Car Chat Podcast with Amy & Jamy
Join Amy & Jamy as they chat in Amy's car (the glorious and overtly common white Nissan Pathfinder) each month and chat about one woman of the Bible. Women need other women. We just LOVE that God includes the lives of real, broken women in the Bible and reveals how he loves, interacts, and redeems them. We are excited to surround ourselves with this community of women and be encouraged as we lean into Jesus. You don’t have to remain alone in your faith even when no one is around.
Car Chat Podcast with Amy & Jamy
Episode 6: Rahab - Women of the Bible Series
After getting our families settled into a new school year, Car Chat Podcast is back! Each month, we chat in my car about one woman of the Bible. This month, we are talking about Rahab. Her story is found in Judges 2, 6.
Who is she?
1. She was a prostitute.
2. She responded with belief.
3. She was saved.
Goodness, this was such a rich conversation as we built context into her life and situation. God was so faithful to her. She didn't allow her label to define her even thought she is mentioned 2 places in the NT as "the prostitute." After God saved her, it became not a label of disgrace but a badge of grace because it pointed to the rescue and redemption of God.
She is one of us and who God was to her he is to you and me.
We hope our conversation encourages you.
Much love,
Amy & Jamy
*Blog post Rahab: living above what you've done
NEW (recently added) - - - - - ->>>> D I S C U S S I O N Q U E S T I O N S
We've had so much fun hearing your stories of connecting with these women in the Bible and each other. Some of you have gathered up your friends and created a small group around these podcasts, diving into God's word yourselves and joining into our conversation with your own.
As an added supplement to every episode, Jamy is writing discussion questions to use as a group in discussion or individually to process through in prayer with God.
Episode 6: R A H A B Discussion Questions
*See episode description in the show notes. Review Joshua 2, 6 for her story.
1. What did you learn for the first time about Rahab ? What surprised you about her story with God?
2. Read Rahab’s confession of faith in Joshua 2:8-11. What stands out to you the most about her faith?
3. The spies agree to her request to deal kindly with her, but they add that they will also deal faithfully with her (2:14). What does it mean that God was kind and faithful to Rahab? How have you experienced God’s faithfulness?
4. Review where Rahab fits in the genealogy of Jesus. What does that tell us about how God saw her, and how He sees us?
5. Review the three descriptions of Rahab from the podcast and discuss which one resonates the most with you:
· Prostitute
· Responded in Belief
· Saved
6. “Rahab is one of us. Who God is to her, He is to me.” Who was God to Rahab? What does that mean to you in your life today?
Let's stay connect:
IG: @amyruthpetersen
@jamyfisher
produced by: 4110 Ministries, LLC
music music
Amy:Welcome to Car Chat Podcast. I'm Amy. And I'm Jamie. And each month we chat in my car about one woman of the Bible. And Jamie, it feels like it's been a bit. I've missed
Speaker 03:you.
Jamy:Yes, it has. And our conversations. Well, and I love, I've had people asking, where are you guys? So, I hope they're not disappointed because I'm like, Rahab is coming. Rahab. That's who we're talking about today. I'm so excited. I think we're supposed to make that a surprise. Oh, no. I was not going to do the surprise today because I think it's a little
Amy:awkward. I did too, actually. Yes, Rahab is today and we're so excited. But like you guys listening, we have been getting our families ready and settled in a new school year and getting into the rhythms of that. And all of us know the flex that that takes. And it takes this a little bit sometimes. Yes. Transitions can be hard. It can be really hard, yes. So we hope here to gather a community of broken yet redeemed women, both with you listening but making the connection to the women in the Bible, to learn about the presence and the power of God in our lives because we are not alone in our faith and our struggle and in our growth, even though we feel like no one's around. We're on our sixth episode, and I was trying to think back of the different ones that we've talked about. We've talked about Eve, we've talked about Hagar, we've talked about Deborah, Miriam, Naomi.
