Part 2 of a 5-part series, known and unknown women of the Bible: Bible Talk with Sister Deb: Rahab's Redemption—Faith's Transformative Power

Rahab's story embodies the theme of redemption through faith, illustrating how God can use anyone, regardless of their past, for His divine purpose. By risking her life to protect the Israelite spies, Rahab exemplifies courageous faith that ultimately leads to her salvation and inclusion in the genealogy of Jesus. 

• Exploring the diverse women of the Bible 
• Rahab’s background and occupation in Jericho 
• The arrival of Israelite spies and the threat of Jericho’s king 
• Rahab’s choice to protect the spies and her act of faith 
• The significance of the scarlet cord as a declaration of faith 
• God's plan for Rahab's redemption and safety 
• The transformation of Rahab's identity and her role in Jesus' lineage 
• The message of God’s mercy and grace for all people 
• Encouragement to embrace faith and trust in God’s plan

Chapters

• 0:22 Rahab
• 9:01 The Amazing Faith of Rahab

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:22

Hey, welcome to the show. You're listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osborne. Bible Talk is now airing on WIC 88.1, christian Radio Station every Sunday at 5 pm. You can also listen to Bible Talk and much more on the 421 Podcast. You can find that streaming on Apple, spotify or whatever platform you're choosing. If you'd like to contact Sister Deb, you can email her at osborne-debra-k at gmailcom. If you'd like to support the show, you can support it through PayPal, slash HOR421 or go through the website at HOR421showbuzzsproutcom. All shows are recorded live, no post editing, recorded at the 421 studio. For contact information for all of your studio needs, you can email at hor421ministries at gmailcom. Phone number is 239-849-1502. And now we give you your host, sister Deb. Praise the Lord.

Speaker 2: 1:24

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. I'm so glad to be here today. So, as you know, I have been doing a series on females of the Bible and I'm going to tell you what, man, I have had such an awesome, awesome time with this. You know, there's so many women out there, so many names in the Bible.

Speaker 2: 1:47

And you know, you don't know what they did or what things they said until you really dig down and read about it. And I so encourage ladies anybody but ladies, I so encourage you to dig down and open up the Bible and dig down and start reading about these ladies and see, you know, they were just ordinary women and the things that they'd done, it was just awesome, awesome. And so it was so hard to try to figure out exactly what female I was going to try to talk about today, and so I decided to go back into the Old Testament and I wanted to talk about a lady, and, yes, I called her a lady. This is a story of Rahab. She's in Joshua 2. And then she's over in, I think, maybe 6. But anyway, the story of Rahab and her story of redemption. But anyway, the story of Rahab and her story of redemption, of salvation and faith, are examples of what God can do in the lives of ordinary people. It's a living testament of the power of our God and how he can use even the messiest of histories for an incredible purpose.

Speaker 2: 3:11

You know, now we know Rahab was a Canaanite woman living in Jericho, and the Bible, in Joshua 2, tells us that she was a harlot, of course, and she lived in. Her house was evidently, from what I can understand, built into the walls of the city of Jericho, now before where she comes into play at before entering the land west of the Jordan River. The children of Israel were about to be given, they were about to get to the promised land, and so Joshua, who had taken over, you know, leading the children of Israel, he sent out these two spies to look over the land. You know, you send people out, you know how you'll make your battle plans and you want to know what's out there and ahead, so you send somebody ahead. And that's what Joshua done. He sent these people, these two spies, ahead to look over the land out there, especially, especially Jericho, because the city of Jericho was really close to the plan crossing point where the Jordan River, where the Israel children were going to go across, and so he wanted them to. You know, joshua sent his spies to look it over, and so the Bible tells us that these two spies went out and they came to the house of Rahab, the harlot, and they lodged there.

Speaker 2: 4:25

Now I read in some of the commentaries that I read about her. It said that people were at one point in time, were trying to say that rahab was merely an innkeeper. Uh, but I'm telling you, I don't care what they say, the bible tells us in joshua 2 and hebrews 11 confirms that she was a harlot, and not putting her down or anything but that's, you know. So these two spies ended up at Rahab's house and it was said that, somehow or another, the king of Jericho had got wind that these two Israelite spies were coming to the city to spy and they were at the Rahab's house.

