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When I was asked me whether I would be willing to teach one segment in our current

Heroes of the Faith series, I was very excited. Yet I pondered which biblical character I wanted

to share more about. I like strong women, so I had thought about Deborah, but was told that

someone else had already selected her. And then I remembered that not that long ago, I had

discussed the genealogy of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew with some other folks ± and how

that had gotten me thinking about who some of the apparently not so ?
 
 


³straight-laced´ characters in this lineage were. I decided to pick one from this list, Rahab.

There are a lot of things that can be said about several of the characters in that genealogy,

but noticeable is that there are five women included in Jesus' genealogy²Tamar, Rahab (whom

we will hear so much more about today), Ruth, Bathsheba, who is here only called ³the wife of

Uriah´, and Mary. This is rather unusual, since descent was usually traced through men as the

head of the family. Rahab and Ruth were Gentiles, and Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba were

women of questionable character. As we can see, Jesus¶ lineage is comprised of men, women,

adulterers, prostitutes, heroes, and Gentiles. It¶s not exactly a line-up of all the pious of Scripture.

I entitled today¶s lesson ³God Uses People With A History´. Rahab resonates with me

because I have a history. Not the history of Rahab, mind you, but there was certainly sufficient

sin of various flavors in my young adult life - despite having accepted the Lord through the

witness of a young GI in May 1977. While completely elated and knowing that I was forgiven, I

nevertheless quickly found myself back in the ways of the world because I did not know what

living as a believer meant. Looking back, there was no woman to take me under her wing and
teach me. As you have probably heard before, my childhood years were spent in a largely

nominally Catholic family. Christian living was not exactly something I understood.

I¶ll never forget when I attended the first Women of Faith after moving to Downingtown

at the invitation of a colleague, I walked in the arena, heard the angelic singing of 20,000 or so

very pious looking and sounding women, and I felt like I didn¶t belong. I knew I was forgiven; I

knew I was a child of the King, but I simply wasn¶t ³holy´ enough for this! I was so

uncomfortable for the first hour or so that it was almost a block to my worship. Suddenly every

sin, even though long forgiven by my Father in heaven, came rushing back. And I felt simply

unworthy to be in the presence of such saintly women.


    

Needless to say, Rahab sticks out. Not too many of us have à
heard about the fact that

she was a prostitute. We know the great societal shame attached to this profession, often called

the world¶s oldest. And we also feel a decent amount of inner protestation that no woman should

sell herself to men for money. But is prostitution the only area of shame or discomfort? What

other areas in our lives ± past and present - make us wonder what exactly God thinks of us?

As I wrestle with feeling less than ³holy´ when I think of my past, I wonder if you can

relate to this. Are there things in our past that come up when we least expect them to that stop us

dead in our tracks and put a block on your worship ± and on our witness for the Lord?

Another thought: Even if we feel completely right with the Lord, how about the people

that come into our lives that don¶t seem so ³lovable´, the ones we perceive as somehow

different, whether they look different or talk different (how about all the ³Jesus Christ´s we can

encounter in the public workplace that don¶t reference our Lord and aren¶t exactly voiced in a

reverent manner?). Maybe they seem like complete outsiders to us.

 What is it that the Lord honors and that honors the Lord? Well, let¶s take a look at where

wrong perceptions of people can lead us. God seems to enjoy holding up a mirror to us to point

out where we think in the wrong direction, doesn¶t He?

¢   

Where do we find ourselves in our story today? The Israelites have spent 40 years

wandering in the desert under the leadership of Moses. As most of you will remember, all the

ones who left Egypt and grumbled against God during their wilderness journeys would have died

by now as God told them they would not see the Promised Land because of their disobedience.

Moses, likewise was only allowed to see the Promised Land from Mount Nebo in modern-day

Jordan and then died. Joshua had been appointed by God to take the leadership after Mosesµ

death and to take the Israelites into the land He had promised to Abraham.

<SLIDE 1>

The Israelites now find themselves at Abel-Shittim - meadow of the acacias, frequently

called simply ³Shittim´. This is the final encampment of the Israelites before entering the

Promised Land. They are still encamped west of the Jordan River in an area across from modern-

day Israel, in what is today Jordan in the plain of Moab. It is important to remember that the

distances aren¶t very far. Modern-day Israel is the size of New Jersey. Shittim is only about five

miles from the Jordan River, which the Israelites will have to cross to conquer Jericho, about

another five miles to the east of the river. Why Jericho?

