The story of Rahab is an interesting one. It starts like this...
Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there. (Joshua 2:1)
Something to note of Rahab: she may or may not have actually been a prostitute. A common occurrence in Biblical writing was to note individuals as a "prostitute" if they were abrasive or a business owner. This is an unfortunate hold-over of the oral tradition and surviving scriptural translations. It's unclear what Rahab was, but clearly she did not have the esteem of her peers. Yet, she finds herself in the presence of these two messengers sent by Joshua to scout out the Promised Land which would soon be conquered by the Hebrew people.
2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 At nightfall, when the city gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!” 6 But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof. (Joshua 2:2-6)
I wonder what Rahab knew of these two people. Was this just her way of standing up against a king and society, who had rejected her, by being defiant? Did she have some yearning in her heart that these men were someone special? Or was she just doing the decent thing by providing shelter to some people who appeared to be "oppressed"?
It's hard to get into her mindset, but it makes me wonder how often I've come in contact with people sent by God for some unknown purpose and been completely unaware. We'd love for God to speak to us through booming voices and obvious signs, but sometimes he uses more subtle means. Sometimes it's a friend giving us a call or running into an old acquaintance at the store. Sometimes God's work can look a lot like normal life.
This is why we have to be vigilant for God's work. He may come to us through some great display of his grace and power, but he is just as likely to work through the mundane; to remind us daily of his love. If we aren't looking for him, we may miss out on the blessings he has in store for our lives.
As for Rahab, what blessings did she see from simply showing some messengers a little compassion?
24 They burned the city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. 25 However, Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father’s family, and all who belonged to her, because she hid the messengers Joshua had sent to spy on Jericho, and she still lives in Israel today. (Joshua 6:24-25)
Rahab saw God's mercy, and ultimately his salvation, through an act that might have not seemed such a big deal. God's blessing on her indicates that she didn't help the messengers unwittingly; she knew what she was doing even if she didn't have the complete picture. She saw a need and met it. She had a choice between apathy and selflessness... and chose selflessness. God honored her as a result.
What messengers may God be sending you? Are there individuals God has placed in your life that need to be loved? Served? Forgiven? Nurtured? Like Rahab, we'd do well to keep an eye out for these messengers; God may be trying to do something amazing and we won't want to miss it!
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