When we read the account of Joshua and the battle of Jericho and learn that the only ones saved from destruction were Rahab and her family part of us wants to cry out that surely there could have been someone more righteous in Jericho to be saved? After all Rahab was named as a prostitute, and one would hope that there would be more respectable people in Jericho who would have been worth saving. Surely there must have been someone whose probity was beyond question, the equivalent of a chartered accountant? Apparently not. There may have been many who had a veneer of respectability but Rahab would have known more than anyone else how thin that veneer actually was. We may quibble about the lie she told to the men seeking the spies to protect them but it is a measure of how much she was certain of the danger that Jericho was in of destruction. She had no pretension as to her own righteousness unlike most people who like to think they stand in a better moral position than they are actually in. Our righteousness might be filthy rags but we like to think that there are designer clothes. We think that if we hide behind our walls like the people of Jericho then we will be safe. Little knowing how fragile our defences actually are and that we will be exposed to the judgment to come. We despise the Rahabs of this world, but if we look at the history of revivals it is often those looked down upon by society that turn to Christ in humility. “Decent” folk often distance themselves from such an overt passion for Christ. Yet most churches in the western world have targeted most of their evangelism at “decent” folk, fearing that those outwith the middle classes will require too much effort to disciple, especially those with chaotic lifestyles who are liable to have a few wobbles on their Christian journey. Yet only Rahab and her family were saved and not only that, because she would be allowed to be come one of the forebears of the Messiah. So sometimes we have overrule our logic and obey God instead.

David Rose, 2015.