Rahab, the Prostitute

A Woman of Convictions and Courage

Joshua sent two spies from Shittim into the land of Jericho to spy out the land. There they entered the house of Rahab, a prostitute. The king sent his men to find them, and they demanded that Rahab send the spies out of her house.

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

Joshua Chapter 2, Verses 4-7

Rahab was a woman of courage and determination, who once set upon a certain course, refused to be swayed. Several points surface in the reading of Rahab's story that we can easily apply to our lives today.

The first, maybe most notable idea, is that God picks anyone He wishes. God knew Rahab and her profession, but He chose her to become a prominent link in the chain of Christ's ancestry. Occasionally, God chooses us for some unlikely task, and we must depend on His knowledge of our ability over our own limited understanding. God knows the difference having Him in our lives can make in our motives and actions. Although we might consider ourselves an unlikely choice, God often knows us as the proper solution.

Rahab chose to believe. We all make decisions concerning our lives, and Rahab made God her choice. She acknowledged that the Lord God was supreme, and more importantly, she didn't veer off the track when action was needed to accomplish God's will. Often it is easy to acknowledge the presence of God, but easier still to back away when faced with some difficult chore. Even though in danger herself, Rahab hid the spies and helped them escape. We either trust in God when attempting unseen and

unknown ventures or we chose not to. Freedom of choice bears a heavy responsibility in our lives, and one that should not be taken lightly.