Transcript
2/2/25 – Richmond’s First Baptist Church
Title: Jesus’ Family Tree: Rahab
Scripture: Joshua 2:1-24
Let’s pray: God, give us eyes to see and ears to hear what you would have for us today. Amen.
Today’s story of Rahab found in Joshua 2 may be a familiar one for you – the story of the prostitute or the harlot
who hid the spies and was called faithful for her actions. Maybe it’s not familiar to you. Let’s hear it together:
Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, ‘Go, view the land, especially
Jericho.’ So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and spent the night
there. The king of Jericho was told, ‘Some Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land.’ Then the king
of Jericho sent orders to Rahab, ‘Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have
come only to search out the whole land.’ But the woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, ‘True, the
men came to me, but I did not know where they came from. And when it was time to close the gate at dark, the
men went out. Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them.’ She had,
however, brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof. So
the men pursued them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. As soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate
was shut.
Before they went to sleep, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men: ‘I know that the Lord has given
you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before
you. For we have heard 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 that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you
utterly destroyed. As soon as we heard it, our hearts failed, and there was no courage left in any of us because of
you. The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. Now then, since I have dealt kindly
with you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good
faith that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver
our lives from death.’ The men said to her, ‘Our life for yours! If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will
deal kindly and faithfully with you when the Lord gives us the land.’
Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the outer side of the city wall and she
resided within the wall itself.She said to them, ‘Go towards the hill country, so that the pursuers may not come
upon you. Hide yourselves there for three days, until the pursuers have returned; then afterwards you may go on
your way.’ The men said to her, ‘We will be released from this oath that you have made us swear to you if we
invade the land and you do not tie this crimson cord in the window through which you let us down, and you do not
gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family. If any of you go out of the
doors of your house into the street, they shall be responsible for their own death, and we shall be innocent; but if
a hand is laid upon any who are with you in the house, we shall bear the responsibility for their death. But if you
tell this business of ours, then we shall be released from this oath that you made us swear to you.’ She said,
‘According to your words, so be it.’ She sent them away and they departed. Then she tied the crimson cord in the
window.
They departed and went into the hill country and stayed there for three days, until the pursuers returned. The
pursuers had searched all along the way and found nothing. Then the two men came down again from the hill
country. They crossed over, came to Joshua son of Nun, and told him all that had happened to them. They said to
Joshua, ‘Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear
before us.’
2
There’s a lot in this story we could talk about: Rahab’s part in the Deuteronomistic History, connecting and
leading to David, or how her story leads to the famous story of Jericho where they march and the walls come
tumbling down, or how the crimson ribbon is connected to the Passover rituals, and so much more.
But if you’re like me, you’ve heard this story and one of your first thoughts is: wow, a prostitute. God really can
use anybody, even someone whose actions are this morally reprehensible. Rahab wasn’t beyond redemption,
clearly – we hear that through this story, and she’s not only mentioned in Jesus’ lineage, she is also mentioned two
other times in the New Testament: in Hebrews 11 and James 2. Both attribute to Rahab the same faith marked by
the same work: safeguarding the Israelite spies, in concert articulating the familiar biblical theme that “faith
without works is dead.” So, a prostitute being called faithful. Scandalous, right!?
Last week we heard Pastor Jim say that “women whose lives are touched by scandal are not always scandalous.”
And I want us to think about this today in relation to Rahab. Although we hear the scandalous word of “prostitute”
attached to her name, it wasn’t because that’s the path Rahab chose for herself. The fact that Rahab was a
prostitute is not what needed redeeming – it was her situation, where no one could or would save her from it.
Rahab was a captive to the societal requirements of paying of familial debts. Poverty was by far the most common
cause of prostitution in the ancient world, as it is in our world as well. Rahab didn’t choose to be a prostitute – she
chose to survive and for her family to be able to pay off their debts. It had fallen to her as a mere daughter to help
supply her family’s dire need through the unwanted and demeaning necessity of prostitution, for it is the poverty
of her extended household that has forced her into prostitution in the first place.
Rahab was a captive to her circumstances that she could not break free from on her own. I’m sure she felt the
weight of the shame and guilt, but she could not have broken free from prostitution just because she wanted to.
3
Have you seen the movie Les Misérables or as most call it, Les Mis? Because while it’s a story filled with shame,
guilt, sorrow, grief, it also captures the truths of grace, redemption, and love.
