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The power of Biblical Women in the background.  (Pg.#1)

Some lesser-known Bible heroes. – (Good News Bible version used here.)

Next, we acknowledge Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute who saved her family through faith put into action.

(Mark all the correct answers you find here.)

From Joshua 2:1-9 (GNB) Then Joshua sent two spies from the camp at Acacia with orders to go and secretly explore the land of Canaan, especially the city of Jericho. When they came to the city, they went to spend the night in the house of a prostitute named Rahab.  (2)  The king of Jericho heard that some Israelites had come that night to spy out the country,  (3)  so he sent word to Rahab: “The men in your house have come to spy out the whole country! Bring them out!”

— Q1. Why did Joshua send spies into Jericho?

O – To find the best B & B.     O – To find out where they hid their gold.     O – To survey their promised land.

— Q.2 Where did God promise the city of Jericho to the Israelites?

To answer this question we need to back up one chapter to Joshua 1:1-5 (GNB) After the death of the LORD’s servant Moses, the LORD spoke to Moses’ helper, Joshua son of Nun.  (2)  He said, “My servant Moses is dead. Get ready now, you and all the people of Israel, and cross the Jordan River into the land that I am giving them.  (3)  As I told Moses, I have given you and all my people the entire land that you will be marching over.  (4)  Your borders will reach from the desert in the south to the Lebanon Mountains in the north; from the great Euphrates River in the east, through the Hittite country, to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.  (5)  Joshua, no one will be able to defeat you as long as you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will always be with you; I will never abandon you.

…This brings up our current-day dispute of the rights of the nation of Israel.

— Q3. Why did God give Jericho and the lands across Jordan to the nation of Israel?

O – Even though the Canaanites were descendants of Noah, they had turned to follow other gods.

O – They chose to worship gods such as; Baal, the god of fertility; and Asherah, the goddess of love and fertility; the storm god Teshub; the sun goddess Arinna; and some worshipped a god named Amurru.

O – For all their falling away from their True Creator God, He took away the land He had given them.

Returning to Rahab in Joshua 2:4-11… “Some men did come to my house,” she answered, “but I don’t know where they were from. They left at sundown before the city gate was closed. I didn’t find out where they were going, but if you start after them quickly, you can catch them.” (Now Rahab had taken the two spies up on the roof and hidden them under some stalks of flax that she had put there.)  (7)  The king’s men left the city, and then the gate was shut. They went looking for the Israelite spies as far as the place where the road crosses the Jordan.  (8)  Before the spies settled down for the night, Rahab went up on the roof  (9)  and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land. Everyone in the country is terrified of you. (10) We have heard how the LORD dried up the Red Sea in front of you when you were leaving Egypt. We have also heard how you killed Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan.  (11)  We were afraid as soon as we heard about it; we have all lost our courage because of you. The LORD your God is God in heaven above and here on earth.”

— Q.4 Why did Rahab, a Caananite, help these Israelites?

O – She was just being a good host.     O – She believed their God was greater the the gods of Canaan.

— Q.5 Did Rahab say that she had faith in the God of Israel?

O – No, she just played the odds.     O – She said, “I know that the LORD has given you this land.” (Vs.9)

— Q.6 How did Rahab put her faith in the God of Israel into action?

O – She refused to help the king’s men.     O – She risked her life to hide the Israelite spies.

In Joshua 2:12-15… (Rahab continues to speak) “Now swear by him that you will treat my family as kindly as I have treated you, and give me some sign that I can trust you.  (13)  Promise me that you will save my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families! Don’t let us be killed!”  (14)  The men said to her, “May God take our lives if we don’t do as we say! If you do not tell anyone what we have been doing, we promise you that when the LORD gives us this land, we will treat you well.”  (15)  Rahab lived in a house built into the city wall, so she let the men down from the window by a rope.

— Q.7 From these verses, do we see why Rahab helped the enemies of Canaan?