Speaker 00:And
Amy:as I riddle through those names, I envision I see them. I do too. And it is so fun to know that this is a community that we are getting to know and know that they are one of us. And today we're talking about Rahab. Yes. And I am so interested to deep dive into this conversation about her. We are answering the question, who is she? And that's what we do every single month. Who is she? And we hope that you will discover two things that She is a lot like me, and who God is to her, he is to me. So let's dive into Rahab. She is found, her story is found in Joshua. Joshua 2 and Joshua 6. And so let's set the context and the story of Rahab before we begin getting to know who she is. It's very important to understand what story we're walking into as we then begin to get to know who she
Speaker 00:is. Yeah, and what's happening around her, what the people are thinking and doing. Yes, let's do all
Speaker 01:that. And actually, if y'all remember last month with Naomi, we are going back in time to Rahab. Because Naomi's daughter-in-law, Ruth, married Rahab's son, Boaz. Right. So we're going back a little bit, but we just can't not do Rahab.
Speaker 00:Yeah. We haven't done everything in chronological order, but these stories, they're so special, and these women are, they have so much to teach us. They really do. Okay,
Speaker 01:so here is the snapshot. Yes. After being in the desert for 40 And many of us know that from the walls came tumbling down. So then we know that she married Solomon, who was an Israelite from the house of Judah, and they had a son, Boaz, who was a who was the father of Obed, who was the father of David, who then was in the line of Christ. So that is Rahab in a nutshell. And in the New Testament, Rahab is mentioned. She is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus and Matthew and in the hall of faith in Hebrews. Hebrews 11. And she was also mentioned in James 2.
Speaker 00:And all of those are good mentions.
Speaker 01:They are. And I hope we have time at the end. I know. See, to circle back around and close with those three because it is amazing that her story arcs from Old Testament into the New.
Speaker 00:I love it. And then, you know, the New Testament references, and I do hope we get to go more into them, but I just love it. I imagine, you know, as God is bringing forth these memories, especially in Hebrews 11, and God is writing this out, and he's saying, hey, by the way, these are some great examples of faith. Hmm, who should we talk about? Rahab is one. I just imagine, not that God doesn't know what to say. It's not like he's confused, but she, she rises to the top when God is giving a list of folks that we need to emulate and need to be mindful of in their, in their faith. Oh, I love that. That is really so good.
Speaker 01:I know. Isn't that good? Yeah. So let's talk about her. Okay. Okay. So three words to describe Rahab. And again, Jamie and I don't pre-talk about this. We, I pick three words and then we come together with both of our notes from our different studies and we just see how the Lord carries our conversation. So it really is beyond our control. Because the Lord really knits it together and it is truly amazing because of the way that he orchestrates our conversation, reaches into your lives in so specific and personal ways that we know he is working way beyond our inabilities to talk or to share or to learn things. So God is working right now, and we trust that. Okay, the first word, and it's a pretty obvious one. It's not creative. But the first word is a description of Rahab of who she is, and she is a prostitute. And we find that in Joshua 2.1. So interesting that I love how Scripture has so many women that you would not expect, particularly with choices and their past, a part of his storyline for all the world. And Rahab is one of those. She was a prostitute. Let's look at Joshua 2.1, and this is what it says. Then Joshua, son of Nun, secretly sent two spies from Shittim. Go look over the land, he said, especially Jericho. So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. A little interesting and tricky of wondering, okay, what's the scenario here? But from what, and you speak into this, but from the study that I've done she was an innkeeper. And so she had on the outside of the wall kind of a place where travelers and people would come and stay. Is that what you know too? Yeah. But, and it wasn't uncommon for men to come and go through all hours of the night because it was an inn. But then also, she found other ways to bring in revenue, and that was in prostitution. So giving away, and if there's little ears here, you may want to close them. It's nothing that is going to be, but just the whole explanation of what a prostitute is might step into some tricky conversations. So, but she was giving, and this is how I kind of thought about what a prostitute was. She was giving away intimate parts of herself for someone else's pleasure. And that's not God's design.
Speaker 00:No.
