Who was Rahab and what does her story represent for believers today?

Rahab was a harlot of Jericho who helped the two Israelite spies that came to spy out the land escape. But what’s even more important is the significance of Rahab and of this event to we who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is all about Jesus Christ and our salvation in Him. Rahab who was saved from the destruction of Jericho is a picture of believers in Christ today.

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The Israelite army surrounded Jericho. God's wrath was coming full-force on the city. Before they escaped, the spies gave Rahab their word concerning her salvation from the then upcoming destruction of Jericho. She asked for her life and that of her loved ones to be spared, and the spies gave her their word—

“17 So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, 18 unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home." Joshua 2:17–18.

All that Rahab the harlot had was the Word of the two spies concerning the line of scarlet cord bound to her window. She believed the Word. Can you imagine Rahab thinking to herself after their departure:

"I am nothing but a harlot. I've wasted my life away cavorting with wicked people. My sins are many. My house is even on the wall, first to face the brunt of God's wrath on Jericho. Surely God will punish me for all my sins."

But Rahab believed. She trusted the spies' word that binding the line of scarlet/red cord to her window would cause she and her family to be spared from God's wrath upon the city. Rahab only asked for salvation from the destruction of Jericho. She asked for her life and the lives of her loved ones. Little did she know that the God she believed is 

“…Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…” Ephesians 3:20.

Little did she know that she - a mere harlot practicing her trade on the wall of Jericho - would be given Grace (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour) to become not only the great-grandmother of King David but an ancestor of our Saviour Jesus Christ! She is one of only five women mentioned in Matthew's account of the geneaology of Jesus. Four of these women had quite colourful backgrounds:

Tamar (deceitfully slept with Judah her father-in-law and birthed Perez,) Ruth (a widow from cursed Moab whose people were banned from entering the assembly of God's people,) Bathsheba (former wife of Uriah who was cuckolded and killed off on David's orders) and Mary (chosen of God's Grace aka unmerited favour.) I used to think that Mary was chosen because of her chastity but there were other chaste girls in Israel. The angel said to her in Luke 1:30-

”And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace (free, spontaneous, absolute favor and loving-kindness) with God.”

All of the women except Mary who was chosen by Grace (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour) had backgrounds that many religious people would say disqualifies them from having fellowship with God. None did anything to merit God's goodness towards them. That’s God’s Grace (unmerited favour) aka Christ Himself in action. He saves entirely helpless sinners who believe in Him from their sins and transforms us to godliness and right living.

Rahab had only the Word of the two spies which she trusted: that because of the line of scarlet (red) cord bound to her window, she and her family would be spared from God's wrath that was about to be unleashed on Jericho- Joshua 2-

17 So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, 18 unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home."

Believer in Christ, 1 Corinthians 10:11 says of the events recorded in the Old Testament— 

"Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us, on whom the ends of the ages have come."

Rahab received and believed the same Word that the Israelites received in Egypt and so were saved from wrath and brought out of captivity in Egypt: Exodus 12-

"23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you."

Notice it is not "When He sees your good works" or "When He sees your godly life" or "When He sees your charitable works and contributions to the needy" or "When He sees how many Jesus posts you have posted on Facebook."

The gravity of the sins of the Israelites on that night of the first Passover in Egypt did not matter. All have sinned. They all deserved to die. Look what Joshua told them after they entered the promised land In Joshua 24:14—

“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord."

This was after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Some of the Israelites had foreign gods in their houses in Egypt when they ate the Passover lamb. Some did not but without the blood, these “good” ones would have been visited by death still. All that matters is the blood. It is the redeeming power of the blood that frees us from sin’s captivity and makes us turn away from sins and idols, not human effort aka arm of flesh; not works of the Law. Good works are fruits/evidences of salvation through the blood of Jesus- done in, through and for us through the power of Christ working in the believer. This is why you can never find a true believer boasting about how "I sowed my car and God gave me a jet" etc. When your believing is right, right living will follow. Only the blood of Jesus matters for salvation.

