Locations & Times

Who was a super friend in our story today? (Rahab)
How was Rahab a super friend? (She helped God’s special people.)
What is one way you can be a super friend? 

Read: Joshua 2

God commanded Joshua to defeat and destroy Jericho. So Joshua sent out two spies to see what would be waiting for them in battle. Once the spies entered Jericho, they took shelter in the house of Rahab, the prostitute.

The Bible doesn’t tell us why Rahab was a prostitute. Her people were known for idolatry and immorality, so maybe she just followed what most of the people around her did. What we do know is that Rahab had heard about the God of the Israelites. She knew what happened at the Red Sea and about the victories God had secured for his people. Rahab actually told the spies that the hearts of her people melted when they heard about God’s faithfulness to his people (Joshua 2:11). Unlike her people who continued to live in unbelief, Rahab responded to God’s faithfulness with awe, wonder, and belief. She chose to trust a God she’d only heard about, and because of her faith, God redeemed her story.

Rahab risked everything, including her own life, for the spies. In return they promised to rescue her and bring her and her family to safety once Jericho was destroyed. She later became the mother of Boaz—the same Boaz that married Ruth—the same family of the bloodline of Jesus; all because of her decision to trust the one, true God.

The irony of this story is clear—a prostitute is redeemed and used by God to form the family from which his own son, the Savior of the world, is born. What an amazing picture of who God is! He doesn’t see us by our sins and our mistakes. He sees people who believe in him. He sees our faith.

Do you believe God can use you for something?

Can you look back on a time where you risked something to trust God?

Do you ever struggle to separate who you are from what you’ve done? Do you believe God can redeem your story?