“By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.”
— Hebrews 11:31
You usually don’t look to prostitutes for life lessons, especially if you’re a Christian. Typically, those working in “the oldest profession” are not writing best-selling Christian books or teaching behind the pulpits of mega churches. And this is good, because the Bible clearly condemns prostitution along with all other sexual immoralities. Actually, the word ‘prostitute’ in Koine Greek is πόρνη, which is pronounced pórnē in English. But God’s grace cannot only redeem such lowly and broken people who once practiced harlotry, but also make them into shining examples of worship and faith for us all to follow.
We see this in the New Testament when a woman of ill repute, likely a prostitute, interrupted someone’s dinner to publicly worship Jesus by washing his feet with her own hair mixed with fragrant oil and her shed tears, (Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 7, and John 12). As the shocked company began to grumble, Jesus not only accepted this form of reverence but outlandishly proclaimed that “wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” 1
In a time where women had no rights, were uneducated, and were considered by the culture to be peripheral, Jesus essentially said to the religious and educated elites around him to learn what true worship and repentance looks like from the example set by the town prostitute.
Likewise, the heroine of the article today was also a prostitute. Her name was Rahab, and she is almost always referred to in the Scriptures, as Rahab the prostitute. And being in this line of work, it wouldn’t be surprising if she was plagued with some amount of shame, guilt, depression, and self-loathing. And yet, it is from this empty and broken pagan prostitute that God wants us to learn from today.
For context, around 1400 BC, two to three million homeless Jewish people were about to wage war on Jericho. The Israelites, under the leadership of Joshua, sent two unnamed spies into the pagan city beforehand to spy out the land. Soon after the two scouts were received by Rahab, a Jerichoian prostitute and innkeeper, news reached the King that Jewish spies were in their midst. Tracking them down to Rahab’s dwelling, Jerichoian officials demanded that she turn over the two foreign agents. Knowing she’d be put to death for either not complying or lying to them, Rahab, fearing the God of the Jews more than the King of Jericho, chose to protect the Jewish spies by deceiving those sent by her government. 2
In short, Rahab lied. Unknowingly, she broke the ninth Jewish commandment to honor the first and foremost from the ten. And in so doing, Rahab the prostitute practiced civil disobedience. This form of political insubordination is only allowed when the law or will of man clearly contradicts the law or will of God. Even though we understand that it is God who ultimately appoints governments and kings, we see political disobedience rightfully exercised numerous times in both the Old and New testaments. See Exodus 1:15-22, Esther 3:1-6, Esther 4, Daniel 3, 6, and Acts 4, 5, 16.
Although the concept of civil disobedience is relatively new to some of us as Americans, given our Christian heritage, it is now something we must all consider as we live in a more post- Christian world than ever before. We are now reaping the bad fruit of separation from God, His laws, and His will. Look where we are as a culture, as a people, and as a church.
The zeitgeist of the time or the spirit of the age (Ephesians 2:1-3, 6:12) always manifests itself through political power or governmental authorities. Whether it be from the tower Babel, to the Babylonians, or from the Persians to the Romans, the spirit of the age never rests. Not surprisingly, we see this now more than ever in America through the transgender / transsexual movement.
Consider that in March 2022, when applying for one of the highest positions in the United States, Ketanji Jackson, then a Supreme Court Justice nominee, wouldn’t define what a woman was. This specific question was asked from her examiners because a vocal part of leftist culture, whom Kentanji receives support from, has such a chokehold on the political elite that to even affirm the biological differences between a man and a woman would be considered bigoted intolerance. Of course Ketanji was smart enough to answer the simple question but not dumb enough to say it. Even when confessed under duress, the spirit of the age doesn’t take kindly to truth.
And although the Vatican doesn’t affirm transitioning, President Biden recently invoked his own interpretation of the Catholic faith by saying that it was “close to sinful” that the Florida Medical Board disallowed minors to ingest sex-changing hormones and undergo surgical mutilation of their genitalia to “affirm” their desired sex. In case you might’ve read that wrong, Biden wasn’t saying it was close to sinful that medical practitioners were butchering the sexual organs of willing children, but that it was near sinful the Florida Medical Board put a stop to it.
Christian, please understand the two examples above have nothing to do with politics! These are not political issues but deeply and profoundly spiritual. If you think I only highlighted Judge Jackson and President Biden because of their political affiliation, you’re not only wrong about my intentions, but sorely missing the point. This is much bigger than politics. If God created man and woman in His own image to reflect His glory, (Genesis 1:27) then each sex does so in uniquely distinct ways. If both men and women reflect truths about God that can’t be reflected by just one sex, then the current zeitgeist of casually transitioning from one to the other is a gross affront to the character and nature of God, not to mention a betrayal of who He fearfully fashioned us to be.
In this context much of what we are witnessing in our culture today is between good and evil, light and darkness, truth and lies. In other words, under the sway of transgender movement, our government is asking us to say, adhere, affirm, and believe things that are not only contrary to common sense, nature, and biology, but God’s clear will. Like Rahab, we too have a decision to make: Acquiesce to partake and serve a dying and judged kingdom or refuse to be a part of it and align yourself under the living and eternal Kingdom of Christ.
As a current harbinger of things to come in America, Rod Dreher aptly wrote, “You have to live in a world of lies, but it’s your choice as to whether that world lives in you.” 3 Similarly, Aleksander Solzhenitsyn, the famous Russian dissident had a battle cry: “Let their rule hold not through me!” 4
The question is: If an unlearned pagan prostitute like Rahab recognized the spirit of the age when she was confronted with it, why can’t some of us?
Sovereignly, the very faith that Rahab placed in God above her government was the very action that led to her redemption. And in risking her old life, Rahab found a new life as she was saved from the impending destruction of Jericho, redeemed from sexual sin, and brought into the family of God—into the actual lineage of Jesus the Christ! Rahab was redeemed, transformed, and made new! And her obedience placed her on an eternal pedestal in God’s word, as we see in Matthew 1:5, Hebrews 11:30-31 and James 2:18-26.
Christian, sometimes civil disobedience is exercising a very real faith in God—and a real faith in God will always bring about redemption.
But what do you think?
Micah Coate, President and Host of Salvation and Stuff
To listen to this in a sermon click here: Lessons From A Pagan Prostitute: Civil Disobedience, Faith, and Redemption. And while you’re there, please Subscribe to Salvation and Stuff’s new YouTube channel, like, and share.
Matthew 26:13.
Joshua 2.
Rod Dreher, Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents, Sentinel, September 29, 2020, p. 105.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Live Not By Lies.
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