rahab

And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

Joshua 2:9-11

 

Here is a woman saved by her faith though not by faith only (James 2:24-25).

In fact, you could argue that Rahab’s faith in God is even stronger than that of those whom she helped. She saved Israelite spies, men who had actually seen the wondrous works of God. Rahab had not seen; she had only heard of the God of Israel. Yet her faith in things unseen (Hebrews 11:1) was so strong that she risked her life to help God’s people.

From Rahab we learn that a faith that does not move one to act (specifically to act in accordance with God’s will) is no faith at all. Thus Rahab, this pagan Gentile and citizen of a doomed city (and to top it off, a prostitute) serves as a character study for the kind of faith God wants of His people. When you think about tit, isn’t that extraordinary!?

Though the command given to her seemed arbitrary and random (to dangle a red string out of her window) she obeyed because she had faith that God would save her. If only the present world would have such a faith as this! Instead, the 21st century world is a land of cynics and skeptics quick to disregard any command of God that they are not comfortable with obeying. The world is too quick to ignore any decree from Deity that is seemingly arbitrary or contrary to what they have always known.

Beyond the saving of her own life, the faith of Rahab plays a key role in the saving of all men’s souls. Her trust in God spared her life in the fall of Jericho. After that she proselytized herself to the Hebrew faith, married an Israelite named Salmon and had a Hebrew son named Boaz. Boaz would later marry Ruth and together they would conceive Obed. Obed’s son would be Jesse, whose youngest son, David, would become King of Israel and whose kingly line would produce the Messiah Jesus the Christ.

Without the faith of a prostitute pagan, mankind would be without a Savior!

We should all hope our children grow up to be like this harlot…and I bet you never thought I’d end a devo like that!

Think about it,
have a great day!