Name: Rahab
Meaning: Broad
Her Character: Rahab was a woman of great faith and courage.
Her Sorrow: Rahab was a prostitute.
Her Joy: Rahab was able to save her family by helping Israeli spies, and she accepted their God as her own.
Key Scriptures: Joshua 2; Joshua 6:17-25; Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25; Matthew 1:5
Rahab is an excellent example that our beginning is not our end. When we meet Rahab, she is a prostitute. What we subsequently learn about her from her actions and words leaves us without a doubt that she was a woman blessed by God. If you are looking for an example of stepping out on faith, look no further. Even as a cracked vessel, she displayed faith and confidence in God.
Rahab’s story is familiar, and it’s found in Joshua. She lived in Jericho, and she aided the spies Joshua sent into the city to survey their opponent. She helped the spies by hiding them when soldiers came looking for them. She told the soldiers the spies left at nightfall. She had heard of the victories Israel had won with the help of their God. She had also heard of the miracles performed along the way, and she believed. She proclaimed that the God of Israel was God. In return for her help, she requested that she and her family be spared when the Israelites came to take Jericho. The spies agreed to help her and instructed her to tie a red cord to her window. She was also instructed to have her relatives in her house at the time of the attack. Because her home was along the city walls, the spies were able get down with a rope through her window when it was clear. Rahab’s faith and actions saved her and her entire family. After Israel conquered Jericho, her family was saved before the city was set on fire.
Through Rahab’s example, we learn an important lesson in judgment. How many of us would have shunned this woman because of her place in society? We cannot doubt that her peers did. Rahab was a woman who was rejected by society because of her occupation. Rahab took a huge leap of faith when she helped the spies. She reached for God, and He did not reject or abandon her. Regardless of what her past was before turning to God, she is considered among the righteous. We have a clear example that where we are now is not where we will finish. Who knows what potential lies within each of us?
Rahab went from being a prostitute to a woman who is one of four women mentioned in the genealogy of Christ in Matthew. She is mentioned in Hebrews 11:31 for her faith, and she is mentioned in James 2:25 for her good works. Her end was much better than her beginning.
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