That Prostitute is My Grandma

Previously in the Written on Our Hearts Series: Intro; Rahab: Got Labels?

Last week we looked at some temporary labels that Rahab carried. She was a prostitute, she was an opportunist, she was a business woman, and she was clever. As her story continues, though, it’s easy to forget these labels as we see her in a different light. When the spies came to Rahab’s house seeking shelter, she responded with eternity written on her heart. I see this in three ways. Maybe you will see more!

She responded with faith

The spies were lodging at Rahab’s house when the king’s guard came looking for them. Rahab hid the spies and deterred the guards. When all was clear, she addressed the two spies and said,

I know that the Lord has given you the land. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea…what you did to the kings of the Amorites, to Sihon, to Og…Our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God is in the heavens above and on the earth beneath… (Joshua 2:8-11)

Rahab recognized and testified to the work of the Lord. She saw the difference between the Lord and her city’s dead gods and religious practices. This difference, this testimony of the Lord, is what caused her to cry out for salvation,

…swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my  father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them,  and deliver our lives from death… (Joshua 2:12-13)

Faith is an eternal gift from God. When we receive it and use it everything changes. The author of the book of Hebrews includes Rahab in a list of people who lived and died by faith. Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given friendly welcome to the spies (11:31).

She responded with kindness

If we’re not carful we could easily dismiss Rahab’s kindness as a plot to save herself. After all, she was an opportunist and rather clever. But she wasn’t being selfish in her cry for salvation. She was crying out for her family,

…also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all belong to them, and deliver our lives from death… (Joshua 2:13-13)

Kindness and salvation are eternal traits (Revelation 7:10, Romand 2:4). Rahab was kind to the spies and saved them from the guards, she was kind to her family by interceding, if you will, for their salvation. You know what I love about this? She had no idea her kind act would save a long line of people, eventually leading to Jesus, the Savior of the earth, being born.

It’s a family trait, too—spoiler alert—and as we look at the life of Ruth, we will see how Rahab’s son, Boaz, demonstrates this same type of kindness as he rescues and redeems a widow and her family. Kindness and salvation are eternal traits that run in the bloodline of Jesus.

She responded with Christ-likeness

One of my favorite things about studying Old Testament text is looking for shadows of Christ. This is a theological phrase that is used when an OT passage foreshadows the person and work of Jesus Christ. As I’ve studied the story of Rahab and the spies I can see at least two shadows of Christ:

• Rahab shadows Christ in  the way she hides or covers the spies—she literally hides them under stalks of flax, and she “hides” the spies as she instructs them to take cover in the hills for three days. There are many references throughout the Bible to God as our hiding place—he covers us with his wings, he covers us in his blood, he washes us in the Word… But, perhaps the best “hiding” Jesus did is when he took our sin to the grave and three days later he came out the Resurrection and Life.

• The scarlet cord hanging from Rahab’s window is similar to the blood of the         Passover lamb in Exodus. It references the sign to the Israelites to save             everyone in the house and foretells the blood of Jesus as our salvation.

 

Okay, so one more fun observation. Remember how Rahab’s house was built into the walls of the city? I couldn’t help but think about the watchmen on the wall in Isaiah 62:6-7, and how they had no rest until Jerusalem was established. Isn’t it kind of fun that, maybe, Rahab was created and designed in this particular place and time as a watchmen on the wall for the advancement of Kingdom of Heaven? That this temporary prostitute was one of the first watchmen—first intercessors?

Joshua 6:25 tells us that Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her were saved. She lived in Israel for the rest of her days because she hid the spies. She started a family there—Boaz who had Obed who had Jesse who had David—(skip a few years)—who had Jesus.

(I can imagine David playing with the neighborhood boys as they make jokes about the old ex-prostitute in town. “Um, that prostitute is my Nana Ray Ray–I gotta sling and stone with your name on it if you don’t shut up.)

At one point I wondered if she would be called Rahab the prostitute in heaven. Then I remembered that Jesus says, “I am making all things new…” We get new names and new bodies. We have no idea what that’s going to look like, but this old hymn came to mind. I can hear Rahab singing it,

For there’s a new name written down in glory,

And it’s mine, O yes, it’s mine!

With my sins forgiven I am bound for Heaven,

Never more to roam

Holy Spirit, teach us to respond to people with eternity written on our hearts—not with temporary labels and condemnation, but with kindness, love, hope…