THE
BIBLE PRAYER LINE – Bible Questions Answered
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Bible
Prayer Line Index
Bible Question Answered:
“I
don't see how a prostitute could be a hero in Israel...”
Amanda/
London, England United Kingdom
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
You, of course refer to Rahab, of the Old Testament. She
lived in Jericho. Rahab had a house atop the wall of Jericho, its
massive walls were so very large.
Joshua
2:1-24 KJV (The
story)
1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men
to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they
went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold,
there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search
out the country.
3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring
forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine
house: for they be come to search out all the country.
4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said
thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:
5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the
gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I
wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.
6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house,
and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order
upon the roof.
7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto
the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone
out, they shut the gate.
8 And before they were laid down, she came up unto them
upon the roof;
9 And she said unto the men, I know that The Lord hath
given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that
all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
10 For we have heard how The Lord dried up the water of
the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto
the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan,
Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts
did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man,
because of you: for The Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and
in earth beneath.
12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by The Lord,
since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness
unto my father's house, and give me a true token:
13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother,
and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver
our lives from death.
14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye
utter not this our business. And it shall be, when The Lord hath
given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window:
for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.
16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest
the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until
the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.
17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of
this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.
18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind
this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us
down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy
brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.
19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the
doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head,
and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the
house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.
20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be
quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.
21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it.
And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet
line in the window.
22 And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode
there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers
sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.
23 So the two men returned, and descended from the
mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and
told him all things that befell them:
24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly The Lord hath
delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants
of the country do faint because of us.
Joshua, had sent out spies to investigate the land, its
strength and weaknesses.
The
spies came back telling Joshua “...all
the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.”
Joshua 2:24 KJV
Rahab of Jericho, had heard the stories of Israel's
miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, and drowning of the Egyptian
army, and of the destruction of the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og,
and she believed that God was with Israel, and they would conquer
Jericho.
When the spies came to Jericho, and its wall, they
lodged at Rahab's house. The king received word, that visitors had
come to her home, and he demanded that she turn them over. But Rahab
hid the spies on the roof of her house.
The kings men, demanded to know where the visitors were,
but Rahab responded
…
Joshua 2:4 KJV
“And
the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came
men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:”
The soldiers, searched and searched, but never could
find them.
Rahab had hidden the spies, but made them promise to
keep her and her relatives safe in the coming attack.
Yes they said they would, if they all stayed within her
home, and if she ran a scarlet cord outside her window.
Some where before this story, Rahab, found faith in
God, we are not told just where and or how, but she did!
Rahab's testimony to the two spies...
Joshua
2:11 KJV
“...For
The Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.”
The Apostle Paul told the Galatians....
Galatians
3:6 KJV
Even
as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for
righteousness.
James
2:25 KJV
Likewise
also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had
received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
Rahab, demonstrated her faith, in The Living God.
She went on to marry Salmon a son of Nasson, and so
found herself in our Lord's ancestry.
Matthew
1:5 NLT
Salmon
was the father of Boaz (his mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of
obed (his mother was Ruth)./ Obed was the father of Jesse.
Was Rahab, a woman of faith? The writer to the Hebrews,
(Apostle Paul), say Yes!
Hebrews
11:31 KJV
By
faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them
that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
Right about now, someone who is reading this, is
thinking, she was a harlot, but I've done things much, much worse
than that, certainly there is no hope for me!
But that kind of thinking would be wrong! Our Living
God, forgives sin.
Isaiah 1:18 KJV
Come now, and let us reason
together, saith The Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be
as wool.
Luke 19:10 KJV
For The Son Of Man is come to seek
and to save that which was lost.
John 1;12,13 KJV
12 But as many as received Him, to
them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe on His name:
13 Which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:3,16,17,36 KJV
3
Jesus answered and said unto him (Nicodemus),
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God.
16 For God so loved the world, that
He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting Life.
17 For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.
17 For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.
36 He that believeth on The Son
hath everlasting Life: and he that believeth not The Son shall
not see Life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
John 5:24 KJV
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He
that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath
everlasting Life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed
from death unto Life.
ROOM AT THE CROSS FOR YOU Author: Ira F. Stanphill
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Prayer:
John 6:37,40,47 KJV
37 “...him that cometh to Me I
will in no wise cast out.”
40 And this is the will of Him that
sent Me, that every one which seeth The Son, and believeth on
Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last
day.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that believeth on Me hath everlasting Life.
