Among those who know Me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold Philisitia and Tyre, with Cush--"This one was born there," they say. And of Zion it shall be said, "This one and that one were born in her"; for the Most High Himself will establish her. The Lord records as He registers the peoples, "This one was born there." (Verses 4-6)
Her inn was built into the city wall of Jericho. A prostitute, she was open for business when two men approached her door for lodging. They were Israelites. It made Rahab's heart beat faster. Their God was mighty. News of Israel's many victories and their escape from Egypt was miraculous--seas dried up and plagues called forth. All her adult life those stories made her increasingly curious about a God who would love a people so much He would accompany them out of bondage. She served the men a meal of lamb and bread, wondering if this was finally the time Israel would take over Jericho.
Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. "Go," she told the Jewish men. "Go up to the roof and hide yourselves in the stalks of flax!" She motioned with her hands in the direction the men should go as she smoothed her tunic and brushed food from her face.
"Where are they?" the soldiers of the king demanded. "We heard the Jewish men came in here earlier this afternoon! Bring them out. They came to search our land."
"True,"said Rahab. "They came here, but when the gate was about to be closed for dark, they left."
"Where were they going?" The larger of the two soldiers got right into her face. "What did they tell you?"
"I don't know where they went." Rahab's breathing was coming too quickly. She could only hope they didn't notice. "You need to hurry if you want to catch them. You could probably overtake them."
When they hurriedly left, Rahab closed her door and leaned against it while her heartbeat slowed. The men scurried out of the gates toward the Jordan River right before they closed for the day. The Jewish men were safe for now.
In the quiet of the night, Rahab climbed to the rooftop of the lodging and found the Israelite spies. After removing the stalks of flack and helping the men brush the residue from their garments, Rahab said, "I know the Lord has given you this land. Your God rescued you from Egypt and gave your armies victory over the Amorite kings. When we all heard about it, our hearts melted. Everyone in Jericho is afraid of you because of your God. I know the Lord your God, He is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath."
The two men were stunned at her declaration of faith. First of all, because she was an unclean woman. A Gentile whore. That revelation of the Most High would come to her seemed unlikely, at best.
"Here," continued the harlot. "Take the end of this rope and I will let you down the wall. Hide in the woods for three days until your pursuers have stopped looking for you. But you must promise me that on the day you take Jericho, you will spare my family."
"Tie a scarlet rope from this same window so we see it hanging on the wall, and we will spare your family. All your relatives must be in the house with you or their blood is not on our hands." The oath was made, and the men were set free.
And Rahab? She and her family were spared because of her faith in the God of Israel. She believed with a faith that is a gift. If from the womb God knows our paths (Psalm 139), then the prostitute was in God's sights all her life. It was He Who revealed Himself to her, for no one can come to God unless He draws that person to Him (John 6). But how could that be? She made her living as a prostitute? She wasn't a Jew. Jericho didn't live by the Ten Commandments. She'd only heard of a God who chose a specific nation to love and care for. What made her think His mercy could extend to her? For how long had she mulled over in her mind what she would do when the Jews came for Jericho? What gave her even the smallest hope that God would save someone like her? Yet, He did see her. Pick her out of the entire city as the one He would save. She lived alongside the Jewish women in God's Promised Land. She was a direct ancestor of Jesus. Our Lord came from her family.
There will probably be people in heaven we don't expect. Zion will be filled with people God saw and we missed. Prostitutes who finally found love in Him. Murderers and cheats in whose lives Jesus intervened. Europeans, Asian, Arabs and neighbors who God chose to love when maybe we couldn't. Born onto Earth from the loins of His grace to one day be called "the children of God." So that one day, when it's all said and done, the records will show our Father pointing to even the least of us and saying, "That one? Yes, that one was born here in Zion before the foundations of the earth."
Her inn was built into the city wall of Jericho. A prostitute, she was open for business when two men approached her door for lodging. They were Israelites. It made Rahab's heart beat faster. Their God was mighty. News of Israel's many victories and their escape from Egypt was miraculous--seas dried up and plagues called forth. All her adult life those stories made her increasingly curious about a God who would love a people so much He would accompany them out of bondage. She served the men a meal of lamb and bread, wondering if this was finally the time Israel would take over Jericho.
Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. "Go," she told the Jewish men. "Go up to the roof and hide yourselves in the stalks of flax!" She motioned with her hands in the direction the men should go as she smoothed her tunic and brushed food from her face.
"Where are they?" the soldiers of the king demanded. "We heard the Jewish men came in here earlier this afternoon! Bring them out. They came to search our land."
"True,"said Rahab. "They came here, but when the gate was about to be closed for dark, they left."
"Where were they going?" The larger of the two soldiers got right into her face. "What did they tell you?"
"I don't know where they went." Rahab's breathing was coming too quickly. She could only hope they didn't notice. "You need to hurry if you want to catch them. You could probably overtake them."
When they hurriedly left, Rahab closed her door and leaned against it while her heartbeat slowed. The men scurried out of the gates toward the Jordan River right before they closed for the day. The Jewish men were safe for now.
In the quiet of the night, Rahab climbed to the rooftop of the lodging and found the Israelite spies. After removing the stalks of flack and helping the men brush the residue from their garments, Rahab said, "I know the Lord has given you this land. Your God rescued you from Egypt and gave your armies victory over the Amorite kings. When we all heard about it, our hearts melted. Everyone in Jericho is afraid of you because of your God. I know the Lord your God, He is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath."
The two men were stunned at her declaration of faith. First of all, because she was an unclean woman. A Gentile whore. That revelation of the Most High would come to her seemed unlikely, at best.
"Here," continued the harlot. "Take the end of this rope and I will let you down the wall. Hide in the woods for three days until your pursuers have stopped looking for you. But you must promise me that on the day you take Jericho, you will spare my family."
"Tie a scarlet rope from this same window so we see it hanging on the wall, and we will spare your family. All your relatives must be in the house with you or their blood is not on our hands." The oath was made, and the men were set free.
And Rahab? She and her family were spared because of her faith in the God of Israel. She believed with a faith that is a gift. If from the womb God knows our paths (Psalm 139), then the prostitute was in God's sights all her life. It was He Who revealed Himself to her, for no one can come to God unless He draws that person to Him (John 6). But how could that be? She made her living as a prostitute? She wasn't a Jew. Jericho didn't live by the Ten Commandments. She'd only heard of a God who chose a specific nation to love and care for. What made her think His mercy could extend to her? For how long had she mulled over in her mind what she would do when the Jews came for Jericho? What gave her even the smallest hope that God would save someone like her? Yet, He did see her. Pick her out of the entire city as the one He would save. She lived alongside the Jewish women in God's Promised Land. She was a direct ancestor of Jesus. Our Lord came from her family.
There will probably be people in heaven we don't expect. Zion will be filled with people God saw and we missed. Prostitutes who finally found love in Him. Murderers and cheats in whose lives Jesus intervened. Europeans, Asian, Arabs and neighbors who God chose to love when maybe we couldn't. Born onto Earth from the loins of His grace to one day be called "the children of God." So that one day, when it's all said and done, the records will show our Father pointing to even the least of us and saying, "That one? Yes, that one was born here in Zion before the foundations of the earth."
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