Speaker 01:And so as I thought about that prostitute and prostitution and building context around the story, what are some of the descriptors or maybe some of the heart wounds that she might be carrying as these Israelite men come knocking on her door? It
Speaker 00:It's complicated. And I doubt she ever meets anyone who the interaction is at first glance what she would want it to be or what it might appear to be. So she's probably always, and one of the things I think describes her well is the word shrewd. She's always having to probably weigh what might be required of her in every situation. And I think the messiness of this is really clear because everyone knows her. She has some measure of accountability to the leadership but she doesn't the governing leadership they're in Jericho but she doesn't really trust them it's got to be pretty messy for her and dangerous
Speaker 01:yeah and you wonder what men in leadership are coming to her as well and what she knows and things she knows it's interesting as I was researching according to rabbinical tradition they say Rahab was one of the four most beautiful women in the ancient world
Speaker 00:I read that. Did you really? I read that. I don't know. It's not in the Bible. It's not in the Bible. Yes.
Speaker 01:But through tradition. Traditionally, that's what's believed about her. Gorgeous. Just a gorgeous woman. I wonder how she got to this place of being a prostitute. And we don't know any of that. Scripture doesn't tell us how she got there, but that's how scripture introduces her to the house of the prostitute, Rahab, and continues to identify her even
Speaker 00:after Absolutely. And that's what I was
Speaker 01:going
Speaker 00:to say. maybe more of a definite stamp that this is true than we really should. But it's possible that there is a religious element to this, to her identity. But regardless of that, this is a part of her identity that we need to know and that we should remember.
Speaker 01:That's right. And the heart of it is that she is giving away intimate parts of herself for someone else's enjoyment. Right. And it's not God's design. It isn't. And, you know, just thinking through the implications of that. The thing that I found interesting is that her whole family is around her. It's not like she's a prodigal that is having to make ends meet and she's totally solely by herself. She's
Speaker 00:using this to support her family. Yeah, and there's some measure because of that. Really, that's her only request. And we get into that in a minute. So there is some burden that she bears for protecting or providing for. her family and that even that if you think about that very long that also complicates this whole thing it's not just her that she's thinking about she's not just doing this likely she's not just doing this on a whim or because it's something she has chosen that she thinks is great it's it's probably much more difficult and complicated than that and I thought you
Speaker 01:know the things we do to survive in our culture yes apart from following God right we can all survive with him it may not look like what we want it to but oftentimes within the culture environment that we're in in this day and age we do things in order to survive like Rahab did but it can be very damaging if it's apart from following the Lord but she had her moment to respond to him and what she does but I think we all can relate yeah to doing things to survive that we may not be proud of
Speaker 00:right and in a minute I think we're gonna get to this when she starts talking and the way she describes Jericho and the city and the people. What you just said about surviving is so true because they're on the brink that the people, the Canaanite, the citizens of Jericho are on the brink of something that disaster, catastrophe is on the horizon for them. They know it. They see it. They're filled with fear. Yes. And so that, I think... Just what you said earlier about setting her and her story, knowing that this is what's happening around her. That's really an important part, too, to see how she rises above that.
Speaker 01:That's really good, despite what she's known as. Yes. And I think that that speaks to all of us. All of us have things that we're not proud of in our life. And whether we've been labeled it by society, by our family, by our friend group or ex-friend group, by our church, by ourselves. I wear very big labels, but they're unseen by everyone else because I label myself and then I live to support that label and it keeps us stuck. And I think the story of Rahab is so empowering because she had this label and she was known for that in her city and in even who she was as a Canaanite woman. They had a historical generational history and mark of not good things and not following the Lord. Violent, detestable wickedness. And so to add those two things together and the fact that she could respond to the Lord gives every single one of us the loophole to step out of the label that we find ourselves in. So if you are listening and you're so filled with shame, if you're filled with a label that you can't get out from under with, I was thinking about some of those and maybe it's in a bad relationship, you're addicted to something, you've been divorced, brokenhearted, overwhelmed, maybe you're struggling with your weight on the too much or too little part, maybe it's health, maybe you have a chronic illness, All these things, bitterness, anxiety, all these things that we can label ourselves as which are true, we don't have to use it as the proclamation of our future. Right. And we've seen that in other ladies that
Speaker 00:we've talked about. And the label shouldn't be the source, right? of our life that we're living out of. And what we're going to learn from Rahab is it's okay to hold on to some old labels, but only if we're living a renewed identity out of who God says we are, knowing who He is and living out of who He says we are. That's who she becomes in a time when she just shouldn't. There was no reason except her own conviction, her own persuasion that this God she'd heard about was who He said.
