As the new year started, I dove into the only real New Year’s resolution I made for 2018: actually and intentionally reading the Bible every day on my own. Not for class, not in church, not for the sake of my son, not at the prompting of my husband or prayer group. One might think as a seminarian, missionary, Christian blogger, yada yada yada I would already be doing this. One would be wrong.

Well, we’re 23 days into January as I write this and I’m pleasantly relieved to report that we’re going strong. I chose, somewhat randomly, to start in the book of Joshua and it’s been fascinating. Having grown up around church, I am often struck now reading the Old Testament through adult eyes and realizing that many of the stories were presented through unnecessarily rose-colored glasses, sometimes changing their meaning altogether. (Judges, for example, not what I remember from Sunday School.)

As I began to read Joshua, I quickly came upon a well-known story about Jericho and a particularly interesting character named Rahab. To say that Rahab is pretty important in the story of Scripture is an understatement. As you might remember from her part in Joshua, she sympathized with the Israelites, believed that the Lord was indeed, “God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath” (Joshua 2:11b),and helped the spies to safety as they scoped out the Promised Land (Joshua 2:1-21). She is identified by most scholars as the “Rachab” mentioned in the very genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:5, and her great faith is remembered in Hebrews 11:31 where the author lists off people who trusted in the Lord against all odds. She is lifted up as a heroine in the language of the Bible, and because of her faith in the God of Israel, not only did God spare her from the destruction of her people, but her faith saved her entire family (Joshua 6:22-25). That Boaz in the book of Ruth that everyone loves to tell us ladies to wait for? He’s her son. King David? Her great-great-grandson.

Her family line would go on to bring salvation for all people. This is huge!

These things were not new to me as I opened my Bible to Joshua this January. What was new to me was this: Rahab was a traitor. Rahab willingly and openly betrayed her people without abandon. I had never before considered how this story would look from the perspective of Jericho. Joshua 2 says that the king sent for her to hand over the men. The king. Let’s consider the power dynamics at play here.

The chapter opens with the spies coming into Jericho, and they apparently book it for Rahab’s house. Being outsiders, as well as spies, commentators note that it is perfectly logical that they should find lodging with the prostitute. They would arouse less suspicion since there were likely often strangers going in and out, and being outsiders themselves, they weren’t in a place to care about her moral standing in society, nor she theirs.

Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.  And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”  But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. (Joshua 2:3-6)

The king’s message seems to assume that Rahab doesn’t realize she’s taken in spies, but she knows exactly what she’s doing. After hiding the men safely away, she explains the motive for her crime:

And said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”(Joshua 2:9-13)

Rahab was afraid, but not of the king of Jericho. She saw God’s power and her heart melted. She was a woman and a prostitute. She did not have the kind of leverage one wants when dealing with a king, yet Rahab was not afraid of consequences in Jericho. She was in awe of the God of Israel.

There’s a reason Sunday School doesn’t talk about Rahab from the perspective of Jericho, and it’s a good one: Scripture isn’t written from the perspective of Jericho. We’re supposed to follow along with Israel in the story and see Rahab as a heroine, full of faith, bold in rebellion, fighting the good fight. She became a traitor to her people because she had faith that God was better. He won her allegiance over earthly power, over nationality, you name it. She chose to follow the One who’s really in charge and was not only spared, she was honored; this is something we can learn from.

Here’s my takeaway and my challenge: Are we seeking, the ‘God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath,” putting our big and small choices before Him? Or do we let our country, our culture, our era, or our friend group define what it means to love our neighbor? Or to do what is right? Every culture, made up of image bearers, has areas where it reflects God but each also has parts that break away from his perfect design. This is where discernment is key; this is where we need the Holy Spirit to guide us. There are many times we can honor God and follow cultural norms, but there will be crossroads where choosing to follow God will go directly against our culture. Rahab chose to obey the King of Kings over an earthly king.

Am I? Are you?

Let us always strive to seek the Lord first in faith and encourage one another towards life that is defined, above all else, by our awe of the almighty God.