O – She understood that God was standing against Canaan.     O – She sought a way to save her family.

(Quiz continues on Pg.#2)

The power of Biblical Women in the background.  (Pg.#2)

(We rejoin this account after the fall of Jericho to Joshua and the Israelites.)

Joshua 6:22-25… Joshua then told the two men who had served as spies, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring her and her family out, as you promised her.”  (23)  So they went and brought Rahab out, along with her father and mother, her brothers, and the rest of her family. They took them all, family and slaves, to safety near the Israelite camp.  (24)  Then they set fire to the city and burned it to the ground, along with everything in it, except the things made of gold, silver, bronze, and iron, which they took and put in the LORD’s treasury.  (25)  But Joshua spared the lives of the prostitute Rahab and all her relatives, because she had hidden the two spies that he had sent to Jericho. (Her descendants have lived in Israel to this day.)

— Q.8 How did Joshua reward Rahab?

O – Joshua spared her life.     O – Joshua spared all her family.     O – Joshua also spared her family’s slaves

(We jump ahead in time to the New Testament teachings on Rahab.)

Hebrews 11:29-31… It was faith that made the Israelites able to cross the Red Sea as if on dry land; when the Egyptians tried to do it, the water swallowed them up.  (30)  It was faith that made the walls of Jericho fall down after the Israelites had marched around them for seven days.  (31)  It was faith that kept the prostitute Rahab from being killed with those who disobeyed God, for she gave the Israelite spies a friendly welcome.

— Q.9 To what is Rahab’s faith compared?

O – To the faith that allowed Moses and Israel to cross the Red Sea.

O – To the faith that brought Jericho down.     O – To her faith in Joshua as a mighty warrior.

— Q.10 How can the faith of Moses be compared to that of Rahab?

O – They both trusted in God’s power to spare their lives if they submitted to His authority.

O – Rahab didn’t have faith, she just negotiated an escape.

(Now let’s read how James regarded the account of Rahab.)

James 2:21-26… How was our ancestor Abraham put right with God? It was through his actions, when he offered his son Isaac on the altar.  (22)  Can’t you see? His faith and his actions worked together; his faith was made perfect through his actions.  (23)  And the scripture came true that said, “Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous.” And so Abraham was called God’s friend.  (24)  You see, then, that it is by our actions that we are put right with God, and not by our faith alone.  (25)  It was the same with the prostitute Rahab. She was put right with God through her actions, by welcoming the Israelite spies and helping them to escape by a different road.  (26)  So then, as the body without the spirit is dead, also faith without actions is dead.

— Q.11 What does James say of faith?

O – Rahab’s faith in God was proved through her actions.     O – That we also must put our faith into action.

To see the long-term effect a Canaanite prostitute’s faith had on God’s plan, we turn to…

Matthew 1:1-2… This is the list of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, who was a descendant of Abraham. (2-6) From Abraham to King David, the following ancestors are listed: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and his brothers; then Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Obed (his mother was Ruth), Jesse, and King David.

— Q.12 What do we know about the women listed here, who were part of the lineage of Jesus?

O – Rahab was a Canaanitess (Joshua 2:1-9). O – Ruth was a Moabitess (Ruth 1:1-5).

O – Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah (Genesis 38:6).

– To read a story of romance in the scriptures, you can find the account of Ruth and Boaz from the book of Ruth.

– If you want to read of a woman who was rejected in marriage, read about Tamar in Genesis 38.

– However, today our focus is on Rahab, who once was a Canaanite prostitute.

From this lineage, God chose to bring forth His Messiah, Jesus…

What do you think God might be trying to communicate to us about our ideas of prejudice and pride?

— So this humble account of Rahab leads us into our next two studies on the way to Christmas.

Does it surprise you that God would ordain His only begotten Son to be born in a stable? (KK)

(Click here for PDF copy Pg.#1)

(Click here for PDF copy Pg.#2)