Rahab was a prostitute.
She lived alone in the city of Jericho,
surrounded by thick walls and an immoral society. Her entire world view was influenced by a
culture completely opposite to that of the Israelites. In spite of this, when she heard rumors and
stories of the God of the Israelites and what He was doing for His people, her
heart responded in a statement of faith.
Her statement about God is universal and complete:
“The Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth
beneath.” Joshua 2:11b
We don’t know how Rahab knew the truth when she heard
it. All we know is that when she heard,
she responded with the kind of faith that acts.
She risked her very life to hide the Hebrew spies, and trusted them when
they told her how to avoid destruction.
She continued to trust when they left her in Jericho, and did exactly as they instructed
her. When they came back she and her
family were saved, and she left her former way of life behind and became one of
them, living in their midst, marrying from the tribe of Judah and becoming a
great-grandmother of the Messiah. Her
faith is listed in James 2:25 as being of similar character to the faith of
Abraham.
Rahab presents a clear example for each of us. We are sinners, living in an evil and pagan
culture. We hear the word of truth, and
our heart responds in faith. We are
saved and adopted into the family of God’s chosen people and begin a new life. You and I are saved from destruction but still
dwell in the midst of a dark and evil civilization. We are awaiting the destruction of this world,
but how we live in this world in the meantime is up to us. We are
called to live a faith that is active, a faith with feet and hands. Our faith is to be revealed in more than our
words; it is to be lived and breathed.
It is to be such a part of how we live each day that it is
unmistakable. It is to be the kind of
faith that takes risks. Like Rahab, we are
to embrace the truth so fully that it changes the kind of life we live.
Francis Schaeffer says that Jesus stands before all men in
one of two capacities; either He is Savior or He is Judge. When He stood before Jericho, He stood before one woman as Savior;
for the rest of the city He was Judge. Each
of us faces the same option as Rahab faced – to embrace the truth of God for
salvation or reject it and face His judgment. How we live reflects the choice
that we make.
When people look at the life I am living, what do they see?
When they watch you, as they will, do they see a person who is living as one
saved, with an active faith? Or do they see a person living in judgment?
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