Day 11: Rahab

“. . . for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.” — Joshua 2:11

The Gospel of Matthew includes four women from Israel’s history in Jesus’s genealogy – Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba – who were either Gentiles (Genesis 38:6; Joshua 2:1; Ruth 1:4) or associated with a Gentile (2 Samuel 11:3). These women are featured while four matriarchs – Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah – the wives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the patriarchs of Israel, are not. The Matthean genealogy signals that God’s redemptive mission has always extended beyond the Jewish people to include all nations (Matthew 28:19).

That’s a great message, but it raises a compelling question: why include Rahab, a Canaanite and a prostitute, in the genealogy? Should we not question her morality, due to her profession, or her integrity for deceiving the king of Jericho in order to protect Joshua’s spies? The biblical narrative about her does not primarily concern itself with her morality or deception. Rather, it highlights her faith. Indeed, the letter of James commends Rahab’s active faith alongside that of Abraham (James 2:25).

We read about her faith in action in the book of Joshua. In Joshua 2, Joshua sends two spies to Jericho ahead of battle. Rahab hides the spies as the king of Jericho sends men to capture them, then helps them escape by lowering them from a window using a rope. As she does, she secures a promise from the spies that her family will be spared during the coming invasion. In Joshua 6, when the walls of Jericho fall after the Israelites’ shouts and trumpet blasts, Joshua honours the promise, and Rahab and her family are spared.

This story communicates significant theological themes, including God’s grace to a Canaanite woman of disrepute and Israel’s triumph over its enemies. At the center of the narrative, however, stands one key emphasis: Rahab’s faith.

Her confession in Joshua 2:9–13 is one of the longest speeches by a woman in a biblical narrative. In it she declares, “…for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.” In so doing, Rahab acknowledges the covenant name of God – Yahweh, the God of Israel (cf. Exodus 6:2–8). In a polytheistic world where both heaven and earth were believed to be ruled by various pagan deities (e.g., Baal, “the lord of the earth”), Rahab affirms that the God of Israel is the sovereign Creator of all. Recognizing who Yahweh is, she knows that siding with Him is the right thing to do. Her lived-out faith leads not only to her personal deliverance but also to the salvation of her entire household. The author of Hebrews includes Rahab among the great examples of faith in a list that culminates in Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 11:31; 12:2).

Rahab’s confession resonates deeply with Christians in Japan. In a culture steeped in animism and polytheism – where the concept of “the myriad gods” (a Japanese expression that literally translates as “eight million gods”) reflects the ubiquity of spiritual belief – confessing the exclusive name of the God of the Bible presents significant challenges. Yet, as with Rahab, recognizing the one true God can overcome immorality and compromised integrity and bring the grace of salvation not only to individuals but also to their families and communities. Japanese Christians are encouraged by Rahab’s story to hope that their own faith may be the conduit through which salvation reaches their families, friends, coworkers, classmates and the 99% of the population who do not yet know the Saviour.

We look ahead to Christmas, a season not merely of celebration but also of proclamation of the salvation by grace through faith for all that Jesus came to bring, even for Canaanite prostitutes. Therefore, let us, with boldness and conviction, proclaim and live out our faith in Him, echoing Rahab’s confession: “The LORD our God is God in heaven above and on earth below.”