Rahab put her faith in God and pleaded for mercy (Joshua 2:12–13). In her actions towards the spies and her response to God’s judgment, Rahab is to be commended. She knew that God’s judgment was coming, and that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Therefore, rather than fighting against God with her fellow countrymen, she hid the spies in her house and pleaded with them for mercy. In doing so, she committed treason against her own people. She took a big risk; if she were discovered, she would be killed. And what’s amazing about her response is that she knew no more about God than the rest of the people of Jericho. She had exactly the same knowledge about the Red Sea and the kings of Sihon and Og. No doubt, for most of her life she was also a worshipper of Astarte. Yet in his mercy, God the Holy Spirit worked a true faith in her heart. She heard truth about the Lord, she believed the truth about God and she made decisions based on that same truth.
True knowledge of God’s power and hatred of sin is knowledge that brings his people to plead for mercy. When the gospel is preached, God’s people hear of what Jesus Christ has done, put their faith in him, and praise God for his grace. In the response of Rahab we learn two things: (1) people need to have true knowledge of God if they are to come to faith in him (e.g. Romans 10:17); (2) when God’s people hear the gospel they repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ (see Canons of Dort 3/4.11–16). This encourages us to make sure that as churches, we prioritize the preaching of the gospel since that is the means by which God brings his elect to faith.
1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.