The one who thinks that doing "good" works and helping others is what gives him a leg up into God's good books is indulging in dead works. His trust is in his human effort aka arm of flesh and not Christ- this is why he can feel superior, deride others for their laziness and inability to do what he/she is doing or read 10 chapters of the Bible everyday and smugly wonder why some people just can’t read their Bible. He has no idea that he can do these things only because God has not allowed Satan to sift him like wheat so he takes credit for his works and wonders why others won't work hard and be good like himself. But this is how God sees such human/arm of flesh-driven righteous acts-

"We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight." Isaiah 64:6.

“The letter (law) kills but the Spirit gives life" is a very popular Bible verse. With the Spirit of the Lord, it is neither by (human) might nor by power. It is impossible for doers of works of the letter (Law) that kills to deceive themselves in this matter:

If we knew and believed that it is Christ in us doing the works and not our own might and power at obeying the Law, it would be difficult for us to point accusing fingers at others who are still held captive by sin or threaten them with judgment if they don't change. Rather, we would see how helpless man is to overcome sins and produce good works and point such to Christ who saves from sins (Matt. 1:21) and transforms the sinner who truly believes to live right as well as produce good works(Titus 2:14) as it is written in His word.

Recall 1 Corinthians 10:11 says of the events recorded in the Old Testament— 

"Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us, on whom the ends of the ages have come."

Beloved of God, the line of scarlet cord which Rahab the harlot binded to her window is a picture of the blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The word “line” is translated from the Hebrew word “Tiqvah” which also means “Hope.” H8615 - tiqvah - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (KJV)

Bible “hope” is not the world’s definition of hope which connotes “maybe.” Hope (Tiqvah) in the Bible is “a confident expectation of good.” Recall the spies said to Rahab:

17 So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, 18 unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home."

In essence: When God’s wrath/judgment arrives to destroy the world around you, have a confident expectation of good (line, hope) because the blood of Jesus (scarlet cord) separates and keeps you from experiencing the wrath of God. In Christ, we too have the same Word concerning the line of scarlet cord (a picture of Christ's blood) that Rahab the prostitute believed. See this in Romans 5:9-

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Believing Rahab had only the Word of the spies to hold on to. She personally saw no miracles. Paid no tithes. There was no prophecy that came to pass to make her marvel and believe. No "Go and sow seed so that God's wrath will pass over you." She was a practicing harlot who had only her trust/believing in the Word to save her from her doomed state. Some religious leaders today would tell her kind and other sinners that they cannot be saved unless they stop their harlotry, keep the Ten Commandments, sow seed or pay tithe, but the Word says only the line (hope) of the scarlet cord (blood of Jesus) is necessary for salvation! The Good News indeed for the helpless sinner!

Beloved of God, not everyone in Jericho was a vile sinner; some tried their best to be good but the wrath of God was upon all who were not in that apartment that had the scarlet cord bound to its window- all who did not believe that salvation comes through the blood alone and not one's useless human effort/arm of flesh-driven attempts at living a godly life.

Recall Rahab's house was on the wall- the first line of attack on the city- a dangerous position to be in at the time? City walls were the domain of poor people. “These areas were often inhabited by the poorer population and held the "noxious (harmful, poisonous, very unpleasant) trades". See Defensive wall - Wikipedia Skip to “Composition” section of article.

Many Jericho-ians would have thought it better to retreat into the city proper for safety, thinking that trusting in the word concerning a "mere" line of scarlet cord bound to a window  is not enough to save anybody from destruction much less save a sinful harlot. Today, antichrist pastors echo this same sentiment-

"Saved just by the blood alone with all of your terrible sins? That is simply not possible. You are already in a dangerous position with all of your noxious trades. You have to do more to keep yourself safe from wrath."

But no amount of retreating from sins could save anyone in Jericho. Only trust in the blood saves. Beware of such who are trying to get believers to retreat into self-preservation via useless works of the law to save themselves from wrath. These ones even imply that believing the Gospel of Grace will cause sinners to go on sinning sprees, as if Rahab couldn’t wait to carry on with her harlotry after her salvation from the destruction of Jericho.

