|
Image Courtesy of Google Images |
Yes, you read that right.
All of us can learn something from a prostitute. In Joshua chapter 2, time has drawn near for
the Israelites to begin their conquest of the Promised Land. The first target on their list is Jericho, a
mighty city with a seemingly impenetrable fortress. As leader of the Israelite people, Joshua
sends out two spies from Shittim to gather a report on the city (Joshua 2:1).
When the spies arrive, they meet a prostitute
named Rahab and stay in her home.
She was a prostitute and innkeeper whose house was built directly into
the city wall (v. 15). Rahab may have
started out in life as a prostitute, but she’s living proof that people can
overcome their surroundings. She is
mentioned three times in the New Testament, and all of them are positive.
The first time she is mentioned is in Matthew 1:5. It reads,
“and
Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and
Obed the father of Jesse,” (Matthew 1:5, ESV).
From this we can infer that she eventually gave up prostitution, married
and had a family. Her husband was a man
named Salmon, and they had a child named Boaz.
Boaz married Ruth (Ruth 4:10) and had a child named Obed. Obed then had a child named Jesse, who was
the father of King David of Israel (1 Samuel 17:12). That makes Rahab King David’s great-great
grandmother and an ancestor of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The second time she is mentioned is in
Hebrews 11:31 in the so-called “Hall of Faith.” The Hall of Faith is a chapter
in Hebrews dedicated to extoling the virtues of some of the Bibles most
venerated figures of faith. And this
former prostitute is included! The passage reads,
“By faith Rahab the
prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had
given a friendly welcome to the spies.” (Hebrews 11:31, ESV)
The third and final time she is
mentioned is in James 2:25 which says,
“And in the same way was not also Rahab
the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent
them out by another way?" (James 2:25, ESV)
So this
prostitute is mentioned in pretty high regard in the New Testament. Two of the three New Testament passages note an event in her life regarding the spies in Joshua chapter 2. It was probably this event that changed her
life forever, transforming her life of prostitution into one of faithful
obedience to God.
Looking at this event in her life from
Joshua 2, I believe there are three things we can learn from this prostitute: (1)
No matter how bad you’ve been, God can and will forgive you if you turn to him!
(2) If you truly believe what God says, you will obey him. (3) Faith requires action.
1. No sin is too great for God to forgive!
The first lesson we can learn from
Rahab’s life is that no sin is too great
for God to forgive. What a wonderful
promise in Scripture:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, ESV)
We see living proof of this in Rahab’s story.
The Bible picks no bones about the fact that she was a prostitute. But she didn’t stay that way. She repented, turned to God, married, and had
a family. We see her faith emerge in
Joshua 2:8-11 where she makes the following assertions:
(a) “I know the Lord
has given you the land.” (v. 9)
(b) “We have heard how the Lord dried up the
water of the Red Sea when you came out of Egypt.” (v. 10)
(c) “The Lord
your God is God of the heavens above and the earth beneath.” (v. 11).
No matter how bad you’ve been in your life,
no sin is too powerful for God’s love and mercy to overcome if you bring it to
Him!
2. If you truly believe what God says, then you will obey Him.
The second lesson from her life is
this: If you truly believe what God says
you will obey Him! Rahab took in the
spies and protected them when the king of Jericho came knocking at her door,
demanding that she turn them over, saving them from definite execution. (Joshua
2:2-7) If she had been caught lying to
the king, she could’ve been beaten, or worse.
Yet the possibility of earthly retaliation didn’t matter much to her. She’d heard the rumors of the God of Israel,
and her faith began to grow. She truly
believed what she’d heard, and she acted on her faith. Nothing the king could’ve done would’ve
stopped her from assisting God’s people.
The exact same thing is true for us
today. Rahab truly believed in God,
therefore she acted on that belief. If
we truly believe in what God has revealed to us through His Word, then must act
on it. The Apostle John quite vividly states the fate of those who do not obey
God,
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless,
the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters,
and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and
sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8, ESV)
If we truly believe that, if we truly take
God at His word, then we will obey Him.
3. Faith must be accompanied by action.
The third and final lesson we can learn
from Rahab’s life is that faith must be
backed up by action. When James wrote about Rahab’s story in James 2:25, he
uses her actions to illustrate the truth that he’s teaching in regard to faith
and action. Faith and action go hand-in-hand. Rahab had heard and believed in God, but she
didn’t have to help save the spies from the king. She could’ve easily acknowledged her belief
in the power and nature of the God of Israel, but if she hadn’t acted on that
faith, then it would’ve been a worthless faith.
We have to act on our faith, just as
Rahab did. If we say, “I believe in you
Jesus” but do nothing, then our faith is absolutely and totally worthless. Let us all learn to have the faith and
obedience of this former prostitute and wonderful woman of God!