JOSHUA 2, JOSHUA 6, MATTHEW 1

Men came every evening for Rahab. Her profession paid well and as a result her family survived from one day to the next. In spite of seemingly endless nights of foul-smelling men, lecherous advances and unspeakable acts, this prostitute greeted the sunrise with a single thought: “Something, or someone, must exist beyond this hell I’m living.” Then salvation appeared on the horizon. Of all the people in Jericho, only a whore saw God in the midst of the invading forces of Israel.

Rahab was a prostitute and a hero. She sold her body to men hungering for sex, and she supported her family by doing so. The word “complicated” only begins to explain Rahab’s life. Over and over again, you’ll discover that the Bible does not sugarcoat reality. Gritty, tenacious and genuine, the Bible portrays the people of God as they truly were.

Rahab lived in Jericho while the nation of Israel, led by Joshua, moved to enter and conquer their promised land. In front of Israel raged the flooded Jordan River—and beyond that, the walled city of Jericho. Joshua, a prudent military leader and sound strategist, needed intelligence on the defenses of Jericho. He sent two spies to investigate. After reconnoitering the city, they took shelter in Rahab’s house. Why would the spies choose a bordello? Where else in a foreign city could two strangers go that wouldn’t arouse much suspicion? Neighbors saw a couple of guys from out of town just looking for a good time. However, the King of Jericho soon discovered the ruse and sent for the men. Rahab improvised quickly. She hid the spies on the roof and sent the searchers off in the wrong direction.

Why would Rahab risk her life and those of her family in order to protect spies from a nation bent on conquest? Rahab told the spies that she was overwhelmed by the works that the God of Israel has done. “For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” The reputation of the God of Israel preceded the nation’s arrival. Rahab never imagined such a God. When confronted with the acts of Jehovah she exchanged her old gods for the new. Rahab recognized her hope. She chose to serve the God of Israel. I wonder if Rahab’s openness to this new God resulted in part from her life in Jericho? A prostitute, an outcast, desperate. God brings hope to the desperate. Her fellow citizens looked to the sky filled with the choking dust of an invading army and experienced a sense of dread, while Rahab felt a lift in her heart.

Rahab helped the spies escape the city and return to Joshua in order to make their full report. But not before working a deal. She saved the spies and later they protected her and her family. When the city was conquered and the population put to the sword, the spies rescued and shielded Rahab and her family.

What do we learn from Rahab? What do the actions of an ancient prostitute demonstrate to us about leadership? In Rahab we see a woman enthralled by the power of God. She not only observed how God worked amongst Israel, but she deliberated and decided to go all in. Rahab realized that the God of Israel is a liberator, not an oppressor, and Rahab craved liberation. As in the case of enslaved sex workers today, Rahab needed rescuing. Those two spies came in the name of the True Rescuer.

Rahab thought on her feet. She was adaptable and exceptionally brave. What would have happened if the king of Jericho had discovered her lie? Undoubtedly, it would have cost Rahab and her family their lives. No king is going to spare the life of a mere prostitute. But no matter, whether from faith or desperation or a dramatic combination of both, Rahab made her decision to help the spies and to welcome the armies of Israel into the city of Jericho.

Perhaps the greatest lesson we learn from Rahab’s story is the worth we must place on the people around us. Every life is valuable, every individual important. We do not know who God might use to accomplish his purposes. It might be a king or it might be a prostitute. God regards all people as valuable, regardless of their station in life. Similarly, God can use anyone to lead, influence and accomplish his purposes—even the least likely of us.

Rahab risked her life and the lives of her family in order to embrace a God she only saw in the distance. She made her choice by faith, trusting in God and the good will of Israel’s spies. Rahab exemplifies a discerning leader, a leader who calculates, a leader able to read conditions and make decisions. She trusts her judgment and moves forward with boldness and conviction.

In the end, how did things work out for Rahab? In the first chapter of Matthew, there’s a list of the genealogy of Jesus—and on this list are dozens of men, but only four women. One of those women is a prostitute named Rahab. Matthew tells us that Rahab married Salmon, one of the two spies she hid on her rooftop, and was the mother of Boaz, the great-great-grandmother of King David and a direct ancestor of Jesus. The public exposure of a harlot in the family tree tends to shame distinguished families. But the author of Matthew found it a significant point of pride to reveal that Rahab’s blood, the blood of a prostitute and a hero, flowed through the veins of Jesus.