Beloved of God, like the line of scarlet cord which is our hope - a confident expectation of good because of the blood of Jesus, only the blood of Jesus will suffice for salvation from wrath. By God's Grace, receive and believe the Word preached by "spies" of today aka all followers of God's unmerited favour (Grace) as experienced by Rahab the harlot. Don't be like Peter who thought and boasted that he had some good in him to not commit the sin of bearing false witness against Christ. The only reason why we are not committing particular sins is because God did not allow us to get tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:12-13.) There isn't an iota of good in man of himself but many think they are "not that bad" because God has prevented Satan from sifting them like wheat. Beloved, the arm of flesh (human effort) will fail when sifting time comes to the one who trusts in himself to stand.

Only the blood of Jesus stands between the sinner and God's wrath and God freely gives His salvation to all who, by His Grace, see their utter helplessness and need for God’s saving Grace - from the vilest offender to the one who only lied on the phone for a good reason.

Beloved of God, no matter what harlotry you are involved in, no matter how vile or how minuscule your sins are, know that like Rahab, there is nothing you can do to save yourself from the punishment/wrath that the law demands. All have sinned and the law demands payment of the wages of sin: Death preceded by its symptoms of earthly ills e.g. stupid mistakes, depression and fast-tracked aging - the same way Adam died.

Like Rahab of the line of scarlet cord; like the Israelites who ate the Passover lamb in Egypt with the blood of the lamb on their doorposts and lintel, no matter how vile your sins are, once the blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ is covering you, you will be spared from wrath- God's word says so:

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." Romans 5:9.

This is Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. This is God’s word. The question is asked in the Book of Amos—

“Can two walk together unless they are agreed?”

Antichrist pastors and sadly, churchgoers who follow their teaching disagree with God’s word concerning salvation through the blood of Jesus alone; they describe God's word as blasphemy, insist that man has to do some things by human striving in order to be righteous like God (be like God)/saved from wrath and ask questions such as:

"So because we are under Grace and the righteousness of Christ covers us we should continue to commit sins as we like?"

With these kinds of questions, these "pastors" only display their affinity to Satan who pushed Eve to trust in the arm of flesh (human effort) for the attainment of godliness. These ones display their unbelief in Christ as Saviour from sins and show their utter cluelessness about God's saving Grace: beloved of God, God's Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him:

"God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."

Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Also Matthew 1:21 says of Him- "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

How can Christ who came to save us from our sins use those same sins that He came to save the helpless sinner from as an excuse for withholding His salvation? Let's take our blessed brains to church. Not every assembly is the “assembly of the brethren.” The only way to not be able to enjoy Christ's salvation from sins is to try to save yourself from your sins- to try to keep the law in order to get right with God-

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's Grace." Galatians 5:4.

Satan and his agents behind some church pulpits know this verse very well so they are actively pushing that seemingly good doctrine that promotes dependence on human effort (arm of flesh that will fail) aka law-keeping for the attainment of godliness— the same one that Satan preached to Eve in Eden.

Thought to clarify that law-keeping is anything at all that one is doing/thinks he can or ought to do by human effort aka arm of flesh in order to contribute to Christ's finished work by which we who believe get to "not perish but have eternal life." All who indulge in it "exalt themselves against the knowledge of God" as did Peter who trusted his human effort to keep the law (You shall not bear false witness..) when Christ told him about his then upcoming denials. He thought Christ was wrong. He disagreed with God’s Word, exalting himself against the knowledge of Christ. 

In Christ, we see by Grace and agree with God's word that of ourselves, our will-power to live right which antichrist pastors try to goad us to trust in is utterly useless and that there is no good whatsoever in man of himself as was Paul's experience in Romans 7:18-

“For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it."

God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot. But Satan’s ministers twist “faith without works is dead” and appeal to man’s Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) that will fail, pushing some to say:

"No, I can. God must be wrong. I still have some good in me. I can keep the law and resist temptation to commit sin by my will-power so that I can be deserving of heaven. Faith without works is dead so I must and I can do works to prove that I have faith. Since I can do it, others must too. They are just lazy and love to sin.”

Reminds one of Peter who thought Christ was wrong about his then upcoming denials. All who follow this false doctrine reject Christ who died that we might live the abundant life. Since Christ is Saviour from sins, all who disagree with His word of salvation and reject Him in this manner continue to produce dead works and live in sin as they have rejected Him. This is why the proliferation of churches on every street corner in places like my country Nigeria has not translated to godly living for many churchgoers. This is why televangelists who hold their congregations captive with the threat of God’s wrath that Christ came to freely save us from commit so many ridiculous blunders and cannot take their own medicine. Many are still blinded by that satanic doctrine of trying to be godly (be like God) by human effort at doing things as Eve was deceived into believing. The result is the same as it was back then: sin has dominion (Romans 6:14) and death- preceded by its symptoms of earthly ills (e.g. fear, depression, lack,etc) reigns (Romans 5:17.)

