Changing Labels

Hebrews 11:31 says, “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.”

The scripture comes from Joshua 2. To provide some background info on this Bible character and story… the Israelites were just about to come upon the Promised Land, but a city stood completely in their way – Jericho, which was a sinful and evil place. Joshua was the leader at the time and he sent two spies into the city and the king of Jericho heard that these two spies were roaming about the streets and he sent troops to search for them.

Although Jericho was this super large fortress with the super tall walls, the poorer people lives on the outside of the walls. Rahab and her family were poor people and they ran a tavern right outside these walls. And she was also a prostitute, obviously. One day, the two Israelite spies came to her door and because she was smart woman, she knew that these men were spies. She knew that there was going to be an attack on Jericho and she knew that she needed to do something so that she and her family could survive.

She agreed to help the spies escape, but only if she and her family would be safe from the attack on Jericho. Rahab hid the men on the roof of her house, underneath large bundles of flax. When the king’s men arrived, searching for the spies, Rahab told them that they were not there. The soldiers searched the tavern, but Rahab hid them really well. The Israelites agreed to protect her and her family, but they needed her to hang a scarlet rope from her window so that they would know which home to spare when they attacked. The Israelites crossed the Jordan and attacked the city of Jericho and ONLY Rahab and her family were spared. She ends up marrying a man named Salmon and her son is Boaz, the husband of Ruth, and also, the great-grandfather of David.

We sing the song “Amazing Grace” all the time at church, but I don’t think we really believe it sometimes. The song says “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me…” But we often forget that we really are wretches. That song was written by John Newton, who was a slave trader, a human trafficker, in England. But when he realized that only God could turn a slave trader into a songwriter and follower of Christ, the only word that could capture the change was “amazing.” This is why Rahab’s status as a prostitute is important. We need to know that she was once something sinful, and now she is something completely different. She is made new.

In verses 8-11 of Joshua 2, the Bible says,

“Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men: “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”

What’s really awesome about Rahab’s confession of faith here is she believed exactly what she had heard. She listened to a bunch of people talk about what had happened to the children of Israel when God parted the Red Sea and what happened to the Amorites. And when she kept hearing these crazy stories, she had no choice but to believe it. In verse 8, she didn’t say “I think” or “I hope” – she said “I know… I know that the Lord has given you this land…” She knew this really was God and she said to herself, “I want that God to be my God.”

There was this really popular video going around a few months ago and it was about all these people that were a part of things that were not of the Lord. This video gives me chills because it is SO powerful. I really recommend watching it.

Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cprYa-npfk

Someone was a former member of the KKK. Someone was a former witch. Someone was a former drug addict. There was a former gang leader, a former prostitute, an abortionist, the list goes on and on. Keep in mind that they are former slaves to sin. Now, they’re reformed. Jesus doesn’t just get us. He saves us. He transforms us. He cleanses us. He restores us. He forgives us. He heals us. He delivers us. He redeems us. He loves us.

These people have been completely redeemed from their pasts. God has used them to tell their stories and to proclaim what He can do in a broken person’s life.

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Cor. 6:11

God loves to use broken people. How do I know that? It’s all throughout the Bible. God repeatedly uses people who have complicated pasts, people who deeply struggle with some type of sin, and even people who are going through some type of pain, whether it’s grief, illness, anxiety, you name it – God has used that person in the Bible. And if you’re struggling with grief, or sickness, or anxiety, depression, relationship problems, etc, He will use you too.

Look at Moses who murdered an Egyptian man, Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers, Abraham who couldn’t have children for years and years, Jacob who was manipulative and greedy, and even Ruth whose husband and father-in-law died. Ruth, especially, understands the type of pain that a lot of us understand too. She has such an ordinary story and her type of brokenness is so ordinary and normal that it is so easy for us to relate to and understand, which is really important when reading through and studying the book of Ruth. But the point is that God will use every type of person on the brokenness scale.

So, God takes Rahab and has her go from:

Rahab the prostitute in Joshua 2 to Rahab, the grandmother of the Messiah in Matthew 1.

God changes labels and rewrites stories. And He can take your story and rewrite it too.