Speaker 01:Gosh, that's so good. still sticks but the label has a different power because and a different point because the label prostitute when she was one identified what she did for a living but after she was saved and followed God it became really the badge of grace that God had saved her from
Speaker 02:yes
Speaker 01:and so I you may always be you know have that in your past you can't erase You can't erase the things. You can't erase a divorce. You can't erase losing a child. You can't erase having cancer. But you don't have to let it go. You don't have to let it be the thing that points to who you are. You can use it as a way to point others to who God is. That's right. And I think that that's so key with her being named in Hebrews as Rahab the prostitute. And in James, yes. And in James, yes. And so even if you keep the label, ladies and men who are listening, you don't have to be condemned by it. Right. You can see it as this... beautiful testimony of God's salvation. Yes. And not to be shamed.
Speaker 00:Instead of the label pointing toward us. Now we can turn it where it points back toward God. He's he, he redeems everything. That's it. Everything. That's
Speaker 01:so it. That's so good. Okay. So, uh, she had her choice to respond even as a prostitute. And just like Rahab, we do too. Is there anything else you want to say about prostitute? Nope. Okay. That's it. Let's move on. That's plenty. That's plenty. Okay. Let's move on. I don't know why we're laughing. It's not, we get giggly sometimes when it's a little uncomfortable topic. Okay. So the second word, which is actually three words, is that who was she? Rahab responded in belief. Yes. And I think these two words responded because we all have an opportunity to respond. Yes. And we have a decision of how we are going to respond. Yes. And then she chose to respond in belief. Yes. So let's look at Joshua 2, 12, starting. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord, and this is Rahab speaking to the guys who were there, right? No, no. Is it 12 that I wanted to start in? Well, you kind
Speaker 00:of told the story already because she hides them. Okay, and I just have to say this is the funniest part. To me, these two spies, they sneak into Jericho like they're being super sneaky and they kind of find a little spot to hide. And the text says immediately, the king sends word. Hey, these two guys that you're keeping, I mean, they're not good spies, evidently. They're pretty characteristic. But she is. She uses this opportunity to protect them and in a way that is is honoring God and so she she sends this the the government folks or the the soldiers she sends them away then she goes back to where she's hidden the spies and that's where you worry that's right talking about
Speaker 01:that is so true they're they're being hidden on her roof they're being hidden on her roof very good before the spies lay down for the night this is verse 8 she went up to the roof and said to him I know this is so key I I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. When we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when you came out of Egypt and when you did to Zihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed, when we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed because of you. For the Lord your God I mean, that is quite a confession. It's unbelievable. And tell us why that's unbelievable. Why is that
Speaker 00:so significant? Because of who she is. She's Canaanite. She's not one of these Hebrews. So she already should be, like if you're choosing sides, she should be, and she says, we're so afraid of you. But she also says, I know you are. You are the God. The God. You are the one. So she already believes in his supremacy that it's only him. That alone is a huge statement of faith for her because the way that they believe she, she is saying your God is more important than our gods. So that she's already acknowledging that. And in a time and a place, I mean, think about this. The story she's talking about is 40 years old now. So this is her whole life. And the Hebrew, they are right on the verge of, they've just, I mean, they're just about to start to have their second try. Because now they're going to be coming across. They're coming across the Jordan. And Jericho is their first. Their first conquest in the promised land. And I wonder how for them. Because the people that are the soldiers and the adults of God's people that are coming across. They are the children who stood on that edge before. They were the children who would have come across or been born since. They came across the Red Sea being chased by Pharaoh. And now this is a second chance. And I just wonder how affected they are by everything that had happened with their parents an entire lifetime. I mean, it's a generation that everything they had learned, wandering in the wilderness and God taking care of them. And they have this leader. They had this wonderful leader, Moses, and now they have Joshua. And what it must be like for them to step into this next thing and what we see is just right across just right there in this city is Rahab and she is saying we have heard the stories sometimes I think they actually believe the stories more than God's own people I mean I can't say that with definition but there's this aspect of that and I just wonder you know how had she heard the stories how did she know where had all of this come from and I think some of it was probably I mean based on her line of work it's probably not great where she had heard everything but she took what she had heard and it's exactly what you said she had the choice like her fellow citizens to just melt in fear or to take a step of courage that says I want to be on your side I know that you will be the one who prevails and she's saying that to the men but she's saying it about God
Speaker 02:yes
Speaker 00:oh that's so good because it's counterculture for her to choose God it doesn't even make sense even the fact that that would in her head. It's crazy to me. And the bravery that
Speaker 01:she chose to step out into that. When others were choosing fear, she chose belief.
