God’s Word Is Alive

From Prostitute to Beloved of God

MANY people do what is bad without realizing that what they are doing is displeasing to God. For example, they may have sexual relations with persons to whom they are not married, a thing that is against God’s law. (Exodus 20:14; Hebrews 13:4) Consider the Canaanite woman Rahab who lived in Jericho.

That is Rahab there welcoming a Canaanite man into her house. He is visiting from another city. She may feed him, make him comfortable for the night and provide him sexual favors. Rahab is a prostitute. It is an acceptable profession among the Canaanites to receive payment from a man for the provision of sexual pleasure.

Sometime later these two Israelite men come to Rahab’s house, and she takes them in. They are spies from the Israelite camp located across the Jordan River from Jericho. They have not come to Rahab to purchase sexual favors. Rather, they realize that Rahab’s house may be a good place to come without arousing too much suspicion.

However, the spies are recognized entering Rahab’s home. A report about this is made to the king of Jericho. Right away he sends these men you see to Rahab. They command: ‘Bring out the men that came to your house.’ But Rahab says: ‘Yes, men did come here, but just as it was getting dark they left. Chase after them.’ Actually, Rahab has hidden the spies on her roof.

What will Rahab do now? She expresses faith in Jehovah God and makes the spies promise that she and her family will be spared when Jehovah gives Jericho into the hand of the Israelites. When the spies make that promise, Rahab helps them escape by a rope over the wall.

Shortly thereafter, the Israelite army comes and marches around Jericho. On the seventh day they march around the city seven times, and, miraculously, its walls fall. But as the spies had promised, Rahab and her family are spared alive. Later, Rahab becomes the wife of an Israelite man named Salmon. In time, they have a son named Boaz who becomes the great-grandfather of King David. Surely Rahab is a fine example of a person who did bad things but changed her life-style and became beloved by Jehovah God.​—Joshua 2:1-24; 6:1-25; Ruth 4:21, 22; Matthew 1:5; Hebrews 11:31.