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SUBJECT: Rahab
QUESTION: Did she have the Holy Spirit of God IN
her OR UPON her? OR was this faith, spoken of concerning
her, as a result of her own HUMAN ENDEAVOR
ANSWER:
From the scriptures, it
seems very clear that God was working with Rahab by the
power of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that worked with
Abraham, Moses and Joshua.. God had a plan for Rahab and
has used her for an example for all of us.
For every person whom God
has called to be a firstfruit has had the Holy Spirit work
with them through the calling, repentance, and baptism
process. By this Spirit, God opens our minds to Him and His
truth. We see this process working with Rahab (even
though baptism had not been introduced)..
Joshua
2:8-15
8 And before they were laid
down, she came up unto them upon the roof;
9 And she said unto the men,
I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your
terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of
the land faint because of you.
10 For we have heard how the
LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came
out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the
Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og,
whom ye utterly destroyed.
11 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.
12 Now 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:
13 And 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.
14 And the men answered her,
Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And
it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we
will deal kindly and truly with thee.
15 Then she let them down by
a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town
wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.
Note:
One can readily see that Rahab had knowledge of God and even
called Him, "Lord". After the fall of Jericho, she marries
into the nation of Israel and is in the lineage of Jesus
Christ. Clearly, her knowledge of God and His Law continued
throughout her life.
Below is a paper about the
episode of Rahab in the book of Joshua. It should make
clear that the Spirit of God was working closely with and
influenced the mind and life of Rahab.
An Unlikely Ancestor
Joshua---The Adventure And Victory Of Faith
by Doug Goins
God promised Abraham three things when he entered Canaan,
centuries before the events recorded in the book of Joshua.
In Genesis 12 God promised Abraham (then called Abram) that
he would give him the land of Canaan. He promised that he
would establish Abraham's descendants in that land. And he
promised that he would make Abraham a spiritual blessing to
all the world. Six hundred eighty-five years later God
called Joshua to lead the nation of Israel in claiming the
land that God had given them, fulfilling the first promise.
That is the primary emphasis of the book of Joshua.
But our story in chapter 2 focuses more on the third
promise, God's concern for the whole world, Jews and
Gentiles alike. Our story is centered on one Canaanite woman
named Rahab. The average Israelite in Joshua's day probably
gave little thought to this episode, yet God chose to give
it great importance in his word.
Remember, although God had given Israel the land of Canaan,
it still had to be taken by force with God's sovereign
help. Joshua began that warfare the way any good commander
would, by getting information about the enemy. He sent two
spies to determine the situation in the enemy camp. In the
process, these young men encountered an unexpected and very
unlikely ally-a prostitute who would become a model of
twentieth-century faith for those of us who believe in Jesus
Christ. Joshua 2:1-24:
And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from
Shittim as spies, saying, "Go, view the land, especially
Jericho."
And they went, and came into the house of a harlot
whose name was Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the
king of
Jericho, "Behold, certain men of Israel have come here
tonight to search out the land." Then the king of Jericho
sent to
Rahab, saying, "Bring forth the men that have come to
you, who entered your house; for they have come to search
out all
the land." But the woman had taken the two men and
hidden them; and she said, "True, men came to me, but I did
not
know where they came from; and when the gate was to be
closed, at dark, the men went out; where the men went I do
not
know; pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them."
But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with
the
stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.
So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as
far as
the fords; and as soon as the pursuers had gone out,
the gate was shut.
Before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,
and said to the men, "I know that the LORD has given you the
land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and
that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
For we have
heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea
before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to
the two
kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to
Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we
heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage
left in any man, because of you; for the LORD your God is he
who
is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now then,
swear to me by the LORD that as I have dealt kindly with
you, you
also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give
me a sure sign, and save alive my father and mother, my
brothers
and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver
our lives from death." And the men said to her, "Our life
for yours! If
you do not tell this business of ours, then we will
deal kindly and faithfully with you when the LORD gives us
the land."