<SLIDE 2>

Jericho, which you will also find referred to as the City of Palms, was a Canaanite site

occupied from as early as the ninth millennium B.C.

<SLIDE 3>
 Its location, ten miles north of the Dead Sea in the Jordan Valley, suggests its importance

in terms of trade routes along the Jordan Valley and westward to Jerusalem, Bethel, and Ophrah.

It is thus a strategic location. Combine this with the ideal agricultural climate of the southern

Jordan Valley, and you have an extremely valuable region ± not to mention a site that has its own

spring.1

<SLIDE 4>

Needless to say, Joshua wanted to make sure he knew what was expecting the Israelites.

God had already assured him of military success, but just as Moses sent the ten spies into Canaan

to bring back a report, so now Joshua sends two spies to report back on the city of Jericho.

The two spies seek shelter in Rahab¶s house. Josephus, the Jewish historian, tried to

whitewash what type of business Rahab was running, but there can be no doubt, Rahab was a

prostitute, a woman of Canaan, an outsider even in her own culture. She had three strikes against

her: as a Canaanite woman, she was doomed to death under what God had determined. The

Israelites were to annihilate all the inhabitants of the towns they conquered. Secondly, she was

an unmarried and childless - and should we add - highly undesirable woman due to here

profession. Finally, because of her role in Jericho¶s society, she had few female friends,

especially married ones. Societally speaking, she was a complete outsider.

The Bible uses no euphemisms when it describes Rahab¶s profession. The word used here

is ´  which is the same word used in the Tamar-Judah story, where Tamar disguises herself as

a prostitute. It is very clear: Rahab sold sex for money.

But Rahab¶s house offered the perfect anonymity the spies were seeking as they entered a

city they didn¶t know. Since Rahab¶s business required discretion, they could slip in and out (or

1. Richard S. Hess, ³Joshua,´ in   
 

  , ed. John H.
Walton, vol. 2 of   !  (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 17.
so they thought) without being noticed. In addition, Rahab¶s house was located on the walls of

the city, meaning the spies would not have to venture far into the city.

<SLIDE 5>

Archaeological digs done in Jericho have shown us in the past century just where

Rabab¶s house may have been. Very convenient for two Israelite spies who want to go

undetected!

<SLIDE 6>

The rest of the story is well-known. Rahab hides the spies on the roof under some drying

flax when the king¶s men come looking for them and lies to protect them. Interestingly, her

taking in the spies gives us a good glimpse into Semitic hospitality. Both her covering for the

spies as well as the king¶s men¶s reluctance to enter her house attest to the strong concept of

hospitality seen in similar ways to this day in Near Eastern cultural groups.

Rahab goes on to express her own fear and that of her countrymen. They have heard of

the great works the Lord has done for the Israelites. Rahab realizes and expresses to them that

³the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.´ This is truly an

astounding statement, as it is only heard two other times in Scripture: once from the lips of

Moses in Deuteronomy 4:39 and the other one from Solomon in 1 Kings 8:23. It seems societal

outcast Rahab understands more theology than the Israelites! She helps them escape by lowering

them on a rope down the city wall, after getting a promise from them that they will save her and

her family when the city is conquered. The sign to the Israelites is to be a scarlet cord hanging

from her window.

Obviously God approved of Rahab¶s simple faith and honored this faith by saving her

and her family, despite Rahab¶s lie, which the Bible never comments, but also does not condone.

Hebrews 11:31 tells us: ³"
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What made that faith so great and why is Rahab honored not just in the pages of the Old

Testament, but also those of the New? We need to go on an excursion of what happened to

Israel a bit prior to the events at Jericho, and then move forward in time to Joshua 7 to the sin of

Achan to get a true understanding of why Rahab¶s faith is so raw and so real.

When Joshua led the troops into the Promised Land, the Israelite fighting men were

moving out from called Shittim. Shittim is also mentioned in another part of the Old Testament.

