Israel’s God was a god. The idea is that He and He alone is the true God and that He is involved with the affairs of the earth and man. Her faith clearly exceeded that of most in Israel at every single stage of their history.

Verse 12 – 13. In light of her knowledge of and faith in Israel’s God, expressed in verses 7 through 11 where she attributed Israel’s successes and destiny to their God; she was certain of the coming destruction of Jericho and said “…therefore…”. She made an appeal and sought to be delivered from the fate of the city by aligning herself with the God of Israel.

Of course, being a sensible woman, when begging the men for a promise of safety for her and her family, she told them that they had to swear to her by the Lord that they would perform what they had promised. It has been noted that the word she used for the Lord is the word which represents the covenant keeping name of God. For her therefore this kind of oath was a sure sign that the men of Israel would perform what they had promised. Women often are quite practical and go right to the meat of the matter!

Once she realized the situation she was quite prepared to move away from the disobedient behavior of those around her. She had made up her mind. Thus there was no fear in her eyes. If no one else in Jericho wanted to be saved that was OK with her, but she was determined for she wanted to be saved. This was good determination.

We hope that all women, and men, too, would follow her example. This is exemplary behaviour.

Note however that she took tremendous risks even with this assurance of protection from the men of Israel. Despite everything she still trusted the spies and for approximately twenty-one days she kept a scarlet cord hanging in her window and kept her family inside, so that her home on the wall would be seen by the Israelites and that she would be saved. There was no fear that the men of Jericho would see the cord and get suspicious.

Noteworthy is the fact that she was not only concerned for her self but was equally concerned for all her family and household. Christians should be no less concerned for those close to us and with whom we have regular contact. A judgment more terrible than that which now threatened Jericho awaits all who reject God’s gracious salvation in Christ Jesus.

One writer makes a poignant statement in reflection on Rahab’s reaction to the God of Israel, in comparison to the Israelites and by extension Christians: “…The inhabitants of the land were terror stricken. Three times in this chapter, the word “melted” is used to describe the emotional condition or the morale of the people (vs. 9, 11, 24). Mentally and emotionally, they were a defeated people. God had already given the people of Jericho into their hands. This had been the case for how long? Since they had heard about the events of the Red sea (2:9-11).

The question is, did Israel know it? With the exception of Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, the people of Israel refused to believe the promise of God, instead they allowed the negative report of the ten spies to melt their hearts because they were looking at the problems rather than at their God.

Note the irony here: the inhabitants were looking at Israel’s God and were shaking in their sandals. The Israelites, who had seen the mighty works of God over and over again, were looking at their problems rather than God and were terrorized into unbelief.”

It is a measure of comfort that God will go to great lengths to find His ‘sheep’ and bring them into the ‘fold’. The entire city of Jericho heard of the exploits of Israel’s God, as did the rest of Canaan. However, we read that only Rahab recognized God for who He is and desired to be among His people. It was no coincidence that the spies ended up in Rahab’s house and it is certain there were other women and houses of ill repute in Jericho.

Verse 14. There was still opportunity for betrayal but keeping mum about the presence of the spies and refusing to inform on them would confirm her faith in the Lord and good will to the people of God. The spies gave their word in a solemn oath. If she kept her word, then they would keep theirs. If anything happened to her, then their lives would be forfeited.

Beyond the protection Rahab provided the spies and putting her life in mortal danger on their behalf, the information she provided as to the morale and preparedness of Jericho was very valuable militarily. This confirmed to the Israelites that God had indeed given them Jericho. It would give courage to the most cowardly Israelite to hear how their enemies were dispirited and cowering and it was easy to see Jericho as a ‘walk-over’ especially in light of God’s promise. The spies and all Israel were rightly in her debt. But note that the supernatural work of destroying the walls of Jericho was the key to success.

Note the spies were no less confident than Rahab that God would ‘give’ them the City but did not yet know by what means.

Chapter 6: 22 – 25

God had commanded a strange strategy in this attack on the formidable city of Jericho. Armed men would go before the priests, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams horns, and the priests would continue blowing the trumpets while the Ark of the Lord would follow them.

The people were commanded not to shout or make any noise until Joshua commanded them to shout. The Ark of the Lord would circle the city once daily and then the entourage would go back into the camp and stay in the camp.

