By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. Hebrews 11:30, 31
Rahab was an innkeeper in the ancient city of Jericho. The Scriptures also point out she was a harlot. She was from a pagan nation, the Canaanites, who were idolatrous, violent and proud. She came from the other side of the tracks, a sinner, estranged from God and his people (Ephesians 2:11, 12). Yet we also find her name listed with the giants of Old Testament faith. How did that happen?
We read in Joshua 2:8-11 that Rahab heard and believed? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). What did she hear? She heard about the power and greatness of the true God. If God has the power to part the Red Sea, then he also has the power to save sinners. But Rahab did more than agree to the truth she heard, she also put that truth into action. She hid the two Israelite spies that had entered the city. This was no small thing for if caught Rahab could have lost her life. In spite of the risk, she heard the word of God’s messengers and acted upon it.
They told her to hang a scarlet cord out of her window. This she did. In the Exodus, it was the blood of the lamb applied to their doorposts that spared the believer’s firstborn. The blood pointed to the Lamb of God, the Christ who would come and deliver from sin. The red cord meant she would be spared, not only from the destruction of Jericho but also from sin itself. It is faith in the blood of Christ that delivers, and it's a faith that takes action.
Endurance is another aspect to Rahab’s faith. The spies told her to gather her family into her home, to stay in that protected space, and to patiently wait for deliverance. The waiting must have seemed like an eternity. But neither she, nor her family left that home, even when Jericho’s walls started crumbling. So it shall be at the end (Revelation 14:12). God’s people will have faith, the faith of Jesus. God’s people will have a faith that acts, they will keep the commandments. God’s people will endure; here is the patience of the saints. The one who endures to the end, he will be saved (Matthew 24:13).
Jericho was under a ban, in Hebrew a “herem” (Joshua 6:17). This meant it was cursed and devoted to destruction. However the city’s precious metals were to be put into the Lord’s treasury. But the real treasure that day was Rahab and her family. So it shall be in the end. God is longsuffering wanting all to be saved (2 Peter 1:9-12). But not all put their faith in him. Christ took sin’s curse upon himself (Galatians 3:13, 14). He was devoted to destruction in order to pay the wages for our sin, that we could be delivered to the treasurer of the Lord forever. The elements will burn up at the end, but God’s people of faith will be fully delivered.
True faith believes in the Lord and His power to save, it acts on God’s truth, and preserves through the battles and storms. Rahab had such faith. She was tremendously blessed for it, even having the Messiah come through her lineage (Matthew 1:5, 26). Have like faith! You too will be eternally blessed.
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