FAITH DESPITE FEAR. Hebrews 11:31 A prostitute living in Jericho is a very unlikely person to be noted by the Almighty God as a person of faith. We do not know the origin of Rahab's faith, but it was real. The things she heard about God's people, including the crossing of the Red Sea and Israel's victories, led her to put her faith in God. She had heard of the ways of God and the works of God for Israel all her life. She would have been considered a traitor by the people of Jericho when she hid Joshua’s spies in her house. However, it is not treachery to leave the world and stand with God and His people. When she received the Israelite spies with peace, she indicated faith in the true God and in the Gospel. It involved transferring her loyalties from her native people to the invading Israelites, whom she had come to believe were God’s people. This Gentile sinner, saved by grace through faith, believed God because of the past works she had heard about. She testified to her faith in God in the present. She looked ahead in faith to the future promise of God. Peter said, “Save yourselves from this untoward generation” [Acts 2:40]. We, too, must take up this challenge and proclaim it in our evangelism.
Rahab was a sinner just like all of us, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;” but she confessed her faith in the Lord God when she said, “I know that the Lord has given you the land … we have heard … our hearts did melt … for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.” This meant that she had turned her back on the world she knew and, by faith, had become a believer in the Lord God.
She knew Jericho would fall, and like any new convert, she was concerned about the future of her loved ones. The evidence of her faith was the scarlet cord in her window, and by faith she brought those she could into her house on the wall. As a result of her faith, she became the mother of Boaz, the husband of Ruth, who was the great-grandfather of King David.
Because of her personal faith, Rahab was saved by grace through faith. She believed God with genuine faith, looking away from what is seen to what is not seen. Her faith was evident in her actions and obedience to those who spoke for God. In the book of James, Abraham and Rahab are two examples of faith evident in works.
Because of her faith, she was spared by the Israelites. Rahab's faith in God led her to welcome the spies, and that faith was confirmed by the works she demonstrated toward them. God alone knows the reality of a person's faith, but we, like her, show our faith by the works that follow. Rahab's house was in a vulnerable place on the wall. It was evident that Israel was about to invade. However, she was the only one who turned to the Lord for salvation. She could have been killed for hiding the spies, but she took the risk because she knew the God of Israel was worth trusting.
Salvation by grace through faith is not only for the Jews but also for Gentiles like Rahab and for most of us today whom God has saved. God saved her by His sovereign grace, and she became an ancestor of Jesus at His birth on earth. Faith in God should guide and motivate our lives. When we pray, pray in faith; in our labor, let every work we do be an act of faith; with every breath we draw, may we be conscious of the faith given by God, in whom we live and move and have our being.
In our day, like the city of Jericho, very few people believe that divine judgment will fall on those who reject the righteous justice of God. Unbelief is the result of self-righteousness, a sinful heart, and a mistaken understanding of God's nature and character. Human imagination pictures God as a kind, affectionate old man who loves everybody and wants them to have a good time doing whatever they want, without any real purpose, goal, or responsibility.
People of faith understand that God created us in His own image so that we can know Him and enjoy Him forever. He has eternal plans that will unfold to us day by day now and in the eternal future, when we will “know even as we are known.” His people will be involved in carrying out His interests, whatever they may be. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
God works through people like Rahab, whom we are inclined to reject. God remembers her faith, not her shady profession. Rahab rose above her circumstances through her trust in God. We can do the same. We will not be included among those in the hall of faith, but by faith we have learned to place our confidence in a living God as we look to the past. At present, we find the blessing of living by faith from day to day. As we look ahead by faith, we know our Lord will come for His people and then with His people. Rahab is cited as an example of faith and works [Jas. 2:25], and because of her faith, she became an ancestor of Christ [Mat. 1:5].
EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE OF FAITH Abel, a man of faith in his worship Enoch, a man of faith in his walk Noah, a man of faith in his work Abraham, a man of faith in God’s word Sarah, a woman of faith in times of waiting Isaac, a man of faith in spite of weakness Jacob, a man of faith with prophetic wisdom Joseph, a man of faith, watching the future Moses, a man of faith, walking before the nation Joshua, a man of faith in his warfare Rahab, a woman of faith, welcomed the spies