Episode 13, Bible Bad Girls Gone Good–Rahab Part 1 (Reboot) Series: Stay in His Presence

     Hello and welcome to our series “Stay in His Presence.” This is Episode 13, in Season 13. My name is Stephanie Wright, your host for this podcast.
     We are celebrating five years of podcasting this year. We will be going into the
archives and remastering some of the past top ten episodes since we started
podcasting on June 20, 2020. There will be some updates to the podcast, so if you
were with us in 2020, listen for a few changes and additions.
     Thank you for joining us today as we revisit the number one podcast:
Bible Bad Girls Gone Good—Rahab Part 1, (first published July 26, 2020, Season 2
Episode 3). Let's get started.

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Transcript

Hello and welcome to “Stay in His Presence.” This is Episode 13, in Season 13.
We are celebrating five years of podcasting this year. We will be going into the
archives and remastering some of the past top ten episodes since we started
podcasting on June 20, 2020. There will be some updates to the podcast, so if you
were with us in 2020, listen for a few changes and additions.
Thank you for joining us today as we revisit the number one podcast:
Bad Girls Gone Good—Rahab Part 1, (first published July 26, 2020, Season 2
Episode 3).

She entered into a blood covenant to save her family's life. She was a wise and prosperous woman—and she was a prostitute—who became a woman of faith. Her name is Rahab, and through her bloodline was descended the only One who could fulfill a blood covenant to save all mankind. His name is Jesus, the Son of God.

In this series, Bible Bad Girls Gone Good, we expound on truths and destroy
myths about so-called bad girls of the Bible who were transformed into godly
women memorialized in Holy scripture. This is Stephanie Wright. Thank you for
joining us today. Let's get started.
Speaker 1: 1:22
Today, we are going to talk about a woman who entered into a blood covenant with the Israelites to save all of her family, and a woman whose reputation was that of a prostitute. That woman is Rahab. The background to her story surrounds the
significant role she played in helping the Israelites conquer her city of Jericho.
That’s the famous story of how the Israelites marched around Jericho for seven
days and the walls came tumbling down.

The scriptures are from Joshua chapters 2 and 6. Our anchor scripture is Joshua
2:18-19. And these are the instructions the spies gave to Rahab to save her life and
the lives of her family. "Behold, when we come into the land, you shall bind this
line of scarlet thread in the window which you did let us down by, and you shall
bring back your father and your mother and your brethren and all your father's
household home unto thee. And it shall be that whosoever shall go out of the doors of your house and to the street, his blood shall be upon his head and we will be guiltless and whosoever shall be with you in the house his blood shall be on our
head if any hand be upon him. And if you utter this our business"—in other words,
if you break this agreement that we have—"then we are free of the oath that you
made us swear to. And she bound the scarlet line in the window."

I want to address this because we have already seen and know that we must study
to show ourselves approved workmen who do not need to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). A lot of the time, when we're reading and
studying on the internet, there's a lot of misinformation. That's why we need to
attend Bible study, read the Word, and let the Holy Spirit give us understanding.
Let's address the fact that many people try to say Rahab was not a prostitute despite what the scriptures say. It's interesting that in past lessons we studied, we were led to believe that Mary Magdalene and the Woman at the Well were, quote, "bad girls" with scandalous lives, even though Scripture did not fully support that. Yet, in the Old and New Testaments, it states that Rahab was a prostitute, but some commentaries try to dispute that.

Let's first look at scripture supporting that Rahab was a prostitute who turned her
life around. Let's not forget that. Let's not just talk about the fact that she was a
prostitute, because so often we want to focus on that. This is a woman who turned
her life around, and she was truly one of our Bible bad girls who went good.
After we address this misconception that she wasn't a prostitute, we're going to talk about why commentators don't want to say she was a prostitute. Stay with me,
because we're also going to address some family issues, as Rahab’s story is about
family.

