Are we scandalized that a prostitute can teach us about faith? Does she teach us the difference between a dead faith that does nothing and a living faith that acts? Do we sometimes act imperfectly even in faith? Let’s begin in Joshua 2.
Did Joshua send scouts to spy out the walled city of Jericho?
Joshua, Nun’s son, secretly sent two men as spies from Shittim. He said, “Go. Look over the land, especially Jericho.” They set out and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab. They bedded down there. Someone told the king of Jericho, “Men from the Israelites have come here tonight to spy on the land.” So the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab: “Send out the men who came to you, the ones who came to your house, because they have come to spy on the entire land.” (Joshua 2:1-3 CEB)
How did Rahab protect the two men who came to spy out the land? Did she act perfectly even though she acted in faith? Do we?
Meanwhile, Rahab had taken the men up to the flat roof of her house and had hidden them under some piles of flax plants that she had put there to dry. The soldiers came to her door and demanded, “Let us have the men who are staying at your house. They are spies.” She answered, “Some men did come to my house, but I didn't know where they had come from. They left about sunset, just before it was time to close the town gate. I don't know where they were going, but if you hurry, maybe you can catch them.” The guards at the town gate let the soldiers leave Jericho, but they closed the gate again as soon as the soldiers went through. Then the soldiers headed toward the Jordan River to look for the spies at the place where people cross the river. (Joshua 2:4-7 CEV)
What did Rahab want in exchange for protecting the spies?
Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” (Joshua 2:8-13 ESV)
Did the two men agree to Rahab’s request for the safety of her family?
The men answered her, “We will give our lives for yours. If you don’t report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the Lord gives us the land.” Then she let them down by a rope through the window, since she lived in a house that was built into the wall of the city. “Go to the hill country so that the men pursuing you won’t find you,” she said to them. “Hide yourselves there for three days until they return; afterward, go on your way. (Joshua 2:14-16 HCSB)
What kind of arrangements did the men make to protect Rahab and her family?
The men replied, “We’ll be free from our commitment to you to which you’ve obligated us when we invade the land, if you don’t tie this rope made with red cords in the window through which you let us down, and if you don’t gather your father, your mother, your brothers, and all of the rest of your father’s household into your house. Everyone who leaves through the doors of your house into the street will be responsible for his own death, but we’ll be responsible for anyone who remains with you in the house if even so much as a hand is laid on him. But if you report this incident, we’ll be free from the oath to which you’ve made us swear.” “Since you put it that way,” she replied, “I agree.” After she sent them on their way and they had left, she tied the red cord in the window. (Joshua 2:17-21 ISV)
What did the two spies finally report to Joshua when they returned?
And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not. So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us. (Joshua 2:22-24 KJV)
What does the New Testament record about Rahab’s faith?
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after welcoming the spies in peace. (Hebrews 11:30-31 LSB)
Can a harlot teach us about a living faith versus a dead faith? Would we expect that faith to eventually lead her to change her profession?
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (James 2:24-26 NASB)
Are we scandalized that a prostitute can teach us about faith? Does she teach us the difference between a dead faith that does nothing and a living faith that acts? Do we sometimes act imperfectly even in faith? You decide!
