Rahab, My Favorite Hooker

I feel like the story of Rahab is one of the stories in the Bible that a lot of religious people try to ignore. Like, they kind of pretend she didn't exist, or if she did, they paint her in this glorious picture as some kind of special, holy prostitute. Because God wouldn't really use a whore, would he?

“Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.”

Rahab was a hooker. You get me? She got paid to have sex. Actively. Not, she used to be a bad girl but now she's redeemed. No, she was a working girl, and she worked hard for the money.

I haven't thought about Rahab for years. I was one of those good little Christian girls who read that story and wrote it off as a "Bible" story so I didn't have to relate it to real life. But I've learned a lot of things since the last time I met with Rahab. And these things have raised a lot of questions in my heart as I read her story again today. Like, I wonder if Rahab was a willing prostitute? Was she kidnapped, or sold by her parents to pay the bills, like over 8 million women in the world today? Did she choose her story? Did she have kids to feed? Was she being abused?

Then there's another thing...these Israelite spies, "holy" men from the Holy Chosen People...how was their lodging of choice a trap house? For real. There was NO WHERE else they could've stayed? Come on.

Let me keep reading.

“But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.” Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) 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.”

So this girl straight up lied. She saved the "Holy Men's" lives, but she lied to do it. Her plan was pretty dope too--she sent the king's men on a wild goose chase far, far away. They never suspected her. I bet a few of them thought they knew her pretty well...ahem.

“Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror.

“Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.” “We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety,” the men agreed. “If you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when the Lord gives us the land.””

This part makes me wonder if the spies didn't come to her house looking for a good time after all. She is clearly a hustler and a business woman. Maybe she saw them walking through and invited them in. She could talk her way into anything, and out of anything. Maybe as soon as she saw them she made up her mind they were gonna be her way out. Either way her word was gold, and she kept her end of the deal.

“Then, since Rahab’s house was built into the town wall, she let them down by a rope through the window. “Escape to the hill country,” she told them. “Hide there for three days from the men searching for you. Then, when they have returned, you can go on your way.” Before they left, the men told 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, and all your relatives—must be here inside 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, however, we are not bound by this oath in any way.” “I accept your terms,” she replied. And she sent them on their way, leaving the scarlet rope hanging from the window.”

The end of the story is even more amazing to me. If you read later on about the fall of Jericho in Joshua chapter 6, you will find that not only did the spies rescue Rahab and make sure her family was safe...GOD kept her part of the wall from falling down. He had the Israelites march around the wall over and over and then after 7 days, God basically knocked the wall down. Not the Israelites--God himself. But not Rahab's house, which was built into the wall. It just happened to still be standing...with that red rope hanging out the window.

“The men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all the other relatives who were with her. They moved her whole family to a safe place near the camp of Israel.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭6:23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

THEN...this fairytale seriously keeps getting better. She is recorded as marrying Salmon, one of the spies whose life she saved. According to some manuscripts, Salmon just happened to be a prince of Israel. Rahab then ended up being the mother of Boaz, the famous “knight in shining armor” who married Ruth. Which ultimately means she was one of JESUS' direct bloodline. Interesting fact about this...Israelites were forbidden to marry anyone of a different race. So why did God bring the savior through an illegal, possibly even illegitimate, union? If the Israelites were not supposed to defile themselves or dilute their chosen blood...how does the MESSIAH have unclean blood in his lineage?? What is God up to?

I still don't have an explanation for this story. It blows all of my super spiritual ideas out the window. I only know what I see. God is in the business of re-writing history. Jesus came to write a new law, and he started long, long before we even knew what he was up to.

What I see is that apparently “good” isn’t always God, and God’s way isn’t always what we call “good.” Apparently the same grace-filled God that passionately loved, looked out for and used a hooker, loves me and wants to use me. Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with whether I have a perfect record, or get it right all the time. Maybe I can be used to save someone’s life just as I am. Maybe my Father has a plan to walk with me right where I’m at, to empower me as I trust him, and to grow me as I do what I can do with what I have.

Maybe he has that for you, too. Maybe your destiny is not so far away...it might be just on the other side of a decision...a decision to accept it.

*all scripture taken from Joshua 2, NLT unless otherwise noted