Speaker 00:Yeah, and I read the ESV Study Bible says that her confession is filled with the language and theology of the Pentateuch. Somewhere she had heard the stories of God and she had remembered them. She'd taken them to heart. They mattered to her. And I just think there's a lesson here for us that however And whenever, miraculously, God brings his words to us, when we cherish them, when we remember them and take them in, there's a transformation, a holding on that gives us the next step. It gives us the ability and the way and the wisdom and the insight to take next steps toward him. And I think that's what we see her doing.
Speaker 01:That's really great. That's a great way to help. progress, help kind of step out the progress that often many of us take to get to God. Some of us are pretty quick, but some of us take a progress. And I would have to imagine that Rahab did just based on God's timing
Speaker 00:for her.
Speaker 01:Because I began to wonder what made her choose belief in God over what everyone else was choosing as fear. And fear is a very familiar feeling and emotion and response to me, for me. I usually choose fear when anything happens. When a phone call comes and I'm like, oh my gosh, who is it? And if it's one of my boys, oh my gosh, what happened? I mean, I have literally answered the phone, oh my gosh, what happened? And they're just calling to say hey. So I often choose fear and I do that with my relationship with the Lord when things unexpectedly happen. I was thinking about when One of our sons was diagnosed at age 11 with type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune disease that kills your pancreas and you are forever dependent on insulin. And I was like, I chose fear fast. I mean, I did not understand. I was so mad at God. I actually said, how dare you do this to me after all the work that I've done for you? I said those words. I then tried to ultra control the situation. by getting all the products, by learning all the information, by being right on top of his blood sugar numbers. I was a maniac, but it was because I responded in fear. But I also know that that was a process that the Lord so sweetly took me on to work through and so faithfully teach me his presence, his strength and his power. And I specifically remember one day when I was crying out for him and I actually think I was on the floor of our entryway, just sobbing. And I said, why are you doing this to me why are you doing this to him why can't you do this to me and not him not my kid do it to me and he's he reminded me so much in my spirit by reminding me he recollected a verse that I prayed over him when he was a baby and I prayed Joshua 1 9 over my son when he was a baby and it's do not fear for I'm with you do not be dismayed for I'm your God I will strengthen you and help you I will uphold you with my righteous right hand and the Lord clearly through that word said Amy I am answering your very prayer through this disease and basically I think I felt him in my heart say back off I've got this right and at that moment I That's where I turned to respond to belief. When God so clearly said, I've got this. And the very prayers that you're praying, why are you resisting the way in which I'm answering those? And so I think for all of us, whenever unexpected or hard or sad things happen, and I know so many of you are dealing with really hard things, how are we responding, giving ourselves grace to walk through the process, but lean into what the Lord has to say. And remember in your brain, God, help me choose to believe you. Help
Speaker 00:me in my unbelief. Yes. And belief always. is what we're most convinced of. And so, when your emotions are just topsy-turvy, telling you every other thing, just completely where you can't get a grip on them, that's why we go back to what we know, what we believe. And that, settle and wait in that. And I don't think it's an accident that you felt God saying, stop. Don't control, don't keep taking action, stop here. Think about what you know to be true because that, that belief, that is the core. And our emotions are shaped by that. They're not completely, we can't just say magically, I believe blah, blah, blah, true. And our emotions are completely fine. I'm not, I don't want to be trite in that. It's more difficult than that. I know. But the, the process and the struggle to make sure that we are believing the right things, that is what, that's what builds faith and our, our behavior and our emotions always come out of our faith out of what we really believe.
