After the ladies' retreat that I went to a few weeks ago, I wrote about the first two ladies Jen Wilkin had talked about. I never got around to writing about the 3rd, Rahab, but after speaking with someone this week about those same women, I realized I needed to finish and cement Rahab's purpose for being included in the Bible into my mind. She was another amazing woman.
Sarah was "too much". Leah was "not enough". Rahab was "of no account at all". Why? Because when we think of Rahab, we remember her as prostitute or even a liar. Yet, the Bible does not. In fact, in James she is described right after Abraham as being a person of faith. The Bible uses the contrast of Abraham, who is high and exalted and then compares him to Rahab, a woman at the bottom of the heap. However, low she might have been, the Bible still says she was "justified by works". She showed her faith through her works.
Jen Wilkin loved Rahab as she was such an unlikely hero. She was a woman, a Cannanite and a prostitute. A social outcast. She then went through all sorts of commentaries from the past right up to current well-known theologians. Each one had judged her as a liar and a tramp......except for Scripture and God. Why would God see her this way when it is clearly not the best model for a heroine?
Jen's theory? Perhaps it wasn't the way we've all thought our whole lives. Jen made us go back and think, really think....do all girls grow up and say, "I want to be a prostitute when I grow up?!" No. NO ONE SAYS THAT. All prostitutes find themselves one. They do not grow up seeking to become one. Generally speaking, those who find themselves in that position have been put in that situation because of a lack of money. Even today, families will sell their children into human trafficking because of debt and desperation. That might have been the very situation that Rahab found herself in. Either her parents were in debt or she herself was in debt. We don't know, but it is very unlikely that she was happy and in the position she was on purpose.
If that is the case, which Jen was quite certain it was, then Rahab was also miserable and longing for freedom, for a Saviour.
Whenever someone is given a name or mentioned by name in the Bible, it is pretty special. In Joshua, Rahab is named. We don't know the names of the two spies or even the name of the king of Jericho, but we know her name, so right away, we know to pay attention to her.
When she is given the opportunity to protect the 2 spies, she hides them. Jen mentioned the word "hidden" is only used twice in the Bible. The other time was when Moses was hidden and it was used as a loving term showing care as he was hidden by his mother. She wanted to save his life. Rahab was not just doing this for herself, she genuinely cared about the two spies. Yet she lied. This aspect of the story troubles commentators appparently. Are you just supposed to think, "I guess God can use liars in the world?" No. Jen reminded us of other places in Scripture where people lied, such as the midwives in Israel who would purposely not kill the newborn babies and then say, "The Israelite women just give birth so fast!"
Jen said Rahab (and the Israelite midwives) gave truth to whom it was owed. She protected the spies and therefore protected life. However, Jen, said, evenso, that is not the focus of the story. The focus is the arrow it's pointing to - her faithful declaration of belief in God. She feared God more than the king of Jericho. Her uncommon bravery came from an uncommon belief. The story is not about the lie. We aren't supposed to be distracted by that.
Just like Sarah's faith came from her miracle baby, we must find out where Rahab's belief came from. Why did she have this uncommon faith? Exodus 15:15,16 has the answer, "Now are the chief of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, the are still as a stone..."
Rahab was one of the people was was "dismayed". She "trembled". Her heart "melted away". She felt "terror and dread". Everyone around had heard of all that God had done, the parting of the sea, the rescue from Egypt, the miracles done when Pharoah wouldn't let the Israelites go. Rahab probably scanned the wilderness for years, looking for deliverance for herself. Then, it walks in her door in the form of two spies. She must have been amazed as she saw herself potentially being rescued. She was a more faithful believer in God than the Israelites themselves. The type of kindness she showed is attributed to the same kindness of God.
She did take a risk in protecting the men. For years men have treated her as dirt. For the first time in her life, she is treated as a sister. They promise to protect her. What an amazing moment that must have been for her! She had her own passover moment as she lets down the red cord out of her window so that she would be passed over, not killed.
And what comes of all this? Just like Leah, she is part of the line of Jesus. A prostitute is in the line. How unlikely! Yet so beautiful. There is actually no proof she led an immoral life. She may have been more of a victim than anything. Yet, even if she did, don't we all have something we've done in our past or don't we all have something that has been done to us that we are not proud of? We are all empty in some way. But Jen said, "Only the empty can be filled. Those who are full of themselves can't be filled."
If we aren't sure that God loves us, we should be. If we are last, lost, starving, mourning, or grieving, we must know, just like Rahab did, that we will be exalted at the proper time. It might even be in death. Finally she said, "Nothing is for nothing. It all gets used." Rahab's reputation in the Bible is one of great faith. Though her life was awful and she found herself in a horrible situation, she had faith in God, that one day He would save her and He did. She became known as a woman to be admired. We need that same faith, that God will save us. He has saved us! We have Jesus. But if we find ourselves in a situation that is like slavery, we must believe that He can rescue us from that situation, too. We need that uncommon faith as well.
So, that is the story of Rahab. I appreciate her more than ever. I'd like a word with all those commentators out there who give her a bad name. Give us new eyes to be careful not to judge others. They do not know her full story. They need to look at her the way God looks at her.
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