The Faith of a Harlot

Joshua 2:11-14 “And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. 12Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: 13And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”

In Hebrews 11, we have what is affectionately known as the Faith Hall of Fame. We see names in there we expect like, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses…and then… Rahab…a prostitute?! How did she make it in the list?

Consider the beginning of the story first. In Joshua chapter 2, spies are sent to Jericho. The spies ascend up to the house of a prostitute situated high on the might wall of Jericho. They must have chosen her house for the height for a better vantage point. When the men entered her house, the king knew about it and sent guards. How did the king know?

Since her house was high on the wall of the city, I am sure that all of the town knew when she had ‘visitors.’ In fact, probably the entire city knew the very magnitude of her sin. They saw her patrons entering and leaving her abode. She may have even been the most sinful person in the entire city by worldly standards. So why would God choose to save her?

It was not because of her past, rather it was for her faith. Once she trusted in God to save her, her faith was credited to her for righteousness. God was no longer concerned with her past.

Rahab testified that the entire city knew of God’s mighty hand and miracles. His testimonies had gone out from when He delivered His people from Egypt over 40 years ago. They had heard about His wrath upon the kings on the other side of the Jordan. They knew that He was Lord of all, yet they still trusted in the works of their own hands to save them. Only a simple prostitute and her family was humble enough to risk their own lives by committing treason to be spared by the Living God.

One more noteworthy thing that Rahab did was the urgency with which she acted. She asked for a token of her covenant with the spies…a sign. They told her to tie a scarlet cord in the same window she let them out of. Now as they descended, she counseled them to hide for three days in the mountains until the king’s men had ended their search for them. They agreed. So she had at least three days to tie the cord in her window. Did she wait and put it off? No. In Joshua 2:21, we see that as soon as she let them down, she immediately tied the string in the window. She knew that it was something too important to put off. That was the day of salvation for her. She would be delivered on the day of wrath of the Host of God’s Army.

It wasn’t just faith that saved her, it was her acting upon her faith and fulfilling her part of the covenant. She was also told, everyone in the house would be spared if the string was applied to the window. Anyone outside the house was outside the covenant, i.e. they were on their own. This is a beautiful mirror image of the Passover 40 years earlier in Egypt. Just slaying the lamb did not cause Death to Passover the house. The blood of the lamb had to be applied to the door posts of the house, the same with the string of Rahab. It is the same today for us in this age of Grace. The fact that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, does not mean that the whole world will be saved. Only those that have applied the blood of the Lamb to the Heart and are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

One last note, Rahab, this forgiven prostitute, would eventually be one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ. Read Matthew 1:5. If God can do that with a repentant prostitute, maybe there is hope for you and I. We must apply the Blood of the Covenant, then we will be a joint heir with Christ.

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