A Most Unlikely Person

Click here to read Joshua 2.

I remember sitting in youth group one Sunday when I was a teen when this passage of scripture was read for the lesson that was about to be taught. What first caught the attention of a couple of us was verse 1: Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. Instantly someone blurted out, "Joshua, the son of Nun. What a real zero!" And we all laughed. Then there was another, less audible statement made about the spies and where they came from, but I'll leave that one alone.

One Sunday during worship, again when I was a teen, a couple of friends and I were sitting towards the back of the church while a particular passage of scripture was being read from Numbers 22 about Balam. What caught our attention was this verse: And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. One of my friends said, under his breath so only those around him could hear, "How else do you ride a donkey but on your ass!" To which we all laughed silently in our pew, except one of the guys, who had to leave the sanctuary lest he lose control of himself.

I doubt we were being sacrilegious but I'm sure the adults within ear shot weren't very appreciative. But, hey, you put a couple of teenage boys together who are also Christians and you're going to get this kind of stuff, I guess. 

I digressed. Sorry. Back to Joshua 2.

I find this a fascinating chapter, aside from the points that stirred our funny bones. The key person in this story is Rahab, and she is a prostitute. She is the essential ingredient for the safety and success of the two spies that were sent by Joshua into the town. 

She is such an unusual person for God to use, don't you think? I mean, she's not your normal, super-spiritual, amazingly blessed with spiritual gifts, standard person that we would expect God to use to accomplish his will. 

Everything was stacked against her. She wasn't a Jew, she was a Canaanite (the people who were in the land that the Jews were soon to be moving into); she was a woman (they weren't seen as having much value back then); and she was a prostitute (loved by men, despised by women). And yet, her she is, professing her belief in God (news of what God had done had spread like wildfire), and actively working to save the lives of the spies. 

I read somewhere that because of her profession in God and her help with the spies, she became a part of Israel and thus one of God's chosen people.

How strange to use such a person like Rahab, with so many strikes against her. But then again, didn't Jesus reach out to Mary Magdalene, who also was a prostitute, and didn't she become part of his circle of followers? Didn't he choose a bunch of guys who were fisherman, a tax collector (seen as a cheat and a traitor), a political zealot, to name a few? In fact, we see this bazaar, unexpected approach of God, using people that are flawed, broken, sinful, rebellious, and all the other faults and failures we could add - throughout the Bible. The Bible doesn't shy away from showing these people that God uses in all their faults and how God's glory and will was worked out through them. In fact, Rahab shows up in scripture three more times outside of Joshua that I can recall: in the genealogy of  Jesus as found in Matthew 1; in the "Faith Hall of Fame" in Hebrew 11; and in James 2. 

Here's what I learned way back when in our youth group: If God can use a prostitute to accomplish his task, then he could use a most unlikely person like me, right? Me, who often falls short of the mark, who struggles with sin, and who, at times, wrestles with depression and discouragement. Me!

And you!