Rahab-the-What!: Lesson 4

Rahab, the What! … Lesson 4

By Patsy Norwood © 2003-2025  All Rights Reserved!

Joshua 2:1-21; 6:17-25; Matthew 1:5; Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25

Joshua 2: 12 - 21

In last week’s lesson, we saw Rahab acknowledging the Hebrews God as the one true God to the spies.   This week we’re going to see her do some wheeling and dealing …

Verses 12 - 13 … Now therefore, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth, and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.

Rahab is not a selfish person, notice who else she pled for … her father’s household (father, mother brothers, sisters and all who belonged to them).

Rahab seemingly knows that they will all die unless she can convince the spies to spare them.

Verse 14 … So the men said to her, “Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”

Rahab was given a condition that she must fulfill in order for her and her household to be saved, ‘if you do not tell this business of ours …’

Rahab was also given a promise!  An if/then kind of promise … ‘if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will  deal kindly and faithfully with you.’

Verse 15 … Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall.

 Rahab’s house, being located on the inner and outer walls, allowed her to help the spies       escape unnoticed by letting them down the outer wall at night when the city was locked up.

Verse 16 … She said to them, “Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.”

Rahab had some final instructions for the spies. She knew enough about the direction the king’s men were going (verse 7) to give them instructions to go in the opposite direction from ‘the hill country.’

Verses 17-20 … the men said to her, “We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear, unless, when we come not the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household.  It shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on is own head, and we shall be free; but anyone who is with you in this house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him  But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be free from the oath which you have made us swear.

The spies had some very specific final instructions for Rahab and her family as well.

Instructions are given for a reason and in this case if the cord had been in another window instead of the one she was told to put it in, the Hebrew fighters wouldn’t have found it when they went to look for it and Rahab and her family would have been destroyed along with the rest of Jericho.

If Rahab had told of the men’s business Jericho would have prepared for the battle and likely there would have been scarlet cords hanging from most every window.

The element of surprise and secrecy was most important.

Verse 21 … She said, “According to your words, so be it.”  So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

The deal has been made and she, keeping her end of the deal, tied the scarlet cord in her window!

The spies went out and hid in the mountains 3 days after Rahab helped them escape before rejoining the Israelites on the other side of the Jordan River.

Once the spies were back, the Israelites moved to the Jordan River and camped 3 days.

Next, the Israelites crossed the Jordan River and camped at Gilgal 7 days.

Then the men were circumcised.

A significant period of time elapses from the time the spies leave Rahab until they begin marching around the city of Jericho.

Fast forward to the time when Joshua and the Hebrew warriors and priests have arrived at the city of Jericho and are getting their instructions for the battle in Joshua 6: 1-16. 

Notice what or should we say ‘who’ was included in those instructions ...

Joshua 6:17 … The city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the Lord; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.

What does ‘under the ban’ mean?  The word ‘ban’ in this instance, according to the Lexicon, means ‘devoted thing, devotion, ban.’

The ESV translate this verse this way ‘and the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction” …

‘devoted to the Lord for destruction,’ what does that mean?  It means Jericho and all that was in it was to be destroyed as a sacrifice to the Lord.

Among the instructions given, Rahab and all her household’s rescue was included.  The spies had kept their word and Rahab had too!

Next week, we’ll wrap up this study on Rahab and answer the question we started out asking …

Could God use someone …

Whose profession of choice (harlotry/prostitution) was taught against in His Word …

Who was full of fear …

Who was manipulative …

Who was a bold face liar …

Who chose to break the law and …

Who was a traitor to her countrymen ...

Until the next class …

Please feel free to share with other ladies whom you feel might benefit from this study!

patsy @ From This Heart of Mine

~ a place for women to gather and study God's Word ~

Sources used for this study:

Various translations of the Holy Bible

Various commentaries

Dictionary of New Testament Background, Editors: Craig A Evans & Stanley E. Porter

Archaeological Study Bible

All the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen

Daughters of Eve by Lottie Beth Hobbs

Halley’s Bible Handbook by H. H. Halley 

 

Rehab the What! Lesson 3

Rahab, the What! … Lesson 3

By Patsy Norwood © 2003-2025  All Rights Reserved!

Joshua 2:1-21; 6:17-25; Matthew 1:5; Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25

Joshua 2: 6-12

In last week’s lesson, we saw Rahab tell the King’s men a lie, a bold in your face, ‘yes, I know I’m lying, but you don’t’ kind of lie!  Whew!  That was tense!

Let’s see what happens this week …

Verse 6 …  But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.

