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I got a bit behind on the Rahab Study ( only a couple of days!) because of all of the things going on in my life.  It made me think about what a lonely, hollow, and hopeless life Rahab must have felt before those two spies came into her life.  After the devastation of the walls of her hometown crumbling and everyone inside perishing, Rahab opened her life, her heart, and her spirit to the Israelites.  She lived among them.  Married one of them, Salmon.  And she had a son, Boaz. He went on to be the husband of Ruth and the grandfather of King David.  Which makes  RAHAB THE GREAT-GRANDMOTHER OF KING DAVID - AN ANCESTOR OF JESUS!  You'll see below that there are only four women mentioned in the lineage of Jesus.  What a reward to this woman who had more faith than anyone else in the land.   Other than in the book of Joshua, you can find references to Rahab:  Psalm 87:4 Psalm 89:10 Isaiah 51:9 Hebrews 11:31 James 2:25 Here are some...

Good morning and welcome to the last full day of our Rahab study!  Today we are going to read about the Israelites making their way to the walls and what happens to Rahab and her family!  The Bible says it was the 10th day of the first month. If we are following the calendar of Rahab's time, it is said this would be equivalent to our month of April. The Israelite's gathered on the East side of the Walls of Jericho.  Rahab and her family would be on the North side.  Now, the news of the Jordan drying up for the Israelites had moved through all of the neighboring lands.  Everyone was terrified!  I am sure knowledge of this gave Rahab another layer of faith and trust in God. How many started to believe?  Our main focus here is Rahab, but to understand what she went through, we must speak of how God led the Israelites to conquer Jericho!  The newer generation of Isrealite men had to be circumcised, right out in the campsite!  Four days after this...

We hear about the Walls of Jericho, but what did they look like?  Rahab's home was built into the wall, so it was obviously large and sturdy, surrounding the city.  Here is one artist's rendering:  by Damien F. Mackey Rahab was told to let the scarlet cord hang from the window and bring all of her family into her home.   The spies left Rahab and went into the hills for three days as to not be caught by their pursuers. After that time, they returned to Joshua and the Israelites.  “The  Lord  has surely given the whole land into our hands;  all the people are melting in fear  because of us.” Joshua 2:24 They wait another three days and then Joshua gives the command that they are to follow the Ark of the Covenant. I find it especially notable that he tells them to not get too close to the Ark!  He told the priests to take the Ark and go on ahead.  Then God speaks to Joshua.  He tells him that he will exalt him in the eye...

  We've discussed Rahab's line of business as well as how she hid the two Israeli Spies on her roof under stalks of flax.  How she lied to the King and told the Spies how she KNEW how their God had done great things and would conquer Jericho.  What Rahab did next not only showed her faith, but it showed that she was intelligent and loved her family.  Please read Joshua 2:12-15 below.  12   “Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13  that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.” 14  “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land.” 15  So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wal...

  One thing you have to ask yourself when reading anything in the Bible is - who is this written FOR?  Who is the audience?  Reading about Rahab in the 21st century, we know that one of the reasons that her story is so important is because she is in the bloodline of Jesus. But what about before Jesus walked the earth? Why did God choose to put this in the Bible? Who was it put in the Bible for?  The Israelites.  This story was recorded and read by Israelites for hundreds of years before any gentiles read it.  GOD deemed Rahab's story WORTHY.  If you think about it, the names of the two spies who risked their lives to scout out Jericho were not even named in the Bible.  But we have Rahab's name.  Another question - if God was (is) all powerful and was able to conquer anything in the way of the Israelite's - why did they have to send in two spies in the first place?  The King knew Rahab's name as well.  In this Pagan community there w...

Rahab was such an interesting woman. I have to wonder, living the life that she did, amongst the people with the beliefs that they had, what made HER believe in God but the others didn't?  She was mentioned in the New Testament as well:  Hebrews 11:3031 The Faith of Many 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. 31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace , did not perish with those who were disobedient. James 2:25 25  In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? Notice even though they are praising Rahab, they still refer to her as "the prostitute".  Even though she has been redeemed by God, she has not been redeemed by the world. Is that being too harsh?  Because I feel like even today, the FIRST thing that comes into our minds when we hear Rahab is pr...

  Hello!  I hope you are having a wonderful February so far! It is the 7th today and we are going to have our second installment about the courageous woman, Rahab.  If you remember from last time, Rahab lived in Jericho and her inn was located right near the entrance gates to the city. A very ideal location for her business as well as a place for two weary men to find out about the comings and goings.  At this same time, Joshua was leading God's Chosen People to the Promised Land. God told Joshua that they would be crossing the Jordan River and heading into Jericho.  One of my FAVORITE verses of the Bible is in this chapter:  Joshua ended up sending two spies. The Bible says they went to the house of a prostitute and stayed there.  SOMEONE went to the King and said that there were two Israelite spies.  Obviously, they must have seen them go inside of Rahab's inn, because the King sent a message to her.  I wonder how her relationship was with ...

  Can you even believe that it is February already? I  feel like January flew by! It's time to introduce our Woman of the month, Rahab.  Rahab's story can be found in the book of Joshua in the Old Testament.  Rahab lived in Jericho, in the Promised Land.  She was an innkeeper, and her inn was located near the city gates of Jericho.  She did not have a husband at that time and her family lived "elsewhere".  According to Rabbinical tradition, Rahab was one of the most beautiful women in the ancient world.  Rahab's profession, most scholars say, was as a prostitute.  Canaanites were known for cultic prostitution - which was paid services for religious worship, as a form of fertility rite.  Of course, this is just a theory!  In Rabbinic texts, she is said to be an innkeeper.  It was not uncommon for  both an inn and brothel to operate together.   It is said that Rahab was born in 1213 b.c. and died in 1113 b.c. in Je...