To Be More Like Rahab
3/8/2019
Joshua 2:12-21 (KJV)
12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token:
13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.
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18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.
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21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
Now Rahab lived in a house on the walls of Jericho. Rahab was a “harlot” and she had prestige and most likely money because not everyone was allowed to have a house on the walls of cities. Because it was on the wall of the city, we know that the walls were at least eight feet thick. We know that she had at least two brothers and two sisters. How big was her house? The Bible does not state how big, however we know it was big enough to hold over seven people.
Now what stood out to me as I was reading this passage of scriptures is in the twenty-first verse, “. . . and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.” She did not wait for the battle to begin she did it as soon as they had left. In my mind, she drew enough of the line in and left a small amount hanging outside the window.
Today, when most people petition God (pray for something) they say “Amen” and go on with their lives. Rahab received a “if you do this” answer and she did not put it off until the battle began. The Bible states she bound the line then. After binding the line, I imagine that she started preparing her home for a family get together.
She most likely cleaned house and got rid of a lot of clutter because she had to make room for her family to stay indefinitely. She did not know how the battle was to be fought or how long it would last. Therefore, she most likely stocked up on food and water to last. Then, I imagine, at the first sign of the Israelites she invited her family to come. How many came, the Bible does not say.
We need to be more like Rahab. When we pray, we need to prepare for the answer from the time we say “Amen” until the answer arrives. We need to do our part, whatever that is, then leave the rest to God. Most people have a tendency to leave it all on God’s shoulder, and then wonder why the answer we get is not the way we want it to be and or the easy way.
C.I. Wilson