Speaker 2: 5:06

So this, you know, this king sent Rahab a message and said, you know, turn them over. He sent his army, you know, to go and get these two spies. And so, when they get there, rahab told the king and these spies, you know, that the men were gone, that they were there, they had left and she didn't know where they went. She had told them, you know, uh, that, um, they had left, right, you know, when it was getting dark and when it was time to close the gates, that these two men had left.

Speaker 2: 5:35

Well, the, she even advised the soldiers you know, if you're going to pursue them, you need to go. You know you'll be able to overtake them if you go. And so she sends these guards on a wild goose chase in the other direction. But Rahab had actually hid these two men on her roof under stalks of flax. That was on top of her roof. Now, now, rahab took a really big chance and hid these men and sent the soldiers in another direction. They, they had, they have been found there, you know they. It would have probably, uh, costed her and her whole family their lives. You know, uh, now the Bible, it doesn't? It just simply reports Rahab's lie. It doesn't praise it, it doesn't excuse it, it doesn't condone it, um, it just. You know, rahab at the time was faced with a challenge and and either option, you know, would have really been bad, and I guess, if it was, you know, it was worse for her to betray the spies than to lie about their presence. But she really took a really big chance, you culture and, of course, her profession. She allied herself with the Israel and with the God of Israel. Now, somewhere along the way, rahab, somewhere along the way, god had been working with her heart so that when these two men arrived, she would be ready to step up into the role that God had for her. She had heard along the lines of everything that you know. They had heard that the Lord had dried up the river you know, the waters of the Red Sea and had destroyed the two kings of the Amorites, the two kings of the Amorites. They had heard there was great fear over on Jericho anyway, because they had heard all of the things that the God of Israel was doing, you know. And so Rahab was ready. And when, you know, when these guys showed up and Rahab, she stood up to the plate and she did her part. You know, she had even said you know these. She even said at one time she said you know, I know that your God is God in heaven above and in earth beneath. So this surprising outburst of faith shows that God had a plan in bringing Rahab and these two spies together.

Speaker 2: 8:02

God had already began to speak to Rahab in some way and she began to believe in the God of Israel and her faith. Her confession of faith included recognizing that God had promised the land of Canaan to Israel and that he was going to fulfill that promise. And so the story goes, and I'm not going to go all over every single bit of it, but the story goes that Rahab went and talked to these men and she asked these men you know, can you help? I showed you kindness by helping you guys. Now can you help me and spare the lives of my mom, my dad, my sisters and brothers and all that belonged to them? And so these men assured her. You know we will, as long as you. You know there's some things you're going to have to do now. You're going to have to keep it quiet. You know you're going to have to go and grab all your family and bring them into your house. Nobody can go out into the streets. You know.

Speaker 2: 9:01

The man told her that once they got ready to leave, they told her that they wanted her to put a scarlet cord through her window and let it down at the back so when the Israelite army come to take Jericho, they would see this cord and they would know that whoever was in that house had sided with Israel and the God of Israel. And so they told Rahab to go gather all your family, bring them in the house. Nobody's to go outside. And they said you know, if anybody tells our business, this whole deal is going to be off, but you know it's going to be our life, for your lives. You help us out and we are going to. But you know, god had already had a plan, people, god had a plan, you know, just like he does on our lives. God had a plan for Rahab and he knew what he was doing when he brought these spies and Rahab together, you know. So Rahab sent them away and she hung her cord out, and this was a signal, of course, to the Israel army that the people in this house were going to be spared, right. So this, of course, was only known to Rahab and the Israelites. This was a declaration of her allegiance to the God of Israel, and the story, of course, is in Joshua 6, I think, is the actual battle, and that's a really good story too.

Speaker 2: 10:24

But in binding the scarlet cord in the window, rahab displayed her identity and her trust in the secured offering by this cord. You know, she could have said no, you know, and I don't want anything to do with this, and of course it would probably have been bad for her. But so she goes all that. She gets all of her family, she brings them back. She goes all that, she gets all of her family, she brings them back. She, she tied this scarlet cord of course not in some secret place in her house, in the window, in clear view, and it was her public declaration of faith. You know, you know, it was her public declaration of faith.

