What Rahab Knew
Scripture Reading — Joshua 2:2-11
“I know that the LORD has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us …”
—Joshua 2:9
Everybody lies, even prostitutes. To the king’s messengers Rahab said, in effect, “I don’t know where those guys came from, and I don’t know where they went.”
Then Rahab went to the spies’ hiding place and confessed what she did know: “It’s over for Canaan. Our gods are incapable of dealing with the LORD your God, who rules over heaven and earth. I know we are as defeated as the kings your God defeated in the desert on the other side of the Jordan.”
Rahab’s words underscore her actions. Not only does she confess that Canaan’s future lies in God’s hands, but also, by making this confession, she’s become a traitor to her own people’s vision of the good life.
Being a traitor is the right thing to do if it means turning from your sinful way of life and acknowledging the true God’s power to save and to bless. By her confession and actions, Rahab showed she knew that.
It’s all about what and who you trust. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, to bring them to new birth by the power of the Spirit. Worship today gives us an opportunity to confess our sinful past and to entrust our future to the God who made the heavens and the earth.
For new life received through Jesus Christ, I thank you, Lord. Help me to keep my eyes on him as I entrust my future to you. Amen.
About the author — Arie C. Leder
Dr. Arie C. Leder is the Martin J. Wyngaarden Senior Professor of Old Testament Studies at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He previously served as pastor at Ebenezer Christian Reformed Church, Trenton, Ontario, and with Christian Reformed World Missions in Latin America. He teaches courses on the Pentateuch and on historical books of the Old Testament.
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