By Tom Thomas –
“ .. The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” Josh 2:11-14
One is struck at these words of wisdom uttered by the prostitute, Rahab. The two spies sent out by Joshua for a reconnaissance of the land of Jericho perhaps never imagined such words. I am struck at the wisdom of a prostitute to seek protection of the Lord not so much for herself but her family members. This is an unlikely wisdom from a prostitute of primordial times!
The same Rahab also finds mention in the New Testament, three times. In the genealogy of Christ: Mt 1:5 “ Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab” (incidentally Rahab is only one of three women mentioned in the Genealogy) and also in Jas 2:25 “Likewise was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road.” And Heb 11:31 “By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient because she had received the spies in peace.”
Scholars such as Josephus and Origen have studied about this enigmatic woman, Rahab, , who has had such an influence on the course of history as we know it. They have described her as an innkeeper possibly too, though her profession is clearly defined in the Scriptures. A thorough reading of Josh 2 is required to fully understand the courage of this woman. How she hid the spies on the roof of her house among the stalks of flax when the King of Jericho was informed they were there and sent his men to seize them. How she actually lied and told the King’s men that the spies indeed visited her but left at dark (surely she knew the consequences if her lies were found out – it would have been certain death)! How she expressed the wonders at the great signs the Lord of Israel had worked in Egypt and the fear that the Canaanites had and how she professed her faith that the Lord of Israel is the one true Lord – all the more remarkable considering that the Canaanites had had many gods. And how she dealt with the spies kindly and they kept their mutual word towards each other, with a visible sign “the crimson cord in the window “ ( Josh 2:18). The knowledge that Rahab gave the two spies of Joshua enabled them to deliver the land into their hands as they now knew that the “inhabitants of the land melt in fear before us”(Josh 2:24).
Thinking about Rahab and her extraordinary life, we can see that even a prostitute and a liar can find their way to the path of Grace and Redemption by a single act of turning towards the Lord and away from the past. Just like the Good thief did in Lk 23:42 “..Jesus remember me when you come into your Kingdom”.
We too draw inspiration from Rahab that we can turn towards the Lord – no matter what our previous history is – and obtain salvation for us and our family. All we need to do is make that turn away from the past –that life not lived according to the Christian way- and turn towards Christ. “To have courage for whatever comes in life -everything lies in that.” said St Teresa of Avila. Let’s have the courage to turn towards the Lord as Rahab did.
God who writes straight with crooked lines has shown his righteousness and mighty power even when Jacob stole the blessings meant for Esau and Rahab though deceived the king of Jericho.