Beloved of God, know the Truth that makes free in Jesus' name.

Beloved, those sins and addictions that hold you captive, Christ came to save you from them all- even those ones in Revelation 21:8 - the fearful and the unbelieving, idolaters, whoremongers (meaning "pornos" in Greek) and all liars. By God's Grace, let's stop depending on what we erroneously think we can do to stop sinning/be godly like God as antichrist pastors advise us to; they are following the pattern of their master Satan who deceived Eve with the same false doctrine. They prey on man's tendency to want to see (human) reason and logic in all things, afterall, what is bad in working hard to be good and to attain godliness? But God's ways and thoughts are higher than man's. His way of salvation (Grace) cannot be rationalized by human logic-

"For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18.

Beloved of God, never trust yourself. Never retreat into self-preservation or depend on your human effort/arm of flesh-driven works in order to escape wrath. Trust in Christ to save you from wrath and your sins as He did Rahab the harlot. She didn't remained a harlot either. She was exalted to become one of Jesus' ancestors. This is what Christ does- His Spirit in all who have the ”line” (hope) of the "scarlet cord" of His blood as our only defence and covering transforms even the vilest offender to godly living-

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:18.

In Him, God sees us as righteous, "even though we are guilty of many sins." See Romans 5:16 below. He is not waiting for you to be free of your sins before He saves you (or else why would we need salvation,) just as He did not wait for Rahab to stop being a harlot before He gave Grace for her to believe and receive His salvation. This is why He sent His own Son - to save us from all of our sins. Matthew 1:21 says of Him-

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Recall Romans 5:19- “By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”

Adam passed his sin/old nature to all of his descendants. Sinners will produce sins just as a person infected with snake venom will produce snakebite symptoms that lead to death. Christ suffered and died to rid us of this sin nature (make us righteous) and cleanse us of its symptoms (acts of sin.) All who believe in Him as Rahab did are a new creation in Him, no longer having the old nature. Come as you are with all of your baggage of sins and addictions, looking utterly to Christ for salvation as did the Israelites that were affected by the snake sting (sin nature inherited from Adam) and its deathly effects (acts of sin that lead to death.) Recall Christ Himself gave us this typology of our salvation from sin and death in John 3 -

"14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

All who follow the Truth get to live in triumph over sin and death through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ:

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:16–17.

Beloved, God justifies the ungodly. Don't let any false apostle redefine "ungodly" to mean only big sins like adultery and murder for you. Can't cook when you should be able to? That is ungodly because God can do all things. Addicted to telenovelas? Lied about your location on the phone? Stole a pin? Stole an elephant? Was late to work? Addicted to pornography? Slave to money? Anxious? Afraid? Fearful? All of these are ungodly traits. Ungodliness. In fact, in Revelation 21:8, "the fearful and the unbelieving" lead the pack of the ungodly that will burn in hell forever. See the order of appearance? These two sins have more gravity than the rest that false doctrine peddlers are always focusing on- they are the foundation for most transgressions; e.g. people lie and resort to all sorts of evil deeds out of fear and because they do not believe that God will save them from their troubles. But see how Christ deals with these two sins:

Recall the disciples were fearful and in hiding after the resurrection of Christ? And guess who was unbelieving for one whole week after he was told that Christ is risen? Thomas! Christ saved them from their sins of fear and unbelief. He transformed them into bold believers- as He will do for you when you trust in Him alone for salvation from your sins.

Beloved of God, no matter what your brand of "harlotry" or ungodliness is- trust in His word and let His blood be your ONLY defence and covering from the wages of sin:

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." Romans 5:9

When your believing is right — when your line (hope) of salvation is in the blood of Jesus alone, as it was with Rahab of the line of scarlet cord bound to her window who is named in the genealogy of the Messiah, not only will right living will follow, your heavenly Father will do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that you can ask or think for you His beloved in Christ Jesus.