Then she let them down by a rope through the window,
for her house was built into the city wall, so that she
dwelt in the
wall. And she said to them, "Go into the hills, lest
the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days,
until the
pursuers have returned; then afterward you may go your
way." The men said to her, "We will be guiltless with
respect to
this oath of yours which you have made us swear.
Behold, when we come into the land, you shall bind this
scarlet cord in
the window through which you let us down; and you shall
gather into your house your father and mother, your
brothers,
and all your father's household. If any one goes out of
the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be
upon his
head, and we shall be guiltless; but if a hand is laid
upon any one who is with you in the house, his blood shall
be on our
head. But if you tell this business of ours, then we
shall be guiltless with respect to your oath which you have
made us
swear." And she said, "According to your words, so be
it." Then she sent them away, and they departed; and she
bound
the scarlet cord in the window.
They departed, and went into the hills, and remained
there three days, until the pursuers returned; for the
pursuers had
made search all along the way and found nothing. Then
the two men came down again from the hills, and passed over
and
came to Joshua the son of Nun; and they told him all
that had befallen them. And they said to Joshua, "Truly the
LORD
has given all the land into our hands; and moreover all
the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of us."
The nation Israel is camped at Shittim several miles from
Jericho, across the Jordan River. Joshua needs information
on Jericho's defenses, so he sends two soldiers into the
city as spies. They establish their base of operations in
the house of a prostitute. There they can maintain anonymity
while gathering military intelligence.
Jericho's king hears of the presence of Israelites spies and
sends soldiers to Rahab's house, demanding that she produce
the intruders. Rahab hid the spies on her roof and pointed
the king's men toward the Jordan River.
Like the rest of Jericho's population Rahab is alarmed at
the presence of this nation she can see across the Jordan.
As soon as the king's soldiers are gone she goes up to the
roof and expresses her fear of the future to the Israelite
spies.
But in addition to the fear, Rahab voices her own
affirmation of faith in the God of Israel. She calls him
"the LORD," Yahweh God-not a Canaanite name for God, but the
covenant name that the Hebrew people used for their personal
God. This God is determined, she says, to give the land to
the Hebrews. And she has heard the rumors that have been
circulating for forty years about how the Red Sea dried up
before the people when God miraculously delivered them from
Egypt and how God took them through the wilderness; and she
has heard the more recent news about the military victories
over the Amorite kings Og and Sihon, whose forces were wiped
out and their cities leveled. Look at what she says in verse
11: "And [in light of all that] as soon as we heard it, our
hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any man,
because of you; for the LORD your God is he who is God in
heaven above and on earth beneath." This powerful confession
of God's absolute sovereignty suggests that Rahab isn't just
gripped by fear, but deep inside she has a growing spiritual
sensitivity to the supernatural God at work through all of
these events.
In verses 12-13 Rahab begs the men for a promise of safety
for her and for her entire family as repayment for having
hidden them from the authorities: "Now then, swear to me by
the LORD that as I have dealt kindly [this word is a form of
hesed-loyal love, covenant loyalty, or faithfulness] with
you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and
give me a sure sign, and save alive my father and mother, my
brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and
deliver our lives from death." She is asking the spies to
save them from the judgment on the city that is to come,
which she is convinced will be the death of everyone in
Jericho. The spies promise to grant this request.
It's interesting how the Israelite armies that advanced were
to know which house was hers. The location of that house in
or on the city wall would make it easy for the spies to
escape and also for the house to be recognized by the
advancing army. For about 250 years biblical critics claimed
that this story was mythological, or at best historical
fiction, because there was no evidence that there were
houses built into city walls in the ancient near east. But
the excavations in Jericho after the turn of the century
showed that the city was surrounded by double walls with
twelve feet between them. And they found evidence that
simple houses were built on top of timbers that were spread
between the two walls. These were like poor squatter's
houses sitting on top of the city wall.
