A Heroic Prostitute

Joshua 2 - Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.)  So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land 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.  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.  When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

“Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.”

“Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”

So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall.  She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.”

Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house.  If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them.  But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”

“Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.”

So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them.  Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.”

 

Today we celebrate another great lady in the story of God – Rahab.  Rahab is yet another non-Jew who is celebrated in the Jewish scriptures/Old Testament.  Rahab’s actions are quite surprising in that she actually gives aid to the “enemy” of her people.  I have to ask myself, “what would cause someone to do that.  I don’t have to wonder because Rahab gives her reasons. 

First, she states that she “knows” that the God of the Hebrews has given them the land of her people.  Don’t miss this detail.  Rahab has her own Gods.  But her observation is that, “…the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”  She has seen that her “gods” are no Gods at all, but the God of the Hebrews is God of all.  She abandons her polytheistic faith to acknowledge that Lord is God alone.  I can’t overstate what a gigantic leap of faith this is.  She has invested her entire existence up until this point in a very specific tribal and religious identity but leaves them behind because she sees that her investment was misplaced.  It is rare when we find someone willing to make such a dramatic shift.

The other concern that Rahab has is for her family, so she negotiates for their safety.  She knows this is necessary because she knows that backed the Lord God, the Hebrews will be successful in winning the battle of Jericho.  Get this: Rahab, a prostitute among the people of Jericho is more confident in the victory of the Lord God’s people than the Lord God’s people.  Because she is so confident that God will give the victory, she intercedes with the spies to secure the safety of her family. 

Giving up false beliefs is difficult.  Admitting that we’ve “backed the wrong horse” is a hard pill to swallow.  Helping people that we have seen as the enemy in the past takes real humility even if we know deep in our hearts that the Lord is with them.  But Rahab’s story reminds us that being wrong about God and even about “our own people” has implications for the safety of our very families.  I am thankful for the “Rahab’s” of history that have realized that what God was doing was running counter to the causes they had invested their lives up until that point and did the brave things necessary to change course to be on the Lord’s side.    They have inspired me to admit when I have been falsely influenced by the people around me and swallow my pride and get on the Lord’s side myself.   My prayer is that Rahab’s story will do the same for you.

Prayer:  God point out my incorrect biases that I might give up the ways in which my life is running counter to what You are doing. Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for the rising number of people being diagnosed with COVID right now.

 

Song:  Warning!  If you do not like Hard Rock Music, you might want to skip listening to this song.  However, I’ve included the lyrics below:

Social Distortion:  I Was Wrong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXAU4MmMIMo

Lyrics:  When I was young, I was so full of fear

I hid behind anger, held back the tears

It was me against the world, I was sure that I'd win

The world fought back, punished me for my sins

I felt so alone, so insecure, I blamed you instead and made sure I was heard

And they tried to warn me of my evil ways

But I couldn't hear what they had to say

I was wrong, self destruction's got me again

I was wrong, I realized now that I was wrong

And I think about my loves, well I've had a few

I'm sorry that I hurt them, did I hurt you too

I took what I wanted, put my heart on the shelf

How can ya love me when you don't love yourself

It was me against the world, I was sure that I'd win

The world fought back, punished me for my sins

And they tried to warn me of my evil ways

But I couldn't hear what they had to say

I was wrong, self destruction's got me again

I was wrong, I realized now that I was wrong

And I think about my loves, well I've had a few

I'm sorry that I hurt them, did I hurt you too

I took what I wanted, put my heart on the shelf

How can ya love me when you don't love yourself

I grew up fast, I grew up hard

something was wrong from the very start

I was fighting everybody, I was fighting everything

but the only one that I hurt was me

I got society's blood running down my face

Somebody help me get outta this place

How could someone's bad luck last so long

until I realized that I was wrong

I was wrong, self destruction's got me again

I was wrong, I realized now that I was wrong

And I think about my loves, well I've had a few

I'm sorry that I hurt them, did I hurt you too

I took what I wanted, put my heart on the shelf

How can ya love me when you don't love yourself

I was wrong, self destruction's got me again

I was wrong, I realized now that I was wrong

And I think about my loves, well I've had a few

I'm sorry that I hurt them, did I hurt you too

I took what I wanted, put my heart on the shelf

How can ya love me when you don't love yourself