Speaker 01:And I think just with Rahab, instead of responding with fear, which would be the natural progression that she paused and it took time. I mean, she heard these stories throughout however long it was, but she came to the point of being able to step up to the plate and she chose to believe and she responded in belief.
Speaker 00:Yeah. And I think we can pretty safely assume that she's the only one. Yeah.
Speaker 02:I
Speaker 00:mean, from the rest of the story, she does something that only she has the courage to do. She makes a decision to follow God that only she has the strength
Speaker 01:to do. And that the position in which she was at on the wall, I mean, it's so interesting that God would use an inn or a brothel or whatever, that he would use that place as the place to save his people, his spies. Isn't that amazing? And so I'm just, if you were in a dark place and you just think that it's always going to be filled with shame. Just imagine what God can do when he gets a hold of your heart, because he can turn that as the one thing that's left standing in a city that is destroyed, just like Rahab, which is so interesting. And I just wonder if she was so desperate for hope because she had been used by her people so many times that she was ready for salvation.
Speaker 00:Yeah. She knew that following their gods was a dead end. How she was convinced of that, we don't really know, but we know from from her statement of faith that you just read, that she was convinced that God was greater than the gods of Canaan, that she had probably been raised thinking she should follow. Yeah, she knew.
Speaker 01:So good. So the question is, what are you stuck in or where you're living that you can't yet get beyond? And think of Rahab, lift that prayer up to the Lord and ask him to show it to you. Because despite her being a prostitute, despite her being a Canaanite, despite despite her being a woman, despite her shame, despite all the things. So there's no despite that has any worth. to come to the Lord and say, I can't do it because of this. So put that out on the table with the Lord. What is your excuse for not responding in belief? Because it really is not a valid excuse.
Speaker 00:You know, when she says our hearts melted, that imagery really sticks with me because that's how fear feels sometimes. Just like all, everything you've built, all the things that feel strong in you, all of a sudden are just melted with, with all the things that you've mentioned with, with a circumstance or an attack of some sort. And I just, Peace. can we give ourselves permission with God to just, to melt? It's okay to melt, but are we going to melt into fear? Are we going to melt into kind of that? I don't know. I hate the word submission, but that, that submissive faith seeking, um, trusting place. Okay, God, I'm a puddle and I just, there's no other way to say it except I, this is more than what I can understand and what I can do, but I'm going to trust you in it. Show me how, show me how. Um, What do I know is true? And walk yourself through those questions of where am I going to go with this? What am I going to do with this? Because her fear, instead of melting her into this squishy mess that all of her kinsmen or all of her other citizens of Jericho were, it sent her toward God. She flowed toward God. And maybe that's what should be our goal in the times when life doesn't feel so heavy, to be building our knowledge of the Scripture and our faith so that when that hits, we melt toward God. Melt towards God. I love that. I don't know if I've ever prayed the prayer, Lord, I'm a puddle. I love that. Lord, I'm a puddle. Yeah, I mean, I don't want to melt. I don't like any of it. Oh, but I feel melty all the time. Melty all the time. And to just... To just go as a mess to God and know that it's okay is a special place of maturity that we need.
Speaker 01:Go as a mess to God. Oh, that's so good. And I am such a mess. And once I stepped into being okay with that... the things that the Lord could do in my heart has just been exponential. So be a mess before God. Be a puddle. Because what he's really melting is our pride. Ooh, it is. And it's got to go. It's ugly. Yeah, it's so bad. Okay, so the first word was prostitute. The second ones were responded and believed. And the third word to describe Rahab is saved. And we see that she was literally saved in the verses in chapter 6. Actually, physically, literally. Yeah,
Speaker 00:her physical self.