It was spring of the year when flax would have been harvested and apparently Rahab was drying it on her roof.

Rahab sent the king’s men on a wild goose chase knowing full well that the two men they were looking for were on her rooftop hidden amongst stalks of flax.  She knew this because she had hidden them there herself!

Verse 7 … So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan to the fords; and as soon as those who were pursing them had gone out, they shut the gate.

Rahab either was known as being trustworthy or she was a good actress for the king’s men believed her and quickly pursued where she had suggested the men likely had gone.

Fact #4:  Rahab was manipulative in that she manipulated the king’s men away from her house where the spies were hidden.

Verses 8 - 9 … Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away from you.

Back to the rooftop Rahab goes, this time with an acknowledgement of the Lord and of His power.  She goes on to tell them that everyone in Jericho is scared, they’ve all heard stories of the Hebrews and their God and how He fights for them.

Verses 10 - 11 … For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.  When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

Fact #5:  Rahab is afraid as is everyone else in the city.

The Canaanites had heard, possibly from travelers, of what the Hebrews and their God had done to those along the way.  Rahab may have heard stories of old of how the Hebrews would come back and reclaim their land someday.  Also, Rahab, being an innkeeper/prostitute, had opportunity to ‘hear’ more than the average citizen thereby gathering more information.

Rahab recognized that the Hebrew God was the God of the whole earth and not like the gods the people of Canaan worshiped.

The proclamation Rahab made, ‘for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath,’ made it possible for her and her family to be saved from destruction.

Rahab’s actions grew out of her newfound faith.  There was no going back now.  She had made her decision, and she immediately began 'walking the walk and talking the talk!'  Her faith had action written all over it.   Does ours?

Next week, we see an old-fashioned game of ‘let’s make a deal’ go into play and the players are Rahab and the two as of yet, unnamed spies.

Until the next class …

Please feel free to share with other ladies whom you feel might benefit from this study!

patsy @ From This Heart of Mine

Sources used for this study:

Various translations of the Holy Bible

Various commentaries

Dictionary of New Testament Background, Editors: Craig A Evans & Stanley E. Porter

Archaeological Study Bible

All the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen

Daughters of Eve by Lottie Beth Hobbs

Halley’s Bible Handbook by H. H. Halley 

Rahab the What: Lesson 2

Rahab, the What!

By Patsy Norwood © 2003-2025  All Rights Reserved!

Joshua 2:1-21; 6:17-25; Matthew 1:5; Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25

Last week we were introduced to Rahab and this week we're going to meet two important people that are going have a major impact on Rahab's life ...

Joshua 2: 1- 5

verse 1 …  Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho,” So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there.

It would not be unusual for strange men to be at the house of a harlot and since Rahab was also an innkeeper it was common practice for ‘strangers’ to be there.    It seems that Rahab ran an inn and lived in it … this was her home and her business.

Fact #1:  Rahab’s profession was taught against in God’s Word (Leviticus 18; Leviticus 20:10), but Rahab didn’t know the Hebrew’s God or His Word.

Verse 2:  It was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.”

The stories of the Hebrew’s and their God (the parting of the Red Sea, etc) had reached Jericho and filled them with fear causing everyone to be on guard for anyone looking or acting like a Hebrew. 

Any number of people could have reported to the king that some of those “Hebrews” were in the city and had gone to Rahab’s inn/house.  The king likely had spies posted in and around the city as well.

Spying is a part of warfare, and the two spies played the part.  As soon as they hit town, they made a beeline to what was most likely the most popular place in town, Rahab’s house/inn, and blended in with everyone else there. 

It’s interesting to note that among the Canaanites, who had no morals, prostitution was considered honorable.  In fact, prostitutes were put in the same category as doctors, teachers, etc.  They were all simply providing a service!  Rahab was a Canaanite and had grown up in this environment.

Verse 3:  And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.”

The king knows the spies are there and sends a message to Rahab that in essence said the men were spies and that she needed to hand them over to ‘the authorities’ so that they could be dealt with.

Verses 4-5:  But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.  It came about when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went.  Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.

Rahab’s reply to the king’s men went something like this … “Yes, they were here, but I didn’t know where they were from and when it came time to shut the city gates they left.  I don’t know where they went but if you go after them quickly you might be able to find them.

Fact #2:  Rahab told a bold face lie which was against God’s Word (Exodus 20:16), but      Rahab didn’t know the Hebrew’s God or His Word.

