Rahab

The first time the Israelites sent spies into Canaan (Numbers 13:1-14:45), they were filled with fear when the spies reported on the mighty Canaanite armies, and they lacked faith in God's ability to give them victory.  This time, someone did have faith in God's power, but it is not the spies or the Israelite people; instead, it is Rahab, a Canaanite woman.

Rahab is referred to as a prostitute in this passage, but it is more accurate to describe her as a slave.  She was forced into prostitution from a young age, and had suffered at the hands of cruel and perverse men.  Rahab did not only express faith in God, and she did not just protect the spies at great risk to herself--she cried out to God for deliverance from her oppression.

In this season of Advent, we remember that this broken world needs a Saviour, and we cry out, like Rahab, for God's deliverance.

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