Rahab lowers the men by a rope through the window and points
them toward the hills to the west. It's interesting that
this prostitute is giving these spies instructions in
intelligence work. She says, "Don't go back east toward the
river; that's where they're looking for you. Go west and
hide for three days in the hills until the Jericho security
forces have returned from looking for you. Then you can make
your way east and swim across the river back to the camp."
The spies promise to honor her request for family protection
if she and her family promise to keep their visit a secret.
They point to a bright red rope in her house and tell her to
hang it across her window as a sign for the attacking
Israelite army. They promise that any of her family members
who remain in her house during the assault on Jericho will
be safe, but if they go outside the house or if they tell
anyone about the espionage, then the spies and the Israelite
army will no longer be bound by this commitment they are
making to Rahab and her family.
So the young spies leave, following her instructions
precisely. And when they return to camp, the sum total of
the intelligence report that they deliver to Joshua after
three days in the land (the text tells us that both the
going out and the coming back were done in secret) is in
verse 24: "Truly the LORD has given all the land into our
hands; and moreover all the inhabitants of the land are
fainthearted because of us." Remember how God encouraged
Joshua through his own word, the words of the people, and
the words of the leaders in chapter one. Now God is
encouraging Joshua through a Canaanite prostitute's words,
which these spies bring back to him.
After the defeat of Jericho, the first act of the two spies
will be to rescue Rahab and her entire family before the
city is razed and destroyed by fire. The conclusion to this
story is told in 6:22-23: "And Joshua said to the two men
who had spied out the land, 'Go into the harlot's house, and
bring out from it the woman, and all who belong to her, as
you swore to her.' So the young men who had been spies went
in, and brought out Rahab, and her father and mother and
brothers and all who belonged to her; and they brought all
her kindred, and set them outside the camp of Israel." What
an amazing story!
There are two themes in this narrative that I want to
develop. First, over and over again throughout history God
chooses very plain or nondescript people and exalts them,
draws them to himself, and then honors them with ministry
responsibility. Rahab is an amazing example of this. Second,
God holds Rahab up on display as a model of saving faith.
She exhibits amazing character qualities that commend
themselves to God, and then he commends her to us in the New
Testament.
I am grateful to John Huffman for these observational
emphases in his commentary, Joshua, Mastering The Old
Testament. Word Publishing, 1986, pp. 57-66.
To develop the first theme, there are three things about
Rahab that speak to the disadvantage from which she comes,
the prejudice with which she lives, and the disability that
she has to overcome.
First, Rahab is a Canaanite. Canaanites are hated as a
people by virtually every culture and nation that surrounds
them in this period. The Egyptians and Hittites write
against them, and the Ugaritic culture looks down on them
because of their degenerate culture and debased religion. We
know from the Scriptures that God has already placed the
peoples of Canaan under his moral judgment. After waiting
685 years, giving them every opportunity to turn to him,
speaking truth and extending grace and mercy to them, he
sees that their iniquity is full; the evil has filled itself
up. It is time for judgment to fall. Over and over in the
Old Testament, we find references to the wickedness of the
Canaanites.
But Rahab is one Canaanite who is not labeled wicked. She is
freed from bondage to Canaanite debauchery by crossing over
and joining the movement of the kingdom of God. We're going
to find later in Scripture that she and her family become
part of Israel.
Rahab's second disadvantage is that she is a woman.
Canaanite culture has a depraved, debased view of women. The
reliefs and sculptures that we find show women as nothing
more than sex objects and offspring-bearers. That attitude
of sinful male chauvinism has been demonstrated in every
society throughout human history. You may have heard the
first-century prayer of the Jewish rabbis: "I thank my God
that I was not born a woman." Today in many parts of the
world women are legally second-class citizens who don't have
the right to vote. In many cultures, women are still
chattel, property to be owned; and girls are still killed at
birth. We're all too well aware of the tragedy of domestic
violence against women in our own country. In a fallen,
sinful world, being a woman is a disadvantage. Some things
haven't changed since the Canaanite culture.
