Bible Study for Today

Why did God bless Rahab the prostitute?

Rahab’s life was not spared because of her lie. It was spared because she put her faith in God. Rahab was given a gracious opportunity to side with God by protecting the two Israelite spies, and she acted within her circumstances. She lied daringly and elaborately. Perhaps her initial response was simply a habit of her profession. From the perspective of the king of Jericho, Rahab would have been guilty of treason, not just lying. She had a new allegiance, and she didn’t yet know that the God she now wanted to trust had a rule about lying.

While those around her feared what the God of Israel might do, Rahab feared enough to boldly trust Him as the one true God, “for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” (2:11b). She understood that God wasn’t a local or a national god. She knew enough to act. The spies were impressed and indebted. When Rahab asked them for protection, they recognized their obligation. They were exact in promising to preserve the lives of those in her house, indicated by the scarlet cord from the window.

The radical change that came into Rahab’s life when those spies knocked on her door can be seen in several ways. She risked her life to trust God. The Book of Ruth, along with Matthew 1:5, also reveals that Rahab married and became the great-great-grandmother of King David and one of the ancestors of Jesus. Centuries later, Rahab was one of the women listed in Hebrews 11 because of her faith.

Reading for Today:

Joshua 5:1–6:27Psalm 42:6-11Proverbs 13:19-21Luke 9:18-36

Notes:

Joshua 5:2 circumcise. God commanded Joshua to see that this was done to all males under 40. These were sons of the generation who died in the wilderness, survivors (see vv. 6, 7) from the new generation God spared in Numbers 13 and 14. This surgical sign of a faith commitment to the Abrahamic Covenant (see Gen. 17:9-14) had been ignored during the wilderness trek. Now God wanted it reinstated, so the Israelites would start out right in the land they were possessing.

Psalm 42:8 The LORD will command His lovingkindness. This statement of confidence interrupts the psalmist’s laments (see their continuance in vv. 9, 10), providing a few gracious gulps of divine “air” under the cascading inundations of his trials and tormentors.

Proverbs 13:20 walks...companion.This speaks of the power of association to shape character. See 1:10, 18; 2:12; 4:14; 16:29; 22:24, 25; 23:20; 28:7, 19; Psalm 1.

Luke 9:23 cross. Self-denial was a common thread in Christ’s teaching to His disciples (see 14:26, 27; Matt. 10:38; 16:24; Mark 8:34; John 12:24–26). The kind of self-denial He sought was not a reclusive asceticism, but a willingness to obey His commandments, serve one another, and suffer—perhaps even die—for His sake.

Luke 9:29 As He prayed. As at Jesus’ baptism, while He was praying, the Father’s voice came from heaven. glistening. Literally, “emitting light.” This word is used only here in the New Testament. It suggests a brilliant flashing light, similar to lightning.