Strong Women of the Bible: Rahab (3/6) - H

Hello beautiful people and welcome to my series, Strong Women of the Bible! In reading through the Bible, have you ever thought, "Okay, but where are the women??" Well, my friends, over the next few weeks I will be bringing to your attention six underappreciated women of the Old Testament! This week's focus is Rahab. Weeks of research and many resources have gone into this series, with remarkable results. I can't wait to share them with you! So let's begin, shall we? 😁

Rahab: The Prostitute

Joshua 2

I think sometimes for us humans it's difficult to comprehend God's grace. And for that reason, many people (myself included) struggle with the concept of worth. Maybe these questions or something similar has passed through your head at one time or another . . .

Why would God want me?

How can I be worthy of grace after all I've done?

Why would Jesus die for a sinner like me?

Friend, you're not alone in feeling this way; I, for one, am also in the Low-Self-Esteem Club. And you may not realize it, but another distinct member of our club dates back to Bible times, all the way to the year 1400 BC. But I think her story might change your perspective on worth just a little . . . keep reading to find out. 💕

Meet Rahab. She lived and worked in a sinful city called Jericho of the land of Canaan. (Context: This is around the time the Israelites have finished wandering in the desert for 40 years and are coming to claim the Promised Land--that's Canaan. Since they have God on their side, they meet with victory every time they go up against another foe. Word of their victories is spreading across the land, even to Jericho, and rumor is Jericho is next in line to be defeated.)

Okay, back to Rahab. Most versions of the Bible call this woman "Rahab the prostitute." Even with this title, Rahab's actions are still very admirable; but in doing deeper research for this post, I found that most Bible historians believe Rahab was not a practicing prostitute at the time of this story.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I know some people in modern day will come up with any excuse that Rahab was not ever a prostitute, because they can't bear the fact that someone so "dirty" could be included as a hero of the Bible. To them, I just have one thing to say: Don't judge someone because they sin in a different way than you. 

Anyways, many scholars speculate that Rahab either owned or lived in an inn that offered prostitution. And still she was associated with the practice of prostitution. Perhaps when she was young, circumstances gave her no other option but to take up prostitution to support herself; she likely did not know God then. She must have felt so alone in the world. When she was a girl, she probably had dreams to marry a good man who could provide for her, and then raise a family as was expected of women at that time. I wonder what destitution fell upon her that she felt driven to turn to prostitution.

But listen, guys: our girl Rahab did not give up. She did not settle with the cards Satan had dealt her, no--she worked hard. She saved her money. She worked her way up in the ranks until she was able to buy a business, the inn--perhaps the very inn where she had started working as a prostitute. Our girl Rahab was a flat-out businesswoman guys! Do you know how rare that was back then?! She took one look at the cards Satan had dealt her, and she said NO SIR! 👏👏

This aspect alone of Rahab fills me with immense hope. If a girl (hopeless and destitute, living in more of a man's world than I can even comprehend) still has the guts to try, to dream, to have ambition, then what am I waiting for?! And what are you waiting for?

But we've only scratched the surface of Rahab's character. Cue the events of Joshua 2.

At this time, Moses had passed away, leaving Joshua as the leader of the Israelites. They're camped near Jericho, though they still keep their distance for now. Joshua sends two unnamed spies to scout out Jericho and get a feel for their vibe, essentially--whether they plan to fight the Israelites, or whether they've already given up. Not much detail is given as to how the spies entered the city of Jericho (though I doubt they came through the front door) but however they got in, they ended up in Rahab's place of business.

Have you ever been somewhere where everyone loves a certain sports team? For where I live in America, everyone loves the Ravens football team. But I happen to be a fan of the Steelers football team--and the Ravens and the Steelers are longtime enemies. Not gonna lie, sometimes the backlash I get from being a Steelers fan is borderline persecution.

