Rahab: The Woman Who Trusted God Series

I believe there are many Christians who are not experiencing the abundant life Jesus talked about in John 10 because their faith is still based on who they are rather than on who Jesus Christ is, who God is, who the Holy Spirit is. Oh yes, they believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour but they still don’t trust Him with their life!

Rahab not only believed that the Israelites were coming to conquer and destroy Jericho and that God would fulfill what He told His people He would do, but Rahab placed her trust in this very same God and had faith that she could place her life in His hands.

Her trust in God arose out of what she had heard about Him, not what she had personally witnessed (v.9-11)

Joshua 2:9-11 (NIV)

9 and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

Notice that Rahab had not personally witnessed any of the miracles of God – she had only heard of what happened. Yet she was willing to trust Him. This too is another reason for why her faith was celebrated in the scriptures. She could have said, "How do I know these stories are true – sure the Israelites have conquered two kings and escaped Egypt -– but they could have just had some excellent people in charge. When they crossed the Red Sea it probably was during low tide and they only had one foot of water to wade through. There is no way they can cross the Jordan River during flood season…" But Rahab didn’t say this.

A man once told this story about some time he spent with his daughter:

The day was warm and sunny, and after lunch I took Tricia into the woods behind the house to explore with her the places I remembered from my own childhood. A dark stream ran through the woodland, and leaves were yellow-green against the fast-moving clouds and blue sky. I pointed out, as my father had to me, the warblers darting among the oaks and maples. The stream swirled lazily over rocks and sodden logs, and for a while we sat upon a boulder and watched the water flow. "Did you know there are tiny creatures in that water?" I asked. "Animals that you can’t see?"

Tricia lowered her face toward the pool beneath us. "Are there?"

My father had demonstrated the existence of the invisible teeming life by taking a sample of creek water and showing me slides under a microscope. I remembered the elaborate bulbous forms of protozoa and the bizarre wriggling cilia that waved in the droplets of water. "How do you suppose we could tell whether such creatures were there?" I asked.

Tricia continued to stare into the water. "By the fish," she said.