Only Rahab, the harlot shall live

Josh.6:16-17, ‘And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city! 17 Now the city shall be doomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.’
Rahab escaped the wrath of God. She & her family were the only people who were spared from the entire city of Jericho. The life who was once marked as the most stinking life by the whole society was found in the list of those who lived. Its true that heaven will be full of surprises. Many whom we expect to be seen there might not be seen while many who were condemned by us will be seen rejoicing with our Lord.
Rahab’s house was in the town wall of Jericho. Josh.2:2, ‘And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.”’ When all houses closed at night, Rahab’s house would be open, inviting all lustful hearts into the pleasure of sin. Perhaps, all the inns in the city would have also been closed as it was night time. Hence, the messengers from the Israelites had to take refuge in this house. This was the only place where none of the whereabouts of the visitors were asked or enquired. Anyone from anywhere was a welcome. In v 3, the king sent his people straight away to the house of Rahab to enquire about the people who had come Israel. Even the King of the land looked at this house as the most suspected house. For it was an easy ground for any crime to be planned and brought to fulfillment. This was the reputation of Rahab before she heard about the God of Israelites.
In the following verses of chapter 2, we see a drastic change in Rahab’s attitude towards God, His people and her family which speaks out loud about the great change that happened in her heart. She is not seen making great announcement of the transformation of her heart, but her life and her attitude spoke about it.

Attitude towards God : Josh.2:8-9, ‘Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9 and said to the men: “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.’ Rahab’s bold proclamation saying ‘I know’ refers to a deep conviction instead of just an information. The Spirit of the Lord always convicts one of the truth, so deep that nothing can challenge it. All the rest in Jericho had heard what Rahab heard and all of them feared the Lord. Yet, none of the them transformed except Rahab. Knowledge and great knowledge about the Lord and His Word can make us tremble but only the deep convictions of the Spirit of the Lord can transform us. Is the knowledge we have about our Lord transforming us ?

Attitude towards God’s people : Rahab hid the messengers from Israelites. She took a risk. The king of the land had sent people to enquire about the people but Rahab refused to give the right information about them. Instead she took the risk of giving them refuge in her house and made a way to escape out of the land. When Rahab was transformed, her attitude towards God’s people also got transformed. Its sad to see many who claim to be God’s children paying an indifferent attitude towards others within the church and their painful issues. If we are in the same body of Christ, we will hide the downfalls of others and pray & correct them instead of exposing them and putting them to shame. Rahab gave protection to God’s people and thus proved her faith in the Lord.

Attitude towards one’s family : Josh.2:12-13, ‘ Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, 13 and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”’ Once redeemed, a great burden for one’s own family’s redemption flows into one’s heart. Noah stepped into the ark of salvation as a family and so did Joshua proclaim to serve the Lord as a family. Rahab’s house which was a snare of evil got transformed into a house of refuge. She brought her entire family into her house and thus were they spared from the destruction and wrath of the Lord.

Not much is written about Rahab except what she did to these messengers from Israel. But the seemingly little she did changed her destination from the list of cursed ones to the list of the Lord’s family(Mt.1:5). Small things done in faith speaks about great changes within one’s heart. Small things done in faith is seen as big things by the Lord. None of us know why Rahab had lived such a stinking life earlier. Harlots are not born as harlots. Circumstances, families, societies etc. have a great contribution in making one live such a life. Though we fail to understand them often and keep them away as much as we can, let’s realize that our Lord still loves them. No stink of sin is beyond the reach of the love of Christ. He eagerly waits for such lives to take the first step of responding to the love He displayed on the cross of Calvary. It would have not been easy for Rahab to stop the profession she practiced all these years of her life. The society she entertained might have posed a tough ground to her heart’s change. But as Rahab turned to the Lord with all her heart, the Lord Himself opened ways to escape the cursed profession and the society. The Lord takes the complete responsibility of breaking the snares of true repentant hearts. And Rahab found herself being accepted into the very blessed family of Christ Jesus.
The Word of God does not call only such lives as harlots, but also those who give priority to anything or anyone above the Lord . In the book of Hosea, God spoke about His love for Israel even when they were unfaithful to God. He displayed this message by asking the prophet to marry a harlot. Hence, any kind of unfaithfulness towards our Lord is termed as act of ‘prostitution’ in the Bible. We, the body of Christ is the bride of our Lord, being purified and sanctified for the final day, when we will see our Lord face to face. May none of us be unfaithful to Him, who has called us to be faithful till the end.

Chapter 1 of the gospel of Mathew is embedded with the names of lives who were cast away from the societies, who were tagged as cursed, who were hated by societies etc. But their names are found there in the geneology of Jesus Christ through the choice they made. The choice to repent, the choice to turn to the Lord with one’s whole heart and the choice to take the steps of faith. Let’s use the time given to us to make the right choice, lest its too late. The door of ark of salvation is still open. Let’s step into it before the Lord closes the door. Rahab and her family were the only remnants who lived from the entire city of Jericho. Joshua announced loud and clear, ‘Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.’ If we make the right choice today, we will hear our names being called out in the day of final redemption. May God bless us all together.
God bless us all

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