Bible character overview - Rahab
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Time to read 5 min
Introduction:
Welcome to an insightful character overview of Rahab. Here you'll learn about who Rahab was, what she did, and her strengths and weaknesses. Also, we have provided questions related to the story of Rahab to provoke thought. They can also be used for personal/small-group studies.
Who was Rahab from the Bible?
Key facts
- When: roughly around 1200 - 1100 B.C
- Where: Jericho
- Name meaning: ‘broad’, ‘large', or ‘spacious’
Glimpse: Rahab was a prostitute woman who would have lived a relatively normal life within the walls of Jericho. However, news of the Israelite's might and power had spread across the city and fear came upon them once they found out that they were next. Rahab does something very risky but is rewarded with her life.
The two spies
Rahab was a harlot living in the walls of Jericho around 1200-1100 BC. One day, two Israelite spies came to her house. When the king of Jericho learned of the intruders, he sent a message to Rahab, demanding that she bring out the spies. However, Rahab had hidden them under stalks of flax on her roof and told the king's messengers that the spies had already left the city, suggesting that if they hurried, they might catch up with them.
Rahab then went to the spies and explained that the people of Jericho were fearful of what the Lord had done. She said in Joshua 2:9-11:
"I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below."
Questions
→ Why would anyone not fear God?
→ Are people blinded by their own pride and sin?
" (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.)"
A life for a life
Rahab then asked the spies to spare her life. They agreed and replied in Joshua 2:14, “Our lives for your lives!” They made a further oath in Joshua 2:17-20:
"This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our heads if a hand is laid on them. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear."
Rahab complied by tying the scarlet cord in her window, and the spies went on their way.
Questions
→ Why is it important to always be alert and aware?
→ How does this apply to our lives as Christians?
"So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window''
Rahab saved
In Joshua 6, we see the Israelites marching around the city, which had completely barred its doors. On the seventh day, as they marched around the city for the seventh time, the walls came crumbling down, and the city was seized. In Joshua 6:22-23, we read about Rahab’s family being saved from the city’s destruction:
"Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, 'Go into the prostitute’s house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.' So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel."
Rahab is listed as one of the ancestors of King David.
Questions
→ When have you ever felt in danger or maybe uncomfortable because of what you believe?
→ How did God help you at that time?
“ Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.”
Strengths:
- Quick thinking: She thought quick on her feet and this ultimately led to her life being spared
- Awareness: She understood the might of Israel and their God and was wise enough to not come against them
Weaknesses:
- Bad habits: She deceived the king's men by lying about where the spies were and was also a prostitute who would have been involved in many evil things
Conclusion
Rahab recognized that the Israelites had the Lord on their side and therefore were unstoppable. She didn't therefore despise them but actually helped the two spies. Yes, she would have done this out of fear, but she was not blind to the truth of the strength of the God of Israel. Many people pride themselves in their own strength and are deluded to think that they don't need God, yet Rahab was wise enough to know the truth. You do not come against the God of Israel and win.
''For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life''
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