This week we are looking deeper at Joshua 2: 1-21, specifically at Rahab and her faithfulness to God and to His people.  Today we’ll look deeper at the world of the text. What is actually written on the page?  

For me, the most interesting parts of the passage are what we see in Rahab’s conversation with the spies.  We read her statement in verse 9 – “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you.”  This is a statement of confidence, yes, but when you read deeper into the Hebrew, this is not a statement that looks toward what will happen, that the Lord will give you the land.  This reads in Hebrew as a present statement.  This statement is a present reality.  The Lord has done this now.  

This statement shows the faith that Rahab has.  She believes what God is going to do. But it is not just that.  She believes is it is done.  Much like the centurion in the Gospel, the very word of God is enough for her.  When God says it, there is no reason to doubt it.  It is a done deal.  It is settled.  God has given them the land. That is not something that will happen.  It has already happened.  

The people of God are still doubting.  Not Rahab.  She has faith.  We see that this gentile is the true child of faith that God desires.  This is why she is part of Hebrews 11.  The Israelites hem and haw, they doubt, they worry, they don’t fully commit.  

Not Rahab.  She has faith. It doesn’t matter what her past was. It doesn’t matter that she is a Gentile.  None of this matters.  Only her faith matters. That’s why she is commended and a hero.  She may have the purest faith of anyone that we have met in scripture thus far. 

God has said it, she believes it.  

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