It was not only the place of Israel¶s encampment between the conquest of the highlands of

Transjordan and the passage of the Jordan, but it also happened to be the setting of the encounter

between the Israelites and the Moabite women in Numbers 25:1. If you have read through the

first five books of the Bible, also called the Pentateuch, you will recall that at Shittim, the Bible

literally says ³the people began to whore with the women of Moab´. The Hebrew word used as a

verb in this sentence is ʤʕʰʕʦ (zānâ) ± which means ³to go a whoring, to commit fornication, to be a

harlot, to play the harlot.´2 Even more so though, this term is used most frequently to describe

³spiritual prostitution´ in which Israel turned from God to strange gods.& became, then, the

common term for spiritual backsliding. The act of whoring after strange gods was more than

changing gods, however. This was especially true when Israel went after the Canaanite gods, for

the worship of these pagan deities involved actual prostitution with cult prostitutes connected

2. R. Laird Harris et al., '
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Press, 1999), 921±922.
with the Canaanite shrines.´ 3 As such, the ³mention of Shittim is a fitting introduction to the

reconnaissance narrative because of the sexual occupation of the woman who shelters the spies.4

Yet what a difference: Rahab, although by profession the harlot, does the exact opposite

of the lack of faith shown by the Israelites at Shittim. Rahab expresses her faith and trust in this

fearful God of the universe ± and by it is saved. The spies return safely to the camp and report

what they found. We all know what comes next: Joshua takes his warriors across the Jordan,

marches around Jericho for six days and conquers the city on the seventh day after marching

around it seven times and then sounding the trumpets. As the walls crumble down, Rahab and

her family are saved, waiting out the assault in their house, marked by a scarlet cord. Much has

been written about the relevance of the scarlet cord, but I am led to think it must have not been

something terribly different from her normal life ± one commentator even noted that this might

have been a simple indication of Jericho¶s ³Red Rope District´. Certainly something so obvious

would have raised great suspicion among the people of Jericho if it was out of the ordinary. It

seems God would rather have us notice this immense expression of faith in a God that was

largely unknown to Rahab, yet she trusted in Him.

Also, the word for ³scarlet´ here (šānî) is used exclusively in connection with thread or

fabrics, primarily referring to the tabernacle curtains and priestly robes, not to blood. The only

time that the color of blood is specified in the Old Testament is in 2 Kgs 3:22, which states that

³the water looked red²like blood.´ The color word here is the normal word for ³red´: ādōm

(not šānî). Another reason for questioning this - what theologians call a - typological

3. W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White, â
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4. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, eds., ³Joshua 2,´ in '$
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interpretation here is that nowhere does the New Testament even hint at such an association

between Rahab¶s scarlet thread and the blood of Christ.

There seems to be, however, a connection to another woman found in the genealogy of

Christ: Tamar used a scarlet cord to identify one of her twin sons, Zerah, who is mentioned in the

genealogy along with his brother Perez. There we see a further link between the two women in

the scarlet cord. To quote the commentator: ³In God¶s providence, these two women²both of

them foreigners, societal outcasts, prostitutes, and in possession of a scarlet cord²came to be

part of the lineage of Jesus Christ himself. It is part of the Bible¶s pattern that shows God

working in unexpected ways, through unexpected people, often the poor, the disadvantaged, the

outcast.´5

Rahab¶s example of utter trust and obedience does not last long into the story within the

book of Joshua though. Just a chapter after the telling of the fall of Jericho and the saving of

Rahab and her family, we meet Achan, who can¶t keep his hands of the plunder. God¶s

instruction was for the total destruction of Jericho. Only gold, silver and vessels of bronze and

iron were to be put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. Achan, however, decides to keep a

beautiful cloak from Shinar, 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels for

himself, angering God and leading to the defeat in battle of the Israelites by the men of Ai, the

next town they try to conquer. Ultimately God singles out Achan and destroys him, his family

and his possessions.

Here now is another example of the difference between the Canaanite woman Rahab¶s

behavior, who should be the one  following God, and the Israelite man Achan, who should

know better than anyone else, as he is part of Judah, the chosen tribe among God¶s chosen

people. Rahab should be the disrespectable one, but becomes the respectable. Achan does the

5
David M. Howard, Jr, vol. 5, Joshua, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American
Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001), 116.
opposite. Rahab should have died but lives with her family and is honored by Israel; Achan and

his entire family and possessions perish. She hides the spies for God; he hides the loot from God.

