Rahab is an amazing woman in many ways. Some may have seen her as just a prostitute, a woman to be scorned in terms of moral purity. But she was an intelligent woman, a courageous woman, a resourceful woman and a compassionate woman. Even more importantly than that, she was a woman who recognized that there was a God who fulfilled His promises to His people.
“I know that the Lord has given you this land .” Joshua 2:9
How did she know about the God of Israel? Well, from stories told and preserved. While the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, these stories were not forgotten.
“We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.”Joshua 2:9-10
God’s power was known among the pagan nations but they still clung to their powerless idols. They were afraid and yet they were not willing to change their allegiances and way of life. But Rahab was different. Not only was Rahab aware of these stories that attested to God’s power, but she recognized a very important attribute of God: His sovereignty.
“for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”Joshua 2:11
Being Sovereign means God has supreme power and authority. God had the ability to change Rahab’s circumstances, her destiny, and most importantly her heart. Rahab was ready to submit her life to the God of Israel, the God who would be for her and not against her, the God who would redeem her life. And not only was Rahab rescued from her circumstances but God included her in His sovereign plan of a promised Savior. She was one of the women included in the lineage of Jesus.
Because God is sovereign, He can keep all of His promises. He is ultimately in charge and can work his good purposes even in a fallen,sinful world. Do you recognize and trust in that sovereignty? Just like Rahab, we can find comfort in knowing that our circumstances and the value of our lives rests in the all powerful hands of a mighty and living God whose plans can not be thwarted.
Some verses about His Sovereignty:
““I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”
Jeremiah 32:27
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
Proverbs 19:21
“Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?”
Lamentations 3:37-38
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Genesis 50:20 NIV
“so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.”
Isaiah 45:6-7
“Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” Job 42:1-2