Fact #3:  In telling this lie, Rahab made the choice of breaking the law (the king’s word was law) and betraying her countrymen.  If caught she could have been convicted of what we would call treason today.  Her family as well could have suffered the same fate.

This is where we're going to leave Rahab this week ... what are your thoughts on her decision to not be truthful?

Meet me back here next week and we'll see what happens next!

Until the next class …

patsy @ From This Heart of Mine

Sources used for this study:

Various translations of the Holy Bible

Various commentaries

Dictionary of New Testament Background, Editors: Craig A Evans & Stanley E. Porter

Archaeological Study Bible

All the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen

Daughters of Eve by Lottie Beth Hobbs

Halley’s Bible Handbook by H. H. Halley 

Rahab ... the What!: Lesson 1

Rahab, the What!

By Patsy Norwood © 2003-2025  All Rights Reserved!

Joshua 2:1-21; 6:17-25; Matthew 1:5; Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25

Lesson 1

Welcome back to our Thursday's ladies Bible class!  I hope you enjoyed the holidays and are ready to join me in another study of a woman in God's Word.  As women, we can relate to and or learn from other women, can't we? That's the goal of these lessons ... what can we learn from the women whose story God chose to include in His Word.

Last year we studied Mary of Bethany; Phoebe; Martha and finished up a study on Esther that we began in 2023.  Our next lady and the first one for 2025 for us to study is Rahab, the harlot!  Hmmmm, I wonder what God would have us learn from her and how does she fit into God's plan of redemption and salvation for mankind?

Let's find out ....

As with every person we study, we need to start with the background.  What's going on at the time that will help us better understand the person we're studying?

Background ...

The children of Israel have been …

delivered out of bondage in Egypt by Moses,

crossed the Red Sea on dry land,

been fed manna from God,

wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and, where we’re going to join them, are about to cross the Jordan River on dry land. (Joshua 3:9-17)

After crossing the Jordan River, the next obstacle was conquering the city of Jericho which was a fortified city enclosed by walls and city gates.

Cities during Bible times were surrounded by high thick walls.  City gates were the entrance to the walled city.  They were opened during the day and closed at night or whenever the need arose.  The city gates were one of the busiest locations of the city because those who lived outside and inside the city went there to sell their wares, transact business, etc.

Their main purpose though, was protection, to keep invading forces out.

History tells us that Jericho was surrounded by an inner wall and an outer wall, which were some 15 or so feet apart and 8—12 feet thick.  Several sources said that Rahab’s house bridged across both these walls giving her a view of the city on one side and the area outside the city on the other.  If so, we'll see that that would make sense later in the study.

Let’s pause and talk about walls for a minute.

We’re already said ‘that ancient cities relied on fortified walls for security.  Broken or dilapidated walls with breaches created huge vulnerabilities for the city’s inhabitants.  The security of city walls doesn’t have the same feeling for us today, but the meaning could not be any clearer.

When walls are compromised, the people are in danger.  When walls of righteousness are torn down, evil rushes in through the gaps.  God is looking for men, women and children to ‘build up the wall and stand in the gap before Him for the land …’  (Wayne Jackson, Christian Courier, July 2024)

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  Matthew 5:13

That’s certainly something for us to think about, isn’t it … but what about Rahab?

Did Rahab do that?  In her efforts to save herself and her family, did she stand in the gap for anyone or anything?

I think she did; by standing in the gap for the spies, she was laying the groundwork for new and fortified walls that would have the approval of God.

More and more, standing for the truth of God, as taught in His word, is becoming an isolating stand.  More and more it’s getting harder and harder to find those who will stand in their spheres of influence, build walls of righteousness and, when necessary, fill the gaps for righteousness' sake.

That’s what Rahab did, right where she was, in her respective sphere of influence, she made the decision to stand for this Hebrew God that she had heard so much about, that made her quake with fear, and that she knew very little of.

So, let’s ask the following ...

Could God use someone …

Whose profession of choice (harlotry/prostitution) was taught against in His Word …

Who was full of fear …

Who was manipulative …

Who was a bold face liar …

Who chose to break the law and …

Who was a traitor to her countrymen ...

We're about to find out!

What are your thoughts on Rahab thus far?

Until the next class …

patsy @ From This Heart of Mine

 

Sources used for this study:

Various translations of the Holy Bible

Various commentaries

Dictionary of New Testament Background, Editors: Craig A Evans & Stanley E. Porter

Archaeological Study Bible

All the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen

Daughters of Eve by Lottie Beth Hobbs

Halley’s Bible Handbook by H. H. Halley