Prostitute In The Hall Of Faith story shared in the scripture teaches us that there is no one God can not use and redeem unto Himself.
When we look at all the Bible Characters that lived in the days of The Bible whom God had a personal relationship with, we will agree with me that the saying;
“God does not call the qualified but qualifies the called”, is indeed true.
One of the characters who both by ‘society standard ’and ‘religion’ did not qualify to be God’s Child, nor have a part to play in His Plan for the Redemption of mankind but received great grace and mercy to be part of the ‘genealogy’ of Jesus Christ is RAHAB the PROSTITUTE.
This is because, while Man (Men and Women) look at outward appearance, God looks at the Heart.
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance
Or height for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things
the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance but
the LORD looks at the heart”. I Samuel 16: 7 (NLT)
Who is a Prostitute?
A Prostitute is a woman who engages in Sexual Intercourse for Money and material gain. A Whore.
The woman Rahab was a prostitute who lived in Jericho.
She’s that woman that no one in the society wanted to associate with publicly, because of her kind of profession. In their eyes, there is only one end for Rahab which is; Hell fire and Eternal Damnation.
However, when God saw Rahab, He saw a beautiful strong woman who though had her wrongdoings and was a ‘sinner’, was still qualified for the Messiah to come through her Womb.
This we saw in the chronological listing of the Genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew Chapter 1:1-17, specifically verse 5.
The writers of the Bible could have omitted this information because of the way it would look on the persona of the Messiah but they did not.
It definitely was not a mistake, that Rahab the prostitute was mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ and amongst the “heroes of faith” in the book of Hebrews, where we have the likes of; Prophet Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Sarah, and Joseph.
“By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those
Who did not believe, when she received the spies with
Peace”. Hebrews 11:31(NKJV)
The heroes of faith in the Bible can be likened to the Hollywood Hall of Fame of the world today.
Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent out two men as spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go view the land, especially Jericho”.
So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and lodged there.
Yes, she was a prostitute.
A woman who slept with different men in exchange for money. But there was something different about these men who came to lodge in her house.
Something in her call it a sixth sense or spirit deep in her knew that these men are not here for her body.
They are men on a mission.
There were lots of customers with money to pay for her services on standby, knocking on her door.
Foregoing ‘one night’ of money-making will not kill her she thought to herself.
She was still lost in her thoughts when she heard a loud bang on her door. Startled by the loud sound, she marched angrily to the door, to know who it was, that wanted to break down her door.
When she opened the door, she was surprised to see messengers from the palace they brought word from the king;
“Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country”.
Hearing the words of the king’s messengers confirmed to Rahab what she had earlier sensed in her spirit that the men were different.
Her heart skipped.
Though taken aback by the words of the messengers, she summoned courage, put up a straight face and said to the messengers;
“Yes the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly for you may overtake them”.
Immediately after the king’s messengers left, she ran inside, took the men and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.
So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut.
She had pointed the king’s messengers in the wrong direction.
Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof, and said to the men;
“I know that the LORD has given you the land and, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are faint-hearted because of you.
For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og whom you completely destroyed.
No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.
Swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness and helped you, that you will also show kindness to my father’s house. Give me some guarantee that when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father, mother, my brothers, sisters, and all their families.”
The men answered her,
“We offer our lives as a guarantee for your safety”. If you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when the LORD gives us the land”.
Having reached that agreement, she let them down by the rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall.
She said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there for three days, from the men searching for you. Then when they have returned, you can go on your way.”
Before they departed, the men said to her,
“We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions. When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members; your father, mother, brothers, sisters and all your relatives must be in the house. If they go out into the street and are killed, it will not be our fault. But if anyone lays a hand on people inside this house, we will accept the responsibility for their death”.
“If you betray us, we are not bound by this oath which you made us swear”.
“I accept your terms,” she replied.
She sent them on their way, leaving the scarlet rope hanging on the window.
They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days just as Rahab the prostitute told them until the pursuers returned.
The men who were chasing them searched everywhere along the road, but they finally returned without success.
The two spies came down from the hill country crossed the Jordan River and reported to Joshua all that happened to them.
“The LORD has given us the whole land,” they said, “for all the people are terrified of us”.
Rahab moved on with her life as a prostitute.
The Destruction Of Jericho
The gates of Jericho were tightly shut because of the children of Israel. No one was allowed to go out or go in. The city of Jericho was put on a total ‘ lockdown’ Joshua 6:1-27.
