Rahab: Strong and Brave
Wednesday, Week 2 of Beautifully Surrendered, A Love God Greatly Study
Today’s Reading: Joshua 2; James 2:14-26; SOAP: Hebrews 11:31
It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
Hebrews 11:31 NLT
My Observation:
Like us, Rahab was saved by faith and escaped the destruction of the disobedient. Welcoming and hiding the spies, as we read in the Joshua account were demonstrations of her faith. Faith that she expressed in many ways but perhaps none more clearly than the acknowledgement of God being the “supreme God”, and of course the scarlet cord that she hung out her window in faith believing that she and her household would be spared.
No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.
Joshua 2:11
“I accept your terms,” she replied. And she sent them on their way, leaving the scarlet rope hanging from the window.
Joshua 2:21
Rahab’s position in life, as a prostitute, did not overshadow her faith or make her faith worthless. Regardless of who she was or what she had been, God honored and accepted her by her faith in Him, which is evident in the fact that her name is among those listed in the Scripture’s ‘Hall of Faith’ found in Hebrews 11.
In case you’re wondering how a prostitute ends up in the ‘Hall of Faith’ with Abraham and all the others, let’s take another look at the fuller picture of her faith from what we’ve read today.
- She knew who the men were and whose they were when she welcomed them in.
- She welcomed them in in spite of the fact that she spoke to them of how their hearts melted in fear of them.
- She defied the local authority and risked their retaliation because she had heard and believed in their God – who He was and what He could do and had done.
- She placed her faith, not in what she had seen nor her fear in what could happen to her — but in the GOD of these men.
- She did so not only at her own risk but to her family’s
How Then Should We Live:
- We are to walk/live by faith and not by sight or knowledge of what we’ve done or said or where we’ve been.
- We should tell god’s stories — knowing they saved the life of Rahab and her family.
- Go where God sends us, for others may be saved by our obedience and courage.
- Fear God more than man.
My Prayer Response:
Father – prostitutes, adulterers, drunkards, liars, thieves, and the ‘worst of the worst’ that we can imagine are all welcome at your table when, by faith, they believe in Your Son. Thank You for Your unconditional love through the blood and person of Jesus Christ – for by Him I am saved!
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16