Rahab is written about in Joshua, Hebrews, James, and Matthew (in the genealogy of Yehoshua). She was a pagan, harlot, and liar.  Here we will look at the fact that Rahab did lie.

“And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they [were]: And it came to pass [about the time] of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.” – Joshua 2:3-6 

Does this fact mean God condones lying, since Rahab is included  in Hebrews 11, the “Hall of Faith?”

What saith the Scriptures? 

Heb.  11:31 says, “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.”

From this passage of Scripture we see it was her faith NOT  her lying that was pleasing in the sight of God.  We can see this faith in her words in Joshua 2:9  “I know that Yehovah hath given you the land.” 

Unfortunately, many professing Christians today don’t believe this truth. No other nation on earth can say that God has given them land for a lasting heritage, but God gave the land to the Israelites.

Scripture has at least 170 references to the land that God gave to the offspring of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God promised the land  to the Israelites as an unconditional covenant – 55 times the Bible records that God confirmed the gift with an oath. Twelve of those times He stated that the covenant was everlasting.

“And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee [for] an everlasting possession.” 

Genesis 48:3-4

“For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.”

Genesis 13:15

Today, nearly every nation on earth is hostile to this fact.  

Who was Rahab?

Rahab was a harlot, living in Jericho, and she did lie. She was a pagan, who lived among a people who also worshiped false gods.  Why wouldn’t she lie?  Why wouldn’t she be afraid?  

She was hearing it broadcast about how, by God’s mighty hand, the Israelites had been delivered out of Egypt.   She didn’t have the Bible, all she had was fear from what she had been hearing.  She knew that the Israelites were conquering the Nations, and now here they were, in Jericho.

God was bringing His wrath and judgments on these nations, for the evil they had done in His sight, and for the defiling of the land.  

However, Rahab showed faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

She knew that God had given them the land, that they were not by themselves, but that He was with them. In Joshua 2:10 Rahab said, “FOR WE HAVE HEARD.”   

Romans 10:17, tells us “Faith cometh by hearing, hearing the Word of God.”  

Hebrews 11:1 tells us what true faith is….“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

You see, Rahab had faith that:

~  God gave them the land. (Joshua 2:9) ~

~ That God parted the Red Sea.  (Joshua 2:10) ~

~ That God, through them, defeated the two kings of the Amorites. (Joshua 2:10) ~

~ She said, “Yehovah your God, He is God in heaven above, and earth beneath.”  (Joshua 2:11) ~

~She didn’t trust in the walls of Jericho.  She knew that the only way for her to remain alive was to trust in the mercy of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  (Joshua 2: 12-21) ~

Did it happen?

“And they utterly destroyed all that [was] in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. And they burnt the city with fire, and all that [was] therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of Yehovah. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel [even] unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.” – Joshua 6:21-25 

This God she had not known, she knew was the true God. Do we see that anyone else wanted to go this way?  No, they did not.  

Some people today, want to focus on her lie. They will say, “Well, she is in the genealogy of Messiah and in Hebrews 11, even though she lied, so it must be okay. “

She is not found in these places because of the lie she told. She feared God and had faith, this is why she is in God’s ‘Hall of Faith’.  Anyone who really trusts in Yehovah, as she did, turns from their life of sin.  A woman who had faith and feared God, wouldn’t have continued to be a liar, pagan, and harlot the rest of her life.

She married Salmon and they had Boaz.  Boaz  married Ruth, who was also from another people and god.  After her husband’s death, when given the option to return to her people and false gods, Ruth also showed faith.  She chose to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. She told Naomi (her mother-in-law), “Your people shall be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16) Because Boaz’s mother was a harlot and worshiped false gods, it wouldn’t have been such a stretch for him to redeem the next of kin.

Ruth and Rahab may have talked.  What would their conversation have been like?  Every one seasoned with grace, and talks of how He changed lives.  From this lineage came Yehoshua. The broken road that led to our Savior.  Rahab stands out because she was a harlot, but all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

In Closing

Rahab’s life is a beautiful picture that should bring hope to anyone.  A harlot, heathen, and a liar. I can stand with Rahab and praise God for saving a wretch like me.  There are many testimonies in the Bible.  A testimony with only one side of the cross, is not a true testimony.  But before we came to the cross, at, and after; that is our testimony.  As long as we are in this body, that testimony goes on. Even after we have left this world, our testimony can live on; as did Rahab’s testimony.  God had a place for her in the  “Hall of Faith.”  Because of her faith, not because God condones lying.