But God chooses to make this fascinating woman Rahab his
servant, to honor her, and to focus on her.
Rahab's third disadvantage is that she is a prostitute. Most
likely Rahab and her family lived in poverty. The bundles of
flax that were laid out on the roof to dry will be used to
weave linen. It suggests that her family lives by
agriculture outside the walls of Jericho. Rahab's house on
the outer wall serves as a place for her family to stay when
they're in the city. Probably out of economic necessity,
Rahab herself earns a living as a prostitute. And like
prostitutes in all cultures, she is marginalized by society.
In our day, as then, this profession is tolerated generally
because of male sexual demands. But these women go entirely
without recognition; they are non-entities in Jericho
society, just as prostitutes are today in every country
around the world.
But again, God loves to turn things upside-down. He chooses
the most unexpected people to work with. He specializes in
social outcasts. Remember, Jesus will be criticized for his
involvement with publicans and sinners-those who are looked
down upon because of lifestyle choices they have made.
Rahab was a female Canaanite prostitute with all the
attendant prejudice and disadvantage. But God chose this
unlikely woman as His own. John Hamlin says of her, "Rahab
was a paradigm of hope, showing that the old idols, the old
corrupt ways of the past, could be given up.....The contrast
between Rahab at the bottom of the social scale and the king
and nobles of Jericho at the top illustrates well what Jesus
said: 'Harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.'
(Matt. 21:31)" - footnote 1 - E. John Hamlin, Inheriting the
Land. Wm. B Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1983, pp. 16-17.
The second theme in this narrative is how God holds Rahab up
as a worthwhile model of saving faith in God. Rahab
demonstrates five amazing character qualities.
First, she is faithful to whatever glimmers of truth she
does see. All the citizens of Jericho have heard of Israel
and the God of Israel, of how God is saving them powerfully.
The result in all of them is fear, but Rahab is the only one
in that city who chooses not to be paralyzed by fear. In her
own embryonic way she is prepared to ask questions like,
"Who are these people? Their God must be supremely
powerful." Rahab's questions are a starting point for her
faith. She is open to truth. She is looking for something
better in life. And God brings two spies into her life who
aren't interested in her services as a prostitute. So her
question is, "What kind of a God is it that these men serve?
They live lives like this! He might be a God who could bring
me a new moral framework for life, a new identity." So Rahab
is a seeker of truth, and God always honors that kind of
openness. The Scriptures assure us that if we seek with all
our hearts, we'll find the Lord, or more accurately, he'll
find us. Jesus says, "...Seek, and you will find; knock, and
it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).
Second, Rahab is willing to make a difficult choice. She is
available immediately to do the courageous thing, putting
her own life at risk in hiding the spies. She makes a bold
choice to somehow trust this God whom the spies represent.
In so doing, she changes her whole future as well as her
family's.
Third, Rahab is willing to join a new spiritual family, the
nation of Israel. The red rope she hung over her window
pictured the blood smeared above the doors of the Jews who
were delivered out of Egypt on the Exodus. It was a symbol
of redemption out of bondage. In the years of worshipping in
the wilderness to follow, they learned about the
significance of the blood of the sacrifice, about its
atoning for sin, about the ordinance of the Passover.
Rahab's bright red rope has in its color a meaning that is a
type of Christ as well. It anticipates the blood of Jesus
Christ shed on the stake, atoning for the sins of the world.
She is a work in process. Hanging that rope is not only a
signal to the army of Israel, but also a sign that she
believes in their God, a God, with whom she will grow into
intimate relationship as her glorious new future unfolds.
The scriptures tell us that this God to whom she entrusted
her life took what was broken and inconsequential and put it
together in such a way that she and her family become
honored members of the Jewish nation. After the conquest of
Canaan, Rahab was married to a tribal leader of the nation,
a prince of the tribe of Judah whose name is Salmon.