Speaker 01:Physically. Listen, it says when the walls came tumbling down, only her house was left standing and only her family
Speaker 00:was saved. And don't miss that. I think sometimes with our little kid Sunday school imagery of Jericho coming tumbling down, we don't know. It might have been kind of lower. It might have been way high in the wall. We don't really know for sure. But it went down to rubble. So the very next part is true that her place, her little house... which was a part of the wall was left standing. I mean, just, In your mind, let's go back a couple hundred yards and look toward Jericho and imagine what that looked like. Everything is rubble on the ground except for one spot. And there's just this one spot of the wall that's still standing.
Speaker 01:That's so good. That is such a vision. And to think that she was, I mean, I guess they were in there because they pulled them out. What would that have been like? And, you know, if you know the story of the Battle of Jericho, the Israelites were called to march around the city six times in silence. And then the seventh time with trumpets and shouting to shout and worshiping the Lord makes sense. Yeah.
Speaker 00:God
Speaker 01:is
Speaker 00:a God. You got to be following God only on that because that makes zero sense. And then the
Speaker 01:wall, I mean, that is not necessarily a war strategy that they teach at the Pentagon, but that is what God used to give his people the first victory in the promised land. And the walls came tumbling down to rubble and everyone inside was destroyed except for Rahab and her family. And I love that vision of seeing in my mind's eye her house or whatever it was, little room or a house on the side of the wall still standing.
Speaker 02:Unbelievable.
Speaker 01:Gosh, God is powerful. And he, in the midst of rubble of your life, as you choose him, can keep you standing. Yes. Even if it's in ways that you have no idea that he did, that he would do. One of the things that I think was interesting is the cord of scarlet thread. Mm-hmm. that is mentioned in verse 21. She believed her salvation before the victory came. She hung the cord out, because the guys told her to, before the victory came. This is when impending doom was going to happen. She believed with this cord, and I read about it, it's significant, the rope in her window was a sign of her faith and led to her salvation as she was not destroyed with the rest of Jericho. The scarlet rope, which is the color of blood, worked for Rahab most There's a tracing of that thread throughout the imagery
Speaker 00:throughout Scripture. And for it to be
Speaker 01:significant in this prostitute's house is so beautiful. Yeah, so beautiful. The power of God's blood is so beautiful. Yes. Um, so good. I know. I just love that she was saved and then she was saved, obviously not just physically, but she was spiritually because then she lived with the Israelites. She became
Speaker 00:one of the Israelites. Yeah, she did. Well, and we, and we know because she becomes a part of the heritage. Um, she has a son, marries and has a son within the community. We didn't know what happened to her family, but we know she becomes a faithful part of, of God's people. I know there's so many
Speaker 01:stories in scripture that don't Yeah, you're not really
Speaker 00:sure. Or you do get to know some of it, and you think, oh, they had this great encounter, and then they didn't finish well. That's always discouraging. I mean, it's still so much to learn,
Speaker 01:but that's always a little bit discouraging. It's such a day-by-day journey as God writes our story of how we're going to respond.
