Imagine you’re a woman of ill repute living among a people you know in your heart are doomed. It’s likely your story will end right there.

But for Rahab, a resident of Jericho, that’s not the end of her story. It’s just the beginning. Hers is a story of faith and redemption.

A Defining Moment

With Moses gone, God had given Joshua the job of leading His people into the promised land. The capital was a fortified city called Jericho. Rahab lived and worked within its wall, making her home a strategic location for the Hebrews spying out the land.

Rahab took in the spies and then hid them on her roof. When word of her treason reached Jericho’s king, she didn’t cave to fear. Instead, she misdirected their pursuers. In short, she lied.

“True the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”—Joshua 2:4b-5 (ESV)

Faith Comes by Hearing

Why would Rahab choose to betray her own people and put her own life, and the lives of those she loves, at such great risk? It turns out God had prepared her heart for just that moment.

She and her people had been hearing the terrifying tales—“how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan . . .” (Joshua 2:10 ESV). 

Her people were filled with fear. But for Rahab, fear gave way to faith.

“The Lord your God, He is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.”—Joshua 2:11b

Her allegiance was with the Israelites and their God. All she asked was that the soldiers would promise to spare her and her family. They kept their word.

A Scarlet Woman and a Scarlet Thread

Rahab’s act of faith turned out to be no small thing. You see, scripture is full of scandalous people and stories. But this scarlet woman became a scarlet thread leading to the Son of God born to redeem us all.

She married Salmon from the tribe of Judah and became an ancestor of Jesus—one of three surprising women listed in his genealogy in Matthew 1. 

Her faith-fueled courage earned Rahab a place in the Hebrews Hall of Faith.

By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.—Hebrews 11:31(ESV)

James, the in-your-face brother of Jesus, cites Rahab’s faith and follow-through as an example for us all.

And in the same way, was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart the the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.—James 2:25 (ESV)

Why the Label Stuck

So if Rahab was redeemed, why does the New Testament still refer to her as a prostitute? Think about it. Isn’t that exactly the point?

God used a prostitute and foreigner to help ensure the Israelites would enter the Promised Land. And how fitting is it that Jesus, would makes all things new, would descend from a woman whose life was gloriously redeemed?

Rahab’s story is our story. We are not too fallen or too scarred by scandal to act on faith. Take your eyes off your failures and fix them on Jesus. He will infuse you with purpose and boldness on your road to redemption.

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This is Part 8 in a series about biblical women—some named, some not, some honorable, some less so. But all have earned a place in scripture, and all have important lessons to teach us.