It is not uncommon for Bible teachers and preachers to use certain individuals from scripture to teach against or reinforce certain principles—things like lying, not putting God first, losing their faith, and returning to the world after becoming a child of God. That works well when we know the whole story; but as you know, there is much of the detail missing from Scripture. Sometimes I think we get so involved in making a point that we go too far and judge where we have no right to judge.
Last week, I wrote about judging and how we sometimes judge without having all the information. There are four of God’s servants, two men and two women, about whom judgments are often made without having or considering the whole story. We often hear just the negative and not the circumstances surrounding their actions. As we discuss each of these individuals, I hope you will consider that for which they are known and often condemned and also why they may not be any different than we are today.
The first story is found in Joshua 2. It is the story of Rahab. We are familiar with this story about how Rahab hid the spies that Joshua sent to spy out the land of Jericho. Many sermons have been preached about her courage to hide the spies, but I recently heard a lesson about her lying to protect them. The speaker was discussing whether lying is ever right.
Rahab has been remembered by some as a prostitute and a liar. Her motives have been questioned, and many have wondered why she would have been taken into the camp of the Israelites. Let’s consider what we know about her. She was, indeed, a harlot. She owned a house in which she hid the two spies sent by Joshua to spy out the city of Jericho. Rahab was not one of God’s chosen people. She probably worshiped idols when she lived in Jericho, so she was a sinner by God’s standards.
Now let’s look at what must have been true about her. She must have been shaken by the rumors of the destruction of Sihon and Og, two kings of the Amorites. She had heard about the Israelites’ escape from the Egyptian army and the plagues God sent on the Egyptians that brought about the release of the Israelite slaves. No doubt, she was afraid. She told the spies, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you” (Joshua 2:9 ESV).
There are three other things we know about Rahab. First, she married a man of Judah named Salmon and bore him a son named Boaz. Jesus Christ was born from this lineage (Matthew 1). Second, she would have been accepted by the nation of Israel, and her past life would have been put behind her. We know this because a harlot would not have been allowed to live among the Jews if she did not obey God completely, based on the laws given in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. The third thing we know is that the writer of James mentioned her. He wrote in his epistle, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 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 2:24-25). She would have given up any worship of idols and worshiped only God.
Rahab gave up everything to save herself and her family. She was willing to give up her people, her home, her possessions, and any gods she had worshiped. She did lie to the soldiers, but remember that she was not a believer in the one God at the time. Her lie saved the spies, but her bravery put her in God’s favor. Her lying was no greater sin than her profession. Both acts would have been sinful in the sight of God; but as a new member of the tribe of Judah, the wife of a Jewish man, and a believer in the one true God, she would have been forgiven of any wrong she had been guilty of in the past.
I think the lesson for us in the story of Rahab is that people can change. They may sin, but don’t we all? The wonderful thing about being a child of God is that when we repent, confess, and obey all of His teachings, the one God of heaven and earth will forgive us. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (First John 1:9).
Sandra Oliver