A day came that the LORD said to Joshua: “See I have given Jericho into your hands, its king and all its strong warriors. You and your men of war shall march around the city once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day, you are to march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the ram’s horn, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the city will collapse, and the people can charge into the city.”
Joshua, the men of war, and the priests carrying the Ark obeyed and followed the instructions of the LORD, just as He commanded them to. They followed the pattern for six days.
On the seventh day, the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the city as they had done before. But this time they went around the city seven times. The seventh time as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, Shout! for the LORD has given you the city!
Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an offering to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies.
When the people heard the sound of the ram’s horn, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the city and captured it.
They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords; men, women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.
Joshua said to the two spies, “Keep your promise. Go to the prostitute’s house and bring her out along with her family.”
The men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, relatives and all that she had. They moved her whole family to a safe place near the camp Israel.
The Israelites burned the city and everything in it. But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house because she hid the spies whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
She lives among the Israelites to this day.
Rahab the prostitute got an open ticket to save herself, her parents and her siblings from the death that killed every single soul in Jericho, including the king and every other person who was righteous according to the “society and religious standard”.
Of all the houses in the city of Jericho, the spies found the house of a prostitute worthy to lodge.
Why? Were there not men and women of better reputations in the city?
Why chose a prostitute?
The ways of God are past finding out, so He says. (Romans 11:33) I believe this is the reason Apostle Peter said, “Now I know for certain that God doesn’t show favouritism with people but treats everyone on the same basis. It makes no difference what race of people one belongs to. If they show deep reverence for God and are committed to doing what’s right they are acceptable before Him.”
Acts 10:34-35 (TPT)
Rahab the prostitute though a sinner living in sin, had a deep reverence for God this we see in her conversation with the spies;
“For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.” She also did what was right by protecting and instructing the spies on what to do till they returned safely to Joshua who sent them out.
Beloved before God, all humans are the same because we all are made in His image after His likeness. Genesis 1:26. It doesn’t matter if you are a prostitute, armed robber, killer, priest, prophet, saint, righteous, unrighteous, black or white the love of the Father is UNIVERSAL. John 3:16-17.
He doesn’t show favouritism to anyone but treats everyone on the same basis; which is why Rahab the prostitute can be used as a vessel in His hand to protect the spies sent by Joshua to spy out Jericho for the purpose of God to be fulfilled which is the total destruction of the city of Jericho.
Rahab, an outcast in society, proved that God loves and can use anyone for His Purpose, no matter his or her position in life or social standing.
What Is The Significance Of A Scarlet Rope?
Rahab made a deal with the spies, she made them vow that since she has shown them kindness, they will also show her kindness.
These men agreed and told her to bring everyone she loved into her house on that day and to hang a scarlet rope out of her window. This Rahab did immediately.
The scarlet rope is the colour of blood.
The scarlet rope tied to her window was a sign of her faith and led to her salvation, as she and her family were not destroyed with the rest of Jericho.
The scarlet rope -the colour of blood worked for Rahab much as the blood of the Passover lamb smeared on the lintels and doorposts of Jewish homes in Goshen, the night that the LORD pass through the land of Egypt to strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast.
Every home marked with blood was spared death that night. (Exodus 12:1-30).
God’s mercy and forgiveness of Rahab the harlot was signified by a rope of thread, which becomes a symbol of the blood of Christ shed through His death on the cross.
Jesus’ death on the cross is the foundation of every Christian faith. Without Him shedding His blood to pay our debt of sin, we would have no hope of heaven.
But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us,
by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8(Amp)
Beloved, I leave you with this; who would you rather be? The king who died in Jericho or the prostitute who found grace and mercy, made it to the promised land and her name in the hall of faith with other generals of faith?
Think about it.
Jesus Christ knows and sees you just the way you are and has paid the ultimate price for the redemption of your soul. He said,
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone opens the door,
I will come into him and dine with him,
and he with me. Revelation 3:20 (NKJV)
He is knocking on the door of your heart now, won’t you open it for Him?
Rahab the prostitute’s name is written in the genealogy of Jesus Christ and among the “heroes of faith” in the Book of Hebrews.
Beloved reader, Is Your Name Written in the Book of Life?
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
Revelation 20:12
“And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of life,
was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15
God Bless YOU
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