How often in life do you find yourself in a stand-off? You want something someone else has. They want something you have. But neither of you trusts the other to follow through once they get what they want.
So you wait. “You go first.” “No, YOU go first.”
It happens everywhere. In business, when two parties need to exchange something of value but neither wants to be the one left exposed. In relationships, when both people are waiting for the other to make the first move toward vulnerability. Even in small, everyday moments, someone has to go first, and going first always carries risk.
Now consider your relationship with God. Do you trust Him enough to make the first move? Or are you waiting for Him to prove Himself, regardless of His track record?
That’s what Joshua 2 is about. A woman named Rahab had the courage to go first. Her faith helped the Israelites find their own courage to begin the process of possessing the land God promised them.
But Rahab’s story is more than a plot point in Israel’s conquest. She is one of the most renowned women in the Bible, a lasting picture of what true faith looks like. And perhaps most powerful of all, her story is prophetic, pointing directly to Jesus and demonstrating God’s desire to save all who choose to follow Him.
The Story of Rahab
Joshua secretly sent two spies across the Jordan to scout the land, especially around Jericho. They came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. When the king of Jericho learned that Israelite spies had entered the city, he sent orders to Rahab to hand them over.
But Rahab had already hidden them on her roof beneath bundles of flax. She told the king’s men the spies had left at dusk and sent the soldiers chasing after them. Then she went up to the roof and spoke plainly to the spies.
“I know the Lord has given you this land,” she said. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.”
Then she made her request: swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family, since I have helped you. The spies agreed, offering their own lives as a guarantee. Rahab let them down by a rope through her window (her house was built into the town wall), and they told her to hang a scarlet rope from the window when the time came. Everyone inside the house would be spared. Everyone outside was on their own.
Rahab accepted the terms, sent them on their way, and left the scarlet rope hanging from the window.
The spies returned to Joshua with a clear report: “The Lord has given us the whole land, for all the people in the land are terrified of us.”
Who Does God Save?
Think about how the Israelites would have seen Rahab. She was a woman in a culture that treated women as second-class citizens. She was poor. She was a prostitute. She was a non-Jew. She lied to the king. From the perspective of any upstanding, God-fearing Israelite, she had everything going against her. She would have been the last person anyone expected God to save.
And yet, God chose her.
The first big takeaway from this story is about who God saves. The answer is anyone. God wants to save everyone. God is able to save anyone. God does save anyone who chooses the free gift of salvation He offers. You cannot read this story and miss this point. It was as powerful a message for the Jews then as it is for us now.
Discussion
- What surprises you most about Rahab being the one God saved in this story?
- Are there people in your own life you’ve quietly assumed are “too far gone” for God? What does Rahab’s story say to that assumption?
Key Takeaways
- God saves the people we least expect. Rahab had everything working against her by human standards. God looked at her heart.
- No one is disqualified from God’s grace. Rahab’s past, her status, her nationality, none of it stopped God from reaching her.
- This story is for us too. If God can save Rahab, He can save anyone who turns to Him in faith.
How Does God Save?
What traits did Rahab display? What did she do that positioned her to be saved?
She had gathered knowledge about God and what He had done. She believed God is who He said He is. She trusted God and the spies. She showed courage. She acted boldly, taking matters into her own hands.
Above all, she exhibited tremendous faith.
“It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.”
“So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.”
Rahab was not just a picture of faith. Her faith combined with bold, courageous action is what really stands out.
But how do we know it was faith driving her, not just fear? After all, she mentions several times that her people are terrified of the Israelites. Maybe everything she did was self-preservation dressed up as devotion.
Look at her words carefully. The very first thing she declares to the spies, before she mentions anyone’s fear, is this: “I know the Lord has given you this land.” No doubts. Done deal. God has won. Jericho has lost. She has chosen her side.
And when she recounts what she has heard about God, notice what impresses her most. It is not military victories. It is not the destruction of kingdoms to the east. The first thing she points to is the miracle of the Red Sea, when God parted the waters to save His people. What impresses her most about God is not His ability to destroy, but His ability to save. She trusts His power to rescue. That is faith, not fear.
As for Rahab’s lie to the king, it has caused controversy for centuries. Is lying sometimes justified? Do the ends justify the means? Rather than twist the story into proof that lying is acceptable, it is better to recognize that all people are sinners, including those most honored by God. King David honored God perhaps more than any person in the Old Testament, and he was also a terrible sinner. We have an amazing God who sees beyond our sin and still loves us.
Discussion
- Rahab’s faith showed up in what she said and what she did. Which came first for her, belief or action? Do they always arrive in that order for us?
- What is the difference between acting out of faith and acting out of fear? Can you think of a time when fear disguised itself as faith in your own life?
Key Takeaways
- Faith without action is incomplete. James uses Rahab as proof. What we believe shows up in what we do.
- Faith focuses on God’s power to save. Rahab was most impressed by the Red Sea miracle, not by military victories. She trusted a God who rescues.
- God uses imperfect people. Rahab lied. She was a prostitute. God used her anyway. Grace is bigger than our failures.
The Prophecy in Rahab’s Story
This story points to God’s ultimate plan to save people through Jesus in remarkable ways.
Joshua’s name in Hebrew is Yehoshua, meaning “The LORD saves,” the Hebrew name for Jesus. Joshua functions as a figure of Christ in this story. He is the judge of Jericho, just as God has given Jesus the role of judging the world. The Israelite spies are an extension of Joshua in this role. They said to Rahab, “We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety.” They put their own lives on the line to save. And who did they save? The one who chose God by faith.
The scarlet rope hanging from Rahab’s window is the symbol of blood that must be shed to cover sin.
