Rahab the Spy Who Hid Me

1. Introduction
Nancy Wake

Two weeks ago a NZ-born WWII heroine passed away at the age of 98 She was a spy who served in the French Resistance against the Germans Also known as the White Mouse, She was a highly decorated spy who received honours from Australia, UK, Commonwealth of Nations, USA, France and New Zealand War time exploits: o Parachuted into south central France becoming liaison between London and local maquis or guerrilla o Allocated arms and equipment and handled finances o Led attacks on local German and Gestapo HQ at one time killing a SS guard with her bare hands o Rode a bike for more than 800 kms through several German checkpoints Comments from wartime colleagues, She put men to shame by her cheerful spirit and strength of character She was simply an outstanding person

Mata Hari

The most famous/infamous female spy was born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle on 7 August 1876 in the Netherlands Her nickname Mata Hari is Indonesian for eye of the day. She was an exotic dancer, courtesan, and a double spy. She spied for the Germans in World War I Shes known to have spied for both French and Germans. She was arrested in 1917 in France for spying for the Germans and put on trial
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 Executed by musketry or firing squad on 15 October 1917. Controversial she was used as a scapegoat and was really innocent of the charges against her Mata Hari is now widely synonymous for female spies with allure.

Espionage is not exclusive domain of men. Todays verse is about a a person who had a lot of similarities with Mata Hari

2. Rahab the Sinner (v 25) To gain better understanding of Rahab let us look at her background and the world around her at that time

People

o Rahab was a Canaanite and lived in Jericho o The Canaanites descended from Canaan, the son of Ham and were first mentioned in Genesis 10:15 19 o Migrated from original home , reached Persian Gulf stayed there for a while and moved back west o This group was very numerous and broken into great many peoples o The Canaanites were dwellers of the great plains and valleys the richest and more important parts of Palestine o Tyre and Sidon were centres of great commercial activity o Canaanite came to signify trader or merchant (Job 41:6, Proverbs 31:24) o Canaanites were marked by God for extinction in Exodus 23 and 34, Deuteronomy 7:1-6. Commands to Israel not fellowship and wipe them out o God did not want Israel to be contaminated by the evil ways of the Canaanites o The Canaanites were viewed as evil influence and were not appropriate to fellowship with Gods chosen people

Perversions

o Why did God want to wipe out the Canaanites? o What have they done? o The Canaanites are known for their wickedness. Review Deuteronomy 9:5 o Canaanites were followers of Baal a pagan god with perverse and depraved religious practices o Described as crude and debased form of ritual polytheism, o It was associated with sensuous fertility-cult worship of a particularly lewd and orgiastic kind, which proved to be more influential than any other nature religion in the Ancient Near East. o El- supreme god of the Canaanites dim and shadowy figure with three wives who were also his sisters. Blood-soaked tyrant, dethroned his own father, murdered his favourite son, decapitated his own daughter o Baal son of El and reigning king of gods, Lord of Heaven, god of rain and storm, Baals consort was his sister Anath o Canaanite cultic practice was barbarous and licentious o Immorality of the gods carried over to every aspect of their society o These gods were a reflection of their society o Canaanite gods have no morals at all o Devotees practice sacred prostitution, child sacrifice and snake worship o Brutality, lust and abandon were the worst anywhere in the Ancient Near East o Leviticus 18:25 so vile that the land vomit out its inhabitants. Chapter is about unlawful sexual relations which I believe were common practices by the Canaanites and the Israelites were warned not to be contaminated o The character of these cults justifies the command the command to destroy them and God used the Israelites as instruments of destruction in the same way He used fire
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and brimstone to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and the flood to destroy the sinners during the time of Noah o They were so vile that God knows the Israelites will be corrupted
Person

