20So the people shouted and the priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight in front of him, and they took the city. 21They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword. 22Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring the woman and all that she has out from there, as you swore to her.” 23The young men who were spies went in, and brought out Rahab with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. They also brought out all of her relatives, and they set them outside of the camp of Israel. 24They burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only they put the silver, the gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron into the treasury of Yahweh’s house. 25But Rahab the prostitute, her father’s household, and all that she had, Joshua saved alive. She lives in the middle of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
Rahab was an unusual choice in God’s plan for helping the Israelites. She was from Jericho a very ungodly place, and if that wasn’t bad enough Rahab was also a prostitute. It wasn’t a profession she would have chosen for herself, it wasn’t the life has had dream of. Yet, somehow most likely due to poverty here she was, forced to sell herself to look after her family. There must have been times when she cried out, ‘this is not how I thought life would be!’ While others looked at her in Judgement, God looked at her with love seeing beyond the brokenness and hurt of her situation. God a very special future planned for Rahab.
Rahab recognised that the God was at work and she was faithful in helping the spies. She and her family were kept safe even though Jericho was defeated. In time she met and married one Israelites (Salmon) they served God together. They had a son called Boaz, he had a son called Jesse, who in turn had a son called David. David became the most famous King of Israel, Rahab the prostitute, becomes the granny of a king. That’s not even the best bit, the family line continues for a few more generations until a man named Jacob has a son Joseph the husband of Mary and Mary gives birth to a son, who is Jesus. Rehab is named in the family tree of Jesus isn’t that amazing (Matthew chapter 1)
There are times, perhaps through poor choices, but often through no choice at all, we end up in a place where life is not what we imagined it would be. Others may look at us and judge or not see our worth, but God sees our worth and loves us beyond measure. He still has a plan for each of our lives. We need to know and fully take it in, that with God a broken past does not mean a broken future.