Matthew 1:5,6 in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, lists
"...Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father
of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the
father of David the king." Rahab became so much more than a
prostitute saved by grace. She was an unusually wonderful
mother of Boaz, who married Ruth. She was the great-great
grandmother of King David. She was a direct ancestor of
Joseph, the husband of Mary, to whom Jesus was born.
Can you think of a more unlikely ancestor for our Messiah?
The reality is that if you're Jewish by race, she may be a
physical ancestor of yours. And if you're a believer in
Jesus Christ, no matter what your racial background, then
Rahab is one of your spiritual ancestors. We're in her
family line because she was willing to join a new family.
The fourth quality of Rahab is that in joining a new family,
she remains loyal to her own Canaanite family. That's an
amazing thing. She loves them, and convinces them to trust
this God of Israel with whom she has begun a relationship.
And in asking them to trust her, she assumes responsibility
for the fact that they might give away the secret and betray
her, and her life as well as theirs might be at risk. God
will honor that loyalty to her family by saving them all.
It struck me that her family must see a difference in her
life to make her believable to them, or they wouldn't trust
and wait for the Israelites to show up. Christ calls us to
the same loving loyalty to our non-Christian family members.
They deserve to know of our faith in Him. His life in us
will make us increasingly unselfish toward them.
The fifth quality of Rahab, and perhaps the most powerful
for us, is that she has tough faith that is held up as a
model by New Testament writers. She is a woman of tenacity.
She has exercised saving faith in the true and living God,
and her life is changed. In verse 21 we see that as soon as
the spies go out, she immediately hangs the cord in the
window. We don't know how long it hangs there-perhaps days
of waiting, hoping, watching, trusting. It is a public
statement of trusting in God.
Two New Testament books mention Rahab, Hebrews and James.
Hebrews makes a tremendous statement about her, comparing
her to other heroes of faith. She is one of only two women
listed in the hall of fame in Hebrews 11. Sarah, the wife of
Abraham, is mentioned as a woman of faith, and then it says
of Rahab, "By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with
those who were disobedient, because she had given friendly
welcome to the spies" (11:31). Hebrews 11:6 says, "And
without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever
would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that
he rewards those who seek him." That describes the saving
faith of Rahab. She was surrounded by unbelieving
Canaanites, and yet she stood alone in faith.
James 2:21, 25 mentions two people who demonstrate a living,
spiritual faith-the man Abraham and the woman Rahab. They
are the only two people mentioned: "Was not Abraham our
father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac
upon the altar?...And in the same way was not also Rahab the
harlot justified by works when she received the messengers
and sent them out another way?" The issue of works means
that faith is demonstrated, expressed, or exhibited. What
they believed spiritually, they each acted on in the choices
they made. Abraham demonstrated his faith at tremendous
cost, but he was willing to trust God and offer his son.
Rahab, as well, had a faith that had teeth to it, structure
and strength. She stood alone against the entire culture
that surrounded her. Until Jericho fell she had to stand for
the unseen spiritual realities against the seen physical
realities. She had to make a choice to trust the God of
Israel whom she couldn't see, against the king of Jericho
and the armies and the fortifications of that great city
that she could see. By her faith, Rahab the harlot was
deemed righteous.
The two great themes of this story are true for us
personally and practically. The first theme is that God
chooses to work through very ordinary and very unlikely
people. He chose to work through Rahab, a Canaanite, a
woman, a dishonest prostitute, a non-entity. God continues
to work that way as he always has. The apostle Paul says in
1 Corinthians 1:27-29, "...But God chose what is foolish in
the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the
world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and
despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to
nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast
in the presence of God." Whenever you see that phrase "but
God," it means that God loves to turn things upside-down, to
change impossible situations such as disadvantage and bias.
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