FROM OUTCASTS TO HEIRS OF GOD

“And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day…” – Joshua 6:25a

The amazing story of Rahab is one of Transformation FROM OUTCASTS to HEIRS of GOD: “And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho” (Jos.6:25). Her testimony of transformation as recorded in Joshua chapters 2 and 6, gives a glimpse into God’s plan to bring peoples of all nations into His covenant with His chosen people, Israel. In rewarding Rahab’s faith, God changed her identity from that of a prostitute and outcast Gentile, to a progenitor of the Messiah: “Salmon begot Boaz by RAHAB, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king” (Mt.1:5-6).

Joshua 2 records how God chose this unlikely Gentile to fulfil His purposes. The spies sent into the Promised Land met the low-class harlot, who offered to hide and protect them. Rahab was not someone who anyone would have thought would change the world. Like the lost sheep in the Matthew 18 parable, God sought her, brought her into His family, and rejoiced over her. Rahab heard of the God of Israel and His exploits among His people, and responded in faithful obedience. She believed that the Lord had given the land into the hands of the Israelites, admitting that: “the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below” (Jos.2:11). She, in a sense, transferred her allegiance to the God of Abraham, but requested that the spies show her family the kindness that she showed to them; and they gave their word.

As Israel crossed the Jordan River and miraculously defeated the city of Jericho, Joshua kept the promise of the spies and saved Rahab and her family, while destroying everything else in the city. The spies rescued and brought her whole family to live outside Israel’s camp. Before Israel went to conquer Jericho, the people had just cleansed themselves and Rahab’s family were not clean according to the law, hence they had to live outside the camp. At some point, Rahab was cleansed and no longer an outcast but lived with God’s chosen people. While this is the last we hear of Rahab in the Old Testament, her story did not end here! Rahab’s transformation was so remarkable that Hebrews 11:31 commended her faith: “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.”

The book of James also tells us that Rahab was justified before God because of her actions: “Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?” (Jam.2:25). Rahab not only became a citizen of Israel, but God chose her to be the mother of Boaz who married the Moabite Ruth who was the great grandmother of King David! God chose this prostitute to be in the genealogy of the Messiah. She was not only adopted into God’s people, but was also used by God to bring about redemption. God took and completely transformed the identity of a prostitute to become accepted among His people and a grandmother of the Messiah! Who can He not change?

Our response to the gospel is definitely different from Rahab’s due to our fuller understanding of redemption through Christ. But, hearing the great truths of what the Saviour had done, we believed, and our identity changed like Rahab’s did. She declared that the Lord is God, was adopted, and her identity changed the entire world. Likewise, God “predestined us to ADOPTION as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” (Eph.1:5). An adopted child, though not physically born into a family, has every right a biological child would have as a family member. In Christ, we were adopted into God’s family and transformed from Outcasts to Heirs: “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Rom.8:17).