A Conquering Faith

Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
–Joshua 6:25

When you hear the word “Jericho,” you probably think about those massive walls tumbling down. But there is another part of the Jericho story that occurred a few chapters before. While Joshua was trying to figure out what he was going to do about Jericho, he sent two spies into the city on a high-risk reconnaissance mission. And there was a prostitute who lived between the outer and inner walls of the city named Rahab. She risked her life to hide the two Israelite spies.

Why did she do such a thing? Joshua 2 says she believed in the God of Israel–and because of her belief, she spared the spies. In turn, the Israelites spared her life when they invaded the city. Hebrews 11:31 says, “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.”

God used this prostitute named Rahab to preserve the life of the spies. Now, Rahab is not somebody you would normally think God would use, but when you follow her genealogy, you will notice something fascinating: She became the mother of Boaz, who married Ruth, which means Rahab was the great-great-grandmother of King David. And when you look at the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1, His family tree goes all the way through Rahab. Rahab the harlot was an ancestor of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do not ever think that God cannot use you because of some sin in your past. God used Rahab the prostitute. Why? Because she was a forgiven prostitute. The blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cleanse you not just of some unrighteousness, but of all unrighteousness. In fact, when you read through the list of people in Hebrews 11, all of them had tremendous character flaws. God used them not because of their sinlessness but because of their faithfulness.

Verses 32-35 say, “Time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection.” These were all men and women who, in spite of their sinfulness, experienced a faith that conquered problems. These were men and women who shut the mouths of lions, who conquered kingdoms, who put foreign armies to flight, who even received their dead back by resurrection–now, that is what you call a conquering faith!

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Against All Odds” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2020.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org