A series on God’s
calling: Rahab
Joshua 2:1-24
[Traditionally
we think of someone who has received “God’s call on their life” as being a
missionary or pastor or some other paid ministry position. But God has called
all of us into ministry. And there’s not just one way that He does it. In this
series, we will look at how God called people in the Bible to ministry, and
what that means to us.]
There are certain events that I can still remember when I heard the news even though it happened years ago. One of those was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I was in my fifth hour history class in junior high when the principal announced over the PA system that Kennedy had been killed.
Bad news travels fast! And the media loves to spread
it. Everyone knows that a sensational headline sells. Even in Old Testament times,
bad news traveled fast. Rahab the prostitute was a firsthand witness of it.
Even though news traveled by word of mouth, Jericho was
in a prime location to hear widespread news accounts. It was on an east-west
trade route that connected two north-south trade routes making an H-shape in
the region.
Because she was a prostitute, Rahab likely had many
travelers visit her house, telling her the latest bad news. In fact, all the
people of Jericho had heard about the Israelites and their God. As a result, their
“hearts melted in fear”.
But Rahab was presented with an unexpected
opportunity when two spies that Joshua had sent came to her house. You could
call it a perfect storm of circumstances. Because of what she had heard about
the Lord, Rahab firmly believed “that the Lord has given you the land”. Here
is what she said to the spies.
10 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. 11 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. NIV
That’s quite a statement of faith. Rahab recognized
that the God of Israel was greater than any god that she had ever encountered. Because
of this, she believed that this unexpected opportunity could give her a chance
to live. Therefore, she made a deal with the spies.
Because of her faith and actions, she is mentioned
in the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. James also praised her for her faith,
which was visible by her deeds. But maybe the greatest praise of all is that
she is mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus.
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David. NIV
Bad news does travel fast. But God used it to bring
Rahab the prostitute to faith. A faith that eventually led to the birth of
Christ. That’s what I would call Good News!
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