God’s Complicated Promise
September 21, 2026This is week four of our Fall Quarter which is entitled “The Soul of a Nation”. Today’s lesson is entitled, “God’s Compassion for Rahab” and comes from Joshua 2
Historical Background
This week’s lesson deals with Rahab of Jericho. As our historical background, let’s look at what is known about this Canaanite woman.
The name Rahab has an unknown meaning. It is related to the verb meaning wide or spacious but with people it can mean for fame, abilities, or courage. Probably it is better pronounced as “Rachab.” In the New Testament, the Greek translation is more like “Ra’ab“. There is another Rahab in the Bible which is a sea monster of chaos (Job, Isaiah) but is believed to be pronounced differently than the name of the woman in Joshua.
In Joshua, Rahab is called an “Issha zona” which has been translated as “prostitute” but could also mean a Temple prostitute (obligatory annual service) or as a “Inn Keeper.” The latter were often attached to brothels.
Rahab lives “between the walls” of Jericho with her house up against the city wall. This exact construction was found by Ernst Sellin and Carl Watzinger on the north side of Jericho in 1909. The scarlet signal cord has significant meaning; beyond being an obvious signal to the Israelites of which house to spare, it also implies the same type of meaning as the blood on the lintel at the Passover in Egypt.
Rahab married Salmon who is one of Joshua’s Captains. She is said to have been the mother of Boaz (who marries Ruth) and she is the great-great grandmother of David. She is proof that with repentance and faith, God’s message and salvation is for everyone. Rahab is a model of hospitality, courage, mercy, faith, and repentance. Rahab did not grow up in the belief of God; she wasn’t pure by religious standards. But she had discernment, and bold faith and that is what God honored.
Lesson: Joshua 2:1-24
OK, time to get your Bibles out and turn first to Joshua chapter 6. Key highlights from these verses are as follows:
- Joshua 2 – V1-7: Shittim was the last encampment on the Plains of Moab before the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River. Joshua sends two spies to survey the land across the Jordan and especially the defenses of Jericho. Somehow the strangers are recognized and the King of Jericho deduces they are spies. Since Rahab runs an inn, he assumes they have visited there. He tells Rahab to hand them over but she tells them they just left; if you send men after them quickly you can catch them. But she really is hiding them on her roof under bundles of flax. Flax was cultivated and valued for its seeds for their oil (linseed oil), and its strong fibers for clothing (“English linen”).
- V8- 16: When the coast was clear, Rahab goes up on her roof and tells the spies that they (Canaanites in Jericho) have heard about God’s miracles bringing them out of Egypt and also how they destroyed to the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan. So she makes a covenant with the spies that she will protect them in exchange for the lives of herself and all her family. The spies agree to the covenant and Rahab lets them down over the city wall on a rope to safely escape.
- V20-27: The spies agree with Rahab that everyone in her house, and only in her house, will be spared. She is to put a scarlet cord on her window as the sign to the Israelites that this is Rahab’s house and is to be spared. The spies then report back to Joshua everything that has happened to them, about Rahab and their covenant with her, and that the people of Jericho are scared of the Israelites.
Conclusion
Joshua 2 would make a good film. It has spies, intrigue, a double cross, humor (“I don’t know which way they went but go after them quickly”), midnight escapes, secret deals, etc.
The people of Joshua 2, like their leader, are also people of commitment. Regardless if her initial motive was for self-preservation and the preservation of her family, Rahab becomes committed to believing in God (demonstration of “faith plus action”).
Strict Jews / some Christians deny that “Rahab the harlot” is the Rahab of Ruth and Matthew 1:5. But this is denying God’s plan that His message of salvation is for all people. God wants all people to recognize His claim in their lives.
Rahab is an illustration of our salvation. We too must have Faith plus Action to be saved (both not either alone). Rehab’s family must be in her house in order to be saved. We too, need to be in God’s house to be saved. But God’s house alone will not results in our salvation, we need to have faith in God and Christ and then come to God’s house (Christ is standing by the door but we must open it and invite him in; Faith plus Action).
Next week, we continued in our study of the book of Joshua with a lesson titled “Radical Commitment to God’s Way” and comes from Joshua 23-24 As our historical background, I will talk about Shechem where the story takes place
Background on Rahab and Her Lineage
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- Cross-section illustration of Jericho’s inner wall, plastered slope, and outer wall.
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- Excavated structures at Jericho, shown in the presentation alongside the discussion of houses between the city walls.
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- The presentation’s family tree tracing the line from Abraham through Rahab and Boaz to David.
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- The presentation’s chart titled “Jesus’ Lineage (according to Luke),” with Salmon and Rahab highlighted.
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- An artist’s portrayal of Rahab, the woman of Jericho who protected the Israelite spies.
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- Illustration of the scarlet cord at Rahab’s window, marking the household to be spared.
