The Bible records remarkable human stories. Rahab was a harlot living in Jericho. She had heard about the God of Israel and she believed what she heard.
And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.
And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.”
Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.”
But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”
But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.
So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.
Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before 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 the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. Joshua 2:1-10
Rahab was rescued when Jericho fell and became a wife and mother in Israel.
But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. Joshua 6:25
Rahab is mentioned twice in the New Testament. She is listed in the genealogy of King David and Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5). In the book of Hebrews she is listed among people who lived by faith, trusting God.
By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. Hebrews 11:31
Rahab’s life story demonstrates God’s love, extended to all who believe and seek him.
Tessa Afshar has written a novel about Rahab, Pearl in the Sand. She explores what it might have been like for Rahab to make the transition from her life in Jericho to life in the tribes of Israel. It is an amazing story.
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