Let's talk about what the Bible says about Rahab in Hebrews 11:31. Rahab was a
woman of faith. "By faith Rahab," let me say that again, Hebrews 11:31, for those
of you who want to go and study, Rahab is a woman of faith. "By faith Rahab the
harlot did not perish with those who were disobedient because she welcomed the
spies." James 2:25 says Rahab is recognized for saving the spies and later, in other words, subsequently, finding justification through what she did because of God. It says, "and in the same way was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works when
she received the messengers and sent them out another way?"
Why do commentators and others want to say Rahab was not a prostitute? Because they do not want to believe that Jesus was descended from a prostitute. Matthew 1:5 says Rahab became the wife of Salmon S-A-L-M-O-N" the son of Nahshon and the ancestress of Boaz, who was Jesse's grandfather and David's great-great-grandfather. Now it's not certain that Salmon was one of the spies who married Rahab; nevertheless, she's still in Jesus' bloodline.

You're free to believe what you want. I choose to accept the scriptures as
previously mentioned. What I also believe is that Rahab was a prostitute, but she
was also very industrious. She was a successful businesswoman. I believe it is
possible that her house, which the scriptures say was located on the edge of the city of Jericho, was a gathering place for many people for various reasons. Her name is associated with "innkeeper." The scriptures indicate that flax was used in the making of clothing. In fact, Rahab hid the spies under this flax. As a prostitute, as an innkeeper, as a business woman, people would naturally travel to her house,
home, or place of business, and would make purchases and sell goods. This is how
she came to know as much as she did about the Israelites. Travelers stopped at her business, her inn, if you will. This is how she learned about the Israelites from
 these travelers or customers. Joshua 2:9-11 says, "And she said, unto the men [the
spies], I know that the Lord has given you the land and that your terror is fallen
upon us and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have
heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you and when you came
out of Egypt and what you did unto the two Kings of the Amorites that were on the
other side of Jordan, whom you utterly destroyed. 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 the
earth beneath."
Now this is the prostitute talking. This is a smart woman. Hear me? She hadn't
come over to accepting God yet, but she was on her way. Rahab knew all these
things because her house, located on the wall at the edge of the city, was also the
place of business where she gathered this information about the Israelites. She had talked to people. I always wondered how this woman knew all this stuff? And it
does make sense that that would be the answer. So, going back to the discussion of why commentators did not want to associate Jesus's bloodline with a prostitute, let us remember that Jesus came to save people like Rahab. Jesus came and gave his life. His blood was shed for people like Rahab, for us. People will try to condemn those whose past has been viewed by society as marred or shameful. But it is those people, we are those people, whose lives were in a mess, who have a message. If your life is in a mess, I can guarantee you, you've got a message. And if your life was in a mess and you are trying to hide behind what you know you should be professing, first of all, shame on you, because that may be your calling. Your testimony can be your calling. You cannot be somebody else. You have to be
yourself. Each of us is unique in the way God has given us to speak, drawing
people into the kingdom. So don't allow people to shame you into not speaking what God has brought you out of, because that may be the very thing that will bring salvation to somebody. Okay? So, Jesus died so that all of us can be saved. All the Rahabs and all the King Davids, you know. 