This would continue with the priests and the Ark of the covenant and the silent armed men marching around the city and returning to the camp every day for 6 days.

Verse 16. Then on the 7^th day they would march around the city seven times but this time when they would march around the city seven times, on the 7^th time the priests would blow the trumpet and Joshua would tell the people to shout and the people would shout for God had given them the city.

That march on the 7^th day symbolized completion of the task. The city was doomed, considered a cursed, and everything in it was completely destroyed except for the few things that were offered as an offering to the Lord.

Verse 17. The city was now doomed to destruction. It would be completely destroyed and all the people in it would be destroyed

That was the command given by Joshua for as he commanded only Rahab the harlot, she and all that were in the house would be spared from death and destruction.

The reason for the mercy God showed to her had come because she hid the messengers that were sent by God.

Note the importance of what followed in verse 18. It is most important that we recognize that God had declared that this city was under the ban. It was accursed and was slated to this action. There was no remedy for the city and for the disobedient and rebellious people.

But note the warning though Jericho was rich and well developed the people of Israel were warned that they should not take any of their cursed things in the city for if they did that they would become accursed by taking the wealth of the city for themselves. If they took what was in the city they would make themselves accursed, and they would make the camp of Israel a curse and trouble it.

This silver and gold and vessels of bronze and iron in the city were to be taken and consecrated to the Lord. They were to be put in the treasury of the Lord. The wealth of the city was placed in the hands of God alone. The wealth of the city would not be there to benefit the people of Israel personally.

Note then that ‘military’ action against Jericho had began and the Israelites in faith followed Joshua’s very peculiar instructions. On queue they gave a shout and the formidable walls of the city fall flat, except apparently for the part on which Rahab’s house was either in or on. The Israelite forces entered Jericho and totally annihilated the population except for Rahab and her family.

Here we see yet another demonstration of God’s mercy and faithful dealings with His people. In the midst of the battle and mayhem, Joshua summoned the ‘spies’ and sent them to secure Rahab and all those within her house and escort them to safety outside the Israelite camp. Rahab kept her part of the bargain and the promises made to her were honoured. She and all her family were spared.

Rahab and her family were at this point considered unclean persons and consequently left outside the camp; (see Leviticus 13:46; Numbers 12:14). After they renounced paganism, underwent the necessary purification and the males were circumcised, they were doubtless admitted into the camp and became part of Israel.

As so plainly stated in other Scriptures, God’s love and plan of salvation is open to anyone who believes on the name of the Lord (John 3:16; 2 Pet. 3:9; Rom. 10:11-13).

Rahab and her family settled in with the Israelites and their God became her God. Though often mentioned by her former occupation, the Messiah is among her posterity and she is in the Book of Hebrews ‘Hall of Faith’. And she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day

CONCLUSION

This is a story about a woman named Rahab doing what she could once she understood how God works. Her enterprising way of life came to the fore and she worked a great deal for herself and her family.

AC return of flashlightShe knew that God was already in Canaan.

Rahab’s story is that of a second-class citizen who lived in a man’s world and was regarded as of little value. However God took such a life, the life of a woman, a common prostitute and made her into a honored member of the nation of Israel.

Are we today treating women and other vulnerable members of society as the Canaanites treated Rahab?

Are we content to have some people live shameful lives and be disrespected and ignored, not considering that they are worthy to be called children of God? The fact is: all sinners are sinners and such were we until God saved us.

We must remember that many people are active ‘works in progress’ and we have to be very careful how we treat them.

We should remember that Rahab was more than a prostitute saved by grace. Once taken into the nation she married a tribal leader named Salmon, and they became the parents of Boaz. We know that Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David the king. She was in direct access to Joseph, the one with the legal right to the throne of David, who was the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus of Nazareth.

This woman was obviously a magnificent woman to be so quickly accepted into the nation and married into this powerful family.

It is to be noted also that her family must have seen something in her and her life must have been showing changes so that when she came to them, they readily agreed to come and live with her and be saved and become members of the nation of Israel. Certainly we know that in contrast, Lot the nephew of Abraham did not succeed in getting all of his family to flee Sodom and they perished. We are told that the husbands of his daughters regarded Lot’s warning as foolishness when he told them about the coming destruction of Sodom.

