Don’t Forget Rahab!

Hebrews 11:31

31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

So perhaps you have noticed that there was one example that was skipped as we walked through this chapter together. We hear much about Abraham, Moses, Joshua and the rest of the spiritual giants in the Old Testament. We see how God parted the Red Sea, stopped the mouth of lions, brought the dead to life – awesome things for sure. But what about the simple day to day faith that most of us experience. Simply believing the word of God and faithfully walking with Him? I think that is where Rahab comes in. 
 
We first read of Rahab in Joshua 2 and the very first thing we learn about her is her profession. She was a prostitute. Not exactly the most godly of jobs. As a matter of fact, this is the type of person that we see as the bottom of the barrel, the scum of the earth. We shake our heads and want to cross the street away from them. That’s Rahab the Harlot. What did she do that was so special? She believed that God was going to bless His people so she made a decision to place her faith in the God of Israel. She hid the spies, protected them and helped them escape. She hung a scarlet thread out her window and when the walls fell and God gave the victory, she and her family was spared. All that she did was take God at His word and act accordingly. Nothing special – she just had faith.
 
But that’s not the last thing we here about Rahab. In Ruth chapter 4 we find a man named Salmon, the father of Boaz, the father of Obed, The father of Jesse, The father of David. Why is Salmon so special? Look at Matthew 1, you know – the genealogies of Christ. Verse 4 tells us who Salmon’s wife was – Rahab the Harlot. So this woman of faith, who simply took God at His word and was spared with her family, is in the ancestry of Jesus. For someone who didn’t do anything real special, she sure was used in an awesome way by God! 
 
God uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary, the weak to show His strength, the normal to show His Glory. (1 Cor 1:26-31) God used Rahab the Harlot to bring His Son into the world – simply because she was faithful. Nothing special, maybe even useless in the worlds eyes. Why does God use this type of people? Because there is no other choice other than to point to Him! He gets the Glory and the Honor – and we get the privilege to be the vessel that He uses.
 
Today as we ReFocus our hearts and minds on Christ remember Rahab. Ordinary, Broken, Sinful Rahab who God used to to Bring His son into the World that we might have redemption. There is no-one that God can not use, not even you or me!