Speaker 2: 11:00

And so these two spies went on and they went to the mountains and she told him to stay there for two days and then come back out, and all that happened. And so the greatest purpose of sending these two spies was to arrange and assure the salvation of Rahab and her family. You know, now, she was one of those that some might consider impossible to save, but God, god did what seemed impossible and God continues to save those who seem impossible to save. He does it all the time. And, of course, when you ask what happened to Rahab, of course, later on in the story she was saved in the Battle of Jericho it was said that she married one of the men. Uh, his name is Salmon, she said. They said that she married a man named Salmon from the tribe of Judah, and it was also said that he was one of the two spies that was there. Now, the Bible doesn't say that, but uh, and they went on to have a son named Boaz, and Rahab's children and grandchildren went on to do great things, and it was through that bloodline that the whole world was impacted. And the thing about it is the greatest thing is Matthew 1.

Speaker 2: 12:18

The New Testament begins with the genealogy, and one name that shows up on that list is Rahab the harlot, I mean, and the thing about it is her most exemplary thing that she did, her most big deed, was telling a lie. I mean, think about it, think about this A Canaanite, a harlot and a liar. Now you wouldn't think she'd be on the family tree of Jesus Christ, but there she is, you know. Not a very likely candidate for a heroine of the faith, but there she is, you know. And a woman being mentioned in genealogy probably wasn't hardly even heard of back then, you know, but a prostitute, well, never, Except it happened because of God. The God of the Bible loved her and the moral of her story is that God's pleasure or displeasure with us. It's not based on our good or our bad behavior. A lot of it is based on whether we exercise faith in him or not. Acts of faith is what God wants to see when you step out and he tells you to do something and you do it in faith. That's what pleases God. You know Now. You know.

Speaker 2: 13:37

Rahab's journey began by hearing. You know the miracles performed by the God of Israel, and the thing that it is is she that was some 40 years earlier. She believed because of what she heard, and to believe on what we hear about but not haven't seen that takes a whole lot of faith. And not only did Rahab believe in God then she got to believing in God but she also confessed it out loud he's the God of heaven above and in earth beneath. And that is an amazing statement, considered that she had spent her entire life in a pagan culture. And Rahab's example should step out to us today. It should stand out that, no matter who we are or where we come from, we too can have faith and we can act upon it. And God will use us. Because people, god took a Canaanite woman from one of the most evilest civilizations in history, a woman who sold herself daily, and because she trusted him, he rescued her and her family through spectacular events. He protected her and her family in times of incredible violence and she became part of the bloodline of King David and, a few generations later of our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.

Speaker 2: 15:02

So Rahab's story is a beautiful reminder that God can take any sinner and transform them into something very special. You know, I mean, and that's just how it is. I mean God had a plan. You know, joshua didn't have to send these spies out to look over Jericho. I mean, they really didn't bring anything back beneficial to the conquest, but Joshua did have to because it was for Rahab and her family. And God had a plan. And we find in the life of Rahab we learn, an amazing grace of God that can save even the worst of sinners.

Speaker 2: 15:47

The story of Rahab shows that there's no past too bad and no mistakes too bold to keep God from using us. God has a very big history throughout the Bible of using imperfect people to impact the world, and the last thing that you would have expected was for God to go out of his way to save a pagan prostitute in a city that was about to be destroyed because of sin. But God, but God, and he refined Rahab and he brought her from a fallen woman to a chosen one, from a bad girl to a bride, from a hot mess to a mother, I mean, and God turned Rahab around, just like he did. All of us, you know and Rahab is a wonderful example that we should be courageous and faithful to God, even when we think the price is high, you know, even when we can't see no other way, we have to tell ourselves, and keep telling ourselves, that God has a plan. We just have to trust Him. We just have to trust Him. Rahab trusted Him, and when the walls of Jericho fell, the very wall section contained in her home remained standing. God protected her, just like he said he would, and he will do us the same way, just like he says he would.

Speaker 2: 17:11

I mean, if you look at me, I was a very unlikely choice too. I mean, I wasn't a very likely choice for a woman of faith. I was drinking, I was doing drugs, I was partying, I was quite the pot smoker, I was doing this and that, and I wasn't listening to God. But God and God's in the business of drawing people to him. That needs, you know, it's like Rahab. She wasn't someone powerful or wealthy, or even holy, you know, and God's grace has no boundaries on those that it calls. And aren't we glad, aren't we glad. I praise the Lord that his grace has no boundaries, you know, and ours shouldn't either. We shouldn't look upon people to judge either, you know. But God is in the business of turning people's lives around and he does it for the most unlikely of people, just like Rahab, just like you, just like me.

