Rahab’s Faith
Imagine you are Rahab. Your career and reputation are…questionable to say the least. You are a woman living in a heavily patriarchal, pagan culture. And then one da, you stumble upon these two Israelite spies scouting out your very city so that their people might defeat it. What do you do? Well, if you are Rahab, you take the great risk of hiding these spies and even lying to protect them. (Which, by the way, raises an interesting theological and ethical question of whether she was right to do so. It is the same question asked of the Hebrew midwives in Egypt.) Do you see the peril she welcomed in doing this? The safer route would have been to hand them over to the men of the city. But that is not what she did. But why? Rahab’s motivation for hiding and protecting the spies is given to us in Joshua 2:9-11“I know that the Lord has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan. When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below. (Joshua 2:9-11 CSB)
Rahab hid the spies because she was acting in faith. She knew that the Lord had given the Israelites the land—her home. She recognized the power of God at work through the Israelites and she knew that her city’s walls were inconsequential. It’s amazing that Rahab had greater faith from a distance than many of the Israelites had from within the camp.Rahab’s Salvation
Before the two spies scurried down the city wall to safety, Rahab made a request: that because of her kindness, the Israelites would show kindness to her and her family. Her actual request is recorded in verse 13.…that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and save us from death.” (Joshua 2:13 CSB)
Rahab asked that the Israelites allow her and her family to live. That was it. Seemed fair. Seemed simple. But look at what happened. When we jump ahead to Joshua 6, we see the amazing way God delivered Jericho to the Israelites—walls falling down because of trumpets and shouts. But notice what happened next:The troops advanced into the city, each man straight ahead, and they captured the city. They completely destroyed everything in the city with the sword — every man and woman, both young and old, and every ox, sheep, and donkey. (Joshua 6:20-21 CSB)
Complete and total destruction. Here again, an interesting theological and ethical question arises of God commanding His people to wipe out an entire city. But what we have to remember is that the people of Jericho were all sinners in rebellion against God, deserving of judgment (see Gen 15:16). The people of Jericho were not innocent victims. They were a people who had ample opportunity to repent, like Rahab. Because don’t miss the scene of beauty rising from the ashes:So the young men who had scouted went in and brought out Rahab and her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. (Joshua 6:23 CSB)
Rahab and her family were saved from the judgment that came because of her faith in God.Rahab’s Redemption
The deal was that the Israelites would spare Rahab’s life, but notice what happened next.They brought out her whole family and settled them outside the camp of Israel. (Joshua 6:23 CSB)
Rahab’s home was in ruins, her city vaporized. But she was not left there to fend for herself; the Israelites brought her into their nation. What an amazing act of grace and mercy! This was the ultimate fulfillment of Rahab’s redemption—from being a pagan enemy of God to being among the people of God because of faith. What a beautiful picture of what our redemption—our salvation—looks like as well. This is the ultimate take-away from the battle of Jericho. Yes, the walls tumbling down matters. Yes, the faith and obedience of Joshua and the people matters. But this—this picture of redemption—matters most, because through it we see the gospel. Oh, and one other sliver of the beauty of redemption. Notice who we find in the family line of Jesus:Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered King David. (Matthew 1:5-6 CSB)
That’s right. Rahab was the great great grandmother of King David, and an ancestor of Jesus Christ. Now that’s redemption.He hath changed sunset into sunrise, and through the cross brought death to life; and having wrenched man from destruction, He hath raised him to the skies, transplanting mortality into immortality, and translating earth to heaven.” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215) [1]Preschool Tip: For preschoolers, keep the point broad—that God rescued Rahab from destruction and in the same way God rescues us from sin. While the details undergirding that truth are important and beautiful, they are not essential for a preschooler to get this bigger truth. Kids Tip: For kids, try to preserve time to connect all of the dots of Rahab being saved and brought into the Israelite community to provide them with a fuller picture of redemption. When we are saved from our sin by faith in Christ, we are not left wandering either; we are brought into the family of faith called the church. We become part of a new people, just like Rahab. [1] Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Heathen, in The Writings of Clement of Alexandria, trans. William Wilson (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1867), 102.