Now, apply this example to Jericho. Everyone there hates the Israelites and they will fight them to the death to defend their city. But Rahab doesn't see it that way; she believes that God has delivered Jericho to the Israelites. Naturally, she's gonna get some backlash for that.

So imagine you're one of Rahab's neighbors, and you see two suspicious, foreign-looking men enter her house. Combine that with the knowledge of the Israelite army waiting just outside the walls of the city, and the fact that Rahab is a known Israelite sympathizer. Needless to say, Rahab got reported to the king of Jericho.

Rahab denied their accusations and threw them off the trail of the spies, claiming she saw the men leave the city and urging their pursuers to hurry after them. More than anything I feel like this demonstrates the depth of Rahab's faith. I mean, at any moment the spies could have been discovered, and then they all would have been killed. Rahab was so sure that Jericho had been delivered into the hands of the Israelites that she put her own life on the line!

And keep in mind that Rahab is not gullible; she would've seen a thing or two in her day. And still she believed that God had delivered Jericho to the Israelites. That takes a ton of faith--way more than a simple mustard seed! I just love Rahab's story. It shows that it is not foolish to believe in God. In fact, the real fools are those who ignore or deny the existence of God! It's like, you can say you don't believe in gravity, but if you jump out of a plane, you're still gonna fall. That's how real God is to me--and to Rahab as well!

Next, Rahab strikes a deal with the two spies. In return for their safe escape from the city, they promise that when the city is attacked, Rahab's house (and all inside) will be spared. Look at Rahab go! Unpopular opinions, risking her life, bargaining with two foreign secret agents--this is big stuff! In my opinion, Rahab was way ahead of her time. 😂

But I think the most important part of the story is the part when Rahab's faith pays off. She and her family are spared from the destruction of the city, and they come to live with the Israelites. That would've been reward enough, but then Rahab ends up marrying a guy named Salmon, who was the son of one of the great Israelite leaders, Nahshon. That's right, friends; Rahab basically married a prince. She literally became a princess and lived happily ever after!!

And it gets even better. Rahab had a son named Boaz--sound familiar? Boaz was the wealthy landowner who married Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David! And we all know what other biblical celebrity came out of that family line: Jesus!!!

So to sum it all up, Rahab was just your average girl. She sinned, she made mistakes; but she didn't let her mistakes define her. And God didn't throw Rahab away just because she committed a sin. God's not like that; he won't say, "Oh, you sinned, now you're tainted and we can never have a relationship." No! Despite our taintedness, God still loves us, and He offers us grace to redeem us from our sin. 💛 So to answer the questions from the beginning . . .

Why would God want me?

He wants all of us. It's all He ever wanted--to have a relationship with us.

How can I be worthy of grace after all I've done?

You can never do anything to deserve it, and that's the point: He gives us grace freely, unconditionally. No good works or clean rap sheet required.

Why would Jesus die for a sinner like me?

 He died for all of us equally, for the same reason, no matter how "dirty" or "clean" we claim to be: He died so that we can have a chance to be forgiven, and to have that relationship with God.

Wow, that got a little deep there at the end. I think I have a speck of emotion in my eye. :') God's grace can do that to me sometimes. I'm so grateful I got to discover more about Rahab; in my opinion, she is such an underappreciated Bible character. I really would have liked to meet her. I wonder what she would think of the world we live in today . . . sure, things aren't always perfectly equal between the genders, but it is definitely different from things back in Rahab's day! I feel like if she were alive today, she would be a motivational speaker who travels around empowering fellow women of God, like Sadie Robertson or Allyson Rowe! 💪

With all that said, I hope this blog post was relatable for you, or at least that you learned something new. 💘

Until next time,
much love and God bless!
H ✨💗

*Resources used for this blog post include The Bible Reader's Companion by Lawrence O. Richards, Young's Literal Translation by Robert Young, Matthew Henry's Unabridged Commentary on the Bible, and the New International and King James Versions of the Bible. Great insight; would definitely recommend checking them out!