So here was clearly a very influential and persuasive woman. She demonstrated tenacity, saving faith in the living God and a changed life. She hung a scarlet cord in her window for a long time disregarding the fact that it might call attention to herself, and she waited, certainly praying for deliverance.

She was courageous. She made difficult choices. She was bold in her choice in trusting God. She willingly turned her world upside down. She was quite willing to join in a new spiritual family for she knew that was deliverance from a difficult, shameful, disrespected and a tough life. She stood alone against her culture. She made the choice to hold on to the unseen spiritual realities and not hold on to the reality that she could see.

Rahab shows us that we can have new life in Jesus. The miracle that God did in her is offered to all of us.

God likes to work through the ordinary and strange people, those that are low and despised by the world. He changes impossible situations and disadvantages into what is good and right.

So if you feel foolish, weak and of no value, despised, a non-entity, just remember Rahab the harlot and respond in faith to God. Respond and become like a polished diamond. God is able to do that with everyone. Rahab had a ‘past’ but God gave her a great future.

Become a model of saving faith. God is calling the immoral, homosexuals, idolaters, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, criminals, the proud, and the pretenders, to come to Him. No matter what your situation, He can wash and sanctify you. He will lift you up and honor you if you come to Him. He will make you a healthy person and will declare you righteous.

True faith persists in obedience even when circumstances seem to defy logic. The Israelites set us an example at Jericho. They were likely puzzled by their daily marches around in Jericho in silence but we do not read of any murmur or scepticism on their part. Regardless of how unusual the plan was or how hard it was to carry out, there was explicit obedience. We read in Hebrews 11:30, “by faith the walls of Jericho fell down …”. In spite of the taunts that were perhaps hurled down at them from the walls as they marched silently around Jericho, they were willing to look foolish and simply rest in the Lord. He was their source of strength.

If we want to overcome our obstacles and testing, we must submit to God’s way by faith:

The circumstancesof the battle of Jericho must have strengthened Israel’s faith in Yahweh. The generation born in the wilderness saw His strength and ability firsthand to overcome all their obstacles. They in turn acted in faith, followed His instructions and trusted in the outcome He promised. The reputation of Yahweh, Joshua and the nation was boosted by the victory. The silent marches around Jericho must have prompted questions in some minds but when we trust God in these most unlikely circumstance, the greater the victories we realize.

While faith is required of all God’s people, He graciously provides reasons to sustain our faith in Him and in so doing lifts us to a higher spiritual plane. We in turn become better witnesses and the gospel is acted out in our lives daily, thereby drawing sinners to their Savior.

God showed mercy and faithfulness to His promises at Jericho, the Israelites showed faith in God and a sinner was saved. God never changes, so let us do our part and be faithful and see the salvation of God in the changed life of sinners.

When we consider the life of Rahab, we should look around us and think of the many women who are confused, locked hopelessly into sin, living out a life which is self-destructive, relying on drugs, alcohol, deadening music, abusive men, and frequent partying, and the other things which delude them, so that they could survive their dreary existence, things however which bring them no lasting comfort.

Have we written them off? Do we care about them? Are we paying attention to them? Do we consider that God has a divine appointment with them? Do we ever think that they might really be seeking the true God but not yet finding Him? Are we looking at the woman around us knowing that they have all kinds of problems and difficulties, both small and large, and that we are responsible to show them the way home to God?

So let us now once again look at ourselves, and look around us at the people that we meet. We should consider that God is the creator of all men, women, and children, and He loves them all, does not want any one of them to perish, and therefore He has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

If we do not do what is required of this ministry we are simply disobeying God, no matter whether or not we consider ourselves to be Christian and to be holy. Have we considered that there might be people that God is planting the seed in now?

Just remember that there are many people hanging by a thread, a very thin thread. Also remember that God is seeing their hearts and hearing their cries and pleas for help. He has appointed us also as His ambassadors and His helpers. He is speaking to them in a still small voice and He is sending us to publicly and privately voice His words of comfort and direction to them.

So let us do what is right and not risk facing the awful saying of Jesus on the Day of our Judgment, namely, “I never knew you.”

God’s Compassion for Rahab

Study Scripture: Joshua 2: 8 –13; 6: 16 -17

Background Scripture: Joshua 1 and 2

Lesson 4 September 26, 2026