Rahab: The Redeemed

“Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, ‘Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.’ So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night … ‘Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you’ … So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho.” (Joshua 2:1, 12; Joshua 6:25, NLT)

Most of us are familiar with Rahab’s story. As Joshua and the Israelites made their way toward the Promise Land, they came to Jericho. Jericho was a wicked city, an immoral and depraved place. The Lord led them to that city for the purpose of conquering and demolishing it.

Before they attempted to destroy such a fortified entity, Joshua sent two spies to scout the land. It was a dangerous mission, with Jericho on high alert and her people terrified.

When the spies entered the city, they sought refuge, and they found it with Rahab the prostitute. She hid and protected them from the king’s men, who came searching for them. In return for saving their lives, Rahab asked the spies to spare her and her family from the imminent destruction of her city.

The scouts made an agreement with her: if she and her family remained in her house – which was marked by the scarlet chord she used to lower the spies out her window – then she and those with her would be safe.

The spies returned to Joshua and delivered their report. Not long after this, the Israelites approached Jericho, and we know the rest of the story. They marched around the city one time for six days; on the seventh day they marched around Jericho seven times; and then the once impenetrable walls came tumbling down.

In the midst of the chaos and uproar that followed, the spies remembered their promise. Rahab and her family were protected from destruction and welcomed into Israel. Some time later, Rahab married an Israeli man and became a part of the family line of Jesus Himself.

It’s both strange and beautiful that of all the people in Jericho, it was Rahab who harbored the spies. Though Jericho was a vile city, there must have been more suitable options for the spies’ aid than a prostitute.

But that’s who Rahab was. Her identity was wrapped up in her impurity.

Think about it. The Bible doesn’t say, ‘Rahab, the mother.’ It doesn’t call her ‘Rahab, the beautiful woman.’ It doesn’t even just display her name, ‘Rahab.’ Scripture specifically denotes that she was, “Rahab the prostitute” on several occasions.

There is no question of who Rahab was – she was a prostitute, a woman of impurity.

We don’t know what happened to Rahab before this account in Joshua 2. We aren’t given her background. Why was she a prostitute in the first place?

Maybe she was forced into it, like many girls and women who are sex trafficked today.

Maybe Rahab’s husband died, and prostitution was her only viable way to provide for her family.

Maybe she chose prostitution in wickedness and later regretted it.

Whatever her reasons, Rahab found herself in a position that many despised. She was impure. She was wasted. She was despicable.

But not to Jesus. He didn’t define her by her situation or occupation. He didn’t see her the way others did. He saw something else in Rahab; He saw her faith, her courage, her readiness. He saw her heart. He called forth the greatness within her by sending two spies to her door.

He chose her to be a vessel of purity, honesty, and integrity.

As we know, Rahab showed herself to be a worthy choice. She protected the Israelites at the risk of her own life. She went against the grain, saving the lives of those who would later take the lives of her own people. She dared to believe that God could have a place for her among His children. And she was right.

Not only did God save her, he honored her. Rahab became a part of the lineage of Jesus! The woman who was once considered so impure was drawn into the family line of the purest man who ever touched this earth. The One who is Purity wrote Rahab into his genealogy (see Matthew 1). If that’s not redemption, I don’t know what is.

You don’t have to be perfect, holy, or spotlessly pure to be chosen by God. He chose you to be His child. It doesn’t matter who you used to be. The sins you’ve committed cannot separate you from the love Jesus has for you; neither can they keep you from becoming who He has called you to be. God is a redeeming God. He will redeem you.

You may think that what you’ve done or been is too sinful, too messed up, or too ugly to be reversed, but it isn’t. God is stronger than your past, and He’s bigger than your present. You are not unworthy or useless. Your Father has purposes for you that are greater than any impurities.