For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8
When we think that we, or when people express to us that they, are too bad for God or that there is no hope for us/them, I would hope that we would remember the woman we are going to look at today.
In the Book of Joshua, we find yet another sinful but faithful prostitute. Rahab, who was a Canaanite woman and a harolt or prostitute. Rahab lived in a house which was part of the city walls of Jericho.
In Joshua 1:1-2 we see God put Joshua in charge of the Israelites because Moses has died. And, God tells him that he and the Israelites are about to receive the promised land that God had promised Moses.
But the promised land is occupied by Canaanites who are enemies of the nation of Israel, so it will have to be taken by force.
In Joshua 2, Joshua sends two men into the city to spy and see what they are facing, in terms of a battle.
Then we meet Rahab. The two men look over the land and then they enter the house of Rahab the prostitute (Joshua 2:1). Somehow, the king of Jericho not only finds out that the men are in the city but that they’re also in Rahab’s house. So he sends a message saying “send the men out”. At which point, Rahab lies and says that the men left the city at dusk. But she’s actually hidden them on the roof of her house, under stalks of flax.
Before the men go to sleep that night Rahab goes up to see them and she explains “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Joshua 2:9-11.
Then the three make a pact. She asks that the lives of she and her family be spared, because of the kindness that she has shown the two spies. They agree that if she keeps their secret and hangs one scarlet cord from her window, she and her family (as long as they remain in the dwelling) will be spared. Then she told them where to go to stay safe and let them down by rope, through her window. Then in verse 21 we see that “she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
The two spies return to Joshua and “24 They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us”. Then Joshua gives the command that the battle should begin. The Israelites, following every instruction the Lord gave (through Joshua) cause the entire wall guarding the city to crumble to the ground….except for the part of the wall that housed Rahab and her family.
Then Joshua commands the two spies to retrieve Rahab and her family and move them to a place outside the city. Once they are safely out, the city and all that it holds are destroyed. Not only did Joshua spare Rahab, but she stayed with the Israelites, from then on, according to Joshua 6:25
This is an awesome story of redemption. This woman (a prostitute), simply by hearing of God and the miraculous things He had done, comes to faith in him. Those things that are said about him are enough to cause her to recognize that He is the one and only God (“for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” Joshua 2:11).
These men did not happen into Rahab’s house by accident. There are no accidents in the kingdom of God. God knew that she had a faith in him already and he provided an opportunity for her redemption…one scarlet cord.
It is also no coincidence (because there are no coincidences in the Kingdom of God either : ) that the instrument of her rescue was a cord of scarlet, like the instrument God used to rescue us (if we have asked Him to be Lord of our lives), the scarlet blood of His one and only Son. That same Son, whose genealogy we find in Matthew chapter 1, and amongst those listed we find Rahab a decendent (Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse Matthew 1:5) of our Lord and Savior – Jesus Christ.
This prostitute, with one scarlet cord, rescued two spies, her entire family and through her lineage the world received their redeemer – Jesus Christ.
That is quite a victory story for a simple prostitute. A story of rescue and a life transformed and redeemed and ultimately an opportunity for the redemption of all man kind (if they will repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior).
So, that should be a lesson to us and anyone who thinks that they, are too bad for God or that there is no hope for us/them. God specializes in using, mightily, those who have been immersed in sin but will repent and live their lives for Him.
I pray that today we would repent of any unconfessed sins. I pray that those old sins that the enemy reminds us of and uses to beat us down and to rob us of confidence and joy, would be forgotten by us as they are by God (“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” Isaiah 43:25). I pray that we would understand and rejoice over the victories that we have, through God’s immeasurable grace, that are no less incredible than those poured out on Rahab. Thank you Father!
If you have never asked God to forgive you of your sins or if you’ve never asked Jesus to be Lord of your life, because you felt too bad or that there was no hope to be forgiven, I pray that you would go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outlined there. God doesn’t want to condemn us, He (because He loves us….We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19) desires to forgive us and spend eternity in Heaven with us. (“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him John 3:16 & 17).
Please pray this prayer and, when you do, reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-loved.com and let me know so that I can be in prayer for you.
Luv Ya!