Speaker 2: 18:13

You know, rahab maybe didn't deserve salvation, but God, I may not have deserved salvation, but God, you know. But God, and the thing about it is people. You know, rahab had three strikes against her. One she lived in a corrupt, sinful nation with the pagan beliefs and pagan religion. Her second strike she was a harlot, a member of what is really often called the world's oldest profession, living in sin. In strike three, she was apparently getting ready to die, didn't have long to live because her city was about to be destroyed.

Speaker 2: 18:52

But was she out? No, she wasn't out, because faith found a way to overcome the greatest odds against her. Faith found a way to overcome the greatest odds against her, and that's because, as she became one of the greatest salvation stories in the Bible, because of our God, you know, and people, god is merciful to all of those who turn to him. You know, you may, you may feel like you've sunk to a place where there's no return and feel like maybe you're like Rahab and you can't be rescued. But people, if you turn to God, you'll find mercy and you'll find that he will be able to turn you around wholly and completely. God can change any situation, any situation, whatever it may be. He can turn it around.

Speaker 2: 19:42

Rahab, turning to God meant turning away from everything else. She was going to be around people that didn't sound like her, that didn't look like her, that didn't talk like her, they didn't have her background, and she leaves all that stuff behind her and she became a part of God's people and ended up on the bloodline and genealogy of Jesus Christ. I mean, you know, when God calls us, he changes us, just like he done. Rahab and you know Rahab's faith become a part of God's story, even though she was an unlikely candidate Facing a situation and she had to make a choice and personal risk. But the story of Rahab confirms God's welcome to all people, whatever their condition. You know, wherever we came from, whatever we've done, you know, and Christ died for all of the world and the opportunity is available for everybody to come to Him through faith. And that's what we have learned here from reading Rahab's story. And no matter how unlikely, jesus welcomes all people to Him and he wants us all to be a part of His story, and that's how it is.

Speaker 2: 20:58

And, brothers and sisters, god is up to something good and he's writing an awesome, awesome, good story, you know, and he wants all of us to be in his story. My friends, god loves you with a very everlasting love, regardless of what you've done or where you've been or where you've come from, and he does, no matter what you think, have a special purpose for you. Just as he used a prostitute for his plan, he can use you too. He will use you to bring heaven to earth, to bring his word to earth, to put his word out there, to praise his name and to hold him up. And he wants to write each and every one of us in the narrative of his story, because we're His chosen, and don't you want to be a part of that story and hear how it turns out? I can't wait. I can't wait to see how my chapter in His story turns out, and I'm loving it so far. I love my chapter.

Speaker 2: 21:57

But, people, I just want you to understand and realize that, no matter where you go, no matter where you came from, no matter what you did in your past. He's there and all we have to do is learn by Rahab's example what she went through. Give your life to God, turn yourself over to God. If you've given your life to God, do more, be more, step up to the plate. He will change you and anything around you and everything in you. So I'm going to stop for now. I am going to close. I'm going to close with a prayer Our Father, god in heaven.

Speaker 2: 22:37

We thank you, lord, for this message that was given out here today. We thank you for these words and I just hope and pray, lord, that these words go to wherever they need to go to, whatever heart needs to hear, to the people out there that's having doubt right now about themselves, if they're doubting your grace, if they're doubting your mercy, if they're doubting themselves. Let these people hear this and let them understand that, hey, I am something, because I'm God's chosen. Let these people hear this, let them feel it, let them see it, let them understand it. Lord, I thank you for this and I praise you and I honor you, I worship you and I ask these and all things in Jesus' name. Amen and amen, and I hope and pray. This has blessed you today as much as it's blessed me to bring it to you. And please join me again hopefully, lord's willing, next week, for another version of Bible Talk. It'll be part three. I'm not going to tell you who it's going to be about. It's going to be a surprise. But God bless everybody.

Speaker 1: 23:32

Thank you for listening bible talk with sister dev osborne. If you guys like to uh check her out and check her out, you can check her out on the 421 Podcast show. You can find her on Apple, spotify, whatever platform you're choosing. You can also find her on WUIC 88.1 Christian Radio Station every Sunday at 5pm and if you guys like to email her, you can email her at OsborneDebraKgmailcom. If you guys like to support the show, you can support it through PayPal slash. Hor421, hor421showbuzzsproutcom. All shows are recorded live, no post-editing recorded at the 421 studio. For contact information, follow your studio needs, you can email at HOR421ministries at gmailcom. Phone number is 239-849-1502. Thank you.