Rahab The Harlot Series

Women do not have fight to play a major role in war. The

gentle schemes of women are often able to do what bombs and

bullets cannot do. Mary Murray is a great example from the

Revolutionary War. George Washington and two of his

generals had escaped from the British in New York, but

General Putnam was still evacuating lower Manhatten. What

they did not know was that they were marching right into the

path of the British General Howe, who had just come to the

colonies with 8,000 fresh troops. It would have been a terrible

defeat for the colonies.

Mary Murray, the wife of a wealthy New York merchant,

learned of this impending disaster, and she went into action.

She invited the British General to stop for a cooling drink in

the spacious parlor of her mansion. This pulled him off the

road, and she sent one of her servants upstairs to watch the

cloud of dust so they could know when the American troops

had passed by. Fortunately, it was a hot day that September

15, 1776. General Howe accepted the invitation, and when he

prepared to leave she insisted he stay for a mid-day lunch.

General Howe hesitated because his men had to stand in the

hot sun. She solved that by having tables set out in back

under trees. The whole British army was kept cool and

entertained until the Americans were safely past.

The British never knew that a great victory slipped

through their hands because of a kind hospitality of a woman.

On Park Ave. of New York City there is a tablet honoring

Mary Murray for her heroic hospitality that made it possible

for the American army to escape. She helped win the

Revolutionary War with the weapon of kindness. It is a very

effective weapon, and we want to focus on a biblical woman

who became one of the most famous women in history

because she was kind to the Israelite spies, and helped them

escape from what appeared to be a hopeless situation. This

one act of kindness led Rahab to become a part of

Israel's history, and to even become a link in the chain that

led to the Messiah. She is part of the genealogy of Jesus

Christ. She is referred to by James as a great example of the

power of works, and in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, she

is one of the two women named in that great faith chapter as

a great example of faith. In spite of all her fame, and all the

coverage she gets in God's Word, her name never became a

popular name, which is usually the case with women who do

good and great things in the Bible. The reason for her name

never becoming widely used is due to the first aspect of her

life that we want to consider.

I. HER PAST PROFESSION.

Rahab was a harlot, or better known in our culture as a

prostitute. Here is a paradox, for she was a heathen harlot

who became a messianic mother, her name never escaped the

taint of her past, even though she did fully escape that past,

and will be singing in eternity the song of the redeemed. The

study of Rahab forces us to look at the subject of prostitution,

for this profession is always linked with her name except for

one time in the genealogy of Matt. 1. Even when she is held

up as a great example of faith and works she is called Rahab

the harlot.

The question that comes to our minds is why? Why is

prostitution so persistently prevalent all through history? It

is known as the oldest profession, and it is a profession that

has played a major role in history. You cannot study the role

of women in history, and not study this aspect of it. The Bible

recognizes it as a major subject. Harlot is used 40 times in the

Old Testament, and 8 times in the New Testament. Whore,

whoredom, and whoring, are used 83 times in the Old

Testament and 9 times in the New Testament. These

represent just a partial list of the biblical material on

prostitution, but they represent 140 verses of God's Word on

this issue. There is more on prostitution in the Bible than on

many other subjects, and it is because God knows the heart of

man better than we do.

Prostitution is, and always has been, a major economic

issue. Women have turned to it all through history for

survival. Men have always been tempted to cash in on the

willingness of other men to pay for sex. God knew the Jews

would be no different, and so He warns in Lev. 19:29, "Do not

degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the