Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) - Joshua 2:4-6
In the account of Rahab’s meeting with the two spies Joshua had sent out we see three distinct lies : (1) that she didn’t know where they were from; (2) that they had left; and (3) that she didn’t know where they went. Yet all the while the spies were hiding up on her roof. Now many will question whether or not God endorsed the lies of a woman known as a harlot among her own people. We know that God does not lie; in fact he hates lies - “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.” - Proverbs 12:22. So why is Rahab, a common Caananite prostitute, spoken of so highly in Hebrews? “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.” when she had received the spies with peace.” - Hebrews 11:31.
In today’s common parlance Rahab was nothing short of a “lying whore.” Nothing more; nothing less. Yet the Bible goes on to describe that she eventually marries a man named “Salmon,” of the Tribe of Judah. There she becomes part of the very genealogy of Jesus Christ. Still the Book of Joshua contains the back-story of Rahab and evidences the truth that God is no respecter of persons because those whom He elects to salvation are sinners, one and all.
Back in the Book of Deuteronomy, God told Moses as He commanded him to cross over the River Arnon, “This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.” - Deuteronomy 2:25. Now, let us listen to Rahab as she speaks to Joshua’s spies - “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For 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 the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” - Joshua 2: 9 -11. Rahab voiced the concerns of the people of Jericho because of the Gospel they had heard. But where the people of Jericho did not respond to the effectual call of the Holy Spirit, Rahab did! A sinner like you and I, Rahab came to faith in God Almighty because He chose her before the foundation of the world. Obviously, the Holy Spirit had been working of the heart of Rahab for days, weeks, possibly even months before she even met the spies sent by Joshua. Yes, yes, she still lied but weren’t we still living sinful lives when we came to both the belief in Christ and the faith that He had paid for our sins? “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8. And just as Rahab lied leading up to her confession of faith what were we doing just prior to coming to faith in our Lord and Savior?
Rahab isn’t called faithful because she lied; she is called faithful for the God-honoring change that took place in her harlot’s heart. A sinner was saved; a woman of ill repute, a sinner like you and I.
May we always praise God and thank Him for the love, mercy, and grace He has shown to sinners like Rahab . . . and us.
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