One of the most tragic characters in this story by Victor Hugo is Fantine. Her story is one of suffering, sacrifice,
and societal injustice. Fantine is a beautiful and naïve young woman who falls in love with a wealthy student
named Felix. They have a brief romance, but Felix, seeing the relationship as nothing more than a youthful affair,
abandons Fantine after she becomes pregnant with his child, Cosette. Left alone and desperate, Fantine decides to
return to her hometown, hoping to provide a future for her daughter.
On her journey back, Fantine realizes that as an unwed mother, she will struggle to find work. In desperation, she
entrusts Cosette with a couple who run an inn. While the couple initially seem kind, they are actually cruel and
greedy. They demand increasing amounts of money from Fantine while severely mistreating Cosette.
Fantine finds work in a factory. However, when it is discovered that she has an illegitimate child, she is fired, as
society views her as immoral. Now unemployed and still needing to send money for Cosette, Fantine spirals into
desperation.
To survive and continue supporting her daughter, Fantine sells her hair and then her front teeth. Eventually, she
turns to prostitution. One night, she is harassed by a wealthy man, and when she defends herself, she is arrested.
Jean Valjean intervenes in her sentencing and demands her release, promising to care for her. He promises Fantine
that he will find Cosette, protect her and care for her, as well.
Eventually Fantine falls gravely ill from her hardships and dies before getting to see her daughter again, although
she knows Cosette will be taken care of by Jean Valjean, which does happen.
Fantine’s story is such a powerful critique of the cruelty of society toward the poor, especially women. Her tragic
fate highlights the themes of injustice, sacrifice, and redemption.
4
Both Rahab and Fantine were in situations that were forced upon them—Rahab by her family’s circumstances and
Fantine by societal injustice. Rahab didn’t choose her path – she was made to choose the path because of her
family’s indebtedness to the king and her role within that as a woman in the ancient world. Her body was used to
pay off that debt. I mean, what a grave injustice!
While I don’t think every story in the Bible can be wrapped in a beautiful red bow and tied up nicely to showcase
love and grace, I do think that there’s more to this story than perhaps what we’ve noted in the past. We often focus
on how Rahab is deemed faithful for hiding the spies, and she is, but it’s so much more than that.
The figure of Rahab reminds us that lives of the faithful include not only deeds performed, but also perseverance
and patience maintained in the face of adversity. To be faithful is both to do and to endure, and the vector of a
person’s faith manifests itself through both.
Rahab was a Canaanite shown mercy, and because of that mercy shown to her, she recognizes the Lord at work.
The spies, who are sent by the Lord, are agents of mercy, even if they don’t recognize it. They are able to help
Rahab out of her perilous situation, and in turn her faith finds roots in the Lord and her life is changed.
I think what we can glean from Rahab’s story is that we can be agents of God’s grace and mercy, helping bring
about God’s justice for those society has ignored or marginalized.
If we have eyes to see beyond someone’s situation to the root cause of their circumstances, often beyond their
control, we can ask ourselves is anyone beyond redemption? And what is our role in helping them? Tamar,
Rahab, and the other women mentioned in Matthew’s telling of Jesus’ lineage tell us that the answer is no. No, no
one’s life or story is beyond the redemption and grace of God, and we get be active agents and recipients of this
love and grace in the world.
5
So why is Rahab mentioned specifically in Matthew’s gospel in Jesus’ lineage? I’m sure there are several reasons,
but I believe Rahab, and the other women, are mentioned because their stories are Jesus’ story of redemption.
They demonstrate the reason Jesus came into the world: to break social structures and bring release to the widows
and captives, those who are marginalized and ignored. And the good news is that we get to be agents of this light,
shining like a city on a hill for all to see. We get to join Jesus in this redemptive work in the world.
While this text isn’t the lectionary text during this season of Epiphany, that is the season of the church calendar in
which we find ourselves. Epiphany is a celebration of the revelation of God’s light and power—Christ. During
Advent, here at First Baptist, we focused on how Jesus was the gift, specifically the gift for the city.
So now, during Epiphany, we turn our focus to the ways the light of Jesus breaks through in this world to see the
kingdom of heaven a little more clearly.
Jesus’ mission, as stated in Luke 4, was to bring good news to the poor; to proclaim release to the captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
Our mission should reflect that – that’s how light breaks through. God knows our city, country, and world could
use some more light. The light of Christ breaks through when we’re faithful bearers of justice and love. There is
no story too scandalous. Who knows how you can change the trajectory of someone’s life by extending grace to
them? God knows our lives have been changed because someone dared to do the same for us.
I’m grateful God’s mercy and light breaks through into Rahab’s story; that the spies extended grace to her and her
family. Her story, which could have ended as a cut branch from the family tree, was given a second chance.
Redemption was at work. Thanks be to God.
