rahab

She Was a Prostitute—So Why Does the Bible Honor Her More Than Kings?

but Lord Jesus Christ says :- Matthew 21:31 in the Bible, where Jesus tells religious leaders that tax collectors and prostitutes, who repented after hearing John the Baptist, are entering the Kingdom of God before the self-righteous leaders who rejected John's message. It highlights that those acknowledging their sin and turning to God (like sinners and repentant "undesirables") are favored over hypocrites who claim righteousness but don't follow God's ways. 

 Most people rush past Rahab’s story because it makes them uncomfortable. She wasn’t a prophet. She wasn’t a queen. She wasn’t “respectable.” Rahab was a prostitute living inside the walls of Jericho—an enemy city marked for destruction. And yet, when Israel’s spies arrived, she believed before anyone else did.

Rahab didn’t grow up with Scripture. She didn’t have a priest explain God to her. All she had was fear, rumors, and a choice. And she chose faith. She hid the spies, lied to protect them, and trusted that the God of Israel was real—even when doing so could cost her life.

Here’s the part that unsettles religious comfort zones: God didn’t just spare Rahab. He honored her. She married into Israel. She became the mother of Boaz. She became the great-great-grandmother of King David. And her name appears directly in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

If we details of Rahab's faithful acts from Joshua 2:1-24: we see the full account of the spies entering Rahab's house, her hiding them, her confession of faith in God, the promise of protection, and the instructions for the scarlet cord. Here in Joshua 2:9-11: As Rahab tells the spies, "I know that the LORD has given you this land... for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below". is her great faith proclamation as a prophetess of God. This is what likes to hear from every child of God. Joshua 2:18: The spies tell her, "When we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's household". This scarlet thread symbolizes the redemption of Rahab and her household. This is same as the blood of Ram on the door frames of the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when God  saved them from the hands of Pharoah. Exodus 12:7 (KIV): "And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it" Exodus 12:13 (KJV): "T And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.." Exodus 12:22 (KJV): "And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning."  The same redemption and salvation we see in the life of Rahab and her household. 

So God accepted her faith in Him and was enumerated with the faithful. In  Hebrews 11:31: "By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient". and in James 2:25: "In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route

 There are many examples of such great men of faith through out the Bible who were accepted for their faith in the true God. Like Abraham: Called by God to leave his home, he obeyed, trusting God's promise for a great nation, becoming the father of faith (Hebrews 11). Joseph: Despite betrayal by his brothers and being sold into slavery, he maintained faith in God, eventually becoming a leader in Egypt and saving his family from famine. Moses: Trusted God to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, leading them through the Red Sea and the wilderness. Deborah: A prophetess and judge who, trusting God's guidance, rallied Israel to defeat their oppressors (Judges 4-5). Daniel: Threw into a lions' den for praying to God, he was miraculously saved, demonstrating unwavering trust (Daniel 6). David: Though a king, he relied on God as his refuge and stronghold during persecution by Saul and later in his reign (Psalm 18). Job: Lost everything but refused to curse God, holding onto His sovereignty and ultimately being restored (Job 13). In the same way Rahab: A prostitute in Jericho who hid Israelite spies, trusting their God, gave asylum to the two spies send by Joshua to spy the city of Jericho and was saved when the city fell (Joshua 2).

All these men were ordinary men but the common thing is that they trusted God of Israel in spite of all odds. This is what counted as faithful by the Lord.  In Hebrews 11:1. The opening verse in what has become known as the “faith chapter” tells us that “faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.”  According to Hebrews 11:6, “without faith it is impossible to please God.” The writer didn’t say it’s hard to please God without faith. He said it’s impossible. We can see many examples in the old testament of such great faith in the midst of all difficulties. Another example is that of  Elijah. He was a prophet who didn’t blink in the face of stiff opposition. First, he confronted an evil king (1 Kings 17:1). Later, he stood by himself against an army of false prophets (1 Kings 18). As a result of his courage, this man of faith sparked a mini-revival among a nation of people who had been physically and spiritually dry for years.

God rewards men for their faith. Ordinary men and women who trusts in the Lord are taken to great rewards in life if they remain steadfast in their faith. Rahab too was rewarded for her trust in the Lord of Israel. Let that sink in. The lineage of the Savior runs straight through a woman most people would have written off as too sinful, too broken, too far gone.  In Matthew 1:5: "Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab" (NIV). This verse places her as the mother of Boaz, the great-grandmother of King David, and thus an ancestor of Jesus Christ, highlighting God's inclusion of unlikely individuals in His redemptive plan. And in Boaz too we can see another outcast Ruth coming into the same lineage again rewarded for her ardent infallible faith in the God of Israel. 

So what does this prove in the life of great faithful men and women of God. Rahab’s and other stories  demolishes the lie that your past disqualifies you. Immaterial of your past God calls people to Him but only a few truly listens to His voice. It exposes how often religious people misunderstand grace. God didn’t wait for Rahab to clean herself up—He stepped into her chaos and rewrote her future the moment she proclaimed her faith in the Almighty God of Israel.  

If Rahab, ruth Abraham and others could be redeemed, protected, and woven into God’s redemptive plan, then the real question isn’t whether God can use broken people. The Answer is God chooses anyone according to his will. 

When it comes to new testament, the matter of deliverance from God’s judgment (salvation), the Bible allows no tolerance for our boasting in anything that we do. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, … that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Cor. 1:30-31).