Because She Heard…

The story of Rahab is so wild to me. Hers is one of the bible stories I had to memorise and recite as a child during one of our children’s days at church. The whole second chapter of the book of Joshua is so mind blowing and filled with revelation. Maybe i’ll do a series on this chapter just because of the many bombs God has dropped in my mind that I am just bubbling to share, but today, I am stuck on the turning point of Rahab’s story.

The bible qualified Rahab as a prostitute- a person that is looked down on in society. A prostitute. I’m sure the job description back then is the same as today. Anyway, so Rahab is based, living her life in the land or country that God is about to seize for his fam- the Israelites. Sis is just chilling when these two men appear at her door. Can we pause here for a minute though? The people of Jericho immediately recognised the two men as people from Israel and were confident enough about this hunch to report this intel to the king. Without saying a word, the two spies were spotted- identified. They stood out. What this tells me is that as a child of God, you must be peculiar. You must stand out. In fact, it should be normal to be outstanding. Seek to be outstanding wherever you are as a child of God but recognize that you only stand out because He’s standing with you. When you think it’s all about you, that’s pride and not God.

Let’s move on. So Rahab, just like the rest of her Jericho friends, recognizes them and she welcomes them into her world to the extent that she risks her life to protect them. A prostitute; someone who was probably easily dispensible, put her life on the line to protect the two strangers, who suddenly, in Rahab’s mind, were no longer strangers. They were members of a family she wanted to be a part of. What was it that transformed the mind of this prostitute to be so protective and welcoming of these men? Rahab tells us she HEARD.

“I know that the Lord has given this land to you,’ she said to them. ‘I know that we are all very frightened of you. Everyone living in this part of the world is very afraid. We heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt. And we heard what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites. We heard how you destroyed them completely on the east side of the Jordan river. When we heard all this, we felt very weak. We were very frightened. This is because the Lord, your God, is God. He rules the heaven (the place where God lives) above and the earth beneath.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭2:9-11‬ ‭EASY‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/2079/jos.2.9-11.EASY

Somebody needs to hear what God has done for you.
Her and her family’s life would be transformed simply because she heard about God and what he had done. If you just told somebody what God did and continues to do for you, you might be saving people yet to be born.

You know something else I learned here? The news of God is powerful ALL BY ITSELF. God doesn’t need any additions or subtractions. Evidence of His power just needs to get out. Rahab said “(v9)we are all very frightened of you…(v11)because the Lord, your God, is GOD.”
When you tell somebody about what God has done, when they hear about who God is and what He can do, they can be changed forever. Rahab went on to live with the Israelites and eventually, became part of the lineage that would birth Jesus Christ- the saviour of the world…from a prostitute. It was all because she had heard about God. Tell somebody about your testimony today.