Rahab was described as a prostitute Commentaries say that she was an innkeeper that practiced prostitution on the side. It is also likely that she was a religious prostitute in the same way the Greeks practice temple prostitution in the worship of Venus/Aphrodite Her Name Was Rahab, "insolence", or "fierceness" or "broad" or "spacious". The "Ra" part of her name comes from Egyptian idolatry, "Ra" the sun god. She lived in the city of Jericho o This was a walled city-state located west of the main ford on the lower Jordan River; it controlled the crossing of the river and the entrance to the land west of it. o This town was located in a fertile plain celebrated for its palms and balsam shrubs; it was encircled on the western side by a barren range of mountains. o this town was ruled by a king (JOS 2:2,3) i.e. it was a small kingdom whose ruler was a local chieftain not a ruler of large area. o Her house was built on the city wall with a window facing outside Roof area Elevated above the ground (Josuah 2:15) She has a family She heard o How the Lord dried up the Red Sea for the Israelites (Exodus 14:21-30) o How God destroyed Sihon and Og kings of Amorites (Numbers 21:23,24) She believed:

o God will prevail against Canaanites (Joshua 2:9) o Lord is the true God in heaven and earth (Joshua 2:11) o She and her family would die unless they find refuge in God (Joshua 2:13)
Applications

o God accepts anyone who comes to Him in faith o The vilest profession amongst the vilest people is a complete description of Rahabs morality o Shes not the kind of girl or woman that youll bring home to Mum o Yet she came to God in faith o No sin cannot be forgiven when you come to God 3. Rahab the Saint Rahab did not stay to be a sinner Her confession of faith changed all that But it did not stop there. She proved her faith by doing something about it
Participation

Rahabs faith was demonstrated by her participation in the Israelites espionage caper She deceived the king of Jericho She misled the kings men Hid the Israeli spies in flax and protected them and let them escape She switched sides to Israel and explained that her actions were brought by her new found belief She identified herself with the Israelites She made a covenant with them (Joshua 2:12 14) She submitted to the terms of the covenant (Joshua 2:21) She could have declared her belief but still gave away the spies

 But she did not and she was rewarded for it.
Perfection

Her family was saved (Joshua 6:24-25) while the rest of Jericho was annihilated She lived amongst the Jews was regarded as a believer and was allowed to live with them instead of being a slave like the Gibeonites She was allowed to marry an Israelite, Salmon She repented or was no longer a prostitute as proven by the fact that she planted, harvested and dried flax where she hid the Israelites o Flax was grown for its fibre and for the making of linen cloth as the Maoris know o Farming flax was a time consuming, backbreaking and potentially disfiguring work o She could not have been a prostitute and a flax farmer at the same time She had faith as mentioned in Hebrews 11:31
Progeny

Rahabs greatest legacy was being in the lineage of the Messiah Matthew 1:5 it was mentioned that she was the mother of Boaz, thus making her a King Davids great grandmother. Matthews genealogy was meant for a Jewish audience, a patriarchal society (importance is given to the lineage on the fathers side) Yet within the same verse, two Gentile women were listed in the Messiahs genealogy. This is unthinkable; Jesus Christ has a prostitute in his lineage. This ancestry is nothing to be proud of yet it was recorded and immortalised in Matthews gospel. Usually if we have a Rahab in our family tree, it will be kept as a deep dark secret, nothing to be proud of and not brought out in the open. It is shameful.

 Yet when Rahab proved her faith, a working faith she was amply rewarded and greatly honoured
Application

What a story. From the lowest of the low then to become an ancestor of the Saviour. This could be you. Nobody is beyond salvation and Rahab proved it when she proclaimed her faith and acted on it. o She showed commitment o She showed The thief on the cross proved it, when he proclaimed his faith and recognised Christs sacrifice on the cross. 4. Conclusion Gods grace and mercy is boundless o The vilest profession in a morally warped society best described Rahab
o Yet she was forgiven and perfected when she expressed her faith in the true God o She was even honoured to be in the lineage of the Messiah o She was an ancestor of Jesus Christ o Gods graciousness and mercy is always freely available Faith will be tested o Rahabs faith in the one true God was tested

when faced with the choice of collaborating with the Israeli spies or being loyal to the king of Jericho o Believers are constantly faced with such choices o Do you always factor in God in your choices? Screen your decisions with, is this right with God? Rahab did. Do we look at choices with our Christian glasses on

o Examples of faith working in our lives. Verse

26 refers to the impact of faith in our lives When we pass the tests on our faith we can only then be assured that our faith works