Rahab fears the Lord God of Israel, while Achan shows no godly fear. Most of all, she has only

heard of the God of Israel, but believes, becomes like an Israelite and lives, while Achan acts like

a Canaanite and perishes.

As one commentator notes, ³The narrator is letting us know that there is more to the

conquest than just the destruction of the Canaanites. There are critical issues of individual faith

and obedience involved. Likewise, there is more to faith in God than just nationality or

respectability. A Canaanite harlot can find it and a respectable Israelite can miss it.´

The narrative itself does not give us clarity whether Rahab¶s confession shows spiritual

conversion or simply recognition of the supreme power of Israel's God, but her later integration

into Israel favors a genuine conversion. Jewish tradition holds that Rahab was one of the four

most beautiful women in the world and that the prophetess Huldah and the prophet Jeremiah are

among her offspring. Of course for us it is even more important that she is in the direct lineage of

Jesus. What an amazing change in our societal outcast¶s life!

°    

My hope is that you learned a lot from Rahab. Her faith was one that was raw and

unrefined, yet it was genuine and propelled her to action. Her faith propelled her into the

genealogy of our Lord Jesus and into the Hall of Faith of Hebrews 11.

As you ponder how a Canaanite woman who had all the wrong starting points came to be

exalted to a place of honor in Scripture, while the ones who had it all failed God so

catastrophically, think about your own faith walk. Have you become dull? You know all the

songs; you can sing harmonies to the hymns we sing here at Ventures; you serve in the kitchen

ministry or sort sweaters and pants for Clothes to Go, but have you lost that freshness and
rawness of your faith? Can you still identify with those who are new believers and are just

³gung-ho´ about their faith and bouncing off the walls with a desire to share Him who saved

them? Does thinking of our amazing God still set your pulse racing?

What about the ones that don¶t seem to fit in. I can think of a few people that come to our

church from time to time that seem to stick out like a sore thumb. Do you engage with them the

same way you do with your friends here in Ventures? Or do you avoid them as much as humanly

possible without being obviously rude? What if they are genuinely seeking the Lord, but have

simply not yet mastered the ³Christianese´ in speech and appearance?

   

In closing, allow me to go back to Rahab¶s lie to save the spies. A lot of commentaries

discuss this aspect since lying is obviously not something God approves of. I think we should not

make too much of this from a theological standpoint. We should instead look at Rahab¶s standing

in life ± and ultimately our reaction to it. To quote one commentator: ³On the one hand, she

demonstrated her faith in the Lord by risking her life to protect the spies; but, on the other hand,

she acted like any pagan in the city when she lied about her guests. Perhaps we¶re expecting too

much from a new believer whose knowledge of God was adequate for salvation but certainly

limited when it came to the practical things of life.´ <END QUOTE>

Let us not be critical or judgmental of those who have recently come to the Lord,

especially the ones that are younger and will express their worship differently. Let¶s not worry

about their clothes or their hair or whether they wear a baseball cap in church or not. Let us

instead reach out to them, offer to disciple them and teach them what Christ-like living looks

like. And while we are at it, let¶s try to catch a little of the excitement of first knowing Christ. It

may have been many decades for us, but trust me ± it can still be wonderfully fresh if we allow

for it. God is not done exciting us yet with who He is!
 Finally, I wanted to share with you what Tullian Tchividjian, senior pastor of Coral Ridge

Presbyterian Church and grandson of Billy Graham, wrote on his blog this week about reading

the opening lines of Michael Horton¶s book Christless Christianity.

Horton writes:

<QUOTE>What would things look like if Satan really took control of a city? Over half a
century ago, Presbyterian minister Donald Grey Barnhouse offered his own scenario in
his weekly sermon that was also broadcast nationwide on CBS radio. Barnhouse
speculated that if Satan took over Philadelphia (the city where Barnhouse pastored), all of
the bars would be closed, pornography banished, and pristine streets would be filled with
tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The children
would say, ³Yes, sir´ and ³No ma¶am,´ and the churches would be full every
Sunday«where Christ is not preached.<END QUOTE>

Tchividjian goes on: <QUOTE>³There is a great difference between moralism and the

gospel. Moralism, in fact, inoculates us from the gospel by giving us something of ³the real

thing´ ensuring that we miss out on the true gospel all together. We must remember that Christ

came first not to make bad people good but to make dead people live. If we forget that, our

Christianity will turn out to be Christless.´

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