Rahab & the Spies
Open Your Bible
Joshua 2:1-24, Numbers 13:26-33, Hebrews 11:31
BY Amanda Bible Williams
Just yesterday, I forgot again. It had been a long day, and I was tired—physically tired, but emotionally exhausted too. It seems we live in that place of general fatigue more often than not these days, huh? And when an already-full cup gets bumped, we all know what happens: it spills over, and there is usually a mess to clean up.
I spilled over, and circumstances are not to blame. Circumstances, I’ve lived long enough to know, are always going to shift and change. If I set my hope on them, I’m guaranteed disappointment and discouragement. So, I must set my hope on something else instead—Someone else. I must remember what is true when the stresses of life fill me to the brim. I must remember who is true.
Rahab’s story in Joshua 2 is one of my favorite narratives in Scripture. I love that this loudly-labeled woman defies her definition and turns toward Yahweh in a remarkable plot twist. I love the symbolism of that scarlet cord in the window and the passion I can imagine in Rahab’s voice as I read her words. But the thing that gets me every single time I read Rahab’s story is how she seems to understand from the start something I struggle with daily. She recalls and remembers the acts of Yahweh, and this leads her to worship—right there in the most unlikely and uncertain of circumstances:
“I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us…
we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you…
When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you,
for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below”
(Joshua 2:9–11, emphasis mine).
Rahab calls to mind what she knows, and this leads her to profess what she believes. What if we did the same? Whether we’ve walked with the Lord for days or decades, we are here opening His Word together because we have seen Him at work in our hearts, our lives, our world, or all of the above. We have seen evidence of His hand, His goodness, His glory, and it’s enough to melt our very hearts before Him in awe and worship. What if we made a practice of remembering this? Not just when it’s easy, but when it’s hard. Not only when blessings are evident, but when they’re hidden. Not in times of ease, but in times of stress.
Join me today in recalling what you’ve seen God do. Join me in remembering who He is. Let the record of His faithfulness draw you to worship, and let’s echo Rahab’s profession together: “The LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below” (Joshua 2:11). We give our moments, days, and hearts to Him.
151 thoughts on "Rahab & the Spies"
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Amen! I love how Rahab recognized God’s power over anything else and she decided to Trust him.
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This. God uses this woman to not only continue his plan here, but she becomes part of the family tree of Jesus. And just like she was adopted into His chosen, we to are adopted in. This story shows that Women are worthy, we are valued, and honored. We have gifts and purpose and through God we flourish.
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I love Rahab’s trust in God that he will save her and even if he doesn’t she is still faith
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Lauren, I feel like so many of us can relate to this. You are already on your way to understanding scripture on a deeper level though. You are taking the first steps by reading His word and praying for God to help you connect to it and understand. God knows our hearts, but he wants us to come boldly to him with our cares and prayers. It stood out to me that strict instructions were given for none of the Israelites other than the priests to go near the Ark, but now with Jesus as our high priest, we can go boldly before God. Jesus was the fulfillment of the greatest promise ever made and there is already a scarlet thread (or scarlet cord in this story) leading to the coming of Christ in the story of Joshua. God is El Roi, the God who sees, and he saw Rahab and her heart just as he sees us today. She was spared and from her line our Savior was born. God wasn’t looking for perfection. She was a sinner, but God captured her heart through the miracles he had performed for others. God had shown himself to be the one true God to the Israelites, and Rahab’s heart and eyes were open to see it.
Continuing praying for God to open your heart and mind to the beauty of his word. Trust that the spirit will guide you. Find a spiritual mentor or a friend who would be willing to discuss scripture with you or do these studies alongside you. Try a highlighting method. Right now just look for repeated themes to highlight. (Repeated themes in Joshua 1-5 are trust, courage, obedience.) Later on you can dig deeper into different highlighting methods. There are some great Bible highlighting guides available out there. Find a good study Bible with notes and commentary. Listen to the SRT podcast episodes. The latest episode with Christine Caine will certainly light your desire to want to read more from the book of Joshua. These are just a few suggestions to try. The most important is what you are already doing—opening your Bible and praying for wisdom. -
Knowing this took place in the Old Testiment, I have to wonder if it was fear that gave Rahabs faith.
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Knowing this took pla
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Rahabs words are filled with faith in God. She speaks the truths of Gods works even as she speaks of the destruction of her city. She chooses faith and hope instead of fear. The darkest time in my life was when God met me and carried me. Ironically now I feel that moment in time to remind myself of Gods provision, faithfulness and kindness.
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We have our Bibles to help us remember that God is alive and active. But, I have to make a conscience effort each day to get into His Word and remember His blessings. I wish our entire country USA would do this study because we ALL need to return to God and remember.
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