And once Rahab professed her faith, was she finished? Could she go back to living exactly as before? The spies made it clear: “We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions.” God expects a change of heart. He expects obedience. This is the beginning of sanctification, which only starts at the point of salvation.
Rahab’s full obedience, which we see play out in Joshua 6, results not only in her being saved but in her playing a key role in the lineage of Jesus Himself. Rahab later married a Jewish husband. Her son Boaz and daughter-in-law Ruth became the great-grandparents of King David, the direct ancestor of Jesus.
A Canaanite prostitute who put her faith in the God of Israel became part of the bloodline of the Messiah. That is grace.
Discussion
- What does the scarlet rope tell us about how God saves? What parallels do you see to the New Testament?
- The spies told Rahab she had to follow through with specific instructions. What does that tell us about what happens after we first place our trust in God?
Key Takeaways
- The scarlet rope points to the blood of Christ. Salvation comes through the shedding of blood. The symbol is unmistakable.
- Salvation starts a process, not just a moment. Rahab’s faith required ongoing obedience. So does ours.
- God weaves the unlikely into His redemptive story. A prostitute from Jericho became an ancestor of Jesus. No one is outside God’s purposes.
Who Goes First?
Now we return to the stand-off. The spies wanted protection from the king. Rahab wanted protection from certain destruction. Neither had a good reason to trust the other. Who went first?
Rahab did. Before she ever brought up any request for protection, as soon as she learned the king was onto the spies, she hid them on her roof and lied to the king’s men about their whereabouts. Only after she had already risked everything did she ask for what she wanted.
She could easily have been burned. The spies could have said, “Sorry, God made it clear we’re to destroy everyone, no exceptions.” But God honored her bold faith. He led the spies to make an exception. To make an oath. Rahab went first, and she was saved.
Does that mean you should blindly trust the other person in every stand-off? Of course not. But in a stand-off with God, it is that simple. God can be trusted completely. He will never let you down. He always has your best interests in mind. He loves you.
But there is something deeper here. Even though it might feel like God is waiting for you to make your move, the truth is that God already went first. He went first when He created the universe. He went first when He created you. He went first when He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to experience temptation, to be beaten and rejected, and to die a death deserved by all sinful people.
God already took the first step by making Himself vulnerable, by feeling the pain of being burned. He is not asking us to go first. He is asking us to see the love and commitment He has already demonstrated, and to respond with our own love and commitment to Him.
Discussion
- Where in your life are you in a “you go first” stand-off with God, waiting for Him to prove Himself before you step forward?
- How does knowing that God already went first change the way you think about trusting Him?
Key Takeaways
- Rahab went first, and God honored her faith. Bold trust, even when the outcome is uncertain, is the kind of faith God rewards.
- God already went first. He is not waiting for us to prove ourselves. He proved Himself through the cross.
- Our move is always a response, never the first step. We love because He first loved us.
Something to Sit With
Rahab had every reason to hold back. She had no track record with God. She had no covenant. She had no community of faith to lean on. She only had what she had heard and what she chose to believe.
And she went first.
A few questions worth sitting with:
- Where are you waiting for more proof before you trust God with something He has already promised?
- Is there an area of your life where fear is disguising itself as wisdom, keeping you from stepping out in faith?
- What would it look like this week to respond to the love God has already demonstrated?
- Who in your life seems “too far gone” for God? What does Rahab’s story say about that assumption?
“It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.” (Hebrews 11:31, ESV)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the story of Rahab in Joshua 2?
Rahab was a prostitute living in Jericho when Joshua sent two Israelite spies to scout the land. She hid the spies from the king of Jericho, confessed her faith in the God of Israel, and asked for protection for herself and her family. The spies agreed, telling her to hang a scarlet rope from her window as a sign. When Jericho fell in Joshua 6, Rahab and her family were spared.
Why is Rahab important in the Bible?
Rahab is celebrated as a hero of faith in both the Old and New Testaments. Hebrews 11:31 honors her faith, and James 2:25 holds her up as an example of faith demonstrated through action. She married into Israel and became an ancestor of King David and ultimately of Jesus Christ, as recorded in Matthew 1:5.
What does the scarlet rope in Joshua 2 symbolize?
The scarlet rope Rahab hung from her window served as the sign that would mark her household for salvation when Jericho was destroyed. Many readers see it as a foreshadowing of the blood of Christ, the ultimate means by which God saves those who place their faith in Him. It echoes the Passover lamb’s blood on the doorposts in Exodus 12.
What does Joshua 2 teach about faith?
Joshua 2 teaches that faith is not passive. Rahab gathered knowledge about God, believed He was who He said He was, and then acted on that belief at great personal risk. Her story shows that genuine faith combines conviction with courage, and that God honors those who step forward in trust even when the outcome is uncertain.
How does Rahab connect to Jesus?
Rahab married Salmon, an Israelite, and became the mother of Boaz. Boaz married Ruth, and their line led to King David, the direct ancestor of Jesus. Matthew 1:5 includes Rahab in the genealogy of Christ. A Canaanite outsider and former prostitute became part of the bloodline of the Messiah, demonstrating that God’s plan of salvation has always included people from every nation and background.
Was Rahab justified in lying to protect the spies?
This question has been debated for centuries. Scripture does not explicitly approve or condemn her lie. What is clear is that God honored her faith, not her deception. Hebrews and James both commend her for her faith and actions in protecting the spies. Most commentators agree that the story highlights God’s ability to work through imperfect people rather than endorsing dishonesty as a moral principle.
This lesson is part of the Encouraged by What’s Ahead series.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway.