Three thousand years ago, God commanded the Israelites to capture the city of Jericho in Canaan and leave no one alive. However, Israelite spies struck a deal with the prostitute Rahab, a deal that God accepted. In this biblical study, author Rolf Weiss explores the fascinating story of Rahab, the great-grandmother of King David.
From: Rolf Weiss
More than 3,000 years ago, God gave Moses clear instructions as he traveled with the people of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land. This ancient story is as relevant today as if it happened yesterday. It is so relevant because much of it still happens every day—not only in Jericho, but also in Germany and elsewhere. God's commands were clear: “…you shall completely destroy the Canaanites because of their sins; you shall not make a covenant with them or show them mercy,” etc. (Deuteronomy 7:1-3)
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and possess, and he destroys many nations before you—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you—and the Lord your God delivers them over to you so that you may defeat them, you must completely destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them or show them any mercy, and you shall not intermarry with them. You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons.”
What does "executing the ban" mean?
"To carry out the ban" means that no one should remain alive, neither human nor animal. Is this another bloody story from the Old Testament? Conquest, war, banishment? Or something much more?
God had given clear instructions on how Moses, and later Joshua, should deal with the Canaanites for their sins. Jericho is perhaps the oldest city in the world. Desert, oasis, spring, city of palm trees – since Joshua's time. Back then, it was a transportation hub at the northern end of the Dead Sea, a resting place for caravans, a transshipment point for goods – and for information. In Jericho, people knew what was happening in the known world. Without telephones. Without email. Without the internet. A strong fortress, a wealthy city. And a place for gossip and rumors. And a thoroughly pagan city, with Baal worship, child sacrifice, temple prostitution, a city whose measure of sin was overflowing.
Meanwhile, the people of Israel were encamped east of the Jordan River in the region of Moab, in present-day Jordan. In three days they were to cross the Jordan, as we read in Joshua 1:10-11; the decision had therefore already been made
“Then Joshua commanded the overseers of the people: Go through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying: ‘Preserve provisions for yourselves, for in three days you will cross this Jordan and enter it to possess the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess!’”
An unnecessary order?
But Joshua gave them another order, one that was actually unnecessary from a military perspective. He sent two elite soldiers into a dangerous, enemy city with the task: “Go and see the land and Jericho!” (Joshua 2:1). Spies! The two now had a problem. Seeing an enemy country is difficult enough. Let alone a hostile, heavily guarded city preparing for war. Disguised as harmless travelers, they looked for a public place where all the gossip was circulating. What could be the best place? A simple tavern, or in their case, a brothel—probably not much of a difference back then. We can read the story in Joshua 2:1-11
“Now Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men from Shittim as spies, saying to them, ‘Go and see the land, including Jericho.’ So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. Then the king of Jericho was told, ‘Look, some Israelites have come in tonight to spy out the land.’ So the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, ‘Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come to spy out the whole land.’ But Rahab took the two men and hid them. She said, ‘Yes, some men have come to me, but I didn’t know where they were from. When the city gate was about to be shut, as darkness fell, the men went out, and I don’t know where they have gone. Pursue them quickly, and you will find them.’ She had them climb onto the roof and hidden among the flax stalks, which she had spread out on the roof. But the pursuers chased them on the road to the Jordan as far as the fords, and the gate was shut when they were outside. And before the men lay down to sleep, Rahab went up to them on the roof and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, for terror has fallen upon us before you, and all the inhabitants of the land have grown cowardly before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, beyond the Jordan, how you completely destroyed them. And since we heard this, our hearts have been faint, and no one dares to breathe before you; for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath.”
The Bible shines a spotlight on one person: a "whore," as it's called here, named Rahab. Her social standing? Whether innkeeper or prostitute, she was certainly a respected member of the middle class at the time. After all, she owned a house. She was a child of her time. She grew up with the standards of her culture. Prostitution wasn't frowned upon in Canaan back then; its practice was respected, especially in temple service. We don't know how Rahab came to this profession. Did she see it as a way to build a life for herself in that culture—or was she brought to the temple as a young girl to serve as a prostitute? We don't need to make her look worse than she was—or do we just want to appear better by comparison? Like some Pharisees? In any case, she was loved by God just as much as you and I.
Rahab's realization
Everyone in Jericho knew about the impending attack by the Israelites (Joshua 2:10). So what did Rahab do? She hid the two spies and deceived her king's messengers, so they couldn't find the Israelites. Then she negotiated with the two spies for her own salvation and that of her family. Her confession, "I know that the Lord has given you the land..." is unusually clear. But she didn't just know, "For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath." She also made the God of the Hebrews her God. And she acted accordingly. Her realization led directly to the only appropriate consequence. She completely sided with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whom she could only have known by hearsay. She chose him without knowing all the details of the consequences. Her decision for God was all-encompassing, unambiguous, and uncompromising. So she made a deal with the two Israelites: as a reward for their confession and their help, they and their relatives would be spared if Jericho fell. The only condition was that she tie a red rope in her window, and that her people stay with her in the house.
But wasn't Jericho one of the Canaanite cities that God rejected because of the abominations that were committed there? (Deuteronomy 7:1-3) Yes, certainly. But even on this point, we must remain realistic. I don't know how many inhabitants Jericho had back then, probably a few thousand. Certainly fewer in the city proper; the ancient city hill isn't large. I also don't know how many children were murdered each year as sacrifices to their gods back then—perhaps a few dozen? Terrible, truly terrible! But let's try to draw a parallel to our time. If we assume a city of 30,000 inhabitants, it becomes clearer. If we extrapolate the number of annual abortions in Germany (100,000 to 120,000 plus unreported cases) to this population, we arrive at a figure of about 50 per year, or 1 per week—every single week. That's our situation! Today! Better than Jericho?
Now this ancient story from Joshua's time has suddenly become highly relevant. To which gods are children sacrificed today? They are no longer called Baal, Asherah, or Astarte, but rather profession, career, money, perhaps also car, house, or convenience.
The biblical text doesn't tell us much about the reactions of the others in Jericho. It only says that they were discouraged and had lost all courage. Were the others in Jericho unaware of their situation? Or did they choose to ignore it out of indifference? Or were they aware of the situation, yet still unwilling to change? We don't know for sure, because the text focuses almost exclusively on Rahab.
What, then, made Rahab so decisively different from the others? Everyone had heard, everyone was gripped by fear, every heart had grown despondent, including hers. And she, too, had every reason to be, for she had never heard of any other city that had been destroyed where a woman had been spared.
A life-or-death difference
Viewed in this light, the difference is minimal – and yet life-or-death! The crucial difference lies in verse 9, where she speaks in the singular: no longer "all," but now "I": "I have come to know that the Lord has given you the land." Rahab here speaks of God as her Lord! Rahab didn't just say "I know" or "I heard," but she said "I have come to know," and then she acted accordingly. But what options did she actually have? Did she have any influence on those around her? As a woman at that time, certainly not much.
Rahab was the only one in Jericho who acted on her realization. Everyone else had recognized that their situation was hopeless, but only she took action. In verse 11b, she declares: “For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath.” This realization alone accomplished nothing; everyone in Jericho knew this, but only one person responded. Rahab drew a clear and sober conclusion: If the God of these Israelites out there on the Jordan River truly is God, then everything else is irrelevant.
The God of the Israelites decides, not the gods of Jericho. The God of Israel is the only God. Everything else is illusion, nothingness, blocks of wood, chunks of stone. Everything else becomes meaningless, truly everything else. Rahab's social standing, her income, her possessions, her relationships with her friends, even her relationship with her people—and her previous gods.
Rahab didn't ask what advantages hiding the spies would bring her. She acted because the God of the Israelites is the only true God. Not an imaginary idol, made by humans. She surrendered herself completely to Him, without knowing what would happen to her. Completely. Without reservations. Without any guarantees. What does that mean? What price will she pay? This is not a prosperity gospel.
What chances did the others actually have? Not everyone could take in the spies and make a covenant with them, of course not. But if anyone else in Jericho had truly—really seriously—asked about God, God would most certainly have had a way, even for the entire city. He has promised and demonstrated this often enough. A striking example is the story of Nineveh in Jonah 3:5-10. But close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. If someone makes the wrong decision in their relationship with God, all other decisions become irrelevant. Then everything else is meaningless. Everything else!
About two weeks or more passed before the Israelites reappeared, because in the meantime there was the circumcision of the Jewish men, which had been omitted in the desert. Every evening, Rahab could see the fires in the Israelite camp from Jericho, but that was 10 kilometers away near Gilgal.
Rahab's rescue
And then they finally came, the Israelites. Rahab's family were with her in the house—and the red rope was in the window! The tension was now almost unbearable. Would we hold out until the very end, or would we be betrayed after all? And then? What happened then? Nothing! A silent march, once around the city, nothing more. You can read about it in Joshua 6.
The next day – the same thing again. The third day – the same thing again, only this time they circled the city once more. The fourth, fifth, and sixth days – the same thing again. Until the seventh day. That changed everything. The Israelites circled the city seven times – then the storm began!
Rahab did not endure this suffering to help herself alone. She risked it all to help others, to save them as well. In Joshua 6:25 we can read that she succeeded: “So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father’s household, and all her relatives…”
Things don't always go as we expect. What hopes did Rahab have when she went to the Israelites after the conquest? Were they immediately fulfilled? In Joshua 6:23 we read: “Then the young men, the spies, went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all who belonged to her. All her relatives brought her out and put her outside the camp of Israel.”
Outside the camp? Like lepers? That's certainly not how Rahab had imagined it! Another test of her resolve! Rahab had to endure that too. And she still had to wait until she found a Jewish husband. God can do anything, no matter how hopeless it may seem to us. And no matter what He makes of it. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and His ways higher than our ways—and so are His possibilities. Perhaps Salmon, who married Rahab, was one of the two spies she had taken in and hidden. We don't know.
God is sovereign. He owes no one an explanation, not even you or me. And if he doesn't help? Then we should be able to say, like Daniel when he was threatened with the fiery furnace (Dan 3:17-18):
“Whether our God, whom we serve, can save us—both from the burning fiery furnace and from your hand, O King, will he save us—or whether he cannot: let it be known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods, nor will we bow down before the golden image that you have set up.” I wish this steadfastness for everyone, in every situation.
Rahab's decision for God was rewarded by God. Not only did she and her relatives survive that war, but her reward was a thousandfold, no, a millionfold more: she was found worthy to be included in the genealogy of Jesus as one of five women mentioned, as the great-grandmother of King David (Matthew 1:5).
God takes our words seriously
God honors the covenant with Rahab—despite his commandment of the ban! And he also expects us to keep our covenants, promises, and commitments—even if the consequences might be unpleasant. It is permissible to negotiate with God—if it is done with the right intentions. Moses, Abraham, Jeremiah, and Paul also negotiated. We see how seriously and importantly God takes our words and covenants in the agreement with Rahab, or in the story of the Gibeonites (Joshua 9 and 2 Samuel 21).
And one more thought
Why send the spies into mortal danger for a militarily pointless mission? The order to cross the Jordan, and thus the attack on Jericho, had already been decided! (Joshua 1:11) Could it be that God orchestrated this whole story to save Rahab? A prostitute in accursed Jericho? Yes, but one whose character God knew. And who recognized and confessed: “The Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath.”
The God who brought Rahab out of Jericho back then will surely be able to handle your situation and mine today. If we only let Him act. Even if it takes some time. Yes, if we submit to Him. Not just with words, but completely. With our feelings, opinions, and judgments—and our actions. Yes, but only then!
God chose Israel, not America, Japan, Russia, or the EU. Nor did he choose the Palestinians or other Arabs. With Israel, he has been writing history since Abraham, and this history continues. As grafted branches, we Christians are privileged to participate in it—and to be grateful and full of hope.