Speaker 00:You know, what you said about Rahab, about her faith, that she believed before the victory. Even the very first thing she says is, I know your God. She says to the spies the very first thing. She already... knew she was already firm in her belief that God would prevail. I don't know that she was sure yet that she would be included, but she knew God was going to win whatever was coming and knew that the only way for her to, to be saved was to align herself with him. And I, that's, that's, Oh, that just, it just is. It's astounding to me that that level of faith. That's so good. And I, she knew it from the stories. She knew from what she had heard that
Speaker 01:God had done. Yes. And I think for all of us, when we get to the point of believing that God is who He says He is, that's the turning point for us to align our lives with Him. So if you are resisting God in your life right now for whatever reason or in whatever situation, I would suggest... begin tracing it back to, in what places do I not believe him to be who he says he is? And if you don't know who he is, then get in God's word and learn about who he is because sometimes I want to fix the problem, but the problem is only a symptom of a deeper issue. And it usually leads to me not trusting him or not believing who he is. And so let's go to the source first. Like Rahab had already established, regardless of, of how the story ended for her, because she didn't know how it was going to end, but she chose to believe who God was, even if it meant her dying with her people, with the
Speaker 00:people. Even if, And God rejected her. She still knew he was everything she had heard. She believed that and knew that he would be the victor. even if he chose not to. And I, one of my favorite parts of the story, um, in her request, she said, she asked me, so back on the roof. So this is rewind back there on top of the roof. And she's talking to the spies and she's, she's asking them, listen, I'm hiding you. I'll make sure they don't get you. Please show kindness when you are going to win. When God is going to take all this, when God's coming for us, when that happens, would you deal kindly with me? And I think it's so interesting because they're, Their response, I think this is in 214, the spy's response to her is, It's pretty passionate. It's pretty exuberant. And maybe they're just relieved because they're running for their lives. I don't know if they've found someone who will help them. But I think that when this woman, who everything about her should be repulsive to them and probably is, she is contrary to everything they've been taught is right. She's standing there on the roof. They're face to face. She's already saved their lives. When she says, I know your God will help me. prevail and when he does would you be kind to us I think we see the depth of her faith in their response. Because their response is, our lives for yours, we will deal kindly and faithfully. They add that phrase, that description, and faithfully. And I think it's really interesting because as much as Rahab has learned of God, as convinced as she is that he is God and he will be the one who wins, I don't think she knows yet that he's faithful. Oh, that's good. And this goes with what you said about she is saved because Because she, in her determination to align herself with God, her belief that he is the one, the one God over her gods and that he's going to prevail. She does everything in this courage. She could have been killed by her, the king, at any point. She follows God courageously. And she doesn't know yet that he, this is what we learn about God, that he will respond to her. Not just as a reward. for her standing up for him but he will he will return to her not just with kindness but with faithfulness and she doesn't know that until those walls come down and she's still there and she is she comes into and she would have been immediately brought into the community but she does everything that's required of her to come into community I just I just think it's amazing that she doesn't know that God is faithful but his people do and they tell her yes we will be kind And faithful. God is going to deal faithfully with you because there's an aspect of the relational attachment. I think her attachments change. Somewhere she realizes God is real. She realizes the attachments she's had there in Jericho have let her down. All of her life must have been lies and giving away the most intimate parts of her for someone else. Everything you've described. And so for her to be able to figure out... and learn in her own experience with God and with God's people, that he is a God who is faithful and he, he comes to us with relational love. And, you know, if you, I just would love to be on that roof with her and sit her down and say, okay, this is how this story is going to go. Not only are they going to save you, you're going to become a part of the community. And then years and years and years and years from now, there's going to be this King. I think, I think she's great. Great. I think two great grandmothers of David, of King David, but there's going to be And then beyond that, later, when there is no hope for God's people at all, he's going to send a Messiah. The Messiah was such a, such a central part of their hope and their belief all through the years. And he's going to come from you too. What, how that, that's
Speaker 01:jaw
Speaker 00:dropping. What that must have done. And if she had known that, what that, what that might've been like, I just, I know. And the fact that is God's faithfulness. That's him dealing faithfully with her. And she couldn't have known it yet. But she did. She learned it. She learned it.
Speaker 01:Over and over and over again. And I think the very part in which she was used by men, God restored in a relationship with her husband. And for those of us who think that we've made such choices that have taken us out of any faithfulness of God, this is an example that God's faithfulness transcends any depth that you've gone and your choices and responses. Absolutely. So there's hope there through the life of Rahab. Absolutely. Oh, I love that. I do too. Well, Rahab was a prophet. She respond, not prophet. She wasn't. We have a couple of those, but not her. Rahab was a prostitute, responded in belief, and she was saved. Ladies, she is one of us and who God is to her. He is to you and me. Yes, absolutely. We thank you so much for listening and we will see you next month on Car Chat Podcast.
Speaker 02:See you then.
Unknown:Thank you.
