A 3 minute read
They called her Rahab the Prostitute and for good reason. She earned money and favors by having sex with men who lived in and visited the city of Jericho. She couldn’t deny it. She wouldn’t deny it. Prostitution was how she earned her living and how she supported her family.
But Rahab wasn’t just a prostitute. She was a businesswoman. She made it her business to know what was going on in and outside of Jericho. She made it her business to know who lived in Jericho and who was visiting. And when there were visitors, she made it her business to know why they were visiting.
So when two strangers came to the city to Rahab’s house – looking around and asking questions – she immediately knew who they were. They were spies from a nation of people called the Israelites. She had heard that Israel planned to invade and take over Jericho and that anyone who was not part of the tribes of Israel would be slaughtered and wiped off the face of the earth.
Rahab, like everyone else in Jericho, was terrified about what the Israelites planned to do. She also knew that the King of Jericho would be looking for the spies to stop them from going back with a report on the best way to capture the city of Jericho. Rahab weighed her options and decided that she would make a business deal with the spies. She was, after all, a master negotiator.
Rahab hid the spies. When the King’s messengers came looking for them, she told the messengers that she didn’t know the men were spies. She also told them that the spies had already left the city, but if they hurried, they might be able to catch them.
Then, after the King’s messengers left, Rahab went to the spies and propositioned them. She had saved their lives by sending the King’s messengers on a vain search. In return, when the Israelites came to take over Jericho, she expected her life, along with the lives of her mother, father, sister, brother and all who belonged to her, to be spared.
This was the arrangement Rahab negotiated. This was the arrangement that the spies agreed to keep. And when the armies of Israel came to Jericho, before they destroyed the city, Rahab and all of her family were escorted outside of the city to safety. Because Rahab wasn’t simply a whore. She was a businesswoman.
The Story of Rahab as told in this blog can be found in the book: LESS THAN VIRTUOUS-MORE THAN CAPABLE: Affirmations for Everyday Women. Read more empowering stories of women in the Old Testament. Click here to purchase.
No portion of this story may be duplicated in writing or in any other recorded form.
Copyright © 2019 by Kanisha L. Adkins.
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