I said we were going to talk about family and a blood covenant. Rahab asked the
spies to show kindness to her father's house and to save her mother, brothers,
sisters, and all they have and deliver them from death. We're still in Joshua 2:12-
13. This was a wise woman. Don't judge a person by their reputation. That does not
mean they are not intelligent or wise. Okay. She had enough sense to know, "Oh
boy, something is going to happen up in here. So, I'm going to be sure that I protect my family, that I save my sisters, brothers, and mother, all of them." The spies agree, but they tell her what we said in our anchor scripture that "when we come into the land, you've got to drop that scarlet thread in the window, the one that you let us down by, and then you shall be sure that all of your family is in the household with you but if any of them go out, we are not responsible for the blood that would be shed. And if they stay in, then they will be protected." Okay? And then they also said, "If you utter this, then we will be free of the oath that we made to you." So, this woman, Rahab, sought to save her entire family. She risked her life. They told her that if you break this oath, if you don't drop that scarlet line, or if you go and tell, if you go and reveal what we are about to do-because we're getting ready to leave- but if you break the covenant, then we are no longer responsible for whatever happens to you and your family. So, she made a covenant, not just any covenant, but a blood covenant, because blood was going to be shed if her family did not stay within the confines and protection of that house. Amen. She risked her life. She risked her life for her family. Let's address this now.
This is my question to you today. After this brief introduction to
Rahab, who risked her life for her family, “Who is your family? Who is your
mother? Who is your father? Who are your sisters and brothers, and what would
you do for them? What are you doing for them?”
Once, Jesus was approached and told that his mother and his brother were outside (Luke 8:21). This account is also found in Matthew and Mark. And Jesus said to them, "My mother and brother are these who hear the word of God and do it." So, who is in your house today? Your spiritual house. Now I know you've got your loved ones, you know, your biological blood relatives, but we also have others in our house, too. What kind of covenant have you made for those in your family,
your biological family, your adopted family, your Christian family, what kind of
sacrifices are we making for our families, quote, unquote "families."

We are the only ones, some of us, who can make the right sacrifices. Some of us,
those of us who really know the Lord, those of us who really know how to fight the
warfare, we are the only ones who can go into the very belly of hell and deliver
through prayer and fasting those who are afflicted. God speaks to us and tells us to go on a fast, and we just kind of, you know, set it aside. We think we're doing all
right because we pray and because we read our Bible. We are in a warfare people,
and the only way that you're going to really crush the devil's head is not only
through prayer and Bible study—we need to fast too. We need to quit playing
pitty-pat with the devil, and put him under our foot. Some things are not going to
be destroyed—the word of God tells us— they’re not going out, but by prayer and
fasting. It's fasting time. I mean, serious fasting and true consecration. We must set
aside things that make us feel good when God says to set them aside.
I remember when the saints used to fast, and we would have shut-ins, weekend
shut-ins. I mean, fast all weekend. And you know what I'm talking about, cause
when you go into church on a Sunday morning after a weekend fast, I tell you
spirits were broken. Things happen in church that you've never seen happen.
Playtime is over. We need to return to the traditional way when it comes to fasting
and prayer. We've gotten so relaxed. You know, people, we used to be in church
like three or four times a week. Now we whine because we end up in church on
Sunday, the service holds a little bit too long. I remember when we would be in
church on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and youth night was Saturday night. We've
gotten too lax.


So, I'm asking, who is your family? And do you really care about them? Amen.
Are we going to be obedient to God when he says consecrate in fasting and prayer, or when he says do whatever it is he asks you to do? Are you going to do it? When he tells you to keep your mouth shut, are you going to keep your mouth shut? When he tells you to forgive? And let me tell you something, you better be "QTF," "Quick to Forgive." "QTF," quick to forgive, because I got news for you, God’s not hearing anything you have to say when you have unforgiveness in your heart. You might say, “My prayers are getting answered.” But that’s an answered prayer in
God’s permissive will—or because somebody else prayed for you—not His perfect
will. And the worst kind of person is the one who thinks they’re not holding any
unforgiveness. Every time you hear somebody talking about how they don't need to forgive anybody, those are the worst ones. Let's think about that this week. What is going on in your family? What kind of prayer life is God calling you to? We are in a warfare, a spiritual warfare for the lives of our loved ones and our own lives.

So, we thank God for this message today. God bless you. And I hope you
will take to heart the questions I have asked you to consider: Who is your family,
and what sacrifices are you making to bring them into the kingdom and to
deliverance from whatever has them bound. Are you like Rahab, willing to
sacrifice for your family to be saved?
God bless you, everyone.

This is Stephanie Wright. Thank you for joining us today for this reboot of Bad
Girls Gone Good, Rahab Part 1.

And now let’s go to Dr. Charles Wright, who will close us out with information on
how you may contact us and listen to our podcast series.
Until next time.